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 meeting May 31, 2016

Due to the fact that there was no Whodunit meeting in April we had two whole months to read this month's novel.   Sadly, not many of the twelve people in attendance enjoyed it...
The average score out of a possible 10 points was: 3.16 with almost all saying they would not read another novel by this author!

The novel under discussion?

Most Whodunit members had high hopes for this one and almost all were happy with the Toronto setting.  A debut novel by Canadian Elisabeth de Mariaffi, "The Devil you Know" turned out to be a disappointing read and it is surprising that this novel has been shortlisted for the Thomas Raddall Prize at this year's East Coast Literary Awards.  

Can they be talking about the same book???

The Goodreads description of the book:

Debut novel about a rookie reporter, whose memories of the murder of her childhood best friend bring danger—and a stalker—right to her doorstep.

The year is 1993. Rookie crime beat reporter Evie Jones is haunted by the unsolved murder of her best friend Lianne Gagnon who was killed in 1982, back when both girls were eleven. The suspected killer, a repeat offender named Robert Cameron, was never arrested, leaving Lianne’s case cold. 

Now twenty-one and living alone for the first time, Evie is obsessively drawn to finding out what really happened to Lianne. She leans on another childhood friend, David Patton, for help—but every clue they uncover seems to lead to an unimaginable conclusion. As she gets closer and closer to the truth, Evie becomes convinced that the killer is still at large—and that he’s coming back for her.

What Whodunit thought:

• The protagonist, Evie, was not someone that the reader could relate to.  She was a disturbed young woman with unresolved feelings about her friend's murder.  We wondered how such a scatterbrained, inexperienced reporter was put on one of the most important stories at her paper.  We wondered if perhaps her 'stalker' was a mere figment of her imagination...
• The plot was incohesive and disjointed.  With many stray tangents that were not followed up on, and many real people mentioned, it was almost as if the author tried to cram too much into her narrative, thus weakening the whole.  A plot of unrealized potential.
• The ending left many loose ends and left an overall feeling of dissatisfaction and disappointment.

There were some positive comments about the writing, in particular some of the more suspenseful scenes. It was said that the novel attempted to create a snapshot of the volatile and unsettling time of the infamous Paul Bernardo case and how it affected the general public.

The novel we will discuss at our next meeting of Whodunit on Tuesday, June, 28, 2016:

"Alex" by Pierre Lemaitre

New members welcome!

The lucky winners of new reading material this month?

1. Marilyn

2. Charlaine

3. Carmella

4. Jane

Whodunit Book Club - April 28, 2015

Eleven members gathered this evening to discuss Jamie Mason's debut novel "Three Graves Full".

We were all over the map in our rating of this novel.  Some high scores of 9/10 and some low scores or 2/10 and 3/10.   This disparity of views always makes for lively discussion.  The average score tallied 6/10 with half of the members saying they would read another novel by this author.

Written with wit - some of the Whodunit members found the humor to their taste while others did not.  We discussed that how you approached this novel greatly influenced the level of enjoyment.  If you looked upon it as a serious mystery - it came across as farcical.   If you approached it as a humorous novel, then your enjoyment was increased.

Many agreed that the author employed great descriptions (though some thought there were too many of those).  Some thought that there were too many disturbingly gory scenes, while others viewed those scenes as being a tool the author used to relay black humor.

The protagonist was a sympathetic character - even though he was a murderer.  Favorite characters were the entire Ford family with many readers really liking the Ford's dog, Tess.  Some loved the parts that were written from Tess's point of view, while others expressed that this was way too farfetched.   One astute reader cited that the novel was a good study of human nature.  The characters seemed to take no responsibility for their own actions - claiming that other people or factors were at fault.

We learned that Jamie Mason had "great kindling" for this novel.  She based it upon a headline she read "Landscaper finds skull in mulch bed".

I personally read this novel back in 2012 and reviewed it on my blog: Fictionophile.  As you'll see by my review, I enjoyed it tremendously.

Jamie Mason now has a second novel published "Monday's Lie".

