Episode 237
(A reminder of the People’s Choice plan. Once a month or so, I shall list the four oldest books on the TBR, then the next four, and so on, and each time you will select the one you think I should read, either because you’ve read and enjoyed it, or because you think the blurb looks good. And I will read the one you pick within three months! If I begin to fall behind, I’ll have a gap till I catch up again. In the event of a tie, I’ll have the casting vote.)
OK, time for the next batch of four! These are all books that I added to my TBR in 2014 and it appears to be a crime week, purely by chance since I’m selecting them in strict order of acquisition. Three of these are authors I’d read and enjoyed before and the books were added as catch-ups (that worked well, eh?), while the fourth, The Cry, was added because it was getting so many rave reviews back then. I will read and review this month’s winner by the end of July.
Are you ready? Then, on your marks…get set…GO!
Crime
Punishment by Anne Holt
Added 1st January 2014. 3,021 ratings on Goodreads, with a 3.70 average rating. 384 pages.
The Blurb says: One afternoon after school, nine-year-old Emilie doesn’t come home. Her father finds the backpack from her late mother, that would never be abandoned willingly. A week later, a five-year-old boy goes missing. And then another child.
Meanwhile, Johanna Vik, a former FBI profiler with a troubled past and a difficult young daughter, tries to overturn a decades-old false murder conviction. Police Commissioner Stubo lost his wife and daughter, has only his grandson left, and needs to solve the case. Johanna resists helping until the bodies return to their homes with notes “You got what you deserved”.
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Crime
The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald
Added 1st January 2014. 4,274 ratings on Goodreads, with a 3.79 average. 307 pages.
The Blurb says: When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world.
Lies, rumours and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other.
Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected? And what will it take to make things right?
The Cry is a dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart and characters who will keep you guessing on every page.
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Crime
The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Added 22nd January 2014. 3,100 ratings on Goodreads, with a 3.67 average. 388 pages.
The Blurb says: An abandoned yacht, a young family missing – chilling crime from the queen of Nordic Noir.
The most chilling novel yet from Yrsa Sigurdardottir, an international bestseller at the height of her powers.
‘Mummy dead.’ The child’s pure treble was uncomfortably clear. It was the last thing Brynjar – and doubtless the others – wanted to hear at that moment. ‘Daddy dead.’ It got worse. ‘Adda dead. Bygga dead.’ The child sighed and clutched her grandmother’s leg. ‘All dead.’
A luxury yacht arrives in Reykjavik harbour with nobody on board. What has happened to the crew, and to the family who were on board when it left Lisbon?
Thora Gudmundsdottir is hired by the young father’s parents to investigate, and is soon drawn deeper into the mystery. What should she make of the rumours saying that the vessel was cursed, especially given that when she boards the yacht she thinks she sees one of the missing twins? Where is Karitas, the glamorous young wife of the yacht’s former owner? And whose is the body that has washed up further along the shore?
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Crime
The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
Added 3rd July 2014. 17,758 ratings on Goodreads, with a 3.92 average. 328 pages.
The Blurb says: It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?
Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.
The Janus Stone is a riveting follow-up to Griffiths’ acclaimed The Crossing Places.
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VOTE NOW!
(Click on title and then remember to also click on Vote, or your vote won’t count!)
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NB All blurbs and covers taken from Goodreads or Amazon UK.
My vote went to The Cry so you can read it and let me know if I should get it. I resisted the rave reviews at the time but I loved Helen’s previous book (Worst Case Scenario, published by Orenda) and now I can’t help but wonder if I missed out on anything.
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I thought The Cry was going to win but it seems to have been overtaken now. So you should read it and tell me if I should shove it up my list! 😉 I haven’t read anything by her, but I’ve seen so much praise, particularly of this one, that I really must get to it even if it loses…
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I voted for The Cry too. Sounds great from the blurb.
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There was a time when everyone seemed to have read it except me! And they were all raving about it… 😀
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I loved The Cry – much more than the TV adaptation of it.
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I’m so out of touch I didn’t even know it had been adapted for TV! The book is always better… 😉
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I’ll jump on the band wagon here and vote for The Cry. I haven’t got round to reading the book yet, but I saw the tv adaptation of it a couple of years ago and found it quite gripping when I got into it. Could you please add my vote? My braille machine won’t allow me to click on it for some reason. Cheers.
