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 Bookclub Meeting June 28, 2016

Ten members voted on this month's selection, "Alex" by Pierre Lemaitre giving the novel a score of 8.5 out of 10 !  Also, the majority of members said that would definitely want to read more titles in this trilogy.

We all agreed that Alex, the protagonist and title character, is unforgettable.  She has endured the most inhumane, barbaric, and atrocious acts, yet, in her own way remains not the victim, but the victor.  She was a survivor - a strong woman with her own moral code of conduct.

The book was dark, disturbing and not for the squeamish.  However the author alternated the more intense scenes with chapters featuring the police investigation so as to give the reader a much needed respite from the barbarity. 

Everyone termed it a 'page-turner' that evoked emotion in the reader.  It was pointed out that the police team were all interesting characters who made the novel richer in tone.  It was also pointed out that there were no 'good' mothers in the book.  Every mother mentioned was seriously lacking in maternal traits...

This crime novel is a page-turner with great characterization.  However, be warned… this is a graphically brutal and at times shocking read which will test your endurance as a crime reader.  The author masterfully manipulates your emotions and reactions to tell his provocative tale.  Kudos also go out to the translator, Frank Wynne, who translated the author’s story seamlessly and with eloquent language.

To read my own personal review of "Alex" visit my blog: Fictionophile

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The lucky winners of the four book giveaways this month were:

1. Marilyn

2. Carmella

3. Nancy

4. Jean

You are welcome to join us at our next Whodunit meeting which will be held at Chapters Dartmouth location at Mic Mac Mall on Tuesday, August 30th.  At that time we will discuss the thriller "The kind worth killing" by Peter Swanson.

Whodunit Book Club - February 23, 2016

The group was excited to welcome a new member this evening!  There were eleven bodies present at the meeting, but two others voted on the book in absentia.

The title we discussed was "The Forgotten Girls" by Sara Blaedel.  This novel is the seventh title in a Danish mystery series featuring policewoman Louise Rick.
Usually Whodunit reads the first novel in a series so this was a bit of a departure for us.
The novel was received well.  Out of a possible 10 points "The Forgotten Girls" garnered a healthy score of 7.5 with many members saying they would read another book in the series. Interestingly though, most said that they would read future novels in the series but would not likely go back and read the previous novels.

The club felt that the novel would have benefited from a map depicting some settings of the novel and their relationship to each other.

Adjectives used to describe this novel included: dark, graphic, disturbing, gruesome and intense.  Typical Nordic Noir!

The novel featured Lousie Rick, an officer on a newly created Missing Persons task force with the Danish police.  Formerly a homicide detective, Louise has brought her many years of experience with her to her new role.  She meets her new partner, Eik (pronounced Ache) who turns out to be a worthy foil to her after a somewhat rocky start...

Women have been disappearing near a forest situated near where Louise was brought up.  Her familiarity with the area aids in the investigation.

The novel delves into atrocities committed against inmates of a mental health institution, and the attendant malpractice and corruption that involved.  There was mention of Utica cribs and other horrible means of restraint.

Some Whodunit members found that subject matter very disturbing and found they could not 'warm' to the characters - whilst others found the characters sympathetic due to their damaged pasts.   Some felt the novel was hard to get into - perhaps because they did not feel that the translation from the Danish language was a smooth one, leaving some aspects of the novel unexplained.

Most agreed that the mystery/plot of the novel was good, though some were dissatisfied with the ending.  There was a surprise at the end which some readers enjoyed.

This month's lucky winners of giveaway books were:
1. Charlaine
2. Laird
3. Marilyn
4. Carmella

Our next Whodunit Book Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 29th, 2016 when we will discuss the novel "Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter.

Whodunit Book Club - May 26, 2015

A dozen loyal Whodunit members attended the May meeting.  The novel under discussion this month was "The devotion of Suspect X" by Keigo Higashino.  This is the first novel we've discussed as a group that was set in Japan.

 We always rate the novel we are discussing out of a possible 10 points.  "The devotion of Suspect X" garnered a score of 7.75 with 8 out of 12 members stating they would read another book by this author.
 

Curiously it was the members with little or no expectations that rated the book the highest.  Most members stated that the plot was ingenious and that they were surprised and amazed by the ending.   This was not a 'Whodunit' per say.  It was a howdunit. A multi-layered puzzle created by the very clever author.

The novel contained one after another brilliant and unforeseen twists that appealed to many.  It was commented that there was little character development and a rather choppy flow to the narrative - but we speculated that this might have been caused by the translation from Japanese to English.
The protagonist Ishigami was a mathematician and his character was dispassionate about most things with his heart entirely taken up with mathematics and his obsession, his beautiful neighbour, Yasuko. 
Ishigami was a solitary man who had little if any social life.  His genius set him apart from society.  As Oscar Lavent said, “There's a fine line between genius and insanity".

Some members said that they were disappointed that the novel did not give a more detailed description of Japanese society.  One member said that the novel portrayed an interesting snapshot of society.  Perhaps that was to show that no matter where we live some things remain constant.  Love, hate, abuse, despair, loneliness, homelessness, poverty etc.

This novel is highly regarded in the author's native Japan garnering numerous awards, including the 134th Naoki Prize, which is a highly regarded award. The novel also won the 6th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the mystery novels category in Japan. 2006 Honkaku Mystery Best 10 and Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2006, annual mystery fiction guide books published in Japan, ranked the novel as the number one!
The English translation was nominated for the 2012 Edgar Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Barry Award for Best First Novel.