 

Tonight's lucky winners of book giveaways were:

1. Marilyn

2. Nancy

3. Cathy

4. Brenda

5. Carmella

The next meeting of the Whodunit Book Club will be held on May 26, 2015 when we will discuss the novel "The devotion of Suspect X" by Keigo Higashino

Whodunit Book Club - July 29, 2014

On this midsummer's eve fourteen Book Club members attended the Whodunit meeting at Chapters, Dartmouth.  We discussed the novel "The Killer Trail" by Canadian author D.B. Carew.

The discussion was animated, lively and entertaining - which is more than can be said for the novel.
The average score that Whodunit members gave the book was 3.5 out of a possible ten points.

The overall comments reflected disappointment by the readers.  The premise held promise, but the poor execution failed miserably.  The situations and relationships were unrealistic.  The writing was amateurish and the narrative was far-fetched.  One member equated the novel to a school boy's essay, with juvenile writing and stilted dialog.

The protagonist was an unprofessional and unintelligent social worker.  He was unbelievable in that his actions were unlikely to have happened.  The favourite character of the readers seemed to be Ray, the villian - mostly because his character was more fleshed out than the others.   Some characters seemed to be surplus to requirements altogether.  There was an unexplained kidnapping, a mole that was not revealed, an unnecessary sex scene, and a non-existent ending.  Some members commented that they thought there were several pages missing from their books as the ending just wasn't there.  No resolutions.  Nothing explained.  Nothing.

The book was not entirely without merit.  The cover and the title were good.  The  contemporary premise promising.

Of the author, one member said kindly "Bless his heart, he tried".

Curiously, this debut novel , The Killer Trail, was short listed in 2013 for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger.   Whodunit wonders.... "What were they thinking?"

 The lucky winners of free books this month were:
1.  Marilyn
2.  Marlene
3.  Carmella
4.  Cathy D.
5.  Jean
6.  Lynne

Whodunit book club's next meeting will be held on September 30th when we will discuss the British mystery novel "Under your skin" by Sabine Durrant.

Whodunit members enjoy a 10% discount for book club selections.

"Under your skin" is also available as a Kobo ebook.

June 24th Whodunit Book Club Meeting

Regretfully, I missed the June meeting of Whodunit.
Thanks to Marlene who kindly wrote the following summation:

Eleven members of the Whodunit Book Club met on a lovely summer evening to discuss Ingrid Thoft’s private eye thriller and first published novel entitled Loyalty. Thoft’s PI is a woman, Fina Ludlow, a law school drop-out who works as a private investigator in the firm headed by her domineering attorney father and alongside her three lawyer brothers. The Ludlow family is decidedly dysfunctional and the family firm has built its ethically-challenged reputation on personal injury cases. When Melanie, the wife of one of the brothers goes missing Fina is given the task of finding out what happened to her without involving the police. The closer she gets to solving the case the more disturbing it becomes for her personally and the more her family closes ranks, forcing her to make choices based on her loyalty to the truth and to members of her family.

A number of people commented on the similarity to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and to Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone. Most members, however, were less than enthusiastic about this novel and its feisty heroine, although one person liked it a lot. Scores ranged between 4 and 9 with the average working out to 5/10. Only one person said they would definitely read another book in the series.

Positive comments: Interesting characters: the niece, Haley and brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Patty, were likeable and sympathetic; the relationship between the madam, Bev and her doctor son, Connor was interesting; the Boston setting was authentic and well-drawn; good book cover that tied into the story; good use of humour.

Negative comments: too much detail that didn’t add to the story or character development, especially around Fina’s junk food diet and wardrobe choices; too many characters and the characters of Fina’s mafia-like family were not well developed or differentiated from each other; lacked suspense; story ended abruptly with details of what exactly happened to Melanie not satisfactorily explained.

Before the book discussion Pam shared pictures of her recent trip to London and Paris. Lucky book draw winners were: Margaret, Marilyn, Heather, and Cathy.

Please note there will be no Whodunit Book Club meeting in August. The book selection for July is Canadian, set in British Columbia, The Killer Trail by D. B. Carew.

Whodunit Book Club Feb. 25, 2014

Fourteen friends met for book club on this frigid February evening.
A special evening for Whodunit as we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the club's meeting in our present location.  Quite a record for a book club!
The book discussed this evening was "Starvation Lake" by Bryan Gruley.
A debut novel in what is now a series of three titles, the clubs rating out of ten was 6.8 points with half the persons in attendance stating they wanted to read more novels by this author.

