The Torment of Others

by Val McDermid

Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #4
Crime fiction

Harper Collins - 2005

556 pages - 9.99 $

En français ici

Why this book

Or why this author in that case. I follow Mark Billingham on Twitter who often tweet with Val McDermid. As he praised her work I decided to give it a try, knowing that he wouldn't praised bad books. 

Summary

Two brutal killers with the exact same MO.
For the one twisted mind behind it all, there is nothing more pleasurable than the torment of others.

The blood of prostitutes stains the streets of Bradfield, and two young boys have disappeared into thin air. With grisly crime scenes that mirror the MO of a killer long since incarcerated, it's a hell of a time for Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan to find out if her new elite crime squad is up to snuff.

With help from friend and clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill, Carol rises to the occasion and launches an undercover sting operation to solve the crimes. But when the operation goes terribly wrong, tension reaches an ultimate high. Tony must penetrate the mind of one of the most perverse serial killers he has ever encountred, and Carol must block out the echoes of a haunting past in order to catch a murderer before the blood of a detective is on her hands.

What I think of it

That was something! It's gripping, sometimes difficult to read - I won't recommend that book to some people who don't feel to read about rape and its consequences - but it is very well written and the emotions are very realistics - perhaps too realistics for some people. In my case, I appreciated the accuracy of tone and though some passages were difficults, they are just more interesting because they put us in the shoes of the protagonists. We feel Carol's fears, the discomfort of the other cops towards her or the Tony's guilt. The different characters - even the minor ones - are fairly well described so that we can get an idea of ​​the atmosphere that prevails and we can see how the individuals within the team will react. 

The story, or rather stories, since we're following two investigations are also well written. Boths are very sensitive subjects, as it concerns children for one and murder of sexual nature for the other one. We plunge into the horror of these investigations and the frustration experienced by police officers who can't track the culprit fast enough for their liking. The course of the investigation is also a strong point as the methodology and procedures are very well explained. There is no rabbit out of the hat, the results are found through methodical work, although sometimes the searches are based on the reasoning of Tony.

The suspense escalates regularly and ended up really stressing me. This is because we feel empathy - thanks to the talent of McDermid to make us feel the emotions of the characters - just as much for Carol who finds herself in a situation she knows too well as for a character in the book whose life is at stake. I spent a few very short nights, because I tried to read as much pages as possible to move forward in the investigation and it must be said to finish the book as quickly as possible to know the outcome. To close this book before the end - which I had to do because I had to go to work the next day, argh! - it's a bit like putting a thriller film on pause just when the protagonist opens a door and yells when he discovers ...       (yes, that is a pain huh?)

One extract (see how she puts tension just for a friend to say hello? The whole book is like that!)

A few minutes later, he saw what he’d been waiting for. A gleam of blonde hair caught in the security lights by the back door, and he was on the move. He shoved the file back into his briefcase and stood upright, moving towards the back of the car to cut off his target before she could reach the driver’s door.

She looked over her shoulder, calling out a farewell to a colleague. When she turned back, he was only a few feet from her. Shock and astonishment shot across her face and she stopped dead. Her mouth formed an exclamation, but no sound emerged.

‘Hi, Carol,’ Tony said. ‘Fancy a curry?’

‘Jesus,’ she exhaled, her shoulders dropping. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack. What the hell are you doing here?’

Let's be brief

This book can create some discomfort, of course, but it remains an excellent and gripping book. The suspense is intense: you'll have trouble to put this book down! Personally, I enjoyed it very much and I'll definitely read other books by this author.

Death du jour

by Kathy Reichs

Crime fiction

Pocket star - 2006

451 pages - 10.99 $

En français ici

Why this book

Because Darling offered it to me for christmas... and he remembered that I love crime fiction!

Summary

Assaulted by the bitter cold of a Montreal winter, the American-born Dr. Temperance Breman, Forensic Anthropologist for the Province of Quebec, digs for a corpse where Sister Elisabeth Nicolet, dead over a century and now a candidate for sainthood, should lie in her grave. A strange, small coffin, buried in the recesses of a decaying church, holds the first clue to the cloistered nun's fate. The puzzle surrounding Sister Elisabeth's life and death provides a welcome contrast to discoveries at a burning chalet, where scorched and twisted bodies await Tempe's professional expertise. Who were these people? What brought them to this gruesome fate? Homicide Detective Andrew Ryan, with whom Tempe has a combustive history, joins her in the arson investigation. From the fire scene they are drawn into the worlds of an enigmatic and controversial professor, a mysterious commune, and a primate colony on a Carolina island.

