Category Archives: Garry Disher

Books of the Month – September 2011

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After a bit of a slump during August I seemed to find my reading mojo again in September, getting through a reasonable number of books and, more importantly, finding many of them to be outstanding.

In the end I gave my book of the month award to a haunting African tale that I read at the start of September because I simply cannot get its story of the evil motivation for the death of a young girl out of my mind. Unity Dow‘s The Screaming of the Innocent  is set in the author’s native Botswana and tells a harrowing tale about a young girl who goes missing, the men who are responsible and the ease with which they engineer a cover up of their actions. It is emotionally harrowing (the ending particularly so) but not gratuitously so and it has flashes of beauty, bravery and humour amongst the sadness.

Other recommended reads from the month are:

Gianrico Carofiglio‘s A Walk in the Dark which tells the tale of an Italian lawyer who takes on the case of a battered woman who no one else will help because her ex-boyfriend is the son of a judge is a marvellous read. It makes me happy to think that my delay in finding this wonderful author means there are already several more books by him ready and waiting just for me. 4.5 stars

Detective Inspector Huss by Helen Tursten was one of the great Swedish novels I read in the month. Göteburg police investigate the death of a wealthy businessman in a superb example of the socially aware police procedural. Some of the story tangents and dead ends were as interesting as the main event and the characters are excellent. 4.5 stars.

Fool’s Republic by Gordon W. Dale tells the story of a man incarcerated and tortured as part of the ‘war on terror’. I was impressed with the understated way the author tackled this difficult subject, eschewing the temptation for overt preaching or simplification of the issues. I didn’t think the first person narrative was quite as successful but overall an entertaining and thought-provoking novel. 3 stars.

Misterioso by Arne Dahl is one of 3 books set in Sweden I read this month and while I found it a bit awkward to get into I did enjoy it overall. Having read them so close together I couldn’t help but compare this debut police procedural with Tursten’s (above) and I did not think this one quite as well plotted but still a very engaging story about a series of murders of high-profile business men. 3.5 stars

Sister by Rosamund Lupton would probably have been better off if it hadn’t been shoe-horned into the whodunnit genre as the parts of the book that work superbly are the depictions of two fragile familial relationships (two sisters and a mother and daughter) and a delicately painted portrait of grief. Frankly the crime-y bits of the story were clunky. 3.5 stars.

The Donor by Helen Fitzgerald tackles the hideous premise of a father with twin daughters both needing life-saving kidney transplants with deliciously dark humour to ensure the book doesn’t fall into the misery-lit category that one-line synopsis could otherwise suggest. 4 stars.

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney is a novel about a gypsy family and the man hired to find out what happened to one of their members. One of two narrators is a 14 year old gypsy lad known as JJ and he the star of this thoughtful novel (though mainstream reviews would suggest I am in the minority as someone who liked the book). 4 stars.

The News Where You Are by Catherine O’Flynn wasn’t quite as good as O’Flynn’s first novel which I fell in love with earlier this year but only because that book was something extra special. I still thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a melancholic English newsreader who starts to worry about the death of an old friend. A treatise on the downside of valuing looks over substance if ever there was one. 4.5 stars.

The Ottoman Hotel is a debut novel by Christopher Currie and is set in a small Australian town. It tells the story of a young boy whose parents disappear while they are all on holidays and its evocative writing style made for a quick, engaging and nicely unpredictable read. 3.5 stars.

Until Thy Wrath Be Past is the latest instalment of the Rebecka Martinsson series by Asa Larsson. Rebecka becomes involved in the investigation of the death of a young girl whose body is found a long way from where she died and the case turns out to be connected to events from many years earlier. 4.5 stars.

Whispering Death by Garry Disher is one of the most cleverly constructed novels I’ve read in a very long time and has well developed characters and a gentle undertone of social commentary to book. There are far too many story threads to them justice in a brief summary; you’ll just have to read the book. 4.5 stars.

The meh reads for this month were:

Ian Rankin‘s The Complaints (I know, I know I’m the only one who doesn’t ‘get’ Rankin) and Nigel McCrery‘s Scream (gratuitous gore).

