Home and Away

A memorable episode:

The Chemistry Of Death (The David Hunter Thriller) by Simon Beckett

The author says it best about the idea behind his international bestselling debut, The Chemistry of Death, set in a rural village in Norfolk, England, and published five years ago in 2006:



What is The Body Farm?



Combining the menace of Thomas Harris and the forensics of Patricia Cornwell with storytelling skills uniquely his own, Simon Beckett has written a thriller with an unnerving and original twist.  This is unequivocally one of the best crime thrillers I have read this year or/and ever.  Can't say it hasn't been a good reading year for me!


The Chemistry of Death was shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Duncan Lawrie (Gold) Dagger Award in 2009 and the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2008.  More thrilling information about this book, etc, can be found on the author's website.  Take time to read.

Rating:  5/5

Home and Away

Veering away from reading for a moment on the penultimate day of May, I find myself watching the 5296th episode of one of the most popular Australian television soaps on television, which strikes a chord in my heart because I was there when they filmed Bianca and Liam's scene on the beach in December 2010.  It was an exhilarating moment for me to say the least.

Killing Hour by Andrew Gross

A horrific, decades-old crime...  A dark past...

Dr Jay Handler, a vascular surgeon from New York, is toasting his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife, Kathy, when he hears from his sister-in-law, Gabby, that his nephew has been found dead at the bottom of Morro Bay Rock, California.

At first, his death is ruled a suicide.  After all, his nephew, Evan, had always been a troubled kid and suffered specifically from bipolar disorder.  He had recently been remanded to a psychiatric ward and put under suicide watch.  A couple of days before his death, the ward released him to a halfway house for old people/Alzheimer's patients.  Why?  A day later, he supposedly left the halfway facility to take a walk.  He never came back.

In the meantime, there were two other gruesome murders. One, a detective was murdered in his home thirty miles south of Morro Bay.  Two, black and white photos of a mutilated naked woman was sent to Dr Handler's half-brother, Charlie, at his home in Grover Beach.  She was Charlie's ex-girlfriend.  There were knife wounds on their bodies resembling an open human eye.

As with any murder mystery, the million dollar question is are these deaths related and if so, how and why?  Is there a conspiracy stretching back to someone's shady past?  Every second counts when your family's at stake.

This story is especially poignant to the author as it is his way of remembering a close member of his family who died tragically two years ago and for anyone who has suffered the loss of a child.  Totally unputdownable, engrossing, great writing, highly suspenseful, Gross' best by far - I highly recommend it.  Killing Hour (published April 2011) will be released as Eyes Wide Open in July 2011 in the USA.

More information about the author and his other books can be found on his official website, Facebook and Twitter.

Rating:  5/5

Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah

The latest and sixth book of the DS Charlie Zailer and DC Simon Waterhouse series by Sophie Hannah is first published in Great Britain in 2011 by Hodder and Stoughton.  It will be published in the USA as The Other Woman's House next year, in 2012.

After becoming a fan of Hannah, I am quite disappointed with this book.  The plot is unbelievable, the twists and turns confuse me, I cannot understand the psychological aspects of the story and it is easily the worst book by Hannah, if I may say so.  The blurb looks promising, no doubt about that, but the unraveling is anything but.  I will not be recommending this book at all.

Hardcover blurb:  It's 1:15am.  Connie Bowskill should be asleep.  Instead, she's logging on to a property website in search of a particular house: 11 Bentley Grove, Cambridge.  She knows it's for sale, there's an estate agent's board in the front garden.

Soon Connie is clicking on the 'Virtual Tour' button, keen to see the inside of 11 Bentley Grove and put her mind at rest once and for all. She finds herself looking at a scene from a nightmare: in the living room, in the middle of the carpet, a woman lies face down in a huge pool of blood.  In shock, Connie wakes her husband Kit.  But when Kit sits down at the computer, he sees no dead body, only a pristine beige carpet in a perfectly ordinary room...

Your eyes tell you one thing.  Your husband says another.  Which do you trust?





I quite agree with Maxine's review on Petrona.

