Feb. 24th, 2010

The Blurb On The Back:

The Message


DI Tom Thorne has seen plenty of dead bodies in his time. But when he starts receiving sick photos of murder victims on his mobile phone, he soon realises that the next body could be his.

The Killer


And even when the man who has been sending the photos is tracked down, the deadly threat remains. For some, the case is all but closed, but Thorne’s nightmare is just beginning.

The Twist


Because someone else is masterminding the death messages. Even behind bars, the most vicious psychopath Thorne has ever faced is able to manipulate others to do his dirty work for him. And time has only deepened the deadly grudge he has against the policeman who put him away ...


ExpandThe Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Although this book is let down by a flat secondary plot, all in all it’s a tight and well plotted read with a central character who remains an interesting draw.
The Blurb On The Back:

There is no descriptive Blurb on the Back, instead we get the following quotes:

”Le Carre’s best novel ... more tension and excitement than anything else he has written. A Russian woman in Paris; a murder on Hampstead Heath; an asylum in Switzerland; a refined brothel in Hamburg – the story moves effortlessly around the European chessboard. Smiley probes with his ancient white knights and pawns called back from inactive service, and Karla, deep in his Russian defence, jealously guards the mysterious black queen.”
- Melvyn Bragg in the Evening Standard

”The Honourable Schoolboy was simply one of the finest English novels of the seventies ... Smiley’s People complements it beautifully.”
- The Times

”Abounds in breathstopping scenes ... an enormously skilled and satisfying work.”
- Newsweek

”A splendid spy story ... a fine narrative, a delight to read ... intricate, exciting, absorbing.”
- Chicago Tribune

”Elegant, subtle ... a work of art.”
- The Listener

ExpandThe Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

One of the all time espionage classics, it’s a must-read book for anyone wanting to see how to tell a good story well.
The Blurb On The Back:

In the shadows of Nocturne City, witches lurk and demons prowl, and homicide detective Luna Wilder must keep the peace – while living life as a werewolf. Now bodies are turning up all over town, the brutal murders linked by a cryptic message: We see with empty eyes ...

To make matters worse for Luna, she can’t get wolfishly handsome Dmitri Sandovsky out of her mind. The last time he helped her with a case, Dmitri suffered a demon bite that infected him with a mysterious illness ... and now his pack elders have forbidden him from associating with Luna. But she’ll need his help when high-level witches start turning up slaughtered. Because a war is brewing between rival clans of blood witches and caster witches – a magical gang war with the power to burn Nocturne City to the ground.


ExpandThe Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The success of the novel turns on whether you like the central character and I didn’t. I found her too unbelievable and too irritating to want to root for her in solving the mystery or empathise with her in her romantic heart ache. The world-building is considered and detailed, but it’s not enough for me to want to read on.

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