I also listened to Dick Francis‘ Second Wind narrated by the always brilliant Tony Britton and while not a meh book in the sense I usually mean it, I do find it hard to come up with something new to say about the 40+ Francis novels which are all, essentially, the same.

Other happenings at the blog

I celebrated a year of eBook reading which has been a mostly positive experience aside from the appalling customer service received from the Sony corporation and the fact that the ever-present geographic restrictions are more of a problem in the eBook world than with physical books. I am however still hopeful of having virtually no physical books at all to read (and worry about finding homes for afterwards) within four years.

I continued to celebrate women crime writers for #SinC25, this time focusing on those who write historical crime fiction which features strong female characters. I propose it’s easy to understand the temptation to write such books given that in much factual history the role of women is often ignored.

a last word…

I’m going to pick up a couple of physical books next week, both new titles by Australian authors. One is the sixth novel in Kerry Greenwood’s fun Corrina Chapman series and the other is the debut novel by Y A Erskine. Australian publishers generally charge the same for eBooks as they do for the equivalent physical books which in one of these cases is $33...an amount I simply refuse to pay for something I don’t really own. I do wish these people would wake up but until they do I’ll borrow most of my Aussie reads from the library (think of the lost sales) and pick up a handful on special or using vouchers.

What about you…was September a good reading month? Did you have a favourite book? Or did you acquire anything you’re itching to read? Any issue you need to get off your chest?

Crime Fiction Alphabet: V is for Victoria (the bit of Australia not the Queen)

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I have neglected the last couple of alphabet letters but it can’t be helped: day-job workload and a dead computer reduced my blogging in recent weeks. Unfortunately I’ve chosen to return to the meme for a pesky letter of the alphabet for which I could think of only two subjects to discuss. One is a theme common to crime fiction but is a word I can never spell correctly and the other is a state in Australia that I am meant to be at war with. I’ve chosen to go with Victoria, the state of Australia that we South Australians are taught to hate from birth (it’s all to do with sport which is a subject that bores me witless) but which is home to some of the best crime fiction in the country. Victoria is a small state in the south-east of the country and its capital city is Melbourne.

As far as I know Carolyn Morwood only wrote two novels featuring Marlo Shawe who is a professional cricketer and amateur sleuth based in Melbourne but I enjoyed them both and would like to know what happened to this author. In the second of the books, 2002′s A Simple Death, Marlo finds a homeless man who has been bludgeoned to death and her boss becomes a suspect in the case.

One of the world’s earliest mystery stories is Fergus Hume‘s 1893 tale Mystery of a Hansom Cab in which a hansom cab driver finds his passenger has been poisoned and has died during their journey. I think I read this book many years ago but I picked up a new copy last year when a new publisher released it in a spiffy leather-ish binding.

Garry Disher has two crime series which are both set in Victoria. The novels featuring Detective Inspector Hal Challis and Sergeant Ellen Destry take place in and around the Mornington Peninsula, one of the state’s holiday destinations. The first novel of the series is 1999′s The Dragon Man which involves the investigation into a series of assaults on women and takes place across a blistering Australian summer (fans of the series take note, Disher’s website says there’s a new instalment of this series with a working title of Whispering Death due this year)

Jarad Henry has written two books set in Victoria. I haven’t read the first, Head Shot, which is about a drug squad detective who is accused of murdering a gangland figure who killed a policeman but I did read the second novel to feature the same detective as its central character. Blood Sunset takes place across a sweltering Melbourne summer in which bushfires ring the city and detective Rubens McCauley investigates the death of a young runaway. Melbourne, warts and all, is a distinct character in this terrific novel (more rumours, via tweets from the emerging writer’s festival held in Melbourne recently, are that Jarad Henry’s third novel will be out later this year)

Kerry Greenwood’s historical series starring Phyrne Fisher features the Melbourne of the 1920′s while her Corinna Chapman series takes place in the present day, inner-city version of the place. While the series is definitely at the lighter end of the crime fiction spectrum it does present a very recognisable Melbourne, including some of its darker elements (fact this time, Greenwood’s historical series and its Victorian setting will be brought to television next year).

