Roo I. MacLeod's Blog, page 3

I find People

The Killing Fields by Mason Cross is good. It has bucket loads of Mason Cross suspense, two good characters as protagonists and two particularly good baddies. Of course you are led by the nose to hate the serial killer, but the clever twist, though not too hard to guess, gives the tale a rich depth.

The story is told from three viewpoints. Carter, I find people, Blake narrates in the first person. But the FBI girl, Elaine, single mother, Banner and the bad man Caleb, one shot, Wardell have their views told in the third person. Caleb is a convicted serial killer, escaped from prison with a preconceived agenda to kill for effect. Carter Blake has been brought in by the FBI to find the man before too many people die. I thought the three pronged attack on the story worked well and offered a new take on the multiple narration. It varied the story, broke it up and gave each view a fresh perspective.

I especially liked the FBI female agent as a protagonist. I think Mason Cross gives this girl depth that allows you to cheer and hope, not only that she survives, but that she will lead you to safety.

If you like Jack Reacher then you'll like this Carter Blake character. He's hard, he’s got a military past, though its sort of fuzzy in detail. But I think, as Reacher’s gone sort of soft and needs his female protagonist to help him these days, I think this new hard man could be a good fit for the new guard of crime fighters. His catch phrase 'I find people' is a good concept and will lead to many more tales.

The Killing Season only has one fault, like Lee Child Mason Cross feels a need for a bedding before the climax. It's tame and unnecessary.

Liked this a lot. Well done Mason Cross.
Mason Cross

Nordic Not

Cinderella Girl

Nordic Not

Don't you live for a page turner?
Seriously I do. I want every book to slap me when I think about putting it down. I want the world to go take a dump somewhere else because I'm busy. That's what I want from a book, a film or a song even.

And I'd read good things about Cinderella Girl. One reviewer, the reason I bought the damn book, told me he read it in a day. The world stopped, time immobile and impossible to put down, he said and that is high praise, eh?

So we have three threads here. A child called Hanna is abandoned, her mother run off with her baby brother and her father away on business. A young girl is murdered on a ferry trip between Sweden and Finland called the Cinderella. And a mother pushing a child in a pram is mown down and left for dead. That's the story. And I like it. A lot going on, and I know that's going to tax my brain cells, and maybe push them to the limit, but I'm up for the challenge.

And there are a load of coppers having issues of their own. I don't want to belittle the rape, or the harassment, but rather than add to the story it seems to clatter about in the background like a load of noise. And somehow they stumble on a sole killer to take the wrap for all three threads of intrigue.

Listen, I love the Nordic Noir, but I felt no warmth to this tale. I did worry about Hanna, the three year old child abandoned in a third floor apartment, but I cared nowt for anyone else. This was hard work and the revelation moment, you know that point where you think ‘No’ or ‘Wow’ never came for me.

One reviewer suggested you should read these books in order but that sucks. It’s a stand alone book. There is no number on the cover, there is no series link. I shouldn’t have to sleep with one of the coppers to understand what is going on. It wasn’t obvious for me and I felt no compassion for the backstory that was going on with the coppers. They came across as Keystone cops without the slap stick humor.

I know I’m being tough, but this plot is turgid. And, apart from Hannah, the wee child abandoned in the apartment and the old bird trying to save her, the rest of the ensemble meant nothing to me. Frankly, my dear I just didn't give a damn.

And I had no problem putting the book down. It took me a month to read.