Showing posts with label Suspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suspense. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Friction
- By Sandra Brown
Crawford Hunt is a Texas Ranger, who is recovering from his grief over losing his wife in a car accident. In the aftermath of loss, he takes up drinking, loses perspective of life, relinquishes custody of his daughter to his in-laws. But, one day, he wakes up determined to take control of his life and to get his daughter back. But his in-laws, particularly Joe Gilroy, his father-in-law, is fighting tooth and nail against him, for giving up custody of his granddaughter. His fate resides in the hands of Judge Holly Spencer, who though can sense the obvious love between Crawford and his daughter, is still wary of his past. During his custody hearing, a masked gunman walks in shooting randomly and kills the bailiff. Crawford, as was his natural instinct, protects the judge from a bullet and kicks the gunman on the knee. In the scramble that follows, the gunman escapes the courtroom, with a pursuing Crawford Hunt. The gunman, seemingly escapes to the roof and Crawford Hunt, tries to convince him to put his weapon down, which he does not listen to. The gunman shoots and misses the officer following Crawford hunt and is taken down by a SWAT team sniper. With his thoughtless act of running behind an armed gunman, without back up, seems to have put a black mark on his custody hearing and the odds of him getting his daughter back dwindle down.
Holly Spencer is an ambitious judge, temporarily presiding bench and is currently campaigning for judgeship. Post shooting incident, recovering from the jitters of shock and disbelief and confronting her fears in her own home, she is visited by Crawford, who questions her about the shooter and probes about his case. In the emotional outburst that follows, Holly is left sobbing and is comforted by Crawford, which eventually leads to a romantic interlude that leaves both of them in a compromising state. When the police investigation leads to the fact that the gunman shooting in the courtroom and the gunman shot by the SWAT team are different and that the shooter is still at large, there are bigger things at stake than just their feelings for each other.
The story that follows is a thrilling page turner of suspense, hot headedness mixed with jealousy and a bit of pettiness. The bits and pieces of the past thrown for each character, gives a bit of depth to each character. The story progresses at a break neck pace. Though the perpetrator shows his hand early, it’s the reason behind the shooting that keeps the novel moving forward. Thrown in between are few scenes between Crawford Hunt and his daughter Georgia, which were sweet and realistic, keeping an undercurrent of emotion running throughout the novel.
What I did not like in the novel are the romantic interludes between Crawford hunt and Holly, though they were well written, just did not seem to bind the story well enough. If I have to be picky, Joe Gilroy’s emotional anger and his actions to win the custody hearing were petty and irritating. The police offer leading the investigation of the shooter needed a regular boot up his ass, but then, that did not happen quite regularly enough. And my biggest disappointment was that the ending was a bit too far-fetched and certainly not to my liking.
However, despite the ending, the book is still worth a read for all suspense lovers. There is thrill, there is mystery and there are characters that steal your heart. So, give it a go!!
Happy Reading Fella readers!!
Friday, March 27, 2015
The Good Girl
- By Mary Kubica
I have to say, I have a hate-like relation with this book. I read the book in one sitting, could not close it and let it be, at any point during my read. But, the more I think about it, the more I dislike it.
This book is about Mia Dennett, who was kidnapped and forced to live in a cabin by the abductor, Colin Thatcher. Eve and James, Mia's mother and father, seem to handle this abduction in two different ways; one with guilt and other with disbelief. Grace, Mia's sister, copes with this with her detached indifference. When finally found by the cops, Mia insists that her name is Chloe and that she does not remember much of anything else. Gabe, the investigator, seems to spend days waiting for information, while Mia seems to develop empathetic feelings towards her captor.
The characters were just flat out boring. Eve Dennett was the easiest to connect with, but certainly not to my liking. James Dennett was beyond annoying. Gabe was pathetic, Grace has a graceful mention, while Colin was just too unbelievable to be true and Mia, well, just falls flat. The more I think about characters, the more irked I am with them.
The story was told in three POV, with mix tense, the present ongoing story interspersed with past to unravel the in-between. While the story keeps the interest alive through the scores of pages, my issue is that this mix of past and present did not just click with the story. There were no good twists to the tale and the story was a bit flat, albeit slightly emotional. The final twist looked more as an after thought than part of the story.
Not the sort of book I would recommend to people. While it certainly makes a captivating read, it just is not compelling enough to feel that there is something amiss if not read.
I have to say, I have a hate-like relation with this book. I read the book in one sitting, could not close it and let it be, at any point during my read. But, the more I think about it, the more I dislike it.