Rating:  1/5

Precious Blood (Book One, The Edward Jenner Series) by Jonathan Hayes

I spent my Sunday reading Precious Blood (2007) in bed.  As a voracious reader, I would say the plot is quite run-of-the-mill because I have read books similar to these in the past but for a debut, it is very well-written, intelligent and quite poetic.  Between the first and the second book, I much prefer the latter mainly because of where it is set ie the Everglades.  I am now looking very much forward to Hayes' third book set in the mountains in Colorado and more.  Hayes is an interestingly vibrant author to follow on Facebook - look out for his amazing photos!

A Murderati interview with Jonathan Hayes.

Backcover blurb:  They found her in the East Village, nailed to the wall of a railroad flat.  Dr Edward Jenner is a New York forensic pathologist: he has attended countless murder scenes and performed thousands of autopsies but the killing of 21-year-old Andie Delore is different.  The naked body is marked with an indecipherable ancient script and is arranged in the shape of a ritual sacrifice.

The murderer poses as a cop.  The sole eye witness is Andie's flatmate, Ana de Jong.  She can't trust the police anymore.  Instead she turns to Jenner for help.

But then a second victim is found in rural Pennsylvania.  Her head has been placed in a puddle of milk.

And then the third.  Another decapitation: her naked torso is decorated with exotic bird feathers...

The corpses have the same mysterious script.  The killer is leading Jenner and Ana into his own private nightmare.  A place from which there will be no escape.

Rating:  4/5

The Point Of Rescue by Sophie Hannah

Definition of familicide:  A type of murder or murder-suicide in which at least one spouse and one or more children are killed; or in which a parent or parents and possibly other relatives such as siblings and grandparents are killed.  In some cases, all of the family members' lives are taken. - (Wikipedia)

And this is the theme of The Point Of Rescue (2008), the third book in the DC Simon Waterhouse and DS Charlie Zailer psychological thriller series.  They say the hardest job in the world is a Mother's job.  I wholeheartedly agree and applaud the author for presenting us with the "realities of motherhood" that most mothers would rather keep mum about or shroud in a conspiracy of silence for fear of being branded an incompetent mother or one who is unable to cope.  After reading the author's first two books - Little Face and Hurting Distance - I am no stranger to Hannah's psychological tales which are full of strange, tense and unexplained details that wound deeper and deeper into a twisted knot of which there is no way out except for a terrifying conclusion.  Hannah's stories are original, very much unsettling, unpredictable, but also thought-provoking.  She is a brilliantly perceptive writer.

The Point of Rescue is published as The Wrong Mother in the USA and has been adapted for television - ITV1 - as Case Sensitive shown earlier this month in the UK.  For more information on this book/film, visit www.sophiehannah.com

Happy reading and watching!

Rating:  6/5

Inspector Singh Investigates: A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree by Shamini Flint

First line from Chapter One:  Cambodia.  What did he know about Cambodia of all places?

The Sikh Inspector Singh is back!

This time, he brings us on another one of his quirky and crime-ridden - of course! - journeys to Cambodia.  Travelbug has not brought me to that part of the world yet and I must admit I read this book with much anticipation and excitement, as much for the story as for the culture, architecture, peoples, lifestyle and its turbulent history.

When Inspector Singh was assigned to hold a watching brief in a trial of a man accused of crimes against humanity at the International War Crimes Tribunal in Phnom Penh, his first thought was to check out Cambodian food!  After all, what was there to do except twiddle his fat thumbs?

When eleven ex-Khmer Rouge were killed execution style by an unsub, the local corrupt police were, unsurprisingly, not that concerned.  But it was only when a witness of the war crimes tribunal was killed with a knife buried in his chest, authorities from two differing sides vied to manage the murder investigation, one side willing to window dress the investigation so as to avoid loss of face, and the other felt obligated to head the investigation as he was in charge of security at the tribunal.

Singh, however, found the violent murders so disturbing that he could not make himself walk away from the case when justice was knocking so hard and loud on his conscience.  The first question on the cop's lips was: are the deaths related to the trial and if so, why are these deaths occurring now, after so many years?  A more moral question was: can one ever atone for the past?  The past is the past but is it as easy as that for those still living, the survivors, who have suffered in so many ways and who demanded answers to the brutal deaths of millions of innocent people?  This is the most challenging of all Singh's investigations yet.  As large as he is, he could almost feel the weight of the Khmer Rouge regime on his shoulders.  Final question: can he seek justice for the Cambodian people?


