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Reviews by Cloggie Downunder

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The Expats: A Novel
by Chris Pavone

impressive debut novel (3/12/2012)

The Expats is the impressive debut novel by American author, Chris Pavone. Set mainly in Europe, the action switches between Paris in the present day and Washington DC and Luxembourg two years previously. Kate Moore quit her undercover job with the CIA, a job that was …more secret even from her husband, Dexter, to move to Luxembourg with him and their young sons, Jake and Ben. There, Dexter’s job as a systems security expert for banks could afford them a better income and an enviable lifestyle which included weekends in places like Paris and Amsterdam. As expats, they socialised mainly with other expats, and had soon formed a friendship with Julia and Bill Maclean. But Kate’s CIA training leads her to suspect that Julia and Bill are not what they first seem and she begins to wonder: are they are assassins? Are they investigating her for unlawful actions in her CIA career? Or are they after her husband? Which leads her to start wondering if Dexter has been completely truthful with her. As Kate makes certain discoveries in the present day narrative, she flashes back to two years ago, her exit from the CIA and their early months in Luxembourg, and certain events and conversations suddenly become startlingly clear.
This novel has a superbly clever plot full of twists and turns that has the reader guessing to the last line. Without giving away too much of the story, Pavone uses the present day narrative to sow enough seeds of intrigue to keep the reader engrossed in the action two years previous. Interestingly, Pavone writes from Kate’s point of view, something he does very competently. As the suspense built, I found myself more and more on the edge of my seat. Proof of Pavone’s excellent descriptive talent is that as I sat reading the window ledge scene, my legs were aching, my body’s usual involuntary reaction to being at unsafe heights. Occasional lighter moments are provided by the children and social interactions with other minor characters, but for most of the novel, the tension is high. Pavone’s first-hand experience as an expat is apparent from the way he effectively conveys the atmosphere of European cities and expat life: his characters are realistic and his dialogue, credible. The novel poses a few pertinent and topical questions: When is it OK to steal 25 (or 50) million euros? Are we deluded in thinking that our money can ever be safe? Who guards the guards? Is anybody ever what they seem to be? Does anyone ever tell the whole truth? This novel has been described as “Brilliant, insanely clever, and delectably readable.” I wholly concur. (less)

We Need to Talk About Kevin: A Novel
by Lionel Shriver

skilfully crafted (2/26/2012)

We Need to Talk About Kevin is the 8th novel by Lionel Shriver. The format is a series of letters written by Eva Khatchadourian to her absent husband, Franklin, which are a sort of analytical reminiscence about their lives before the arrival of their son, Kevin, their …more

The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel
by Jasper Fforde

excellent Fforde (2/26/2012)

The Well of Lost Plots is the third of the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Having changed the ending of Jane Eyre, ended the Crimean war and had her husband, Landen Parke-Laine eradicated by the ChronoGuard, Thursday has joined Jurisfition and is currently taking a …more break, for the duration of her pregnancy, through the Character Exchange Program, inside a mediocre detective novel in the Well of Lost Plots. However, what she thinks will be a quiet sojourn is anything but, with Aornis Hades, sister of Acheron, out to take revenge for her brother’s death by altering Thursday’s memories, the detective novel under threat of demolition, the murder of a Jurisfiction agent, the escape of the Minotaur, Jurisfiction exams to take, the spread of the mispeling vyrus, a Rage Counselling session for the characters of Wuthering Heights, her fiction infraction trial coming up, the imminent launch of the new (and very Kindle-like) UltraWordTM and Nursery Rhyme characters on strike for better conditions. Miss Havisham continues to mentor her apprentice, and one-hundred-and-eight-year-old Granny Next comes to help Thursday out.
Fforde’s plot is highly original and imaginative. He shows us that politics, corruption and error as well as red tape and bureaucracy in their most irritating and frustrating forms thrive no matter which version of the world one inhabits. Junk mail and African money scams plague Fforde’s version of the world too. Parasites, pests, acronyms and lofty-sounding names in officialdom also abound: an ImaginoTransference Device is, of course, a word. Fforde endows his characters with some hilarious names, gives us some comical book titles and his dialogue will have the reader snickering and often laughing out loud. The prefaces at the start of each chapter include handy Fforde-type explanations of the rules under which fiction exists, how books are actually written, plot recycling and some history of storytelling, writing and printing. We also learn about Literary Mechanisms like Plot Devices, Echolocators, Chapter-Ending Emporiums, Backstories built-to-order, Generic Characters and the Text Sea. In this installment we finally discover what really happened in the Crimea with Thursday, Landen and Anton during the Charge of the Light Armoured Brigade in 1973. Fforde’s writing strikes me as a cross between that of Terry Pratchett and the late Douglas Adams, and, as these are two of my favourite authors, from me this is high praise indeed. Readers will look forward to the next installment, Something Rotten. (less)

Kill Alex Cross: Alex Cross Series #18
by James Patterson

a mistitled disappointment (2/11/2012)

Kill Alex Cross is the 18th in James Patterson’s Alex Cross series. The action starts immediately with the kidnapping from the Branaff School of Zoe and Ethan Coyle, the children of President Edward Coyle and First Lady Regina. This is followed very quickly by a cyanide …more

