Tag: Mystery

in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware: A Review

“For some reason his words made me shiver. Perhaps it was the tree trunks, like silent watchers in the growing dark.” in a dark, dark wood, Ruth Ware

I will give Ruth Ware this: in a dark dark wood begins with a compelling hook. Imagine one day you get an invitation. Imagine that your childhood best friend is getting married and her maid of honor has invited you and a select group of other people to spend a weekend away for her hen do (that’s British-speak for a 48 hour bachelorette party). Now imagine you haven’t seen or spoken to that childhood friend since you skipped town a decade ago. Would you go? Oh, and the hen weekend is in a glass house in the woods in the middle of nowhere. That is the choice that faces Nora, the main character, in the opening chapters of the book.

In some ways, this novel follows the same patterns as a lot of contemporary domestic thrillers like Girl on the Train or The Woman in Cabin 10. When the novel opens, Nora is in hospital. There has been an accident but she can’t remember what happened; she thinks someone might be dead. The story line moves back and forth between Nora’s present, trying to piece together what happened, and her past when she reluctantly agreed to go on the hen weekend. As the novel shifts from present to past and back again, Ware does the same with Nora’s character development, revealing her solitary life in London and eventually her back story as a girl (known as Lee to her friends) growing up in Reading. As the reader pieces together the fragments that Nora remembers with her past experiences as Lee, darker secrets are revealed. What’s interesting is that despite following the popular style of genre, Ware also gives a nod to classic locked room mysteries – six guests in a house in the woods, no cell reception, everyone seems to know something that the others don’t, and then something very bad happens…

I don’t want to say too much about the plot in case you are planning on reading in a dark, dark wood but I did like the interplay between classic and contemporary thrillers in this novel.  (And Flo, the maid of honor and bride’s bff who turns out to be a little Single White Female, is pitch perfect). The one issue I had with the book is that much of the plot hinges on a romantic relationship that has left Nora brokenhearted and explains why she lives such a solitary life. That would be understandable, except that the relationship ended ten years ago when she was sixteen. Maybe I’m just not a romantic, but to me that was a little hard to believe and left me feeling a little apathetic about some of the events that occurred as a result.

If you have read in a dark, dark wood, send me a note and let me know what you thought. Until next time, happy reading!

A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders: A Review

“I couldn’t really summon any enthusiasm for the idea that Kit’s disappearance had anything to do with his journalistic life. I was sure plenty of people disliked him, or were jealous – he was successful and he didn’t suffer fools gladly. Although who did? Were there fool sufferers who lined up, panicked there might not be enough fools to go around?” – A Murder of Magpies, by Judith Flanders

Happy October, everyone! If you like mystery, then A Murder of Magpies might be for you. The main character, Samantha Clair, works in publishing but becomes an amateur sleuth after one of her authors suddenly disappears. For the most part, the book follows the conventional lines of a whodunnit but Flanders incorporates a lot of elements that keeps her mystery feeling fresh rather than clichéd. Sam is a fiercely independent woman with a self-deprecating sense of humor. Her witty observations about her own actions and the actions of other characters give the story a tongue-in-cheek feel as Flanders pokes fun at the publishing industry, office politics, lawyers, mother/daughter relationships and just about anything else that crosses her path.

The mystery itself has a very contemporary feeling: a successful fashion journalist, Kit Lovell, disappears after preparing to publish a book connecting the suspicious death of a leading fashion designer to corruption and organized crime in the world of haute couture. In her attempt to find out what happened to Kit, Sam uncovers fraud, money laundering and has to consider that her friend has been murdered for uncovering the story. And at the same time, Sam has to figure how to tell her most successful author that the “blockbuster” she just handed in for editing is a complete dud. It is easy to get through this book quickly because the pace of the novel keeps you turning the page as Sam tries to simultaneous balance her full-time job as an editor with her newfound role as an amateur detective.

Two dimensional characters can be a pitfall of the mystery novels, but Flanders’ characters are well-developed and appealing. Sam’s mother is a very successful lawyer who is willing to help her daughter bend (ok, break) a few laws to help find Kit. Sam’s personal assistant is a goth millennial, her biggest rival at work is a pompous jerk named Ben. The officer assigned to the case is Jake Fields, who is by turns impressed and exasperated by the intelligence and tenacity of Sam and her mother as they mostly ignore his demands that they leave the detective work to the police. At every turn, the female characters in this book are clever, strong and resourceful. Sam goes toe-to-toe with high-powered attournies, the CEO of an international congolmerate and suspected criminals. If Inspector Field is looking for a damsal in distress to rescue, he won’t find her in this novel.

I won’t say much more because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read A Murder of Magpies but as mysteries go, this one is bright and fun – equally as readable for its compelling characters and dry humour as for its complex mystery.

Are you reading a good mystery this fall? Drop me a comment and let me know! Until next week, happy reading!