Flint's books are a cross between a cosy mystery and the dark crime thrillers.  There is not so much state-of-the-art forensic laboratories and gritty subject matters to woo the readers, or even a domestic-themed cosy to pat those heavy reads, as a classic whodunit and intellectual mystery, where the emphasis is on a rational and good-natured solution, delivered with a bucketful of dry wit and contemplation.  Flint has done an impressive job of outlining Cambodia's damaged history with a modern-day murder investigation, making it a seriously entertaining read.


A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree is the fourth book in the compelling Southeast Asian series published in April 2011.  I will now sit back to await another year for Inspector Singh's next instalment, A Curious Indian Cadaver, where he is going to take us to India for another crime-ridden journey.  Also look out for Flint's next book, The Mendacity of Hope, a story of love, betrayal and war, set during World War II in Malaysia and Singapore available from October 2011.  Happy reading.

Flint at the Sydney Writers' Festival (16-22 May 2011) recently:



Rating:  4/5

A Hard Death (Book Two, The Edward Jenner Series) by Jonathan Hayes

Last line in the book:  In the golden light of the sinking sun, huge black vultures floated over the dense canopy of leaves, sometimes breaking away to drift off over the marsh, but always coming back to settle in the high branches and wait.

My first introduction to New York forensic pathologist, Dr Edward Jenner, brings me to understand that he has survived his last case by eliminating a serial killer and subsequently been suspended from his job and his reputation at stake.  When his mentor, Dr Marty Roburn, needed work cover so he could go on vacation, Dr Jenner jumped at the chance when he realized he needed to do something about his dwindling financial reserves.  His solitude is interrupted when two bodies in a car are pulled out of the canal and a late-night phone call sends him into the quiet backwater of the Florida Everglades where he finds a further four putrefying bodies hanging from a tree.  There is no such thing as a coincidence.  Is it possible the murders are related?  When another body of a young man is discovered on a stretch of road, can Jenner stop further killings and find answers to the executions?  

I particularly like the setting of the Everglades in Southwest Florida - for a travelbug like me - which I think sets the perfect tone for the build-up to a chilling and edge-of-the-seat finale.  In particular, it is hard not to like Jenner, who has the heart of a hero even when he is shot down repeatedly.  I reckon he is one of the strongest and realistic characters in the world of crime fiction today.  This book ticks all the boxes for me and I highly recommend it.  Am just a touch disappointed that there is no Book Three but understand that the author works as a full-time senior medical examiner in New York City and only writes in the evenings.  Anyway, who knows?  There may be something in the pipeline.  However, I hope there will be more to come from this fairly unheard-of author.


A Hard Death was published in April 2011.  His first book, Precious Blood, was debuted in October 2008.  More information about the British-born author and his works can be found on www.jonathanhayes.com

Rating:  6/5

Rupture by Simon Lelic

Rupture aka A Thousand Cuts is Lelic's debut published last year in 2010.  It is about a fundamentally respectable man who was treated so unfairly/badly that he did something very disturbing with tragic consequences.  I did not read this book in the end because neither the style of writing and the subject matter appealed very much to me.  I must point out that this in no way reflects upon the author but on my personal preference and taste.  The reviews out there have been excellent and I have posted a couple of my favourites (see below).  In the past, I would not post a book which I have not read but I thought it might appeal to other readers, so here it is.

Lelic explains:



The author reads an excerpt from his ground-breaking debut:



Review of Rupture by The Sunday Times, UK

Review of Rupture by Eurocrime

Rating:  Unread

Theodore Boone (The First Book in the Theodore Boone Series) by John Grisham

If you were to ask me, I would unequivocally name John Grisham as the very first author who introduced me to adult crime fiction/legal thrillers with his winning bestseller, The Firm (1991).  However, first roll of honour must go to two wonderful writers, Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene, who gave me hours and hours of pure bliss reading mystery stories when I was a young girl.

