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 meeting March 29, 2016

Whodunit Book Club members were delighted to welcome another new face at this month's meeting. Fifteen members came together on a chilly and windy evening to discuss the thriller "Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter. Some attendees thought the author's name was very fitting due to the extreme and graphic violence depicted in the novel.

The description of the novel from the author's website:

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenage sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

As is our usual custom we went around the circle and each member in attendance rated the book out of a possible ten points. The views were very diverse. Some loved the book, some just couldn't abide it at all - citing the recurring theme of violence and torture detracted from their having any enjoyment from the novel whatsoever. As a result, the average score was 7/10 with nine members saying they would read another book by this author.

Some adjectives used to describe "Pretty Girls" were: disturbing, graphic, intense, etc.  It was all those things and more.  With a high body count the novel felt like a film script.  The many plot twists, fast pacing, and skillful writing ensured that it was a page-turner. However, the book was not for the squeamish.  Torture, gore, and rape were described in graphic detail... too much detail for some.  Others thought the vivid depictions were necessary to ensure that the reader was fully apprised of the extent of evil of the novel's villain.

Discussion arose as to whether society is now becoming desensitized to the evil that man can perpetrate upon his fellow man...  It was also questioned as to whether people of varying ages would react differently to the graphic nature of the novel.

Some readers enjoyed the psychological study of the damaged family while others couldn't connect with the characters on any level.

Listed on the Globe and Mail's list of 100 best books, "Pretty Girls" is listed in the crime section.  Goodreads rates the book very highly with the average score taken from over thirty-one thousand ratings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There will be no Whodunit Book Club meeting in April.
We meet again on May 31st to discuss
  "The Devil you Know" by Elisabeth de Mariaffi.

Lucky winners of the giveaway books this month were:
1. Brian
2. Carolyn
3. Crystal
4. Jane

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 January 26, 2016

January's book was "Blood Will Out" by Walter Kirn.  A change of pace for Whodunit, as it is a true crime book rather than our usual fiction.

The reviews for this book were so overwhelmingly positive, and so opposite to the reaction of the group!
It was quite disappointing, not at as expected, lots of potential though...

All agreed it was not a typical true crime book, it was more of a memoir, about the author's personal relationship with "Clark Rockefeller", a notorious con artist and convicted murderer.
All agreed that it was a quick read, but dull, we wanted to know more about "Rockefeller" but the perspective was Kirn's and no one found this appealling/interesting.

I thought this could have been a great read if the author had written it as a journalist, as "Rockefeller" is a fascinating character.
We couldn't figure out why Kirn was "friends" with "Rockefeller" for 10+ years when the relationship seemed so one-sided and while Kirn was totally taken in by his lies he didn't even seem to like him.
Kirn had a long-distance "friendship" with "Rockefeller", who was then charged with a 25-year old murder and sentenced to life in prison.

As usual the club rated the book out of a possible ten points.
The total points for the 11 attendees was 13 so that's an average of 1.2 out of 10!
This book set a record as the lowest-scored book in Whodunit's history!

No one wished to read another book by the author.

We meet next at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 23rd
Our February selection is The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel (Danish author).

You can always find the latest on Chapters Dartmouth's Book Clubs on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/87982413118/

My most anticipated titles for 2016

I have committed to reading and reviewing a LOT of fiction titles in 2016 via NetGalley, Edelweiss, and TLC Book Tours.

Of the ones I’ve agreed to review – I've listed TEN of the titles that I am MOST looking forward to!  

You just might find a title to add to 

YOUR TBR list !

Top 15 of 2015

I’ve read 70 novels in 2015, many of them excellent.  So you can understand my dilemma in choosing only 15 titles as my personal favorites.  I’ve been very lucky to have enjoyed about 90% of my reading this year.  Subsequently there are a lot of ‘honorable mentions’ that didn’t quite make my

Top 15  of 2015 list

 

Whodunit Book Club ~ November 24, 2015

For the last Whodunit meeting of 2015 we discussed "What kills good men" by David Hood.  Of the twelve members who voted, this novel garnered an average score of 7/10.  Most of the scores were high, though two very low scores brought the average down.
All but two members stated they would read another book by this author.  It turns out that there will be a sequel featuring many of the same characters - so they are in luck!

David Hood's novel, set in 1899 Halifax, Nova Scotia follows one week of a murder investigation.  The victim was a prominent member of society, a city alderman, who was living a double life.  The policemen were a duo of high integrity and morals.  The elder, Culligan Baxter, was a married man and a Catholic who was burnt out, embittered, and highly judgmental.  The younger,  Kenny Squire, was just learning the ropes and was working his very first murder investigation.  There was obviously a lot of respect between the two policemen and their rapport was a pleasure to read.

Of the book club members who thought highly of the novel - these are a few of the positive comments:

• vivid descriptions which transported the reader to both time and place of the book's setting
• well-developed characters
• well researched historical data
• thoughtful prose
• enjoyed the language
• good rendering of class distinction 
• realistic and believable ending

Here are a few of the more negative comments:

• long chapters  (each representing a day)
• too much emphasis put on descriptive passages
• too much tedious police procedure
• unsatisfactory ending - justice denied

Both those who liked the novel and those who didn't felt that the book could have benefited from a map.
The message of the novel was that power corrupts and nothing is black or white.

The title was discussed and we felt that the 'good man' of the title was not the murder victim, but rather the policeman, Culligan Baxter.  What 'kills' him is the fact that justice is often denied, and that the world is not black or white, but a shade of gray as murky as the Halifax fog.

Halifax City Police on the steps of the Grand Parade, c1914

 

The winners of the book giveaways this month were:

1. Cathy
2. Marilyn
3. Jane
4. Carolyn
5. Margaret 

The next meeting of the Whodunit Book Club will be January 26, 2016
We are trying something different next time... a true crime novel!
"Blood will out" by Walter Kirn
Hope to see you there!

Anyone interested in looking at some photos of 'old' Halifax might want to take a gander at this blog:  https://oldnorthend.wordpress.com/