Book 3 - The Help - Kathryn Stockett

So Vixie reminded me that i'm supposed to be reviewing 101 books - and i've been pretty crap at that having read loads of them.

I'm going to keep it fairly short and sweet - this book is fantastic.

It evolves around two main social groups based in Mississippi when there was still a lot of racial segregation - the two groups are a group of young white women who have graduated from university and have varying points of view about the status of their help (who are black) and the Help (and the women's children) who are initially not politically active and are far more aligned in their own private, religious and family lives, they have their own community, their own values and their own interests.

The juxtapositioning of the narratives in the book is done really well - my favourite character by far is Minnie, she seems far less self-righteous than the other characters. It's quite a "no punches pulled" book and I like the combination of tones and viewpoints that it seems to represent.

Most of all I like the end note by the Author where she mentions that she hopes she has done justice to the accounts in the book but that she understands that she can't possibly hope to speak for black people in that place and at that time. I also love her viewpoints on other people's reactions when she tells them that she's from Mississippi.

It's a page turner with heart and I hope other people will enjoy it as much as I did.

Book 2: Mortal Remains - Kathy Reichs

I love Kathy Reichs books - joint with the Jane Rizzoli Tess Gerriten novels I would say that they're my favourites.

The Plot (contains spoilers):
Tempe and her team find a body in a lake which on closer inspection appears to be someone who was trying to get himself off by partial asphixiation by drowning - it's likely to be death by misadventure - when he is fingerprinted he is identified as a man called John Lowry. Or Jean Lourie if you're in Canada (which Tempe at this point is). John Lowry, however, is supposed to be burried in North Carolina (Tempe's hometown) as a vietnam war vet. Throw in a trip to Hawaii with another random forensic anthropologist friend, a tragedy befallen onto her daughter (Katy), some romantic tension with Andrew Ryan - along with some bumps in the road provided courtesy of his daughter, Lily; an attempt on Tempe's life; some colourful local law enforcement; enraged relatives and a few encounters with gang bangers and the typical conclusive ending and you have the latest Kathy Reichs thriller.

I enjoyed the book but I can't help feeling that there was some kind of publishing deadline looming which meant that the last three chapters needed to be finished in the space of 3 hours. It does seem a lot shorter than most of her earlier books and unfortunately i've found the last couple of books a littie bit disappointing and rushed compared to the earlier works. Tempe of the bones books also seems to be taking on some more character of Tempe from the TV series, the serious and considered character seems to have less to say in terms of social commentary and comes over as more of a know-it-all now.

The one thing i'm looking forward to the development in however is her daughter's blogging. It was one aspect that caught me off guard and is probably my inspiration for starting this blog today.

Book 1: A Simple Act of Violence - RJ Ellory

Firstly I will start by saying that I've read A Quiet Belief in Angels which was a very well considered and challenging book that struck a strong chord with modern society despite seeming very far away from modern Britain. I was very happy that this book wasn't quite as heavy or intense.


The plot centres around one detective who is to all accounts both a bit of a loner and a prodigy, who is following up on the murder and beating of several women who are all linked. The plot thickens when all but one of the women are linked to government applications and fake social security numbers. And thickens again with John Robey and his personal story and questions over his involvement in these murders.


Spoilers under here:
John and Catherine were both operating as part of/in cooperation with the CIA in South America to kill important political figures - they were told that this was vital for security concerns. They are both very much alone in the world, desperate to matter and make their lives count (they are spun a lot of lines like "would you kill hitler if you knew what you know now, had a gun in your hand and saw him alone at a bar?") and their naivity to the real purpose of their involvement (to keep drugs running through into America to fund secret wars) proves to be an essential thread to the story.

The plotline itself is very hollywood spy thriller - Bourne Theory meets Lie to me etc. Now I like these kind of books, they're a bit like brain cheese - not as stupid and fillery as chick lit but equally not exactly challenging. What I did find interesting was the writing technique throughout the book and the tone of hopelessness at the end which R.J. Ellory seems to employ regularly in his novels. It was a page turner but was rarely upbeat. The characters weren't amazingly well developed in my opinion - I found it strange that Robey - who was so vastly intelligent and meticulous all the way through the book - failed to overlook the fact that any court would issue an injunction that stopped the national press from publishing his findings on the drugs war in Nicaragua - it seems like a massive oversight and a lot of bloodshed over the course of the book for an aim that would ultimately fail - and I can't believe that he was naive enough to think that the victory was in the attempt.

Basically I enjoyed the book as I enjoy all mystery and crime books but the themes are a bit old now and have been used in countless television series, books and movies - if you want a twisty, turny mystery crime novel then go for it - it's better than James Patterson - but don't bite into it expecting thought provoking prose - you'll be disappointed.