The reason I mentioned 'young' is because this time, Grisham has brought me back to my heydays by introducing a thirteen-year-old boy, Theodore Boone, who lives in Strattenburg (a fictional city) with his parents, both busy lawyers.  He is an only child.  He has a dog called Judge.  He is in the eighth grade at a public school where his favourite subject is Government with Spanish coming a close second.

Like any kid, he aspires to be like his parents when he grows up, one who handles the biggest cases and never loses before juries.  Sometimes, he dreams of becoming a wise and fair judge.  He is very at home at the local courthouse, in fact, he spends more time there than most lawyers.  Most boys his age would dream of going to a concert or hanging out with friends but Theo, Theo lives for the big trials.  At only thirteen years old, he has his own little boxlike closet cum law office in the law firm of Boone & Boone.  Yes, at only thirteen years old, he can talk the talk and walk the walk.

It so happens that Strattenburg is having its first murder trial after a long time and Theo's class, headed by his favourite teacher, Mr Mount, has organized a field trip to the courthouse to watch the trial.  It is a case of the State versus Mr Peter Duffy.  Mr Duffy has been accused of murdering his wife, Myra Duffy, by strangulation.  It is dubbed the cleanest killings in history because there are no witnesses, no crime-scene proof, not even a shred of evidence to support this sensational murder trial.  At the moment, everything is circumstantial.  Possible motives?  Money.  Greed.  Only Theo knows the truth.  The stakes are high but he won't stop until justice is served...  

That is as far as I would go.  Read the book.  It will tell you a lot more.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even though I have long passed that precocious age.  It is a book for everyone, not just the young!  I have already passed this book to my teenagers and hopefully, they will pass it on to their friends - great book to start off their legal education!  I am very pleased to learn that the second book of Theodore Boone called The Abduction is due out next month, June 2011.  Other information about the author and his other books can be gleaned from his official site on www.jgrisham.com  Happy reading.

The author says it best:



For the benefit of young readers:



What's next for Theodore Boone, Mr Grisham?



Rating:  5/5

The Calling Of The Grave (The New David Hunter Thriller) by Simon Beckett

About the author:  Simon Beckett is the international bestselling author of three thrillers featuring forensics expert Dr David Hunter:

The Chemistry of Death (2006)

Written in Bone (2007)

Whispers of the Dead (2009 - the Sunday Times bestseller)

The Calling Of The Grave is the fourth and latest of the David Hunter thriller published on 3 February 2011.

In 2002, he went on an assignment for the Daily Telegraph Magazine to Tennessee's world-famous Anthropological Research Facility, The Body Farm.  As well as providing the inspiration for David Hunter, what he saw and learned there, together with his meticulous approach to research, helps make his novels so frighteningly authentic.  He lives in Sheffield.  To find out more about him and his books, visit www.simonbeckett.com

Blurb:  It was eight years ago that they found the body buried on the moor.

They were certain that this was one of psychotic rapist and multiple murderer Jerome Monk's teenage victims.  Which left just two more bodies to find.

But the ill-conceived search ended badly.  And with Monk safely behind bars, the momentum faltered.  For forensics expert David Hunter, and those others who were part of the recovery team, life moved on.  And the dead were left undisturbed.

Now, though, a nightmare scenario unfurls.  Monk has escaped and seems to be targeting anyone involved in that original ill-fated operation.

Lured back to the moors by a desperate call for help, Hunter begins to realize that neither the events unfolding now, nor those of eight years ago, are quite what they seem.  And as the maniac's violent trail edges ever closer, the past is suddenly anything but dead and buried...

My take:  I love this book!  An above average British crime thriller by any standards.  It has a distinct feel of Britishness to it which reminds me of the British crime dramas shown on television and I won't be surprised if the book series turn out to be a television series at some point in the future.  First of all, using Black Tor in Devon as an atmospheric backdrop for a psychotic murderer's burial ground very much sets the tone for the plot.  It prompts me to google the place and I have come up with some amazing pictures here (www.holidayindartmoor.com) and here (www.richkni.co.uk)  Compare the wintry pictures with the spring weather ones - starkingly gorgeous!

