After a brief run of Peter Robinson, who falls into my 'not bad but don't think I'll want to re-read' (nbnrr) category, on the basis of Chillsider's words I bought Sophie Hannah, 'Lasting Damage,' currently on the shelves of Tesco. I suspect she may also be designated a place on the shelves I reserve for books the Cornish family might like because they're easy and fairly relaxing, with enough intrigue to hold the overwrought minds of parents looking for a me-moment.
Sophie certainly presents a convoluted plot which wasn't too obvious so gave some pleasure to unravel before the end. Too few crime writers bother with the tedious business of leaving clues, red herrings and surprises these days. They rely, lazily IMO, on shocking scenes of rape, torture, mutilation, decay and autopsy. It's getting boring.
She did also, less enjoyably, manage to frighten me in a way that gave me an asthma-fuelled, sweat-soaked nightmare. Different things upset us; for some it's sexually violence, for some the intruder in the house, for some it's madness. The last mentioned is my personal terror button - not the madness of the killer but my own. For me the truly throat-gripping fear- raiser is the one in which the main protagonist is being made to feel she is losing her mind because nothing she is experiencing can be believed by the people closest to her, or by those who should be able to help her.
Therein lies one of my problems I suppose. Bleurk!
1 comment:
Just finished a Reg Hill which made me gasp out loud "OH NO!" as very close to the end something was revealed which I had not seen coming. Find "The Woodcutter"
I'll try yours as soon as I get home.
Am in Carentan in Normandie. The day is grey and we are on our way home.
Cheers Gillian
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