Set in northern Michigan, the novel's protagonist Gus Carpenter is a talented hockey goalie. Though Gus walked under a shadow. He was blamed for the town's hockey team losing the state championship game back when he was a teenager.  Since then the town's team hasn't come close and Gus is the scapegoat they blame as a jinx.  After that fiasco he left home for Detroit and a career in journalism.  That too went 'belly-up' and he returned home to Starvation Lake to get himself back on his feet.  Now he works on the small town newspaper as editor.

Ten years ago his former hockey coach went through the ice on his snowmobile.  When the snowmobile is washed up at a different lake than the one where the accident occurred there is rampant speculation of underground tunnels and finally murder.  Gus and his paper set out to investigate this, the town's biggest news in a decade.  The investigation leads to unearthing some dark and dirty secrets which hit close to home.

For a first novel, there were many positive comments such as:
Many of the characters were likeable
Believable premise
Vivid depictions of small town life
Lots of hockey scenes
The author's passion for hockey comes through the narrative

On the negative side:
Starts slow
Too many hockey scenes with too much detail about the game
Too much repetition

The central character of Gus was portrayed as naive and immature.  He seemed self-absorbed.  He let one occurrence in his past colour his whole life. The town compounded his guilt by dwelling on his failure.  They dwelled on him because he did the only bad thing in the town that wasn't a 'secret'.  They couldn't talk about what was really at the root of the 'town rot'.

Some characters were pitiful favorites like Gus's friend Soupy.
An overall favorite character was Sheriff Dingus Aho.

One of the least favorite characters was the paper's receptionist Tilly.

Gus's mother was disliked by some readers, while others thought her to have made the best of a deplorable situation.

By the end of the novel, (which held a surprise for many Whodunit members), Gus had matured somewhat which bodes well for future novels in the series.

One member, Carmella,  declared that this club meeting was a "Who won it" rather than a "Whodunit" as there were six lucky winners of book giveaways.
1. Jean
2. Shauna
3. Carmella
4. Marilyn
5. Nancy
6. Heather

The Whodunit Book Club will meet next on Tuesday March 25th when we will discuss
 "Crossing places" by Elly Griffith.

Whodunit Book Club January 28, 2014

Thirteen members braved the frigid January temperatures to attend January's book club meeting.   The temperature was a great segue to our title this month which was set in the harsh winter of 1867.
We discussed "The tenderness of wolves" by Stef Penney.

A debut novel and winner of the prestigious Book of the Year "Costa Award" in 2006, this month's selection spurred much lively discussion.  Our group rated it 7 out of a possible 10 points.

Favorable comments:

• Vivid, wonderfully crafted descriptive passages.  (perhaps attributed to the fact that the author is also a screenwriter)
• Interesting, complex and tenacious characters in a dramatic environment.
• Historical accounts of life led by Scottish immigrants and the Hudson Bay Company were compelling. 
• Well researched and well-written.

Unfavorable comments:

• Overly long with some story lines not relevant to the overall plot.
• Too many characters to form a cohesive whole.
• Geography research was at times unbelievable.
• Plot seems to unravel near the end and loses focus

General comments:
Not a page turner (not necessarily a bad thing...)
Not a mystery in the traditional sense - more a human interest story
Remarkable descriptions considering it was written by someone who has never been to Canada
Each character seemed like an outcast in her/his own way
Favorite characters were Mrs. Ross, William Parker and Donald Moody
Title perhaps refers to William Parker as much as it does to wolves
Indian characters were treated favorably throughout the narrative
Harsh conditions and corruption of the time period were well portrayed

Congratulations to this month's winners of the book giveaways:

1. Carmella
2. Marilyn
3. Jane
4. Jean
5. Nancy

February's selection for Whodunit:
"Starvation Lake" by Bryan Gruley

Whodunit Book Club Nov. 26, 2013

Our last book club gathering of 2013 took place on a dark and drizzly November night.  A relatively small group of thirteen attended this month's Whodunit meeting.

We discussed Edward Conlon's debut novel "Red on Red".