That aside, Beckett has written convincingly about the tensions and personality clashes that one usually encounters when working as a team and how each member deals with it (or not), helped along by great dialogue; and how people often judge others by how they look and how easily rash actions can cause a series of unavoidable calamaties.  The writing is well thought out, fluid and solid.  I find myself finishing this book in one sitting because it is, simply put, excellent.  Having achieved that, I shall now have to back paddle very hard to catch up with David Hunter's past and also keep my eyes looking ahead for possibly a fifth book?  Highly recommended.  An author to watch out for.

Simon Beckett on The Calling Of The Grave.

Rating:  6/5

Silent Mercy (An Alexandra Cooper Novel) by Linda Fairstein

Linda Fairstein is one of my top favourite authors.  A few days ago, I went to my local library to pick up her latest book, after a fairly long wait for it which is not surprising.  I also picked up John Grisham, Jonathan Hayes, Simon Beckett and Simon Lelic but ditched them for now in favour of Linda Fairstein, gender notwithstanding.


Silent Mercy (published 17 March 2011) is the thirteenth book in the Alexandra Cooper novel series.  If you had not heard about Fairstein already, the author is known to use the 'hidden treasures of her beloved city (New York)' to start off an idea of a book.  This time, it is the history of religious institutions of Manhattan.  A useful map printed at the front of this book gives a visual and physical picture of the key locations of the old churches/synagogues cited in the book.

Out of the offspring shoot sprouts other fascinating information about women's controversial roles as priests namely the 'Roman Catholic Womenpriests' website , the opposition from Rome to feminist theology, women's solidarity in the face of religious discrimination, among others.  And how many of us know that the largest cathedral in the world is the Church of St John the Divine in New York, set on thirteen acres of land!  For those who want to learn more, Fairstein has recommended Rev Dr Serene Jones' Trauma + Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World, and Feminist Theory and Christian Theology, in her acknowledgments.

In outstanding novels, it is not just about the police or the dynamic policing techniques or the modern kooky technology that make it a good read.  Fairstein's novels are unique in its evocation of setting and history - not forgetting her Final Jeopardy! questions - thereby making her a writer who does not conform to a commercial audience but a writer who writes what she knows.  I tell you, she never fails to deliver.  Needless to say, I have read all her books and am looking forward to the next one!

In 2010, Fairstein was presented with the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers Association.  To find out more about the author and her works, you can keep up to date with her on Facebook or access her website on www.lindafairstein.com

Dustjacket blurb:  When the burnt, headless body of a young woman if found on the steps of a Baptist church in Harlem, Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper is one of the first on the shocking scene.  Alex has seen some gruesome crimes committed in New York, but the barbarity of this latest discovery leaves her nauseous.

With NYPD cop Mike Chapman, Alex begins to investigate, but before long another woman is slaughtered and found on the steps of a Catholic church in Little Italy - her throat slashed and her tongue cut out.

It becomes clear there is a zealous serial killer on the loose.  Now Alex and Mike must keep one step ahead of a religious fanatic bent on silencing the women he believes are bringing shame to his faith - before he kills anyone else.

The author definitely says it better!  Watch Fairstein on video introducing her new book and giving us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the old churches cited in her book, St Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, Manhattan:



Listen to the first chapter read by Barbara Rosenblat:



A bit of biography on Linda Fairstein, her advocacy and a Lifetime Achievement Award (venue: the Marriot Marquis Hotel in NYC on 7 December 2010):



Rating:  5/5

Hurting Distance by Sophie Hannah

Naomi Jenkins is a cliche.  She is having an affair with an unhappily married man, Robert Haworth, who promises to leave his wife and marry her one day.  She believes him.  They rendezvous at a roadside motel every Thursday between four o'clock and seven o'clock.

A year on, Robert vanishes into thin air, literally, thereby prompting Naomi to go on a desperate and urgent quest to find her lover.  Desperate times call for desperate actions.  She drops by Robert's house on a whim, sees something through the window and has a panic attack right there and then - what did she see?

In the meantime, Robert's wife, Juliet Haworth, seems unconcerned about his whereabouts and even fobs off the police when they come to her house to ask her some questions - why?  When the police is reticent about Naomi's story, she unleashes her own secretive past far more unnerving than you or I would ever expect...

The question is what are the consequences of Naomi's rash actions?  How much hurting distance has she allowed herself to forget a terrible past even as she is a victim of one at her own behest at the present time?