This book is about Mia Dennett, who was kidnapped and forced to live in a cabin by the abductor, Colin Thatcher. Eve and James, Mia's mother and father, seem to handle this abduction in two different ways; one with guilt and other with disbelief. Grace, Mia's sister, copes with this with her detached indifference. When finally found by the cops, Mia insists that her name is Chloe and that she does not remember much of anything else. Gabe, the investigator, seems to spend days waiting for information, while Mia seems to develop empathetic feelings towards her captor.
The characters were just flat out boring. Eve Dennett was the easiest to connect with, but certainly not to my liking. James Dennett was beyond annoying. Gabe was pathetic, Grace has a graceful mention, while Colin was just too unbelievable to be true and Mia, well, just falls flat. The more I think about characters, the more irked I am with them.
The story was told in three POV, with mix tense, the present ongoing story interspersed with past to unravel the in-between. While the story keeps the interest alive through the scores of pages, my issue is that this mix of past and present did not just click with the story. There were no good twists to the tale and the story was a bit flat, albeit slightly emotional. The final twist looked more as an after thought than part of the story.
Not the sort of book I would recommend to people. While it certainly makes a captivating read, it just is not compelling enough to feel that there is something amiss if not read.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
My Sister's Grave
- By Robert Dugoni
Oh Boy!! It was a fast paced, adrenaline pumping, emotional ride to closure. I could hardly take my eyes off the page.
Sarah Crosswhite disappears on a storm ridden night, while driving home. In the subsequent investigation, Edmund House, a convicted rapist , is tried and arrested for Sarah's murder, though her body was never found. The evidence was flimsy and the trial was a mere formality. The town moved on, however, her sister Tracy and her family, did not get the closure they sought.
Twenty years later, a dog digs up a bone that is identified to be that of Sarah Crosswhite. At that time, Tracy is with the Seattle Police department, as a detective, still trying to find the answers as to what happened to her sister on that fateful night. The evidence found in her sister's grave conflicts with the evidence twenty years ago. Tracy, convinced of a cover up, intends to seek justice. She reaches out to her childhood friend Dan O'Leary, who is now practicing law in Cedar Grove to help release an innocent from jail and to reopen the investigation of her sister's murder.
The rest of the story, moving between past and present, unveils the truth, bit by bit, as to what happened to Sarah. In her quest for truth, Tracy steps on a lot of shoes, but, she perseveres to the end, to find the answers. But, can she handle what she finds? Should she have left the dead for the dead, instead of seeking answers that should have been left buried, along with her sister?
Robert Dugoni does a fabulous job of keeping the suspense until the very end and misleading quite convincingly. I loved the characters in the novel. Just when I thought, this is the one who did it, I am faced with another side of the character, that had me rethinking! The characters had different shades, each contrasting and humane.
For a crime thriller, this still managed to evoke all the emotional triggers of love, affection, loyalty, friendship and courage, which was a pleasant surprise. The novel was well written, precise and logical. And the final twist?? I sure did not see it coming, I can tell you that much!
Not the sort to pick up if you are in a hurry to be somewhere. And certainly not for a bedtime read, you won't get any!!
For all fellow readers, who love a good crime thriller, this is a MUST read!!
Oh Boy!! It was a fast paced, adrenaline pumping, emotional ride to closure. I could hardly take my eyes off the page.
Sarah Crosswhite disappears on a storm ridden night, while driving home. In the subsequent investigation, Edmund House, a convicted rapist , is tried and arrested for Sarah's murder, though her body was never found. The evidence was flimsy and the trial was a mere formality. The town moved on, however, her sister Tracy and her family, did not get the closure they sought.
Twenty years later, a dog digs up a bone that is identified to be that of Sarah Crosswhite. At that time, Tracy is with the Seattle Police department, as a detective, still trying to find the answers as to what happened to her sister on that fateful night. The evidence found in her sister's grave conflicts with the evidence twenty years ago. Tracy, convinced of a cover up, intends to seek justice. She reaches out to her childhood friend Dan O'Leary, who is now practicing law in Cedar Grove to help release an innocent from jail and to reopen the investigation of her sister's murder.
The rest of the story, moving between past and present, unveils the truth, bit by bit, as to what happened to Sarah. In her quest for truth, Tracy steps on a lot of shoes, but, she perseveres to the end, to find the answers. But, can she handle what she finds? Should she have left the dead for the dead, instead of seeking answers that should have been left buried, along with her sister?
