Looking back at 2011

I realise we are already six days into 2012 but I still wanted to do a roundup of 2011 despite it being a bit late! Personally 2011 was a terrible year for me in general but surprisingly it actually turned out to be a pretty good year reading wise. I managed to read 56 books in total for the year. I have no idea how that compares to previous years as this is the first time I have ever kept count but I think it’s probably better than my average. I was aiming for 50 so I managed to beat my target which is good.

I took part in three reading challenges in 2011. The Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge The Stephen King Reading Challenge and The Criminal Plots Reading Challenge.

The one I thought I would find most challenging was the Speculative Fiction reading challenge. I was worried that I would struggle to read 12 speculative fiction books in the year but in actual fact I read 35, almost triple the original target! I really enjoyed this challenge and was even lucky enough to win one of the prize packs!

I just managed to complete the Criminal Plots reading challenge in time. I had read five of the six books by July but then struggled to find a book for the debut author category. Eventually I found one and managed to complete the challenge.

The Stephen King reading challenge was the only one I didn’t manage to complete. I ended up reading just a pitiful two out of six books. I thought I would have done well with this one seeing as King is my favourite author but I just felt too guilty re-reading when I have so many never read books sitting in my to read pile! I do intend doing at least one King re-read during 2012 though as it has been many years since I read some of his books and it would be nice to revisit them at some point.

I have read quite a wide range of books over the past year including crime, thrillers, horror, science fiction, urban fantasy and biographies and on the whole I really enjoyed them. I read quite a lot of young adult in 2011 which is not the norm for me. Some I wasn’t so keen on (House of Night) and others I really enjoyed (Morganvile Vampires series and the Hunger Games trilogy – two of which I still need to review!).

My target for 2012 is 52 books. I have already read one and am three quarters of the way through another so doing well so far! I also want to get my reviews up quicker but that’s not going so well yet as I am currently three reviews behind! I have decided not to take part in any reading challenges this year and just see where my reading takes me on it’s own!

Will Carver – Girl 4

Detective January David is hunting for a killer who has so far murdered three girls in London. When he is called to a fourth crime scene he is shocked to find that he knows the victim. She is still alive but in a critical condition. He has to find the killer before he strikes again.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “2011 Debut author”. I found it quite difficult to get a book that fitted the requirements for this category as I kept finding authors that I hadn’t heard of before and then discovering they had written several books already, then when I did find a new author I’d realise that their book was actually published in 2010 so I was really pleased when I discovered Will Carver and Girl 4.

This is an interesting take on a crime story. The narration of the book switches between the viewpoints of the detective January David, the killer and all of the victims which gives a really good mix of perspectives. It does mean that we don’t get any major character development though as we do not get as much time with each character as we would do if the whole book was from one perspective or less perspectives. I didn’t feel that was a major issue though as we still get a good feel for the characters involved.

I really enjoyed the story and quite liked the outcome. It seems that it is going to continue a little bit in a future book so that could be interesting. I liked Carver’s writing style so I am looking forward to reading more of his work in the future.

Nicci French - Killing Me Softly

Alice has a nice life, a good circle of friends and a happy long term relationship until one day she meets a stranger in the street and starts a passionate affair with him. Alice quickly cuts off from her old life and becomes obsessed with Adam but their relationship starts to take a sinister turn as Alice delves into his past.

I choose this book for two reasons. Firstly as I have never read any Nicci French before but often see “For fans of Nicci French” on some of the other books that I have read and enjoyed and secondly as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “Book made into a movie” as this book has been made into a film starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. I have never seen the film and looking at some of the reviews for it won’t be in any particular hurry to watch it!

This book was a quick and easy read. You do need to suspend your disbelief to read it as many of Alice’s actions seem completely bizarre and unlikely but as long as you can put that aside then the book is easy to get into.

I liked the pacing and the writing style and the story was entertaining. The characters were interesting but generally not at all likeable. Most of the time I thought Alice needed a bit of a slap to knock some sense into her and Adam was a suspicious weirdo that everyone seemed to worship and pander too because he had saved some people on a mountain once.

So whilst the book was not without its faults it was still an entertaining and enjoyable read. I will probably read more Nicci French in future.

James Thompson - Snow Angels

It's Kaamos in Finland, meaning its dark all day and night for weeks. During this time an immigrant film star is brutally murdered and mutilated. Detective Kari Vaara must investigate and bring the killer to justice but as he works deeper into the case he finds that things are getting a little too close to home.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “New-to-you Series” as this is the first in a series of books following Detective Kari Vaara.

The setting in Finland adds an interesting side to this story, with the freezing weather and the constant darkness making things more difficult than they would be elsewhere. It does paint a picture of lots of Fin’s being alcoholics though!

The plot was interesting with quite a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I didn’t manage to work out who the killer was. I liked Detective Vaara. I thought he was an interesting and likeable character. The same cannot be said of his wife, Kate though! She was just constantly moaning and irritating!

This is a series that I will probably read more of but not one that I will be rushing to buy on release day.