"In "Red on Red," Conlon's fictional detectives shift between investigating the suicide of a Mexican immigrant and defusing a drug war. A complicating factor is that Meehan has been planted by Internal Affairs to report on Esposito.  When Meehan comes to respect Esposito more than himself, he is faced with a moral dilemma.   Esposito attacks the day and the job enthusiastically, while Meehan drags himself to work."  The book described the alliances and loyalties, the emotional tolls, the temptations, the shades of gray inherent to police work.

Every month we canvass the members to rate the novel under discussion out of a possible ten points.  "Red on Red" earned a very low score of 4.1

Could this be because we are a predominantly female group and this was essentially a man's book?  Perhaps.

Those members who gave it the lowest rating described the novel as verbose and over-long.  They found the characters apathetic and they didn't engage with the narrative of the plot.

Members who gave it the highest ratings stated that the writing was intelligent and insightful.  Esposito was a favorite character despite his lack of moral fiber.  He was a colourful charmer who enthusiastically played the system and got results.  Nick Meehan on the other hand was a middle-aged burn out with little self-respect who was essentially alone in the world.  "Nick had equal aversions to going to work and coming home".  Some Whodunit members compared the novel to a Greek tragedy.

New York was an essential character in the novel.  Conlon writes of his city with unblinkered affection.  He writes "This city was the world".   A multicultural, bustling, impersonal, dirty, crime-ridden, artsy and yet beautiful metropolis which bears witness to millions of human dramas daily.

The novel was not a mystery as such. It was more a detailed expose on the drudgery and all-consuming nature of police work in a large metropolis.  The toll the work plays on their values and their family relationships.

The title "Red on Red" refers to the act of enemies killing enemies.  In this case 'perp on perp' murder.  Essentially when the garbage takes itself out.   Only police officers who are jaded by the crime and depravity they see constantly could identify with the phrase.

Edward Conlon is a NYPD police officer who comes from a family of police officers.  He speaks about his novel to David Goodwillie in this June 2011 online interview.

 This month's lucky winners of free books were:
1. Carolyn
2. Heather
3. Shawna
4. Nancy
5. Margaret

There will be no Whodunit meeting in December.
We reconvene on January 28th, 2014 when we will discuss the novel
"The tenderness of wolves" by Stef Penney.

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 Meeting November 27, 2012

The last Whodunit meeting of 2012 was a lively gathering of eighteen diverse mystery lovers.  We all know each other fairly well by this time which makes the club discussions even more interesting.
Those who were absent were missed, but we realize that this busy time of year - on a clear and crisp November evening there are many reasons why members might miss a meeting. To those members we wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The novel discussed this evening was "Fall from Grace" by Canadian novelist Wayne Arthurson. Set in Edmonton, Alberta, the novel's protagonist is a journalist who is struggling to get his life back on track after losing everything he held dear.

Leo Desroche is assigned to cover the murder of a young native prostitute named Grace. His article starts a chain of events that leads him to a much, much bigger story, and puts his life in danger. Meanwhile he tries to re-establish relations with his family with whom he has been estranged since his own personal 'fall from grace'.

As is our usual custom we canvassed the group to vote for the novel out of ten.  Our votes reflect our reading experience overall and do not necessarily reflect directly on the plot. Other factors can influence our vote such as cover art, poor editing, etc.  It was the latter that was mentioned frequently at tonight's meeting.  The editor missed omitted words, misspelled names and added words where there should have been none.  Many readers (of which I am one) find this very off-putting.
The group's overall rating was 6.47 out of a possible 10 points.  Only five of the members in attendance said they would likely read another book by this author.

The protagonist of the novel was deeply flawed.  A flawed central character is often appealing, but we must ask ourselves "How much will we accept?"  Leo Desroche is a compulsive gambler, a dead-beat Dad, a bank-robber and a recovering addict who formerly lived on the streets.  He is an army brat who comes from a mixed race family with Cree blood on his mother's side. These two factors seems to have created issues for him growing up.

Some readers found his many flaws acceptable, others found that though he seemed very intelligent he was a narcissist who tried to blame others for his many problems.  He appeared to be a character you either love or hate. He seemed to be constantly calculating risks. The title "Fall from Grace" seemed well chosen and reflected the novel's plot.  There seemed to be too many story lines happening concurrently.  However, there were many gripping passages that showed the true potential of the author's writing.