Robert Dugoni does a fabulous job of keeping the suspense until the very end and misleading quite convincingly. I loved the characters in the novel. Just when I thought, this is the one who did it, I am faced with another side of the character, that had me rethinking! The characters had different shades, each contrasting and humane.
For a crime thriller, this still managed to evoke all the emotional triggers of love, affection, loyalty, friendship and courage, which was a pleasant surprise. The novel was well written, precise and logical. And the final twist?? I sure did not see it coming, I can tell you that much!
Not the sort to pick up if you are in a hurry to be somewhere. And certainly not for a bedtime read, you won't get any!!
For all fellow readers, who love a good crime thriller, this is a MUST read!!
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Sleep Tight
- By Rachel Abbott
People do all sorts of daft things for no reason that anybody else can understand...
I LOVED it. I absolutely loved it. Rachel Abbott has done a phenomenal job of evolving the characters and the story, in a way that is captivating, enticing and ruddy brilliant. I have to say it, just one more time: I freaking loved it!!!
Ah, Olivia, my heart goes out to you! What an ill fated life did you live? Her boyfriend leaves her and their two month old child, Jasmine, without so much as a word. A few weeks later, her parents are dead. And a few months later, she seems to be living a perfect life, married to a doting husband. A few years into marriage, she has two kids and lives in a semblance of luxury. Except, one day, Robert disappears with the kids, or so Olivia believes. However, he returns. A few years later, she disappears, along with the kids. There seems to be nothing amiss in the house, no chaos suggesting something out of ordinary and yet, something was missing. There were absolutely no photos of the kids or of Olivia in the house. Everything else looks the same. Except, for a LOT of blood that was cleaned, behind the locked doors of Robert's study. The cops investigating the disappearance seem to find a bread crumb trail, yet picking the crumbs left more questions than answers.
This is a dark tale of love, friendship and passion told at a mind-numbing pace and just when I thought its over, there was another curve ball thrown! Boy, I could not put this down and I could not get the characters out of my head.
What happened to Olivia and her kids? Why is the door to Robert's study locked? Whose blood was it in his study? Did he kill Olivia and the kids and buried them somewhere? Or was he a victim of some heinous crime? What happened to all the photos in the house? As the investigation progresses, unraveling the mystery, who is good and who is bad, who is the victim and who is the culprit? Every link is tied in the end, but that end was a fabulous journey, through the minds of the characters. Tom Douglas, the smart and determined chief investigator along with Becky, his partner, who is equally determined, together peel off the layers to a gripping finale that will surely keep you at the edge of your seat.
I dare you to put it down!! Have fun, fellow readers!!
People do all sorts of daft things for no reason that anybody else can understand...
I LOVED it. I absolutely loved it. Rachel Abbott has done a phenomenal job of evolving the characters and the story, in a way that is captivating, enticing and ruddy brilliant. I have to say it, just one more time: I freaking loved it!!!
Ah, Olivia, my heart goes out to you! What an ill fated life did you live? Her boyfriend leaves her and their two month old child, Jasmine, without so much as a word. A few weeks later, her parents are dead. And a few months later, she seems to be living a perfect life, married to a doting husband. A few years into marriage, she has two kids and lives in a semblance of luxury. Except, one day, Robert disappears with the kids, or so Olivia believes. However, he returns. A few years later, she disappears, along with the kids. There seems to be nothing amiss in the house, no chaos suggesting something out of ordinary and yet, something was missing. There were absolutely no photos of the kids or of Olivia in the house. Everything else looks the same. Except, for a LOT of blood that was cleaned, behind the locked doors of Robert's study. The cops investigating the disappearance seem to find a bread crumb trail, yet picking the crumbs left more questions than answers.
This is a dark tale of love, friendship and passion told at a mind-numbing pace and just when I thought its over, there was another curve ball thrown! Boy, I could not put this down and I could not get the characters out of my head.
What happened to Olivia and her kids? Why is the door to Robert's study locked? Whose blood was it in his study? Did he kill Olivia and the kids and buried them somewhere? Or was he a victim of some heinous crime? What happened to all the photos in the house? As the investigation progresses, unraveling the mystery, who is good and who is bad, who is the victim and who is the culprit? Every link is tied in the end, but that end was a fabulous journey, through the minds of the characters. Tom Douglas, the smart and determined chief investigator along with Becky, his partner, who is equally determined, together peel off the layers to a gripping finale that will surely keep you at the edge of your seat.