Leigh Redhead‘s protagonist is Melbourne based former stripper Simone Kirsch. In her first outing, 2004′s Peepshow, Kirsch has enrolled in a course at security college (she won’t be accepted into the police force due to her former career) and becomes involved in the hunt for the kidnappers of one of her old dancing colleagues. This series shows off the seedier side of life in Melbourne .

Lindy Cameron‘s trilogy featuring Melbourne-based private detective Kit O’Malley is a treat. The first book in the series, Blood Guilt (1999), uses another sweltering Australian summer (trust me this is an almost annual occurrence so it’s not surprising to see the weather as a recurring theme) as the backdrop for a philandering husband investigation which turns into a hunt for a murderer.

Peter Klein brings the world of Victorian horse-racing to life in his series of novels featuring John Punter, a professional gambler and amateur detective. These novels have a real ring of authenticity due to Klein’s long history with the racing world in which he started as a strapper. Although racing takes place everywhere in the country (we are a nation of gamblers after all) it is the Melbourne Cup that, quite literally, stops the country on the first Tuesday each November and Klein draws out this aspect of Victoria’s life very well in novels such as Punter’s Turf.

Peter Temple made his home in Victoria after leaving his native South Africa and spending time in several places (including Sydney) and most of his crime fiction is set in the state. His quartet of novels featuring lawyer/gambler/private detective Jack Irish paint a picture of Melbourne that you’d swear could only have been drawn by someone born and bred there. It’s the little things, like the lamenting of the old-timers for the loss of the football clubs they knew and understood, that make Temple’s Melbourne come alive.

Melbourne is also home to one of the few writers of Australian crime caper novels I can think of. Shane Maloney‘s series featuring political aide and bumbling amateur sleuth Murray Whelan is based in Melbourne. Melbourne certainly seems to be the home of comedy in Australia (it boasts one of the world’s largest and most influential comedy festivals) so perhaps it’s not surprising it is also home to some fictional crime comedy.

Have you read any of these crime tales set in Victoria? or have I missed your favourite crime fiction set in Victoria? Do tell in the comments

Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise is hosting the crime fiction alphabet meme which requires the posting of an article relating to the letter of the week. Do join in the fun by reading the posts and/or contributing one of your own. You don’t have to write every week.

Out Of Step

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Yesterday’s announcement of the shortlist for the Ned Kelly Awards for Australian crime fiction* reminded me, once again, that I am generally out of step with the rest of humanity (or at least judging panels) when it comes to book awards.

Of the three books shortlisted in the best fiction category for this year’s awards I rated Michael Robotham’s Bleed for Me a disappointing 2 out of 5 and failed to finish Garry Disher’s Wyatt. I haven’t yet tackled Lenny Bartulin’s The Black Russian so can make no personal judgement about that one.

In my opinion the best work of Australian crime fiction for the eligible period is Peter Temple’s Truth but it was not considered, apparently at the request of Temple himself, but even taking that into consideration there are several books on the longlist that I think are better than those selected and a couple that didn’t even make it that far.

It’s not only Australian award givers with which I am out of step. I’ve recently read the winner of this year’s Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year and found it the opposite of everything the judging panel said it was and the winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for best novel which was a decent read but not, in my opinion, the best of those on the shortlist. Even the winner of this years International Dagger Award for best translated crime fiction wasn’t my personal favourite of the shortlisted novels (though it is a superb novel). I don’t even have much luck with non-crime related awards as I have only gotten a third of the way through the winner of last year’s Man Booker Prize despite it being a work of historical fiction about a period I enjoy. Sigh.

I’m no longer surprised when my opinions don’t match those of the people who matter but the fact that it happens with alarming regularity is the reason I rarely seek out books that are shortlisted for or have won awards. Whether it’s because I don’t have a clue what makes a good book (entirely possible) or because it’s all a pretty subjective game of chance in the end, choosing books by virtue of the accolades that have been showered upon them doesn’t really work for me.

What about you? Do you deliberately look for books that have won awards? Do you have more luck than I do when it comes to award winners? Do you think some awards panels set out to make controversial choices to generate discussion and, if you do, is that a bad thing?

*I deliberately haven’t linked to the Awards website, it is utterly devoid of useful information though appears to be undergoing a revamp which I assume (hope) will be completed before the announcement of the winners next month.