My opinion

An easy reading. There's a lot of information and it's clear that the author is a forensic anthropologist. This is probably her strength: no smoke and mirrors, but proved forensic techniques. However, I found the text too technical at times. I read the first volume Déjà Dead in English and I struggled to understand everything, but now I know why because even in French, I found it difficult to understand due to tecnical term!

As for the plot, nothing surprising and it's similar to her first volume. I just hope that a member of the Brennan family will not almost die in each book, it would become boring ... The culprit is easily identified, the dialogues are sometimes hollow or too predictable.

Let's be brief

I had a good time reading it, but not a great time. Maybe because I've became a bit difficult after reading some very good writers lately (like Chealsy Cain). Reading Death du jour is a bit like watching a cop show on TV that is good enough to keep you awake, but too predictable to make you want to buy the DVD.

He Lover of Death

by Boris Akunin

Phoenix - 2011

336 pages - 8.56 $

Lu en français ici

Why this book

Quite frankly, I didn't know the author and I bought his book because it was offered at a bargain price in a shop of used books and because it was part of the collection "Great detectives" of 10/18' edition - a French one - which is usually a guarantee of quality.

Summary

Senka Skorikov, orphan and urchin, has been abandoned to the murky world of Moscow's gangster district. While picking a pocket or two, he glimpses the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, and joins the gang of her overlord lover, The Prince, so desperate he is to meet her. Senka climbs the criminal ranks, uncovering a stash of precious metal, and gradually capturing the heart of his beloved Death - so named for the life expectancy of her lovers. But as the bandit community balks at his success on both fronts, threats on his life begin to pour in . A dandy and his 'Chinese' sidekick seem to be taking an inordinate interest in Senka's welfare, and it becomes clear that those threatening Senka are linked to a spate of murders, grizzly even by underworld standards. Fandorin must unweave a tangled web of narcotics, false identities and organised crime - but can he survive an encounter with the ever-alluring Death unscathed? Find out in the darkest Fandorin to date!

What I think about it

I liked the writing style, especially the beginning full of slang. I sometimes had the impression of being in an Audiard's film as dialogues are very imaged (even if it was sometimes difficult to understand). As we go along the rise of Senka, the dialogue becomes more chastened, which makes the book more easy to read and allows us to see Senka's progress in society.

The chapters begin with a title which describe the action to follow, even if sometimes what we imagine is not what happens: the author plays with words to destabilize us and keep us from being too confident about our ability to know in advance what will happen. The titles all contain the name of Senka, since it is through him that we live the story. An example title: "How Senka became mamzelle" (A mamzelle is a prostitute).

The plot goes slowly but surely. Because we follow the investigation through Senka and not Fandorin, we do not have all the cards in the progression of thought. We do not know what the detective does when he's not with Senka, making us witnessing the outcome, so it is difficult to find the culprit by yourself.

Last point to add, this book makes us live from the inside (through Senka) what life in Russia was at that time, with its codes, its hierarchy, its neighborhoods. Life was harsh and corrupt, at least in slums as beautiful areas were protected. It feels a little like in Les Miserables - Russian version - and with an investigation for bonus.

Let's be brief

An author worth reading that allows us to discover a brutal Russia and to enjoy a nearly extinct language nowadays. Besides, I take hats off to Paul Lequesne (the French translator) who did a remarkable job to find the French slang which corresponds to that used by Akunin.

An investigation in which the twists abound. A Russian detective as British as can be. A true atmosphere specific to the author. In short, Akunin, considered the idol of Russian literature, collects readers and I understand why: to try!

Good to know

He Lover of Death is a mirror novel whose double is called She Lover of Death. Both books can be read in any order because the two investigations are conducted at the same time and same place, but with different characters - apart Fandorin and Massa. There are also allusions to the other investigation in He Lover of Death when Fandorin announces that it had to deal with another investigation to explain his absence.

A taste for death

by P. D. James

Adam Dagliesh mysteries no7

Vintage - (reprint edition ) 2005

480 pages - 15.95 $

En français ici

Why this book

Well, mostly because a friend gave it to me and also because it's a crime fiction and the name P. D. James was not unknown to me even if I had never read a book from her. 

Description 

When the quiet Little Vestry of St. Matthew's Church becomes the blood-soaked scene of a double murder, Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh faces an intriguing conundrum: How did an upper-crust Minister come to lie, slit throat to slit throat, next to a neighborhood derelict of the lowest order? Challenged with the investigation of a crime that appears to have endless motives, Dalgliesh explores the sinister web spun around a half-burnt diary and a violet-eyed widow who is pregnant and full of malice--all the while hoping to fill the gap of logic that joined these two disparate men in bright red death. . . .