I dare you to put it down!! Have fun, fellow readers!!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Reconstructing Amelia
- By Kimberly McCreight
Amelia, a bright student is caught cheating on an English paper and is suspended from school. Kate, her mother, a lawyer by profession, gets a call to pick her up from school in the middle of her work day, without any explanation. While she gets to the school an hour later than the appointed time, she is in for a nasty shock, that Amelia committed suicide. Kate is devastated with the police investigation closing the case as suicide, despite having her doubts. And when she tries to swallow the pain and re-enter her work, she gets a text on her cellphone, that Amelia did not commit suicide. Though she initially thinks it to be a sick joke, she begins to reconstruct Amelia and the many facets of a teenage daughter she thought she knew.
The central plot of the story begins with the question of why is Amelia dead?! While the mystery is traced through the texts, mails, phone calls, Facebook updates, school blog, many subplots are thrown in the gauntlet. New characters are introduced into the story, unfolding the last few days of Amelia’s life. The novel progresses with alternating point of views, primarily, from Amelia, a POV of past and Kate, a POV in the present tracing back Amelia. The characters are not overly developed. It seemed like they entered and exited with voice of their own, stating their case. For me, personally, that left me feeling a little alienated in the novel, as though I am a by stander watching a play that is too fast to fully get into it. The story gives a peep window into the lives of high school students, the teenage choices and their repercussions, the friendships and the lies interwoven into the daily fabric of life, the insensitivity of the bullies, the desperate need to belong, the constant struggle between right and wrong, the need to follow the crowd for the fear of rejection – the typical teenage drama comes through effectively in the novel. The bullying goes into a new level, but the reasoning behind it sells the story short of its charm. And despite the suspense, the ending was not a punch in the gut, but more like a logical conclusion, with a lot of sadness for all concerned.
The author, Kimberly McCreight, with her debut novel, puts a compelling case to the conclusion, with enough twists in the plot, to make it a page turner. The novel uncovers bit by bit, the life of a teenager that ended tragically.
Who was Amelia’s father? Why did she suddenly become obsessed with picking through her mother’s story about a one night stand in a bar? Why is Amelia part of a secret club? Was she bullied into it? What was her inner turmoil with all these secrets in her life and no one to talk to? Why could she not open up to her mother? Why could she not confide in her best friend, Silvia? Did her best friend not really know about the club? Were her secrets not really secrets at all?
In parallel, Kate’s life, which is central to the story is also unraveled, as the questions surrounding Amelia’s death haunt Kate too. Did Amelia know about her father? Did she somehow get to know the secret Kate thought was safe? Is that somehow related to Amelia’s death? What was Kate’s dark secret? Who texted Kate about Amelia? Why did her daughter suddenly keep secrets from her? Why was her daughter bullied? Did Amelia really cheat on her English paper? Why was the school blog that despicable? How did that fit into the story?
Those are the questions that trace back part of mother-daughter life and reveal a small window into the lives of other characters involved in their lives.
I personally liked it because it was a simple page turner, told succinctly. Our life is not just influenced by our decisions, but by the decisions of people around us too. As the story progresses to its conclusion, it left me feeling sad and a little upset, that despite a front row seat to the unfolding drama, some chose to let the tide ride out.
While I recommend the book, I would advise you to not pick it up just before you go to sleep, as I did. It will cost you a night’s sleep. And if you do, don’t come back that I did not warn you!!! Have a good read fellow readers!!!
Amelia, a bright student is caught cheating on an English paper and is suspended from school. Kate, her mother, a lawyer by profession, gets a call to pick her up from school in the middle of her work day, without any explanation. While she gets to the school an hour later than the appointed time, she is in for a nasty shock, that Amelia committed suicide. Kate is devastated with the police investigation closing the case as suicide, despite having her doubts. And when she tries to swallow the pain and re-enter her work, she gets a text on her cellphone, that Amelia did not commit suicide. Though she initially thinks it to be a sick joke, she begins to reconstruct Amelia and the many facets of a teenage daughter she thought she knew.