Read my personal review on my blog: Fictionophile

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Congratulations go out to the winners of this month's book giveaways:
1. Marilyn
2. Gaye
3. Heather
4. Marlene

The next Whodunit Book Club meeting will be held on June 30th - when we will discuss the stand-alone historical novel "The last Dickens" by Matthew Pearl.
There will be NO meeting in July.

Whodunit April 29, 2014

What a great evening of book talk and laughter with friends!
Although we were a small group of eleven, a few of those present were folks we hadn't seen for a while - which made it very pleasant to 'catch up.'

The novel discussed this evening was "Snow White Must Die" by German novelist Nele Neuhaus.

As usual we went around the circle to see what our group thought of the book and how they rated it out of a possible ten points.   Opinions were varied, but the overall average score was 8/10 with only half of the members present saying they would read another novel by this author.

Negative comments:
Too many characters with confusing and unfamiliar German names which were hard to keep straight.  Especially annoying was the use of characters surnames, then later their forenames.  This is a tactic that we as a group find irritating and unnecessarily confusing.  Some found the novel to be longer than it needed to be with too many twists in the narrative.  The ending was said to be weak and implausible.  The author employed the use of many 'red herrings' which was annoying to some readers whilst other readers enjoyed them.

Positive comments:
Great characterization and descriptions throughout.  Especially liked were the protagonist, Tobias and his father.  Also greatly liked were the police officers along with the back story of their personal lives.
Some said that they just couldn't wait to get back to the novel after having to put it down. The novel aptly described the evil that comes from abuse of power.  Tobias served over ten years in prison for a crime that he did not commit.  His homecoming is less than joyful when he finds how his father's life and business have suffered in the interim.  It made the plot even more tragic when it was realized just how many people were affected by the crime's fallout.
Many enjoyed the writing style, but wondered if some nuances might have been lost in the translation from German to English. 

They say "It takes a village to raise a child".  After reading this novel one wonders.... does it take a village to kill a child.  Everyone seems to be hiding something.  The 'ties that bind' were not just familial, they spread to the entire village and their dependency on the rich and powerful Claudius Terlinden.

"Neuhaus is terrific at creating the complex claustrophobia of a village where the same families have lived for generations."--Express review

"Snow White Must Die" is the first of Nele Neuhaus’s crime novels featuring the police detective team of Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirchoff to the be translated from her native German into English, though it is actually the fourth in the bestselling series.  It has already been published in 15 countries with more than three million copies in print.

It was chosen by GoodReads as their 'group read' for the month of April.

 

The lucky winners of this month's book giveaways:

1. Brian x2

2. Lynne

3. Heather x2

4. Marilyn

5. Nancy

6. Carmella

7. Jean

8. Brenda  x2

9. Cathy

There will NOT be a meeting of the Whodunit Mystery Book Club in May.

On June 24th we will meet again to discuss "Loyalty" by Ingrid Thoft

Whodunit Meeting May 28, 2013

Spring has sprung! Seventeen members attended Whodunit on a sunny 16 degree C. evening.

We gathered to discuss the novel "The Chalk Circle Man" by Fred Vargas.  Translated from the French, this is the first novel in a series which features Commissaire Adamsberg of the Parisian police.  With unorthodox but effective detecting methods, Adamsberg has an uncanny way of detecting the evil in others.  This novel was the winner of The Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie International Dagger in 2009. 

Despite its literary merits, the rating of the book by Whodunit members was very polarized. There were none who were ambivalent about the novel.  Sixteen of our readers either loved it or hated it.  One abstained from voting because they did not read the book. The average rating out of a possible 10 points was 6.7.

The novel was published in French in 1991 but it did not reach the English audience until 2009.  The reasons members gave for disliking the novel were very similar to the reasons given for really enjoying it.  The characters were eccentric.  Some deemed them unbelievable and farfetched.  Others made a conscious decision to like them and enjoy them, while still others admired the characterizations as an in-depth study of human nature.  One of the central characters was a people-watcher/voyeur who stalked people just to study their behaviour.  Another central character was a young, handsome blind man who was in denial of his disability and enraged by its limitations.

The chalk circles of the title either bored the readers or intrigued them.  Adamsberg recognized them as the portent of evil that the Chalk Circle Man wanted them to be.  He always labeled them with the phrase "Victor, woe's in store, what are you out here for?"

Adamsberg's second in command, Inspector Danglard is an alcoholic single father of five.  His logic and sound police practice are a perfect compliment to Adamsberg's more quirky methods of detection.  The fact that he drinks white wine incessantly turned off the books detractors, but made him more interesting to its champions.

Not a typical mystery novel, "The Chalk Circle Man" is a novel whose character development surpasses the crime element of the story.  That being said... the ending- with its delightful 'twist' was satisfying and had no loose ends

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau.
If you want to read a 'Guardian' interview with Fred Vargas click here.

The seven books in this series to date:

1. The Chalk Circle Man
2. Have Mercy on Us All
3. Seeking Whom He May Devour
4. Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand
5. This Night's Foul Work
6. An Uncertain Place
7. The Ghost Riders of Ordebec

This month's lucky winners of the book giveaways were:

Carolyn, Brenda, Heather, Tracy and Shawna. 

On June 25th we will meet again to discuss "The Dying Light" by Henry Porter.