Wayne Arthurson is a journalist in real life, so his descriptions of the busy newsroom come from first-hand knowledge. The setting was well described and accurate according to those members familiar with the Edmonton area.  The descriptions were well written with the imagery so skillfully done that the reader could vividly picture the places and feel the cold...

"Fall from Grace" won the 2012 Alberta Reader's Choice Award.
Visit Wayne Arthurson's blog "Big Time Writer? Yeah right!".

The lucky winners of this month's book giveaways were:
Cathy
Margaret
Marlene
Heather
Marilyn
Brian

There will be no Whodunit meeting in December.  The club will reconvene January 29th when we will discuss Mark Billingham's novel "Sleepy Head".

Review of "Three Graves Full"

My latest book review for Simon & Schuster has just been posted to my 'Fictionophile' blog.
I reviewed "Three Graves Full" by Jamie Mason.  This is a debut novel that I highly recommend.

See my review: http://fictionophile.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/three-graves-full-by-jamie-mason/

October 30, 2012 Whodunit Meeting

The Whodunit Book Club met on a dark and blustery October 30 to discuss the Reluctant Detective by P.E.I. writer, Finley Martin. Twelve members attended and one sent an assessment in absentia. The reluctant detective of the title refers to a young, recently widowed mother (Anne with an “e”) who returns to Prince Edward Island to work as a receptionist for her Uncle Billy, a private detective. When Billy dies and leaves her the agency she decides to keep it and become a detective as well. 

As we went around the circle to give our assessments of the book the comments were not favourable. They included: improbable, far-fetched, unbelievable, cartoonish and silly. We discussed the structure of the book, its short chapters and uneven pacing. Most liked the way it started by introducing a new, reluctant, detective, finding her way, but then found it veered off into improbable action thriller mode. There was some humour in the book but many readers wanted more. One person pointed out inaccuracies concerning Africa and the use of the derogatory term “natives” when referring to African people. Despite these negative comments about 5 people said they would consider reading another book if it were to become a series. The Charlottetown setting rang true and the characters around the detective, although not necessarily the detective herself, were likeable. This combination has potential for another book. It was agreed that the blurb and publicity around the book created high expectations which were not met, especially when compared to other books we have been reading lately. The average rating was 5/10.

Gaye recommended a British writer, Sophie Hannah, and a book, "The Keeper of Lost Causes" by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Congrats to the winners of the book draw: Marlene, Cathy, Carolyn and Heather.

Many thanks to Marlene for writing this post in my absence.  I did read the book and heartily agree with the above comments.  I think it very unlikely that I will read another book my this author.

 

Next month’s book is Fall from Grace by Edmonton writer Wayne Arthurson

They are making a movie from Louise Penny's award-winning first novel "Still Life".  

Louise Penny announced on FaceBook that the movie will star none other than Nathaniel Parker!  Very exciting!

Louise Penny with Nathaniel Parker

See Louise Penny's FaceBook page for more information.

Whodunit September 25, 2012

It's beginning to feel like autumn!  Eighteen members attended the September meeting to discuss the novel "Blacklands" by Belinda Bauer.  This novel was not a 'whodunit' or even a 'whydunit'.  It was a superb example of a psychological thriller. A debut suspense/crime novel.


After much lively discussion as we went around the circle, the overall consensus rating was 8.5 out of 10.  The highest score from Whodunit so far I think.

What made the novel such a strong contender?  Without a doubt it was the characterization.  Belinda Bauer has the enviable ability to get inside the minds of her characters in such a way that the reader completely understands what drives them.  Whodunit members agreed it was an extremely well written book.

Everyone agreed that the novel was 'dark' with sometimes disturbing subject matter.  Some who don't really like that type of novel gave it a good rating despite this - based on the writing and character development.

The novel centers on a twelve year old boy, Stephen Lamb.  He lives with his dysfunctional family in the tiny village of Shipcott on the border of Exmoor.  Years before when his uncle Billy was roughly the same age as Stephen is now - he disappeared from the village and was presumed the victim of a serial murderer.  This family tragedy has had such an impact on the Lamb family that Stephen becomes the victim of emotional neglect.  He is used by his only and only friend Lewis.  He is bullied by older boys. His grandmother waits beside the window each day for Billy's return.  His mother is overwhelmed by the hardships and drudgery of her life and takes it out on her sons.  Their lives are an endless cycle of poverty, disappointment and despair.