I was not so sure about Hannah's first book, The Little Face (2006), as it was not so much a crime thriller than a chiller-thriller, but Hurting Distance published in 2007 is an absolute riveting read.  Hannah is an adept writer on the downfall of the obsessive nature of love, the intricacies of human nature and the inevitable results that follow.  To use a pretty bland cliche to write a story that grips the reader from the first page is not an easy feat.  I could not see through this one at all but then, you can expect that from Hannah.  Overall, an excellently written psychological thriller, the second to feature Detective Constable Simon Waterhouse and Detective Sergeant Charlie Zailer (characters from The Little Face) - readers will be pleased to know that they feature a lot more in this book compared to the first.  I am now a fan.  I therefore highly recommend Sophie Hannah.

A video interview of the author carried out in 2007 when Hurting Distance is out in bookshops:



Rating:  5/5

Bookshops In Stockholm, Sweden

This May bank holiday weekend, I flew to the capital and the largest city of Sweden, Stockholm, for a long awaited visit.  What a beautiful city.  I love everything about it.  Fortunately, the weather was kind to me - sunny and pleasantly cool.  The city is clean.  The people are helpful and friendly.  The special hotdog is delicious.  The sights are breathtaking.  There is water everywhere I look.  The colours of nature are, what can I say, exquisite.  If I could, I would sit and stare at the trees, sky, birds and the strikingly blue open water forever.  The imposing and grandiose architecture literally gave me an open-mouth look!  My camera never stopped clicking.  Because of that, I did not have much time to scour all the bookshops in Stockholm but managed to come across three on my jaunts.  They are:

1)  Drottninggatans Bok & Bild, Drottninggatan 6 (translates as "Queen Street Book & Video")

This bookshop was shut when I chanced upon it as it was already late evening on a Sunday and from the outside, it looks like a bargain bookstore or even a small independent bookstore.  There is a good selection of adult and children's books and they also stock games, puzzles, stationery and office supplies.  More information can be found on the website (click the above link).

2)  Pocket Shop

This small and compact bookshop with two entrances/exits is found in the main hall at the central station in the district of Norrmalm, Vasagatan, and apparently, there is another one downstairs by the commuter trains.  Their vision is to give everyone the opportunity to own and enjoy good books so if you are at the train station and need to get a book (crime, fiction, romance) to fill up your travelling time or for any number of reasons, this is the shop for you.  There were a number of people in the shop when I walked in.  Loved the vibe.

3)  Akademibokhandeln

Akademibokhandeln is the largest bookstore chain in Sweden, this one situated right in the heart of the city centre on Drottninggatan 25.  This store stocks the usual books as well as textbooks and stationery much like Blackwell's of the UK.  If you feel like a cuppa and a read, you can pop into their in-store coffee shop - Wayne's Coffee - for a moment of euphoria when food and book connect.  You can also join their book club or reading circle and meet people who share the same interests.  Generally, prices of books start from SEK99 (roughly £10, EUR11, USD16, AUD15) in Stockholm.

Other bookshops I wish I had the time to visit:

4)  Sweden Bookshop, Slottsbacken 10, Gamla Stan - specializing in books about Sweden and translated Swedish literature.

5)  The English Bookshop, Lilla Nygatan 11, Gamla Stan

Have you been to any of the bookstores mentioned?  

One Year On - Looking Back And Forward

Happy 1st anniversary to Choose and Book!

I've been blogging for a year - yesterday - and what an exhilarating year it has been.

I've read more than my fair share of top-rate books, mediocre books, cosy books, as well as posting photos of celebrities' private libraries, videos related to books and authors' interviews, photos of bookshops in places I've visited, and one single book signing.  On top of that, I am so pleased to be able to follow all the professional book bloggers from around the globe and learn a lot from them most notably Jen's Book Thoughts (Ohio, USA) and The View From The Blue House (Ireland).

A special Thank You to all the authors who have made my year - Shamini Flint, Dave Zeltserman, Stephen Jay Schwartz and Matt Hilton - and the visitors who have stumbled upon my blog and those who check it out once in awhile!

Here's a toast to another abundant book-filled (second) year.

Happy reading.