Lacking real bite - 2 star

The last Werewolf as the title implies is about...well...the last werewolf. Jake Marlowe has wandered the world for a long long time pursued by an organisation dedicated to the destruction of the lycanthorpe, referred to as WOCOP “World organisation for the control of occult Phenomena” Once every month when the full moon shines the change from man to beast occurs…”Shoulders, wrists, ankles - first to change, last to change back...the not toenails, not quite claws….invisible hands gripped my neck and twisted in opposite directions...my lupine twin was impatient, a being was no good without a body. The slow hindquarters tested his tolerance of delay and mine of pain….my new skull shuddered and my bowels disencumbered themselves...It was still him and me but we eyed each other knowing everything depended on bridging the gap. Cooperation would come the two strands would plait so that we would become I, but it was his birthright to take the inaugural moment by force”......It is at times easy to have sympathy with Jake, his plight, and I suppose it could be said that those who wish his destruction do so out of fear, knowing that what they cannot understand and control should be destroyed. Yet equally the werewolf is indiscriminate in his choice of victim and as Jake himself acknowledged…”Once a month I transformed into a monster, part man part wolf. I killed and devoured humans starting with my wife” So in reality an out of control killing machine needed to be destroyed. The questions of purpose and existence posed little in the way of answers…..”Where did it all fit in? Was my species God’s handiwork or the Devil’s?....What would happen to me when I died? Had I still a soul? Where and when did werewolves begin?

Marlowe’s life becomes more tolerable when he discovers a female companion, Talulla. Together they flee as those who would destroy them tighten their grip and once again great questions of existence become paramount….”I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an unravelling accident or an inscrutable design. I don’t know how one should live- but I know that one should live, if one can possibly bear it, You love life because life’s all there is. And I only know that because I happen to have found - again- love”....

The language in The Last Werewolf is at times poetic, insightful even shrewd in its sharp observations and yet the rich lyrical quality of the prose often leads to disorientation and bewilderment making it at times difficult to comprehend as the reader becomes lost and adrift in a sea of words…………

The unconventional life of Harry Cane - 4 star

 

A place called Winter can be correctly described as a novel about loneliness. Harry Cane is a gay man who rather than follow his heart, gives way to convention, finds himself married, and the proud father of a young daughter. However his true feelings and an illicit love affair, very much against the misguided moral Edwardians of the time, results in Harry being banished by his family to the harsh winter climate of Saskatchewan, Canada. In this desolate location he must eke out an existence, toiling and working the land, ultimately gifted to him if successful. A sensitive, thoughtful read, an unexpected conclusion seeming to offer Harry unbridled happiness he never expected, but so richly deserved.

Abysmal - 1 star

In a word...terrible. I expected so much from Yrsa Sigurdardottir having read and enjoyed The Legacy and, in so doing, meeting good characters (with the ability to grow as the series progressed) namely Detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja. For reasons best known only to the author she introduces a horror element; a bedraggled doll and it would appear that anyone who encounters the doll will meet a rather violent death. The discovery of bones at sea, sexual abuse at the care home, the murder of a homeless man did little to rescue a dismal attempt at horror, and a poorly constructed deeply confusing crime story The last part of the novel (I use the term lightly) includes a long and rambling expose, unveiling of the perpetrators and thankfully, and it could not come sooner….the end. Thank you to netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review…..and that is what I will always deliver.

Where it all began - 4 star

There is nowhere better for me to try to understand the mindset of Harry Bosch or indeed his creator Michael Connelly by starting again where it all began book one in the series.Harry is best described as "a detective who would do the right thing no matter what the cost. A man with a sharp worn code of conduct. A classic outsider.".... In The Black Echo we learn about Harry's activities as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam war and how the horrors of this underground hell helped shape him as a detective with the will to survive and a loner's code of justice. When the body of a fellow "rat" Billy Meadows is discovered in a drain outlet, Harry is determined to find the perpetrator responsible and bring justice to his onetime comrade in arms. In this endeavour he is joined by FBI agent Eleanor Wish, a relationship develops that becomes personal and leaves Harry wondering if her intentions are honourable or does she harbor an underlying agenda.

The weakness of the story is the plot; dirty money profits from Saigon laundered as precious stones and kept secret in a bank vault in downtown LA. The only way to retrieve the hidden stash is to tunnel deep into the innards of the bank. In contrast the strength of the story is the superb charactization of the main players. Bosch, Eleanor Wish and Deputy Chief Irvin Irving who appears to be on a one man crusade against what he views as underhand tactics by a maverick lone detective.
 
As always Michael Connnelly is razor sharp in his acute observations of the human spirit....."Sunsets did that here. Made you forget it was the smog that made their colors so brilliant, and that behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story."....."He was a worn-out old man whose eyes had quit caring about anything but the odds on three year olds"..."I believe that shit happens. I believe that the best you can do in this job is come out even".......

Having just reread The Black Echo I have actually awarded it an extra star! Whilst the plot becomes a little laborious there are nice incidental comments that can be made. There is a theme of tunnels running through the story, a young teenager found murdered in a drainage tunnel, bank robberies where the perpetrators ingeniously use tunnels as their mode of entry, and of course Harry Bosch was a tunnel rat in Vietnam and murder victim Meadows was a tunnel rat and friend. The characters of Lewis and Clarke are portrayed as 2 buffoons from Internal Affairs, who under the strict command of Irving have been asked to shadow Bosch and somehow find or witness the detective acting outside the law. There is a particularly funny scene where Harry confronts the 2 and handcuffs them around a tree.....again this sense of comedy does not sit well in the overall theme of The Black Echo....needless to say the conclusion of this affair is swift and bloody.
The Black Echo is an important read not only because it is the first book in a great series but it lays the groundwork for many great adventures to come and the cynicism of dedicated detective that can only increase....

In the shadow of The Godfather - 3 star

The Sicilian is the natural successor to Mario Puzo’s outstanding novel The Godfather. It includes a smattering of characters from the original story in particular Michael Corleone in exile until his father Don Corleone deems it safe for his return. In the meantime he is to prepare the way for resident bad boy Salvatore Giuliano to be smuggled out of Sicily and given safe passage to New York. Giuliano is involved in a turf war with local Capo Don Croce and events are fast approaching a bloody conclusion. The Sicilian is not a bad book, it contains all the ingredients that make for a good “mob” read. The usual elements of family loyalty, honour, explosive action, duplicity, treachery are all here. However, in the final analysis, it is nowhere near as entertaining or captivating as its predecessor but useful for an account of Michael's years in exile.