The Dante Club Matthew Pearl Novel Review

The Dante Club is an interesting mystery novel where a group of poets try to solve the mystery behind a series of gruesome murders.It is a debut historical mystery novel by Matthew Pearl.Here the background is Boston of 1865.A group of poets which consists of Longfellow,Holmes,Lowell and Greene(called fireside poets) want to bring to the American public,English translation of  Italian poet Dante's divine comedy.But Augustus Manning,treasurer of Harvard fears that the excessive violence in Dante's poetry will bring chaos into the society so try to dissuade the poets from this task.But they are determined to complete this task since they feel that they have an obligation towards American public who should be made aware of the  beauty of Dante's poetry.Then a series of gruesome murders occur where the victims are tortured and to their horror they find parallels to their work about Dante and these murders.The novel takes you through the stages where the poets assume the role of investigators and try to unravel the identity of the sadistic,unhinged serial killer.

The basic premise of making real life literary heavyweights to be the detectives them self is an interesting concept,but which can fall apart if not executed properly.In that sense I will say Pearl has come out with flying colors.One can see that Pearl is in awe of these literary figures and has done his research well to make it seem real and authentic.He has succeeded in recreating the Boston of 1865 and its history convincingly so that even a lay person who is not well versed in the history aspect will find the mystery aspect interesting and would love to know more about the fireside poets,Dante and the civil war which all served as the background of that period. The book is a page turner and keep your attention throughout.At the same time Pearl is able to give a depth to the main characters where one see the poet's burning passion for their work,their dedication to see their work come to fruition,but at the same time their compassion for the victims,their acceptance of coming in terms with the destruction of human life on wake of their work ,all these conflicting emotions captured in excellent writing for most of the part which can be considered to be of high literary quality. 

My Rating: GOOD

A Place Of Execution Val McDermid Novel Review

When you are young,you look at life with optimism and if you add ambition to it then that is a potent mix.For young police inspector George Bennet when he was presented with the case of missing teenager Alison Carter from the remote village of Scardale,he was enthusiastic and wanted to prove his worth.But as days rolled by with no trace of Alison,the initial enthusiasm starts to evaporate and the case starts to take a heavy toll on him.His wife is pregnant and his concern for the unborn child and Alison make him a person on the edge until the fierce determination to solve the case is what prompting him to move forward.He feels that the villagers instead of helping him in this quest are trying to shield someone among them.But by some lucky break emanating from the villagers itself,Bennet is able to zoom on the person responsible for the disappearance of Alison.Bennet is relieved,but is it really the end?.As one can read in this excellent novel,there is a deep mystery behind the disappearance of Alison where even the good hearted Bennet it seems have something to hide.A journalist who wants to write a book on this case is the one who untangles this web and brings out the secrets buried years ago at the village of Scardale.

This is one novel,where I confess that I find it difficult to put down once I started.The suspense is really well built and keeps you on the edge in the anticipation of what is going to happen next.You start sympathizing with the character of Bennet,the pains he go through to solve this tough case and you root for him to win.But then again you realize that life is not fair and what looks obvious need not always be so. Val Mcdermid has been able to paint the remote village of Scardale of 60's and the colorful characters of that village with a type of realism which only novelists with eye for detail and keen observation about human conditions can convincingly pull off.We realise that when we are introduced to the various characters in the village,there is a sense of camaraderie among them and general distrust towards outsiders.You are introduced to grandmother Lomas who turns out to be a mysterious character who holds some aces in this puzzle.As Bennet digs deeper,Ma Lomas's extensive knowledge about the terrain unearth some important clues which help him in getting closer to solving this intriguing puzzle.

This novel is considered one of the best among Val Mcdermid books.It has been nominated for Edgar award and has won several mystery awards.Even though on hindsight you may feel that story is little bit implausible,still what trumps is that this novel has got all ingredients in right mix that makes an excellent suspense/mystery novel.The pace never drops,the writing even though can't be termed as of literary quality,never wavers and maintain a consistent standard enough to maintain the pace,there is depth in characterization,the inner turmoils,emotional outbursts of the characters caught up in a tragedy well brought out by the writer.

My Rating: EXCELLENT

The Sculptress Minette Walters Novel Review

You form the image of a person from the account on various media outlets.This may not be always true.Writer Rosalind Leigh is faced with this reality when she is forced by her agent to write about an overweight,ruthless woman named Olive Martin who hacked to death her mother and sister.But after meeting her, Leigh is not convinced whether Olive has done the deed eventhough she has confessed to the crime.Even though Olive has the reputation of being a big liar,Leigh could see that there is certain truth behind her lies and her objective becomes to filter out truth from the maze of lies floating about her.This novel explores this attempt by Leigh to uncover the truth behind the horrific killings and to unmask the murderer.