Despite his horrific background Stephen is a determined, bright, mature, sensible, courageous and perserverant character.  He becomes almost invisible to those around him.  His plight is such that the reader wants to 'mother' him with attention and praise as he is so lacking in these attributes.  When he does get a modicum of praise from his teacher on one occasion he treasures it.

Exmoor plays a huge part in the novel.  Stephen believes that his Uncle Billy is buried there.  He believes that if only he can find his uncle's body then he will be able to 'fix' his family.  To that end he spends every available hour up on the moor digging...  He realizes the vastness of the arduous task he has set himself and decides to write to the convicted child killer in prison to ask if he will tell him the location of Billy's body.

A correspondence develops between the prisoner and the boy.

Belinda Bauer made an excellent job of her characterization of the killer.  He was creepy and all too believeable.  The prison atmosphere was almost as chilling as the mind of the paedophile killer.

The only weakness in the plot seemed to center around the shooting of the escapee.  Some readers thought that the manner in which it came about didn't seem credible.

The pages leading up to the ending held the reader in a vice grip.  The tension was palpable, the scenes perfectly described and the finale was very satisfactory.

Belinda Bauer won the Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of 2010 for her debut novel "Blacklands".   She lives in Wales and is working on the third novel set in the fictional village of Shipcott.





The lucky winners of the book giveaways for September were:
1. Kim
2. Lynne  (yipee  - I won a hardcover copy of the latest Peter Robinson)
3. Betty
4. Melanie
5. Cathy

When we meet again on October 30th we will discuss the novel "The reluctant detective" by Finley Martin.

Whodunit Book Club May 31, 2011

Sixteen Whodunit members attended our May meeting on one of the first lovely evenings after a spell of rain and fog. There's dedication for you!
Sadly, our fearless leader was absent due to a family bereavement.
Gaye took charge of the meeting in her absence and she did a fine job of chairing our unruly group.
The novel this month was unlike previous picks in that it was a spy novel. "At Risk" by Stella Rimington was recommended by one of our members. We were asked to rate the novel out of 10. The average rating was 6.9 with the following breakdown: 3x8.5 ; 5x8 ; 1x8.1 ;1x7.9 ; 3x6 ; 2x5 ; 1x1
Written by the head of Britain's MI5, Stella Rimington brings insider knowledge to the subject of her novels. Her protagonist, Liz Carlyle goes on to feature in 5 other books in the series the most recent of which is "Rip tide" which comes out this year. She writes of plausible situations in a fashion that was appreciated by many, but was too verbose and detail driven for some. It was generally agreed that the first third of the book was slow, but that the plot gained momentum and was a page-turner toward the end. Most members spoke of their dislike for the MI6 character, Bruno. The author seemed to fully develop the personalities of her women characters -- much more than her male characters. Her portrayal of the terrorists was sympathetic. No small feat when you think about it... The target of the terrorists was kept a secret from the protagonists AND the reader which was appreciated by most of us. We were suprised when the target was revealed. The physical descriptions of setting were well done. So much so that the reader could almost feel the cold and hear the explosion.

Stella Rimington's first book was a memoir, "Open Secret". This work tells of her career in the MI5, which she joined in 1969 and worked with for close to 30 years. In 1992 she was appointed as the first female Director General of MI5. In 1993, Stella Rimington became the first DG of MI5 to pose openly for cameras at the launch of a brochure outlining the organization's activities. She became a Dame Commander of Order of the Bath in 1996. She has been called the First Lady of Espionage and has been chosen to chair the 2011 Man-Booker Prize.

You can see a video clip of an interview with Stella Rimington online.

Members were asked the question: "Do you usually read the acknowledgements, dedication and thank-you in the book you are reading?" Most do citing that they want to learn a little bit about the author and are curious to ascertain from where they got their research and support. Some said that it depended upon whether they liked the book or not.

Lucky book winners this month were: Jody, Cathy, Betty and Tracey. Congratulations girls!

Next month's meeting on June 28th we will discuss the novel: "Life sentences" by Laura Lippman.