Gregg Hurwitz – You’re Next

Mike Wingate was abandoned at the age of four and grew up in foster care knowing nothing about his parents. He has since managed to build a nice life for himself with his own business, a wife and a daughter. However, when he meets a mysterious man at a party who seems to be threatening him his world is turned upside down. Mike must work out what it is from his past that is causing these men to come after him and his family before it’s too late.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “opposite gender” as the main protagonist, Mike, is male.

I was drawn straight into this book as it sets off at quite a fast pace and doesn’t slow at all throughout. The book was mostly set in the present but there were a few sections that went back and covered Mikes past, telling the story of how he was abandoned and some of the trouble that he got into during his younger years.

Mike is a likeable character, although at times I found him a little too try hard and overly perfect. I preferred Shep, he has some character flaws and is a more interesting and real character for it whilst still retaining that likeability.

There were parts of the story that were somewhat farfetched. This may bother some people but it didn’t bother me as it is a work of fiction after all. The story worked and was enjoyable to read. I’ll be reading more Gregg Hurwitz books in the future.

Jo Nesbo – The Snowman

Harry Hole is a Detective who is on the case of a woman who has disappeared from her home. When another woman is found murdered Harry believes there may be a link and that he may be facing a serial killer which is an extremely rare occurrence in Norway.

I chose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. I have decided to review this one in the category “A Different Country” although it is also from a new to me series. The book is set in Olso, Norway and I live in the UK.

I liked Harry Hole as a character, he was interesting and quite likeable despite his flaws. I liked the characterisation throughout the book. Whilst many of the characters were not particularly likeable people I did feel like I got to know them and that they were three dimensional and interesting.

The storyline was good and it kept me interested throughout. I did feel that at 550 pages the book was perhaps a little long and I think it would have been better had it been a little shorter as it did seem to be a little dragged out towards the end.

I liked the Oslo setting although I don’t think it made the book particularly different from one set elsewhere. There was the snow of course but there are plenty of places where it snows quite a lot.

I thought the translation was quite well done. One thing that I found a little odd was that the men were still referred to as herr and the women frau (and they weren’t capitalised which I thought was strange but I suppose that must be the way Norwegians write it). I think it was supposed to add to the Norwegian-ness of the book but I found it a little odd. All the other translated books that I have read have referred to Mr/ Mrs/ Miss etc.

This was the first Jo Nesbo book that I have read. It’s not the first Harry Hole book in the series but that didn’t matter, it worked well as a standalone and I didn’t feel that I was missing anything from not having read the previous novels. I would say that the book was average. I enjoyed it and would be interested to read more Jo Nesbo in future especially as I liked Harry Hole but I won’t be rushing to do so immediately as there are the other authors that I will be more excited about reading.

Val McDermid - The Distant Echo

December 1978. Four students stumble across the body of murdered Rosie Duff on the way home from a night out. They become the prime suspects but lack of evidence means that the case is not solved. In 2003 the Scottish police start up a cold case review and the Rosie Duff murder is one of the cases being investigated. It seems that the four students are being picked off one by one so they must get together to find out who the killer is.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This is for the category "Author from a Blurb". Val McDermid had been quoted on The Breaker by Minette Walters which was a book that I had enjoyed a while ago, so I decided to give one of her books a try having not read any of her work before.

I liked the writing style. It did take me a while to get my head around the characters as the four students are known by nicknames and by their real names so remembering who was who took me a while. That may say more about my memory than about the book though!

There are really two interconnected plots here. There is the 1978 plot which follows the murder of Rosie Duff and its investigation and then there is the 2003 plot which follows the lives of the four students who discovered the body along with the cold case review team. The 1978 bit takes up just over one third of the book and the remainder takes place in 2003. I enjoyed the whole book but I preferred the 1978 section overall.

By about page 150 I had managed to work out who had murdered Rosie (the book comes to over 550 pages in total). I did have a few minor doubts along the way but overall I was pretty sure and it turned out that I was correct. Now, I'm not sure if it was intentionally supposed to be that easy to work out who the killer was. I read a lot of crime and whilst I do on occasion work out "whodunit" most of the time I don't, and certainly never that quickly! Working out who the killer was did not spoil the book at all as it was still suspenseful and interesting and I still wanted to find out if I was right or not! Working out who the 2003 killer was, was harder and I was never very sure on that one so I didn’t manage to work it all out.

I liked the characters and thought that they were well written. I liked the character development of which there was quite a lot. Both during the original investigation in 1978/79 and then seeing how they had further developed in the intervening years until 2003.

So overall I enjoyed the book and will certainly be picking up some more Val McDermid in the future.

Criminal Plots Reading Challenge

I wasn't going to join any more reading challenges for 2011 but I saw this one and simply had to join in. I love Crime fiction and so it should be easy for me read the books for the challenge. I'm also hoping that I'll make some new discoveries by reading all the other reviews!

You can find full details of the challenge over at Criminal Plots Reading Challenge.