I read
A Great Deliverance in Oregon back in June shortly before my wedding. An odd choice, given how dark and strange the story turned out to be, but certainly an effective distraction. On one level, it's a novel about class: the two detectives on the case are the smooth, aristocratic Thomas Lynely and the bitter, working-class Barbara Havers. The case itself has to do with childhood trauma and its unforeseen results. I liked the character development, the degree to which the detectives were also very human, not just fact-finders. The book started off very slow, but by about halfway through I was unable to put it down and spent about half the night finishing it.
I actually did the same with
In the Presence of the Enemy a few weeks ago. It's the fourth in the series, numbers two and three being not immediately available in the used bookstore near my house. They're always pretty much self-contained anyway.
Presence is a kidnapping plot. Some wobbliness in ability to produce age-appropriate inner monologue for the childhood is more than made up for by the gutsy choice the author made about halfway through. (I won't give it away, but I was surprised!) Not a perfect story, but thoroughly engrossing. Again, I thought character development in unexpected quarters (the newspaper editor, the politician's husband) to be a strong suit.
I read A Great Deliverance in Oregon back in June shortly before my wedding. An odd choice, given how dark and strange the story turned out to be, but certainly an effective distraction. On one level, it's a novel about class: the two detectives on the case are the smooth, aristocratic Thomas Lynely and the bitter, working-class Barbara Havers. The case itself has to do with childhood trauma and its unforeseen results. I liked the character development, the degree to which the detectives were also very human, not just fact-finders. The book started off very slow, but by about halfway through I was unable to put it down and spent about half the night finishing it.
I actually did the same with In the Presence of the Enemy a few weeks ago. It's the fourth in the series, numbers two and three being not immediately available in the used bookstore near my house. They're always pretty much self-contained anyway. Presence is a kidnapping plot. Some wobbliness in ability to produce age-appropriate inner monologue for the childhood is more than made up for by the gutsy choice the author made about halfway through. (I won't give it away, but I was surprised!) Not a perfect story, but thoroughly engrossing. Again, I thought character development in unexpected quarters (the newspaper editor, the politician's husband) to be a strong suit.
No comments:
Post a Comment