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LADY MIDNIGHT
It's summertime so my head turns to YA fiction to get away from the pressure of "grown up" books - that's an insult to some of the YA fiction that outstrips the so-called mainstream novels by a country mile and especially when it comes to addressing social issues and generating a useful conversation, but in my case it simply means I'm too old to emotionally empathise with the romantic dilemmas and so I get to focus on the story.
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SLEEPING BEAUTIES
Apart from the fact that a Stephen King novel is almost always an entertaining read, what attracted me to this novel was the notion of a father/son collaboration. I hadn't read any of Owen King's other work, comedy not being one of my areas of interest, and it appealed to me to see what his influence on the story might be. I also thought the focus on absent women and the possibility of looking at what men might do if this ever came to pass (okay I know it's not likely, but maybe it would be a scaled up version of what it would be like if all the women in one's family left for some or various reasons).
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INCEPTION
IN A SENTENCE: A mind-bending intelligent sci-fi thriller that keeps you on your toes from the first scene to the last.
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XMEN – APOCALYPSE
IN A SENTENCE: The re-emerging Xmen must do battle with an all-powerful mutant to save the world and themselves (and the franchise of course).
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STALLO
Secret societies, conspiracies, kidnapping and trolls, yes trolls, sure what else would you need to create a seriously literate supernatural thriller? Throw into the mix the varied and mythical landscape of Sweden and characters that are both immediately everyday and extraordinary, and you get a novel that makes you want to read at double speed just to see what happens next.
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THE WHITE ROAD
In this the fourth Charlie Parker outing, John Connolly takes a definite step nearer to the supernatural. The move from Maine to the deep south adds another flavour to the tale and allows Connolly's lyrical style to flourish. He makes good use of the combination of standard crime thriller and supernatural horror story to maintain his own brand of thriller.
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THE TREES
I have to confess it was the amazing cover that attracted me to this book in the first place. It deserves to be framed and put on a wall so that every time you pass it by you can pause and see something new that appeals to your eye. Happily the novel, The Trees, actually lives up to the cover and in many ways is equally appealing on a visual level. The descriptives passages immerse you in the forest setting without distracting in any way from the story itself.
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THE KILLING KIND
The third instalment in the Charlie Parker detective series introduces us to Elias Pudd and his secret weapon of eight-legged assassins. A long-time arachnophobe I squirmed my way through the passages where Pudd does his dirty work. Enough to keep me awake and begging for more.
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DARK HOLLOW
The second in the Charlie Parker series is every bit as chilling and thrilling as the debut novel. Connolly, rather cheekily some might think, manages to move his hero to Maine and then turn the dial up on the supernatural elements of the tale. Cheeky because the master of horror, Stephen King, based his tales of the unexpected in Maine also. The risk paid off though and this novel holds its own in comparison to anything King has produced.
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EVERY DEAD THING
Charlie 'Bird' Parker is as robust a detective fiction character as any of the greats - including Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade and Harry Bosch - with a complexity that satisfies the reader and avoids any of the cliches. Parker is a sympathetic bad boy with a reason for revenge and an unapologetic approach to how he achieves it. Former cop turned less than stunningly successful private eye, he takes on the real world villains while searching for the focus of his vengeful anger.