The central plot of the story begins with the question of why is Amelia dead?! While the mystery is traced through the texts, mails, phone calls, Facebook updates, school blog, many subplots are thrown in the gauntlet. New characters are introduced into the story, unfolding the last few days of Amelia’s life. The novel progresses with alternating point of views, primarily, from Amelia, a POV of past and Kate, a POV in the present tracing back Amelia. The characters are not overly developed. It seemed like they entered and exited with voice of their own, stating their case. For me, personally, that left me feeling a little alienated in the novel, as though I am a by stander watching a play that is too fast to fully get into it. The story gives a peep window into the lives of high school students, the teenage choices and their repercussions, the friendships and the lies interwoven into the daily fabric of life, the insensitivity of the bullies, the desperate need to belong, the constant struggle between right and wrong, the need to follow the crowd for the fear of rejection – the typical teenage drama comes through effectively in the novel. The bullying goes into a new level, but the reasoning behind it sells the story short of its charm. And despite the suspense, the ending was not a punch in the gut, but more like a logical conclusion, with a lot of sadness for all concerned.
The author, Kimberly McCreight, with her debut novel, puts a compelling case to the conclusion, with enough twists in the plot, to make it a page turner. The novel uncovers bit by bit, the life of a teenager that ended tragically.
Who was Amelia’s father? Why did she suddenly become obsessed with picking through her mother’s story about a one night stand in a bar? Why is Amelia part of a secret club? Was she bullied into it? What was her inner turmoil with all these secrets in her life and no one to talk to? Why could she not open up to her mother? Why could she not confide in her best friend, Silvia? Did her best friend not really know about the club? Were her secrets not really secrets at all?
In parallel, Kate’s life, which is central to the story is also unraveled, as the questions surrounding Amelia’s death haunt Kate too. Did Amelia know about her father? Did she somehow get to know the secret Kate thought was safe? Is that somehow related to Amelia’s death? What was Kate’s dark secret? Who texted Kate about Amelia? Why did her daughter suddenly keep secrets from her? Why was her daughter bullied? Did Amelia really cheat on her English paper? Why was the school blog that despicable? How did that fit into the story?
Those are the questions that trace back part of mother-daughter life and reveal a small window into the lives of other characters involved in their lives.
I personally liked it because it was a simple page turner, told succinctly. Our life is not just influenced by our decisions, but by the decisions of people around us too. As the story progresses to its conclusion, it left me feeling sad and a little upset, that despite a front row seat to the unfolding drama, some chose to let the tide ride out.
While I recommend the book, I would advise you to not pick it up just before you go to sleep, as I did. It will cost you a night’s sleep. And if you do, don’t come back that I did not warn you!!! Have a good read fellow readers!!!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Grotesque
- By Natsuo Kirino
The book has a very curious introduction about a girl who wonders what her child would look like if she made out with the guy in front of her and this is what she wonders with every passing man. When I read this sentence, I had a small smile wondering what I think when I pass a guy and I realized I never gave much thought to it! I think I will make a conscious effort to make note of my first impressions from now on, though I can guarantee now, that my thought would never involve thinking of a guy romantically!!! He he, I am too faint hearted for such an adventure in my life! Surprisingly, this girl does not have a name through out the novel.
The girl speaks to me as she progresses further in rendering her story and gives a brief glimpse of her life, her family – that included her mother, father and a sister. And the bits and pieces jumble in and out of her life and the characters in her life. She gives a brief introduction about the family which would be evaluated further, but she gave me enough coop to interest me. As the love between her father and mother recedes to a darker corner, eventually becoming contempt between the two, she gives me an insight into the childhood she had. She gives a very sarcastic, intriguing prelude about her sister whom she refers as a ‘monster’, in that Yuriko was diabolically beautiful, yet a monster – saying that for people who believe that being beautiful is important over being ugly, she would ask them to have a glimpse at Yuriko. And then she introduces her classmate and friend, Kazue, intelligent, not-so good looking, yet competent personality, who eventually pushes her away and gets much closer to her sister, which kind of gave me a thought if this story was about resentment. Both Yuriko and Kazue, with two completely contrasting personalities come together, end up as prostitutes and are eventually killed and abandoned by the same man, a year apart, and why they were killed and what their lives mean and why the girl bothers sharing the story that is better left unsaid and to the closed wood of the coffin is something that glued me to this book. But the first impressions soon turned into a little horror and true to the name, the story was grotesque, repulsive, incomplete with no apparent reasons to why two seemingly varied personas choose what they chose and why they were murdered. Why did I bother reading it to the end? Because I am a sucker for character study!!!
