Whodunit Book Club - October 25, 2016

We welcomed two new faces to our bookclub at October's meeting.  Twelve members were present as we discussed "The Trap" by Melanie Raabe.

As usual, we went around the circle and asked members to give the novel a score out of a possible ten points.  The average score for "The Trap" was 6.7 with only half of the members saying they would read another novel by this author.

Comments by members included:

• interesting premise (reclusive author who sets a trap for her sister's killer)
• story within the story was well done and not confusing to the reader
• description was well rendered
• chapter endings were sometimes cliff-hangers which added to readability and suspense
• smooth translation from the German
• everyone liked the character of the dog, Bukowski
• the 'twists' were well done and appreciated by readers

story was far-fetched causing the reader to suspend belief

translation done by British person as the narrative included British jargon

poorly researched as regards the protagonists anxiety disorder

predictable ending

lacking in emotion

murderer not included in plot so as to make it impossible for reader to surmise/guess who it was

It was interesting to note that Melanie Raabe writing style was subtly different from Linda Conrad's writing style (Linda Conrad being the protagonist of the novel) causing the 'book within a book' to be different in tone.
The book displayed what seems to be a new trend in thriller writing - the unreliable narrator.   This book won the Stuttgart Crime Prize for best crime debut of the year

Melanie Raabe grew up in Thuringia, Germany, and attended the Ruhr University Bochum, where she specialized in literature and media studies. After graduating, she moved to Cologne to work as a journalist by day and secretly write books by night.

There were five lucky winners of free books this evening!

1. Margaret

2. Nancy

3. Marilyn

4. Cathy

5. Carmella

On Tuesday, November 29th (the last Whodunit meeting of 2016) we will discuss the novel "Gone" by Randy Wayne White.  Whodunit members get a 10% discount off the price of the book.

Whodunit Book Club - September 26, 2016

Thanks to Marlene for writing this post as I was absent from the September meeting. 

Nine members met to discuss Thin Ice by Nick Wilkshire, a police procedural set in Ottawa and revolving around the murder investigation of a rookie hockey player, recently signed by the Ottawa Raftsmen.

The publisher describes it this way:

Hockey is a dangerous game, but it's what happens off the ice that can get you killed. Curtis Ritchie is the only news in town when Ottawa takes the young hockey sensation first overall in the annual spring draft. But on the eve of Ritchie's rookie season, the media frenzy over the signing and the controversial trades that secured the young star are eclipsed by news of his murder. As Ottawa Major Crimes Unit investigator Jack Smith reassembles Ritchie's life, he is surprised by how much it differs from the fledgling star's clean-cut image. A long list of suspects soon emerges, any one of whom had good reasons to want Ritchie dead. But there's something else about the young phenom - a secret so profound that its revelation to the wrong person could only have meant Ritchie's end.

The book earned a score of 6.7 out of 10. All those present said they enjoyed reading the book, which they found to be well-written, while the quintessential Canadian setting of Ottawa and the professional hockey business added to the appeal. Although the main character, Jack Smith, came across as immature, particularly in his relationships with women, his partnership with David Marshall, the older, somewhat jaded senior investigator in the Major Crimes Unit shows promise for development in further books in the Capital Crime Series. For this reason, all but one of the attendees said they would read another book in this particular series.

Some comments about the book included:

·       Although a classic police procedural, the repetitive listing of evidence detracted from the readability.

·       Jack’s character lacked depth. Perhaps it will become more developed in future books?

·       Too many secondary characters.

·       The cover shows people skating on the canal but the story takes place in the early fall.

The lucky winners of book prizes for September were: Carmella, Marilyn, Jean, Nancy, and Gaye. Pam announced that, for at least the next few months, book prizes will include a copy of the next month’s selection.

The book for October is The Trap by Melanie Raabe, translated from German by Imogen Taylor.