September was a bit of a strange month (strange in a good way!) I came back from one holiday (Shetland and Orkney), was home for a day and then went off to Norfolk for the weekend. Came back from Norfolk, fitted a bit of work in and then flew out to Beziers for a road trip through France, Andorra and Spain.
Consequently my reading was as much all over the place as I was. Though I did manage to finish four books in September, I actually read more than this, but because I haven’t yet finished any of the other books I started reading I haven’t included them here.
Read on to find out more about what I read in September.
Chaos by Patricia Cornwell
I think Patricia Cornwell has being going off the boil with her more recent books yet I still keep buying them. This is her latest and I actually started off wondering if I’d even finish it. It was so loooong-winded and just seemed to take forever to get going. I read thrillers as a way of relaxing and escaping (and usually when I’m tired) and so want to be gripped from the go so the pages practically turn themselves. I was at least halfway through Chaos before it even remotely started to feel like that.
The first few lot of pages described her walking to a ‘thing’ in the heat and being hot and sweaty and then her partner and friend, Marino, yelling at her to get in the car. Not only was there way too much detail, but there didn’t seem any point to it. I got the idea that Cornwell was just page-filling – does she get paid per page???
Once the story did begin to unfold it was confusing and still seemed to consist of a lot more filler than plot. So many good writers become really popular and start having someone else write their books so they can churn them out more quickly (such as Tom Clancy and James Patterson). Once they do this they’re never as good and it’s obvious they’ve been written by someone else. This book had me wondering if Cornwell has started doing this and just hasn’t put the other writer’s name on the cover.
I’ve just had a quick look at Goodreads and it seems I’m in the majority with my view of this book.
Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
Now this was a page-turner. It’s a prequel to Barclay’s Promise Falls series and in this book we learn what happened to David’s wife, Jan. Jan hasn’t been herself for a while, but when she suddenly buys tickets for a new amusement park and insists on a family trip David hopes she’s getting back to her old self. They’ve only just arrived at the park when their four-year old son disappears. The couple separate to search for him only for him to be found and Jan to disappear. As the police investigation into her disappearance takes hold it seems that Jan was never at the park and never even had a ticket. Suspicion falls on David and a net starts to close around him. As though he hasn’t got enough on his plate with his investigation into local corruption for a story he is writing for the local paper he works for. If you like the Promise Falls books then this is a must-read.
A Wanted Man by Lee Child
Jack Reacher is hitch-hiking and gets picked by a car with two men and one woman in it. Why did they pick him up? He’s 6’5″ with a busted nose, not the kind of person most people would stop for. Of course they had an ulterior motive which Jack slowly works out on the long journey.
As usual, I enjoyed this Jack Reacher book, but some of Child’s books are now starting to link together. In the past I could read one of his books without bothering about the order. For example, in this book the cause of his broken nose isn’t really explained and it was only because I’d recently read the book that is it’s prequel that I knew what had happened. If I hadn’t read ‘Worth Dying for‘ so recently it wouldn’t have spoilt the story, but I still might have found it frustrating.
Secrets of Death by Stephen Booth
Stephen Booth’s Cooper and Fry detective novels are set in the Peak District, an area I love, but have spent all too little time in recently. Reading Booth’s books makes me realise how remiss I’ve been and fills me with intentions to get back to doing regular walks there.
In this book the beautiful Peak District landscape is darkened by a spate of suicides. There seems to be no doubt that they are indeed suicides (well, most of them anyway), but why are people suddenly deciding to travel to the Peak District to die? Is someone encouraging them? And if so why and how? And is any crime actually being committed?
These books never disappoint and are worth reading even if you’re not familiar with the Peak District (they’ll make you want to visit). If you do like the Peak District then definitely add this series to your reading list.
What have you read recently? And what do you think of what I read in September? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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