As the novel progressed, the narrator seems to bring out a rendition of the facts, yet strangely, I seem to be less than sympathetic to her. She is filled with resentment, contempt with everyone and everything that surrounds her and that includes her family, her friends and the relationships in general. She feels that her mother is a born loser, her father, a miserly person and she resents her sister from a very early age because of her angelic and uncharacteristic beauty and the resentment transforms to hatred with her ethereal experience when she watches her sister bathe naked in a pond near their summer cabin. The facts that were so blatantly written causing me much intrigue and promising so much more, turned out to show a twist in the narrator that I deeply detested with every turning page. The novel introduced me to a world that I can hardly believe exists, but the bold faced narration kept me going. Though the loathing for the narrator increased with the twist of the page, I wonder what sort of a rationale prompted her, to even conceive a thought of hating her sister! Yuriko had nothing but a charm in her face that would satisfy men and she revelled in that control over men, particularly elder men and though I do not have much opinion myself about the path chosen, she did what she did openly and showed some integrity rather than play convoluted and twisted mind games with people round her! The narrator could not stand her and she resented that Kazue ended up being a friend to Yuriko. The narrator goes on to speak about the budding love between Kazue and Takashi Kazima, and how she manipulated that love for her own whim, which only made me more aghast at the person she is! On one hand, she speaks of monsters and on the other, she behaves like one, ripping through people’s emotions as though they mean nothing!
In the world of Japan, prostitution is a means to power and the seemingly successful career women, in the hunger for more power, stoop to the immoral and dangerous profession where the words, professor, uncle, brother, friend have little meaning and where life hangs in thin air, delicately balancing lust and desire! But it also threw me into a pit of distress as the true colors and the helplessness of each person come to the surface. Yuriko, held captive by her own beauty and angelic features, is a dimwit with little intelligence who plays to the infidelity of men and uses seduction as a process to counter her own detest of the world, who looks at her as nothing more than a shiny object to play with, her beauty being a curse in itself where she has to fight to survive using the only defence in her, to overcome her insecurity being born as a child to a Japanese mother and Swiss father. Kazue, born to an aspiring father who determines the pecking order in the family based on the grades earned and marks scored, is hell bent on succeeding in life and earning a name for herself, only to realize that to gain power, the very profession (her day job) she chose has limited opportunity and makes a repulsive choice of selling herself to gain the power she very much craved for. As the narrator speaks impassively of these characters, she also introduces numerous other characters who seem to be involved in this bizarre story, yet the most astounding twist comes in the end, where she meets Yuriko’s son, Yurio, who is born blind and has no passion for anything other than music, for which he needs a computer with a specific software. He willingly accepts to stay with his aunt provided she bought him this computer. At forty, the narrator is so captured by the boy’s innocence and wants to live with this little kid. When he pesters her for the computer, she counters that she has little money and he counters, saying,
“why don’t you go and work in the night, like my mom?”.
She slaps him in the face! Then the twist where she walks on the road, shouting that she is forty and a virgin and is available concludes the narration! Now, there is an original reason for getting into what she called immorality! To find a noble cause in the grotesque thing she pursues and willing on to say that people who hate men and women get into this lifestyle…. “its hatred for others, for the rest of the world.”
Though the novel speaks about the reason why the two have been killed, I read the novel not for the suspense of the narration or for the story, but for the characters that seem to be caught in a web cast around them and their reasons for justifying their actions, whether moral or immoral. This is unlike any of the novels I read and will read (I hope), and though this is far from my liking, I should appreciate the boldness of the fiction which would put the contemporary murder fiction and fantasy romance to shame, with its sheer audacity! But, the story that started with a lot of promise ended up with a lot to desire.
The book has a very curious introduction about a girl who wonders what her child would look like if she made out with the guy in front of her and this is what she wonders with every passing man. When I read this sentence, I had a small smile wondering what I think when I pass a guy and I realized I never gave much thought to it! I think I will make a conscious effort to make note of my first impressions from now on, though I can guarantee now, that my thought would never involve thinking of a guy romantically!!! He he, I am too faint hearted for such an adventure in my life! Surprisingly, this girl does not have a name through out the novel.
