Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2011

#12 Roman Blood (Roma Sub Rosa #1) - Steven Saylor

One of the genre of murder mysteries with a 'detective', set in a historical time period. Rome, of course, if you couldn't guess already. I really enjoyed it. Interesting, sympathetic characters and a real sense of being in a roman city. Fascinating detail, yet it wasn't allowed to read like a school history lesson or overwhelm the entertainment of the story.

#13 The Silent and the Dead - can't remember who the author of this one was and can't find any trace of it on the web. Which seems quite strange as it was from a series of crime novels with the same Inspector character. Knowing me, I've probably got the title completely wrong.

#14 When The Devil Holds the Candle - Karin Fossum

I must admit my heart sank when I realised that some of the books I'd picked up in my recent charity bookshop hunt were set in Europe. I've not had the best of luck with European thrillers in the past. But these two were very enjoyable. The first set in Italy, the second in Norway.

#15 Play Dead - Harlan Coben

One of my favourite 'light reading' authors, but I haven't read anything from him in a long time. Not sure how I'd missed this one, but I got it for Xmas. Unusually, it comes with a disclaimer from the author, who pretty much disses it. It was an early work, now republished many years later on the back of his other successes and he considers it flawed as a result.

I thought he was too hard on it. The plot was wildly improbable in places - but that's nothing new for Coben or, indeed, many thriller authors. It's often an accepted flaw of the genre. Coincidence rules and a murderer's plot relies heavily on certain people and events slotting into place perfectly at just the right time. So that didn't bother me at all.

But I thought it was one of his most enjoyable. So much so, in fact, that it's spurred me to go back to re-read his other books, most of which I haven't read in years.

LabRat