What I think of it

I found with pleasure the quaint charm of Victorian crime fiction - like in Anne Perry or Agatha Christie - the very decorated mansions, the traditional tea and sandwiches ... For that matter, PD James is very good to bring us into her world. The descriptions are very well done, very realistic, the vocabulary is precise, concise, so it is very easy to imagine the room, the scene or picture the scene described.

The strength of the author, however, is what I least liked in the novel. I'm not a fan of endless and recurring descriptions and this is a very large part of the book. The arrival of Dalgliesh in the widows's lover clinical takes several pages ... no juicy, scathing dialogues full of innuendo as I hoped, but descriptions of each piece Adam passes through, people encountered, paintings on the walls - and not to miss visuals - even what Dalgliesh sees through the window: the gardens of the clinic ie, a patient who walks with a nurse. 

The description is worth, however, when PD James draws a portrait of English high society, but also of gender relations or old age and its implications for the family. The analysis of characters and relationships is so very well done, this is obviously a strong point with the author.

That said, we know the murderer fairly quickly thanks in part to how well the author make us feel the unspoken and discomfort during interrogations - and partly because the Commander Dalgliesh announce it before the end . So no resounding end, not "damn I've never seen it", no reversals shock situations, but still there is a time when one begins to fear for potential victims.

Let's be brief

This is a book where you find the famous British phlegm, but not the famous British humor - as found in the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, for example - to liven up a bit. This is a must read if you prefer the atmosphere to actions and if descriptions delight you. This is a very classical novel, the characters are very well described, but not enough original or spirited to be left with a lasting impression.

Good to know

The novel was awarded the Silver Dagger in 1986. As for P. D. James, she is, according to the Times, the biggest writer of detective novels of our time ...

Bred to Kill by Franck Thilliez

PENGUIN GROUP Viking - Viking Adult (Jan 8 2015)

I had bought it with Syndrom E at the Quebec Book Fair in April 2013 but honestly, if I did not have it I would have run to buy it because of the cliffhanger in the first book. Now I see that it'll be out in English in 2015. Happy you! You'll have the chance to read it... and let me tell you, the wait was worth it!

The blurb

The electrifying sequel to the runaway international bestsellerSyndrome E

Syndrome E’s Lucie Henebelle and Inspector Sharko have reunited to take on the case of the brutal murder of Eva Louts, a promising graduate student who was killed while working at a primate research center outside Paris. But what first appears to be a vicious animal attack soon proves to be something more sinister. What was Eva secretly researching? Was she tracking three fanatical scientists who control a thirty-thousand-year-old virus with plans to unleash it into the world?

With his unmatched ability to inject cutting-edge science into his novels, Thilliez draws on genetics, paleontology, and the dark side of human nature to create this smart, adrenaline-fueled thriller.Bred to Kill moves from the rain-slicked streets of Paris to the heart of the Alps to the remote

Amazon jungle as Lucie and Sharko work to solve the murder—before whoever killed Eva comes for them.

What's good about it

I prefered this book to the first one and by far. First, because I've learned a lot of things on genetic - thank you to the meticulous research done by the author and his real gift to vulgarise complex concepts - then, because I loved to meet again with Lucie and Franck and last because the rythm never faltered and I love that!

We find again Lucie and Franck who succeed once again in drawing their strength from their weaknesses and their rage to lead to end their investigation. I am very surprised by the accuracy of Lucy's portrait, knowing that the author is a man. Some of the questions that Lucie arises seemed legitimate. The author obviously has a good understanding of the female psyche! As for Frank, I was sorry to see him in an even more pitiable condition than in Syndrome [E] (yes, it's possible!) His redemption goes through his support to Lucy. In short, very realistic and well-written characters.

Another strong point of the novel is the fierce struggle of a cop to bring down Frank. Honestly, there was a moment - or two - where I really wanted to hit him! The relationships between the characters are so well written that when that cop lashes out at Franck, we believe it, we're experiencing it and we are not happy!

Regarding the story, I loved it! What I like in a good thriller is that the explanation is plausible, credible and intelligible. Here, the three qualities are present. Thilliez explains genetics in a clear and understandable way, and the facts are proven. So - in my opinion - it's a guarantee of quality. And then - again in that story - we travel, this time in Brazil. That's when I thought that the author does not fancy heat! Whether in Egypt for the previous volume or here in Brazil, its painful description of the heat makes me think he prefers colder temperatures. But hats off to the way he made me feel sweaty!