The girl speaks to me as she progresses further in rendering her story and gives a brief glimpse of her life, her family – that included her mother, father and a sister. And the bits and pieces jumble in and out of her life and the characters in her life. She gives a brief introduction about the family which would be evaluated further, but she gave me enough coop to interest me. As the love between her father and mother recedes to a darker corner, eventually becoming contempt between the two, she gives me an insight into the childhood she had. She gives a very sarcastic, intriguing prelude about her sister whom she refers as a ‘monster’, in that Yuriko was diabolically beautiful, yet a monster – saying that for people who believe that being beautiful is important over being ugly, she would ask them to have a glimpse at Yuriko. And then she introduces her classmate and friend, Kazue, intelligent, not-so good looking, yet competent personality, who eventually pushes her away and gets much closer to her sister, which kind of gave me a thought if this story was about resentment. Both Yuriko and Kazue, with two completely contrasting personalities come together, end up as prostitutes and are eventually killed and abandoned by the same man, a year apart, and why they were killed and what their lives mean and why the girl bothers sharing the story that is better left unsaid and to the closed wood of the coffin is something that glued me to this book. But the first impressions soon turned into a little horror and true to the name, the story was grotesque, repulsive, incomplete with no apparent reasons to why two seemingly varied personas choose what they chose and why they were murdered. Why did I bother reading it to the end? Because I am a sucker for character study!!!
As the novel progressed, the narrator seems to bring out a rendition of the facts, yet strangely, I seem to be less than sympathetic to her. She is filled with resentment, contempt with everyone and everything that surrounds her and that includes her family, her friends and the relationships in general. She feels that her mother is a born loser, her father, a miserly person and she resents her sister from a very early age because of her angelic and uncharacteristic beauty and the resentment transforms to hatred with her ethereal experience when she watches her sister bathe naked in a pond near their summer cabin. The facts that were so blatantly written causing me much intrigue and promising so much more, turned out to show a twist in the narrator that I deeply detested with every turning page. The novel introduced me to a world that I can hardly believe exists, but the bold faced narration kept me going. Though the loathing for the narrator increased with the twist of the page, I wonder what sort of a rationale prompted her, to even conceive a thought of hating her sister! Yuriko had nothing but a charm in her face that would satisfy men and she revelled in that control over men, particularly elder men and though I do not have much opinion myself about the path chosen, she did what she did openly and showed some integrity rather than play convoluted and twisted mind games with people round her! The narrator could not stand her and she resented that Kazue ended up being a friend to Yuriko. The narrator goes on to speak about the budding love between Kazue and Takashi Kazima, and how she manipulated that love for her own whim, which only made me more aghast at the person she is! On one hand, she speaks of monsters and on the other, she behaves like one, ripping through people’s emotions as though they mean nothing!
In the world of Japan, prostitution is a means to power and the seemingly successful career women, in the hunger for more power, stoop to the immoral and dangerous profession where the words, professor, uncle, brother, friend have little meaning and where life hangs in thin air, delicately balancing lust and desire! But it also threw me into a pit of distress as the true colors and the helplessness of each person come to the surface. Yuriko, held captive by her own beauty and angelic features, is a dimwit with little intelligence who plays to the infidelity of men and uses seduction as a process to counter her own detest of the world, who looks at her as nothing more than a shiny object to play with, her beauty being a curse in itself where she has to fight to survive using the only defence in her, to overcome her insecurity being born as a child to a Japanese mother and Swiss father. Kazue, born to an aspiring father who determines the pecking order in the family based on the grades earned and marks scored, is hell bent on succeeding in life and earning a name for herself, only to realize that to gain power, the very profession (her day job) she chose has limited opportunity and makes a repulsive choice of selling herself to gain the power she very much craved for. As the narrator speaks impassively of these characters, she also introduces numerous other characters who seem to be involved in this bizarre story, yet the most astounding twist comes in the end, where she meets Yuriko’s son, Yurio, who is born blind and has no passion for anything other than music, for which he needs a computer with a specific software. He willingly accepts to stay with his aunt provided she bought him this computer. At forty, the narrator is so captured by the boy’s innocence and wants to live with this little kid. When he pesters her for the computer, she counters that she has little money and he counters, saying,
“why don’t you go and work in the night, like my mom?”.
She slaps him in the face! Then the twist where she walks on the road, shouting that she is forty and a virgin and is available concludes the narration! Now, there is an original reason for getting into what she called immorality! To find a noble cause in the grotesque thing she pursues and willing on to say that people who hate men and women get into this lifestyle…. “its hatred for others, for the rest of the world.”
Though the novel speaks about the reason why the two have been killed, I read the novel not for the suspense of the narration or for the story, but for the characters that seem to be caught in a web cast around them and their reasons for justifying their actions, whether moral or immoral. This is unlike any of the novels I read and will read (I hope), and though this is far from my liking, I should appreciate the boldness of the fiction which would put the contemporary murder fiction and fantasy romance to shame, with its sheer audacity! But, the story that started with a lot of promise ended up with a lot to desire.
