The Book That Needs A Touch More Iceland

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well Cold Breath by Quentin Bates is finished. It took me (off and on) about three days to read it. But it's skill is that it seemed effortless. As a thriller I don't really have any complaints about it except for the ending. And when I mean the ending I mean almost the very, very end of the book.

I actually went back a few pages thinking I'd missed something but no I hadn't. The very, very end of the book is surprisingly anti climatic and actually given the thrills it gave me reaching that stage it's an early contender for the most disappointing novel I've read this year.

But throughout the book there was one other thing that was bugging me and as the title suggests it was this.....I didn't think it was Icelandic enough.

Now full disclosure here I've never been to Iceland. Yet as I was reading this the thought occurred to me that if I changed the names of the people and the towns/cities involved plus occasional references to the weather and politics then this could be set anywhere in the world. Definitely in Europe anyway.

Does this matter for a thriller? Well for a single novel as long as the story is good enough no it doesn't. As I've discussed previously Amy Heydenrych's novel Shame On you had a very sketchy portrait of London, but it was still the best thriller I'd read last year.

But this is a series featuring Officer Gunnhildur. Now this was the first book in the series I've read and for all I know you could get practically pass an exam in all things Icelandic if I read the earlier ones. But it shouldn't work that way. The first Maigret novel I read was not the first in the series and yet you knew you were in France and that it wouldn't work set anywhere else.

I could give examples like Inspector Montalbano or Miss Marple but you get my drift.

The point being that when you read these books you feel you're in Paris, Sicily, an English village without moving from your seat. The location helps the story along when it's a familiar character..

Would I read an Officer Gunnhildur novel again? Yes.

But more Norse would be nice.

Until the next time.

Amy Heydenrych Can't Write About London......But She Can Write A Great Thriller

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well here's the book.

Amy Heydenrych

Let's start with the criticism.

This book is mainly set in London. But really it's a London so sketchy that you could have easily put [insert major city here] and [insert areas of major city here] and no one would've noticed any change in the plot at all. Ditto those few scenes set outside the capital.

But it does not matter.And let me make it clear how far it does not matter. This novel is the best thriller I've read in a long while.

Realism of locale in this type of thriller does not matter as long as what's written is not stupid. What's important is the combination of plot, character and the ability to make you the reader want to  turn the page.

The plot is essentially an assault on a woman by a man and the background/consequences from that. Seems to be same old,same old doesn't it? However the woman (Holly) is a successful wellness blogger (giving the story a contemporary twist) and the man (Tyler) is not serial killer of women of the month. Holly was targeted. It's that that forms part of the basis of the plot.

The book will hold your attention. Which is incredible given that Holly and Tyler are the two main characters and whilst there are a few others for the most part they're peripheral. Indeed you could argue that the third most important character in the book is actually social media.

For reasons I won't explain Ms Heydenrych is capable of playing with your loyalties as a reader until the climax. You're not sure where you stand. That she was capable of doing this through the book shows exactly how good a writer Ms Heydenrych is.

Probably too late for summer holiday reading. But if you need a book to while away the time during the boring parts of the Christmas break this will be for you.

Until the next time.