Whodunit Meeting October 28, 2014

A chilly autumn evening and only eight members turned up for our monthly Whodunit Book Club meeting.   The meeting was anything but chilly however.  Much camaraderie and hilarity ensued.

Many topics were discussed, but the novel under discussion was S. J. Bolton's "Now you see me".
The first novel in a series of 4 1/2 so far (four novels and one novella) , the novel was quite highly rated by the group in attendance with a score of 8.5 out of a possible ten points and only one member saying she would not read another in the series.

"Now you see me" was a fast-paced police procedural mystery novel set in South London which contained short chapters with 'cliff-hanger' endings ensuring that the novel was a real page-turner.  The strong and well described opening was very memorable though too graphic for some.  The many twists and well portrayed action scenes were appreciated as were the well rendered descriptive passages and extensive background research.

I wrote a review of the novel on my blog: Fictionophile

The lucky winners of the book giveaways this month were...... drum roll..... everyone in attendance!
Thanks to Pam and Chapters Dartmouth for hosting such an enjoyable meeting every month!

November's title will be: "Cold Mourning" by Brenda Chapman. "Cold mourning" is the first book in the Stonechild and Rouleau mystery series set in Ottawa, Ontario.

new British police procedural series

Just had to share this new author! 

"Dark Winter" by David Mark, is a debut novel and the first in a series!  A British police procedural mystery set in Hull, a port city in North Eastern England, this series features a protagonist who has the character to see us through several books.... I only hope he does.  
Aector McAvoy (Hector) is a transplanted Scot, a family man with a pregnant wife and a young son.  He is larger than life, both in physical size and moral character. Blessed with a fine tuned acuity for noticing connections between events, he is excellent at his job.

The author, David Mark, though a debut novelist, is a seasoned journalist, so he is well versed in writing and does it superbly.  Highly recommended!

Whodunit Bookclub January 29, 2013

Fifteen members attended the Whodunit bookclub this clear but chilly January evening.  A fitting number seeing as that this month marks the 15th anniversary of the club!

The book discussed was "Sleepyhead" by Mark Billingham.  "Sleephead" was first published in 2002 and is the first novel in his Detective Tom Thorne series which now numbers eleven titles!

As is our usual custom we went around the group giving the novel marks out of ten possible points.  There were sixteen voters as one member voted in absentia.  The mark was 7.6 with twelve members stating that they wanted to read more titles in the series.

Some members felt that the character of Tom Thorne needed to be more focused. He seemed to drift through his days and the investigation.  It was said that there was too much introspection and not enough detection.  Others really liked his character - flaws and all.  Some believed that since this is the first book in the series, Tom Thorn's character will improve over time.

Alison was a favoured character.  We really enjoyed her sense of humor and her reflections. While she was in an almost unimaginably horrible condition - her strong personality shone through.

It was mentioned that her humor is probably linked to the fact that the author, Mark Billingham is also a stand-up comedian.  On his website he states that women crime writers describe what a victim 'feels like' while men crime writers tend to describe what the crime scene 'looks like'.  It was said that he really empathized with the victim in 'Sleepyhead' probably because he was once the victim of a violent crime himself.

The chapter in which the policeman Tughan featured prominently proved that he was a particularly sleazy character.  Some were suspicious of him because of this.

The descriptions in the novel were very vivid and the reader could almost imagine the action and setting as if they were watching a movie.

Thorne's unwavering belief that Jeremy Bishop was the killer despite the evidence to the contrary led some to believe that he would end up being the perpetrator.  A few of our group deduced the correct killer far ahead of time.  I'm afraid I cannot count myself as one of them!

The fact that Tom inherited Margaret's cat 'Elvis' was appreciated by the many animal lovers in our group.

The majority of members felt that the ending of the novel was very satisfying and a fitting conclusion to the story.


The first few Thorne novels were adapted for television in the UK in a six-part mini-series. The part of Thorne was played by actor David Morrissey. 

The winners of this month's book giveaways were:
Tracey
Laird
Brian
Shauna
Betty

When the Whodunit Book Club meets again on February 26th we will discuss Paul Cleave's novel entitled "The Cleaner". 

Whodunit May 29, 2012

Fifteen Whodunit members came out to Chapters on a chilly spring evening to discuss "The river of darkness" by Rennie Airth.

It was one of the most universally liked novels that we have done in club.  When the members were asked to rate the book out of 10, the average mark was 8.66 - with 12 of the 15 members in attendance saying that they would like to read more novels in the series.  Wow!  High praise indeed!

More of a 'Whydunit" than a whodunit, the murderer's identity was revealed early on in the plot by having the narrative at times switch from the voices of the crime fighters with the criminal himself.  It was a multi-layered novel with well-rounded characterizations.

The male protagonist is John Madden, a Scotland Yard inspector who is also a veteran of WWI.  His personal tragedy of losing his wife and young daughter to influenza coupled with his time in the trenches have damaged his psyche and left him grave and despondent.

Set in a sleepy Surrey village, the crime is a particularly brutal one.  A whole family have been murdered in their home by a bayonet wielding psychopath.   Madden's experience in the military makes him particularly well suited to find the killer who he rightfully guesses is also ex-military.

The local doctor, who has strong views in the new field of forensic psychology, aids his endeavors.  When they discover that another similar crime was committed, they realize that they are looking for a serial killer who must be stopped before more blood is shed.  The character of Dr. Helen Blackwell is very strong.  She is forward thinking, bright, caring and just the person who can heal the damages suffered by John Madden.

With well written red herrings and relentless suspense, this is a novel which invites positive criticism.  The time period and sense of place are well portrayed and the descriptions stay with the reader long after the pages bearing them are turned.

The only negative comments from Whodunit members concerned the peripheral characters.  They found it hard to keep straight who was who, what rank they were etc. when at times the author referred to them by their first name, sometimes by their surname and sometimes by their rank. With three policeman having a surname beginning with 'S', this seemed a valid criticism.

The following two novels in the trilogy are: "The blood-dimmed tide" and "The dead of winter".

Lucky Whodunit Book Club members who won the book giveaways this month were:
1. Betty
2. Heather
3. Marilyn
4. Marlene

In June we will be discussing "The redbreast" by Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbo. 

"Devil at the crossroads"

Just finished the third novel in a British police procedural series by Olive Etchells that is definitely worth a mention.
The protagonist, DCI Channon reminds me a little of P.D. James' Adam Dalgliesh.
The setting is a beautiful and idyllic seaside Cornish village.
When the body of the son of one of the community's richest residents is found propped against an ancient standing stone at the crossroads of the village, DCI Channon must deal with the ramifications of the incident for the village and its residents...
Books in the series are:


#1 No corners for the devil
#2 Footprints of the devil
#3 Devil at the crossroads
The cover art is what first drew me to the series, but I have been avidly following this author ever since. I found that the characters are well rounded and sympathetic. Anyone wanting to read a character-driven British police procedural will not be disappointed.