Monday, January 20, 2014
The devotion of suspect X
- By Keigo Higashino
What caught me to this book was the title – “Suspect X”. Suspect X, was it referring to a specific suspect or a random suspect from a bunch of suspects? Then I thought about the word ‘devotion’ in the title and decided it should perhaps be talking about a single specific suspect, from a random bunch of suspects. Devotion could mean only one thing, in such a title. Honestly, despite the obviousness of the title, the narration unraveled a plot that unfolded at a decent pace and kept me turning the pages at full speed. Before I opened the book, after reading the back drop of it, I let my imagination unfold and I can honestly say that I was not very far off with my guesses. However, what kept me hooked to it was the beauty of the tale and the logical flow of the story.
Ishigami is a Math teacher. He lives and breathes Math. Considered one of the most brilliant Mathematician, there are few who can unravel his genius at problem solving. He walks to this daily deli were his neighbor Yasuko works, to pick his every day lunch. Despite being neighbors, they hardly exchange a word. Yasuko and Misato stay in a small apartment, next door to Ishigami, when one day, Yasuko’s abusive ex-husband Togashi visits. The conversation between Yasuko, Misato and Togashi escalates to a fight, with Togahshi ending up dead. While Yasuko and Misato try to fall over each other, over who has to surrender to the cops, Ishigami knocks on Yasuko’s door, asking about the commotion. His rare genius of a mind understands the situation in one quick glance and offers them his help.
When the cops identify a corpse to be Togashi, they come calling onto Yasuko’s door step. And coached by the brilliant Ishigami, they follow a script to tell a tale that Kusanagi, the detective cop, cannot find a fault with. Despite all that, Kusanagi has a nagging feeling that something was off. He talks to his consultant physicist and college mate, the brilliant Yukawa, who incidentally went to college with Ishigami. Though there are no obvious loopholes in the tales of the suspects Yasuko and Misato, when Yukawa talks to his friend Ishigami, he suspects something else.
From there on, starts the dance in the shadows of two genius minds who out challenge each other. While the what and who is obvious in the story, the comeuppance for the crime goes till the wire and the conclusion, trust me, will either make you scream, “Bloody Hell” or “WTH?”
But, if you enjoy the brilliant detection, this book is definitely worth the time.
What caught me to this book was the title – “Suspect X”. Suspect X, was it referring to a specific suspect or a random suspect from a bunch of suspects? Then I thought about the word ‘devotion’ in the title and decided it should perhaps be talking about a single specific suspect, from a random bunch of suspects. Devotion could mean only one thing, in such a title. Honestly, despite the obviousness of the title, the narration unraveled a plot that unfolded at a decent pace and kept me turning the pages at full speed. Before I opened the book, after reading the back drop of it, I let my imagination unfold and I can honestly say that I was not very far off with my guesses. However, what kept me hooked to it was the beauty of the tale and the logical flow of the story.
Ishigami is a Math teacher. He lives and breathes Math. Considered one of the most brilliant Mathematician, there are few who can unravel his genius at problem solving. He walks to this daily deli were his neighbor Yasuko works, to pick his every day lunch. Despite being neighbors, they hardly exchange a word. Yasuko and Misato stay in a small apartment, next door to Ishigami, when one day, Yasuko’s abusive ex-husband Togashi visits. The conversation between Yasuko, Misato and Togashi escalates to a fight, with Togahshi ending up dead. While Yasuko and Misato try to fall over each other, over who has to surrender to the cops, Ishigami knocks on Yasuko’s door, asking about the commotion. His rare genius of a mind understands the situation in one quick glance and offers them his help.
When the cops identify a corpse to be Togashi, they come calling onto Yasuko’s door step. And coached by the brilliant Ishigami, they follow a script to tell a tale that Kusanagi, the detective cop, cannot find a fault with. Despite all that, Kusanagi has a nagging feeling that something was off. He talks to his consultant physicist and college mate, the brilliant Yukawa, who incidentally went to college with Ishigami. Though there are no obvious loopholes in the tales of the suspects Yasuko and Misato, when Yukawa talks to his friend Ishigami, he suspects something else.
From there on, starts the dance in the shadows of two genius minds who out challenge each other. While the what and who is obvious in the story, the comeuppance for the crime goes till the wire and the conclusion, trust me, will either make you scream, “Bloody Hell” or “WTH?”
But, if you enjoy the brilliant detection, this book is definitely worth the time.
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