The novel is well paced and you are in anticipation of what happens next.Walter's writing is of good quality and she has been able to bring depth in characterization of the principal characters of Leigh and Olive Martin.The pace slows a bit when Novel concentrates on Leigh's romantic life as well as on Olive's attorney and his role in this puzzle.But then it picks up pace and comes to a surprising conclusion where Walters also offers an interesting alternative where readers are prompted toward the notion whether the happy ending is in fact a mirage.

This is my first Minette Walters novel and I am quite impressed and will definitely look forward to more of her novels.

My Rating: GOOD

Chatham School Affair Thomas H Cook Novel Review

An old man Henry looks back at his life,his childhood at the small town of  Chatham.It was year 1926 and a beautiful woman Channing joins his school as art teacher.This novel beautifully captures the life of this small town of Chatham,the teacher,her colleagues,Henry's father who happened to be the headmaster of the school in poetic prose as well as maintaining the suspense quotient intact.

This is not an easy novel to read.It do not have the pulse pounding action associated with the thriller genre nor can claim the edge of the seat suspense factor also.But it is compensated by the measured pace studded with lyrical prose,flushing out the characters,putting the readers in emotional turmoil by the tragic event which unfold and then ending with a surprising conclusion which neatly explains the emotional rollercoaster through which various characters in this novel pass through.

This is my first Thomas H Cook and I have to say that I have become a big fan so much that definitely I will look forward to more Cook novels.The powerful impact this novel still had on me is such that the principal tragic character of Elizabeth Channing is still fresh in my mind and refuses to go away. The way Cook has handled various human relationships,the vagaries of love,the rebelous,stubborn teenage mind,conservative and liberal thinking on the part of characters,all these have to be commended.
 
My Rating: EXCELLENT

The Janissary Tree Jason Goodwin Novel Review

A historical mystery with a eunuch as a detective makes an interesting prospect in the usually rule by books mystery genre.Added to that if the background is the historically rich Istanbul,then it is icing on the cake.Jason Goodwin's Janissery Tree is one such novel which on one side is a finely crafted mystery novel but also on the other side gives you glimpses of  Istanbul of 1830s without the usual stale history which you read in professional history books.

When four soldiers of the  army is missing, Vizier is worried and he calls for the help of Eunuch Yashim,who has the uncanny ability to talk to people,make them at ease and thereby drawing their secrets.Mean while there are some jewels also missing from the palace and Yashim is given the assignment of catching the thief also.We are taken along this quest by Yashim where the suspects range from the rebels Janissaries to foreign powers ranging from Russians to British.

More than the mystery aspect,I loved this novel for the atmosphere which Goodwin was able to invoke.The Istanbul of 1836 comes alive before us in Goodwin's beautiful writing.But a minor irritation was Yashim's love life depicted and his encounter which was not convincing. Initially mystery is intriguing,but as it proceeds,I will say it goes little bit off track and pace slows a bit,but nevertheless it ends in a surprising conclusion when Goodwin ties all the ends neatly and do not disappoint.

My Rating: GOOD

The Sun's Seventh Horse-Dharamvir Bharati Novel review

This novel consists of a series of stories which are interlinked.Characters in one story appear in another.Manik Mulla is a story teller who is also part of the stories himself.Common theme on all these stories is failure of love due to economic status and caste.The woman characters Jamuna,Lila,Satti face rejection of love in their lives,but move on with their lives.The men characters Tanna and Manik prove to be weak and are not able to take any decision to fulfill their desires.The novel paints the picture of a society divided on basis of economic status and caste,but ends on a positive note with hope of children of these women a better life when they grow up.

Even though novel has a serious tone,there are instances when novelist has used humor in a subtle way to poke fun at societal order.The interlinking of stories is cleverly done and your interpretation of each character differs according to the story in which they appear.The language is poetic and keeps you engaged.

This  novel was made into an excellent movie by Shyam Benegal starring Rajit Kapur

My Rating : GOOD

Mystery of Fortress-Saradindu Bandopadhyaya Novel Review

This book consists of 4 short stories and a novella of Byomkesh Bakshi mystery series by Saradindu Bandopadyaya.Byomkesh Bakshi made famous by Rajit Kapur in TV serial by Basu Chatterjee,unravels mystery behind the death of a woman in "invisible triangle",mystery of missing gold in "iron biscuits",brutal killing of a thug where the suspect happens to be an invalid,mysterious death of money lender in "Thus spoke Kavi Kalidasa" and mystery of a treasure and series of murders in "mystery of fortress".The stories keep you engaged and writer has been able to maintain the suspense well in all these stories.

My rating: EXCELLENT

Daylight Robbery-Surender Mohan Pathak novel review

This is one of Vimal series books by Surender Mohan Pathak.This novel tells about a daring robbery committed by four desperate criminals,one among them being Vimal who is forced to be part of this. But things don't work out as per their plans.Even though  they plan these things perfectly some things go wrong and their lives are changed for ever.The pacing of this story is excellent,the characters have depth,novelist has been able to capture the various shades of gray in human beings when they are in desperate situation.Translation from Hindi is excellent.

My rating: EXCELLENT