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella
by Alan Bennett

uncommonly funny! (1/26/2012)

The Uncommon Reader is a novella by novelist and playwright, Alan Bennett. The story starts with the Queen coming across the mobile library van parked near Buckingham Palace, where Norman, a young man from the kitchens, is choosing a book. After making small talk with the …more

Dexter Is Delicious
by Jeff Lindsay

Delicious (1/25/2012)

Dexter is Delicious is the fifth of the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay. Dexter, new father of Lily Anne, is dazed to find he no longer interested in indulging his Dark Passenger’s needs: a bit of a dilemma as Astor and Cody still need mentoring for their own needs. This new …more

The Double Comfort Safari Club: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel
by Alexander Mccall Smith

a pleasure to read (1/8/2012)

The Double Comfort Safari Club is the 11th in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the best detective agency in Botswana, is kept busy with fraudulent fiancées, adulterous (or not) part-time reverends, jealous …more

Dexter by Design
by Jeff Lindsay

murder as art (1/8/2012)

Dexter by Design is the 4th of the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay. After his honeymoon in Paris, where a bizarre limb-mutilating art installation had Rita awed and Dexter intrigued, Dexter is back at work in Miami. As Sergeant Debbie drags him along to investigate the …more

Dexter in the Dark: A Novel
by Jeff Lindsay

Plenty of fun (1/8/2012)

Dexter in the Dark is the third in Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series. Dexter Morgan, our favourite serial killer of serial killers, is about to get married. His intended, Rita, is in the throes of wedding and honeymoon plans; Astor and Cody are demanding some mentoring of the …more

The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

heartwarming (1/8/2012)

The Secret Life of Bees is the first novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Set in 1964, this is the story of Lily Melissa Owens, who lives on a peach farm in South Carolina. At four years of age, Lily accidentally killed her mother. Her father is a harsh and cruel man, and Lily craves …more

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by Barbara Kingsolver

a very interesting read (12/26/2011)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is the 7th non-fiction book by Barbara Kingsolver. Co-written with her husband, Stephen L. Hopp, and her daughter, Camille Kingsolver, this book details her family’s experiences during the year they decided to become locavores, trying to obtain …more

Flash and Bones: A Temperance Brennan Novel
by Kathy Reichs

filleted Tempe Brennan (12/12/2011)

Flash and Bones is the 14th in the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. Just back from Hawaii, Tempe is called to a landfill site in Charlotte adjacent to the NASCAR circuit, where a body is encased in asphalt in a rusting metal drum. It’s almost race week, so the …more

The Sign of The Book: A Cliff Janeway Bookman Novel
by John Dunning

great climax (12/5/2011)

The Sign of the Book is the 4th book in the Cliff Janeway series by John Dunning. Cliff agrees to help Erin determine if her estranged childhood friend, Laura Marshall, really killed her husband, or confessed to protect her troubled son. The tempter for Cliff is the …more

The Bookwoman's Last Fling
by John Dunning

Janeway's last fling too (12/5/2011)

The Bookwoman’s Last Fling is the 5th (and, so far, last) in John Dunning’s Cliff Janeway series. Cliff travels to Idaho, ostensibly to appraise Candice Geiger’s book collection, after the death of her thoroughbred trainer husband, H.R. Geiger, and to ascertain which books …more

Lost In A Good Book: A Thursday Next Novel
by Jasper Fforde

hilarious (11/27/2011)

Lost in a Good Book is the 2nd book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Fresh from her adventures in The Eyre Affair, Thursday Next is enjoying married life until she is informed that her husband, Landen Parke-Laine, died 38 years ago: suddenly, he only exists in …more

The Charming Quirks of Others: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel
by Alexander Mccall Smith

thoroughly enjoyable (11/27/2011)

The Charming Quirks of Others is the 7th in the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel has quite a bit on her plate: getting another edition of the Review of Applied Ethics published; looking into a poison-pen letter making accusations about applicants …more

Gourmet Rhapsody
by Muriel Barbery

a treat (11/13/2011)

The Gourmet is the first novel by Muriel Barbery. Pierre Arthens, France’s greatest food critic, is dying. As he lies on his deathbed in his Rue de Grenelle apartment, he is tormented by his inability to recall the most delicious food to pass his lips, long before he became …more

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's
by John Elder Robison

interesting, insightful, funny (11/13/2011)

Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s is the first book by John Elder Robison. Not diagnosed with Asperger’s until he was forty, Robison describes himself as a misfit. In this book he tells of growing up in an extremely dysfunctional family. Some of the story has been …more

The Enchantress of Florence
by Salman Rushdie

a very enjoyable Rushdie (11/7/2011)

The Enchantress of Florence is the 10th book by Salman Rushdie. Set amongst the extremes and excesses of Renaissance Florence and in the city of Fatehpur Sikri in Mughal India, it tells the story of a hidden Mughal princess, Princess Qara Köz, the Lady Black Eyes, also …more

Catching Fire: The Second Book of the Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins

fast paced (10/16/2011)

Catching Fire is the second book of the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Set some six months after the end of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are required to take part in the Victory Tour through each of the Districts to keep the power of the …more

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