The pace of this novel is intense, it's a race to find a group of individuals who show a violence that wasn't seen since Cro-magnon and the mastermind behind it all. Each track leads to a (bad) surprise and drags them along, taking us with them in an investigation as dangerous as scientific.

Let's be brief

A book I've read even faster than the first one, which I liked even more and that I recommend without hesitation. With Gataca, you'll never look left-handed people in the same way...

Syndrome E

by Franck Thilliez (Marc Polizzotti, translator)

Thriller

Viking Adult 2012

384 pages - 28.50 $

Lu en français ici

Why this book

A friend of mine gave me La chambre des morts by Thilliez last year and I really liked it. When I went to Quebec Book Fair last April and came by the Pocket stand, I heard my name "buy us !" the books were begging me. So, you know, I've bought 3 of them (yeah, each passionate reader has already heard the call of the book, right?)

Summary

Already a runaway bestseller in France, Syndrome E tells the story of beleaguered detective Lucie Hennebelle, whose old friend has developed a case of spontaneous blindness after watching an extremely rare - and violent - film from the 1950s. Embedded in the film are subliminal images so unspeakably heinous that Lucie realizes she must get to the bottom of it - especially when nearly everyone who comes into contact with the film starts turning up dead.

Enlisting the help of Inspector Franck Sharko - a brooding, broken analyst for the Paris police who is exploring the film’s connection to five murdered men left in the woods, Lucie begins to strip away the layers of what is perhaps the most disturbing and powerful film ever made. Soon Sharko and Lucie find themselves mired in a darkness that spreads across politics, religion, science, and art while stretching from France to Canada, Egypt to Rwanda, and beyond. And just who is responsible for this darkness will blow readers minds, as Syndrome E forces them to consider: what if the earliest and most brilliant advances and discoveries of neuroscience were not used for good - but for evil.

With this taut U.S. debut, Thilliez explores the origins of violence through cutting-edge and popular science in a breakneck thriller rich with shocking plot twists and profound questions about the nature of humanity.

What I think of it

That's a book you'll read real quickly (less than a week for me). I was taken by its fast-paced rythm, in part due - in my opinion - to the alternating chapters, each one telling the story through one of the two protagonists (Lucie and Franck). I appreciate that form of story which makes a dynamic book. It's like watching a movie, some people like to see the story through the same character and others - like me - like to know more characters. 

The story in itself was not surprising but I enjoy the technical details - yes, for once I enjoyed them - about film and the history of Quebec. Franck did a really good research which makes the story more effective. I did not feel overwhelmed by the amount of information which is good because when I read a thriller, its the story and the interaction I prefer. One must admit Thilliez's talent to popularise. He can introduce complex notions while making them easy to understand. It gives a good basis for reflexion or, at leat, it gives us the feeling of being included in the investigation. 

I picked up a repetition of the same sentence which I've found pleasant and maybe done on purpose. In the French book, page 62, the anthropologist ask Sharko how he should explain the case. The sentence is "on se la fait comment. Simple ou compliquée ?" - which gives in English : how are we doing this? Simple or complicated?" And page 76, the restorer of film asks the same question, using the same sentence, to Lucie. Was it a disguised way of letting us know that this two detectives will share something?

Lovers of conspiracy will love that book. For my part, I was a bit disappointed by the demeanour of the story. I though "rooo... too easy, it could have been better, it's deja-vu" and it's a pity because the story could have been exceptional. Aside from that I grew fond of Lucie and Franck, two tormented souls including a schizophrenic one - which is not common.

I've appreciated Franck's dark side and Lucie's struggle between her daughters and her job. The struggle is already lost by her daughters as we feel her visceral need to hunt the beast - or the killer in that case. I was watching The Killing and Lucie resembles the cop, Sarah Linden, who is so obsessed by her job that she neglects her son and her own life. As for Franck, his Nutty side is new in my case, more accustomed to flawless cops - save for alcohol, women and games of course! So I particularly appreciated his character. 

The epilogue is predictable, you know something is about to happen. My mother's heart shared the same fear than Lucie. And the inevitable happened, it was certain. And yet I shouted "NO, HE CAN'T END HIS BOOK LIKE THAT!" 

Yes he can and he did it. Fortunately, I had bough the sequel (Gattaca) simultaneously. Beware of the cliffhanger!

Let's be brief

A fast-paced book you'll devour. An easy reading thanks to the fluidity of the text. 

Good to know

Franck Thilliez  is the author of several bestselling novels in his native France. This is his first novel to be translated into English in the United States.

Mark Polizzotti is the translator of more than thirty books from the French. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal  and The Nation.