Whodunit Book Club - August 25, 2015

After a two month break (there was no meeting in July), 13 members attended the August meeting of the Whodunit Mystery Book Club.

This month we discussed the novel "The Drop Zone" by Bob Kroll.

 

Opinions about the novel were varied.  A positive for us because the discussion is always livelier and more interesting when that is the case.  As is our usual practice, the members each rated the novel out of a possible 10 points stating whether or not they would read another book by the author.  With thirteen votes the average rating was  

6 1/4 points with six members saying they would read another title by Bob Kroll.

“The Drop Zone” introduces T. J. Peterson.  A police detective in an unnamed urban municipality in Eastern Canada.  Peterson has lost his wife, his daughter, his faith in God and his fellow man – and quite possibly… his job.    His wife he lost to a traffic accident while she was with another man.  His daughter is a teenage runaway who torments him with silent video calls of a derelict room furnished with an unmade bed and empty syringes.

Peterson, burnt out and hungover, is tasked with solving the brutal murder of a Catholic priest.  His investigations lead him to the dark and depraved world of teenage prostitution and sex trafficking.

The subject matter was dark and most considered it to be a 'noir' novel.

Although some thought it a fast-paced and interesting novel with a likable protagonist, others thought less of it.  The members who gave it low marks seemed to find that the protagonist was too flawed - a cliche who wallowed in his misery.

While some thought the ending clear and 'tied up', others didn't understand the ending and found it obscure. 

Although the setting was unnamed, and the fact that artistic license was taken by the author, we acknowledged that the novel was loosely set in our home city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The author's vivid descriptions ensured that there remained a frisson of recognition for certain places described.

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The lucky winners of book giveaways:

1. Marilyn

2. Nancy

3. Carmella

4. Carolyn

5. Cathy

Members will meet again on September 29th when we will discuss "Blue Monday" by Nicci French.

Whodunit Meeting February 3, 2015

The weather was so foul on the scheduled date for our Book Club meeting that it was rescheduled to tonight.  That being said - only seven brave souls were in attendance. February 2015 will be memorable for its nasty winter weather.

I am awaiting notes on the meeting from a member who attended.
I believe the general concensus was that the group very much enjoyed the novel discussed.
The group read was "Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith  (aka J.K Rowling)

Although I did not attend the meeting, I personally loved the novel and have written a review on my other blog:  Fictionophile

Of the six (not including the moderator, Pam) who attended - everyone won a prize!  Congrats all!

During our next Whodunit meeting we will discuss "The perfect ghost" by Linda Barnes

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.

Whodunit Book Club March 27, 2012

Fifteen Whodunit members blew in to the Dartmouth Chapters store on this blustery March evening.
The novel under discussion this month was the classic hard-boiled detective novel "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. Written in 1929 it was a departure from the traditional mystery stories of the time.
As is our new custom, we went around the group giving this month's novel a rating out of ten. The average score was 6.066
Although it was not everyone's book of choice, almost all of us agreed that marks were given due to the book's importance as a prototype for the modern day detective story. What contributes to a book to make it a 'classic'? we wondered "What books of our time will become classics of future generations?

"The Maltese Falcon" read almost like a screenplay. It was agreed that it was for this reason that it probably translated so well to the big screen. Those Whodunit members who viewed the famous movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor agreed that it was very enjoyable and a classic film noir.
You can view the trailer of this classic film on YouTube.

The character of Brigid O'Shaughnessy was the epitome of the classic femme fatale. The character of Sam Spade was the prototype for the classic hard-drinking, hard-smoking detective upon which so many other detective stories were based.
The novel did not develop the characters - so much so that the characters appeared shallow. It was mentioned that at no time were the thoughts of the characters revealed. Only the verbose descriptions and the actions of the characters moved the plot along. This was another factor that made the novel read like a screenplay. Some thought that the prevalence of lies told by the characters made the story confusing. There was no real sense of place, which seemed a shame given the setting of San Francisco. There was however a keen sense of time period. Written during a time when sexist comments and actions were commonplace and smoking was socially accepted by all.

Tracey shared her take on the deeper meaning of the novel. She referred to the story/parable told by Sam Spade about Flitcraft in which he maintains that people never change and that essentially they will repeat the same life patterns regardless of the different circumstances they find themselves in. She maintains that this was the underlying philosophy of "The Maltese Falcon". She enlightened us all, as we seem to have neglected looking beyond the surface to the deeper meaning of the plot.
I found an interesting review of the novel which shares some of Tracey's thoughts.

Dashiell Hammett had many jobs during his lifetime. One of which was working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency!

The lucky book winners this month were:
Marilyn, Tracey, Gaye and Shawna.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 24th at which time we will discuss the Ian Rankin novel "The Complaints".

Reminder: Facebook users can join the Facebook group: "Chapters Dartmouth book clubs"