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84th out of 148 books
—
88 voters
Still Waters: A Mystery
When the badly decayed body of an elderly woman is unearthed, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie and his sergeant, Emma Bradbury, are called in on the case. The body provides only two mysterious clues to the identity of the murderer: someone with a deadly knowledge of household plants used shears to clip the fingertips off the corpse's right hand. But this dearth of ev...more
Hardcover, 275 pages
Published
July 15th 2008
by Pantheon
(first published August 2nd 2007)
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Still Waters is a solid murder mystery with some interesting aspects. The protagonist is a detective who has synaethesia (he tastes sounds), which prevents him from functioning normally. The murderer is an elderly woman who poisons other elderly women. This isn't a "whodunit" since we spend half the book with her, but the mystery lies in how the police will connect the initial body to her and track her down before she can do more damage.
Nothing knocked me over, but I did enjoy the unusual chara...more
Nothing knocked me over, but I did enjoy the unusual chara...more
A very young girl witnesses a horrible crime committed by a person in her family that should have loved and protected her. This event so warped this girl that she went on throughout her entire life committing crime after crime. Her murder weapon is not a knife or a gun. Her weapon is her knowledge of common plants that any of us might have in our garden. But the plants can kill if handled in the proper manner.
The girl, now a woman, has many names. It is amazing that she can keep track of who she...more
The girl, now a woman, has many names. It is amazing that she can keep track of who she...more
This is a very different mystery novel. Main character DCI Mark Lapslie gets called off sick leave when a traffic accident brings a body to light. Mark doesn't understand why he would be linked with this case. He's been off on leave due to his acute synaesthesia. Mark's version of this means that sounds set off tastes for him. The sensory overload at work was too stressful, and the condition has even affected his marriage.
Both voices and other sounds trigger the tastes and sometimes they are ext...more
Both voices and other sounds trigger the tastes and sometimes they are ext...more
As the result of a car accident, the decayed body of an elderly woman is unearthed in the woods. Detective Mark Lapslie is assigned to the case called in from sick leave. He suffers from a rare neurological condition, synaesthesia, which causes him to taste sound. There is no cure for this condition and having it causes him to lose his marriage, relationships with friends and colleagues, and, most importantly, could cost him his career. For example, when working in the detective room at the poli...more
This is a modern day British mystery in the best sense. It sometimes feels as if you’re watching an episode of Mystery Theatre on PBS. Mark Lapslie is a DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) that has been placed on extended medical leave due to a neurological dysfunction called synaesthesia, a condition whereby certain sounds create tastes that are often so overwhelming that Lapslie has become somewhat of a recluse. His condition is overlooked, however, when it appears that a serial killer may be on t...more
When you are in the mood for an Agatha Christie like murder mystery then this book is for you. With a twist of course, as DCI Mark Lapslie, our lead inspector, lives in a daily hell. He has a condition called, synaesthesia, where he "taste" sounds. Like when somebody speaks to him he gets the taste of lime on his tongue or the laughter of his kids taste like vanilla. So of course his life hasn't been very pleasant in the last couple of years. He has been off of work almost a year, when he gets a...more
All fictional detectives are flawed in some way - the alcoholic, embittered, divorced loner is typical - which is what makes them interesting. McCrery's detective has a unique flaw in that he suffers from synesthesia - a neurological condition where the senses are wrongly stimulated, in his case sounds cause him to have different taste sensations - the cell phone ring is an agreeable dark chocolate, other sound-taste conjunctions are not as delightful. He could not tolerate the noise of his chil...more
a good crime novel and a true page-turner. only took about a day and a half to finish, mainly because of the split perspective. whenever the bit with the woman was over i wanted to know how far the detective got and how his team reacted. read like a tv episode, and incidentally, that's what the author also earns money with. it had an interesting plot with a woman killing other old (and never missed) women and taking on their identities. the explanation at the end was a bit "convenient", but that...more
PROTAGONIST: DCI Mark Lapslie
SETTING: London
RATING: 3.75
Nigel McCrery has taken an interesting approach in this debut of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie. The book is almost equally a psychological thriller and a police procedural. I was fascinated by the lead villain in the tale, an absolutely unique serial killer. And the police protagonist is also unusual, suffering from a rare malady that heavily impacts his personal and professional life.
First to our serial kill...more
SETTING: London
RATING: 3.75
Nigel McCrery has taken an interesting approach in this debut of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie. The book is almost equally a psychological thriller and a police procedural. I was fascinated by the lead villain in the tale, an absolutely unique serial killer. And the police protagonist is also unusual, suffering from a rare malady that heavily impacts his personal and professional life.
First to our serial kill...more
STILL WATERS (Police Procedural-Mark Lapslie-England-Cont) – G+
McCrery, Nigel – Standalone
Quercus, 2007, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 1847240747
First Sentence: “Granny, what are these?” shouted Kate.
*** Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie and Sergeant Emma Bradbury are called to the scene of a car accident, but that’s not the reason they are there. The accident uncovered the decomposed body of a woman. Lapslie, doesn’t understand why the crime is why the case has been assigned to him. Lapslie suffers...more
McCrery, Nigel – Standalone
Quercus, 2007, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 1847240747
First Sentence: “Granny, what are these?” shouted Kate.
*** Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie and Sergeant Emma Bradbury are called to the scene of a car accident, but that’s not the reason they are there. The accident uncovered the decomposed body of a woman. Lapslie, doesn’t understand why the crime is why the case has been assigned to him. Lapslie suffers...more
Liked the cat and mouse approach --that your getting this story for two view points. That you see the killer in action, you see the investigation in action. Reminded me of something Ruth Rendell would write minus the Rendell prose and plus more shock. Liked the detective's malady and his relationships. Actually, all the characters were very belieavable interested and it moved at a nice clipped pace. Could have done with a little more wrap up. The wheels turns so well and then they just stop.
whew - when an actual novel (as opposed to a graphic novel) is gripping enough to achieve one-day-read status in this house dominated by the two-year-old, you know you have something good on your hands.
a woman broken in childhood by a terror beyond comprehension. a detective broken by the slow accumulation of sensation associated with his synesthesia (a neurological disorder in which the sufferer's nerve responses are crossed - in this case, the detective tastes sound). even though mccrery's nov...more
a woman broken in childhood by a terror beyond comprehension. a detective broken by the slow accumulation of sensation associated with his synesthesia (a neurological disorder in which the sufferer's nerve responses are crossed - in this case, the detective tastes sound). even though mccrery's nov...more
technically, I did not finish this book. I liked the murder aspect and I found the murderer's character intriguing, but McCrery chose to alter perspective by chapter and I did not like Lapslie. I found the police side obnoxious and at times irrelevant. On a sidenote, the spelling is heavily influenced by British spellings which caught me off guard as I noticed extra letters and the mysterious disappearance of the letter "z".
Exciting, riveting mystery with a sudden, unsatisfying ending.
The characters are fantastically well-developed, the plot carries the reader along on a grand adventure, and the sentence structure and writing inspires awe at times throughout the book--all in all, a great read.
I only wish there had been a final chapter to wrap things up. All the reader gets is death at the end--no resolution or justice.
The characters are fantastically well-developed, the plot carries the reader along on a grand adventure, and the sentence structure and writing inspires awe at times throughout the book--all in all, a great read.
I only wish there had been a final chapter to wrap things up. All the reader gets is death at the end--no resolution or justice.
This went well enough - a serial killer steps into the shoes of the elderly women that she's killed, trying to keep herself safe from her sadistic (but dead) granny - but didn't really stand out. Polished, smooth, and a page-turner, I have nothing bad to say about the book, other than "I had to think for a minute before I could remember what this was about."
This book opens with a gruesome scene, and then plays out over the rest as a very creepy unfolding. The murderers side of the equation is well portrayed, but the police are less well fleshed out. The protagonist has a condition that is not well described adn I suspect will play a bigger role in other novels.
Started out promising but failed to deliver in my opinion. The synethesiac detective seemed to be an attempt to create a memorable character. Supporting characters were weak. Entertaining for a rainy afternoon or two.
I loved every moment of this story. The start jumps straight into the action and the point of everything. There was no messaging around.
The story captures you and keeped me interested the whole way through.
The story captures you and keeped me interested the whole way through.
(3.5 stars)
An unexpected mix of 'cozy' mystery (a la Agatha Christie) and modern killer investigation - sort of if Jeff Lindsay wrote for BBC's Wire in the Blood. Or perhaps is Thomas Harris wrote murderous old ladies.
An unexpected mix of 'cozy' mystery (a la Agatha Christie) and modern killer investigation - sort of if Jeff Lindsay wrote for BBC's Wire in the Blood. Or perhaps is Thomas Harris wrote murderous old ladies.
I generally liked the British settings and the characters and plot of this mystery. I really liked the weapon of choice of the murderer and how the murderer made use of it in so many ways throughout the story. I wasn't thrilled with the switching back and forth of the viewpoints, though. I enjoyed this book up until the very end. The ending was a little bit of a let down, it was just too simple a conclusion.
I hope to see another book by this author that further develops the characters of Detect...more
I hope to see another book by this author that further develops the characters of Detect...more
Gruesome! But well written. Discovered this writer also wrote the Sam Ryan mysteries. Loves the tv show Silent Witness. Ordered a couple of the books to read on paperbackswap.
A solid English serial murder mystery with an interesting detective, DCI Mark Lapslie who suffers from synaesthesia which causes him to taste sounds.
Fairly entertaining but a bit slow even with all of the death. But the various poisons were interesting!! I wonder if an agency like PRU really exists???
Not a bad book, I picked it up at the dollar store. I liked the unique topic of a serial killer using different plant poisons to murder. The first chapter is definately an attention getter and makes you want to read on but I think it is the best chapter in the book. All in all a good quick read.
I like to read British suspense novels. This author is very good.
Will check out his other novels.
Will check out his other novels.
Just remember that English from England is a different language than American English. =)
A good British murder mystery. It had an odd lead detective and I liked the way it was written.
excellent beginning. Didn't sustain that kind of momentum but then again, what does?
Interesting murder mystery, a page turner. Set in the UK. The book was hard to put down.
thus far, very creepy...
ended up being creepy. Interesting copper who tastes sounds.
ended up being creepy. Interesting copper who tastes sounds.
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| How Sick and Crazed was this?!!!!!! | 2 | 6 | Nov 02, 2012 09:56am |
Sep 08, 2011 12:01pm