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Vote registered – thank you! 😀 I didn’t even know it had been adapted for TV, but a few years ago everybody on the blogosphere seemed to have read it and loved it, but although I acquired it somehow I never found time to read it. Maybe this time…
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My vote was for The Janus Stone, FictionFan. I think that series is excellent, and Griffiths is a fine storyteller. I thought about the Holt (wavered quite a bit, actually) so I could go that way, too. I liked The Cry very much, but I think you’d probably prefer the Holt or the Griffiths…of course, I could be wrong. Don’t tell anyone, but *drops voice to a whisper* that has happened. 😉
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Haha, I don’t believe that! 😉 I’ve read several of the middle books in the Ruth Galloway series and enjoyed them until the last couple. My intention was always to go back and read the earlier ones but I read book 1 and then my best-laid plans went all agley! So if it wins that would give me the kick I need to get going again… 😀
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Yrsa Sigurdardottir gets my vote, as I keep meaning to read her and not getting round to it. You can let me know how urgent it is!
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And my vote. Sounds a b it like a story with a supernatural / horror twist…
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I find she usually has a supernatural or spooky element in most of her books and she’s very good at it – I seem to remember the reviews of this one suggesting it was as much horror as crime! Thanks for popping in and voting! 😀
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I’ve loved a few of her books in the past and found a couple of others too gruesome for my tastes, so it’s always an unknown quantity when I start one! She’s great at incorporating a feeling of spookiness into her books though… 😀
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Definitely The Janus Stone, although at one time I read everything Anne Holt wrote and for some reason haven’t done so lately. Perhaps I should go back to her.
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I have a feeling that it was you originally who led me to Anne Holt – I read and enjoyed one or two, and then as usual got distracted by new shiny things! I’ve also read and enjoyed some of the Ruth Galloway books but missed a few of the earliest ones, so it would be good to fill in those gaps…
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Nice to think I’ve done some good in the world😉
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You also get the credit for making me aware of the National Theatre youtube plays! 😀
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Janus Stone was my vote!
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An excellent choice! I’ve read a few in the series and enjoyed them until the last couple, but I still have some gaps to fill in the early books, which always seem to me to be better… 😀
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I voted for The Janus Stone. I read the previous works in her series, and I’ve been waiting eagerly to get my hands on this one. I guess our library hasn’t secured a copy yet — must try again when everything reopens. Good luck with whatever wins!
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I’ve read and enjoyed a few of the Ruth Galloway series, but missed this one when it came out so it would be good to fill in that gap! It’s in the lead at the moment… 😀
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Read any of the other three but not THE CRY. It is the only one I have read and really hated it. 😜
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Haha, I should have an option for Don’t Read It on the poll! 😉 It looked as if The Cry was going to win but it’s fallen behind now… 😀
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I voted for The Janus Stone only because it’s one I read and enjoyed. It’s early enough in the Galloway series that you would probably enjoy it. I’m currently in a mystery that deals with the death of a child. Even though I’m not a “kid person” in real life, it still bothers me to read about children getting killed. (and animals and old people!)
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Yes, I did like the early Ruth Galloway books but somehow missed this one, so it would be good to fill in the gap! There seemed to be a spate for a few years of books about murdered children and I must say it’s one of the things that put me off contemporary crime. Like you I prefer the victims not to be vulnerable or helpless – give me a horrible old rich victim who deserves all he gets! 😉
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The Silence of the Sea! Sounds fantastic!
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I’ve loved some of Sigurdardottir’s books and found others too gruesome for me, so it’s always an unknown quantity starting a new one! She does do spooky so well though… 😀
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I voted for The Silence of the Sea but they all sound brilliant!
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Good choice – she’s usually very good! They do, don’t they? That’s why I get so annoyed at my inability to keep acquiring books since I already have so many that I’d love to read… 😀
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😀
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Janus Stone for me – what is it with all these missing/dead children?!
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Excellent choice – I’ve read several in that series, but somehow missed that one so it would be good to fill in the gap! Haha, I know – there seemed to be a spate of books about murdered children for a few years and I must admit it’s one of the things that put me off contemporary crime. I could be wrong but I think that particular trend has stopped now, thankfully… 😀
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I voted for The Janus Stone as it was the only one I’d read – and I enjoyed it!
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I enjoyed several of the early Ruth Galloway books but somehow missed this one so it would be good to fill in that gap – good choice! 😀
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Yeesh kids don’t seem to be able to make it out alive in these books…yikes!
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Haha, I know! There was a real trend for books about murdered children a few years ago – hopefully it’s over now…
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I voted for The Janus Stone and it looks like it’s doing well – I haven’t read it but it sounds great and people keep telling me I need to read something by Elly Griffiths. Happy reading whatever books wins! 🙂
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The Janus Stone has raced ahead now and will definitely win unless a miracle happens! I thoroughly enjoyed the early books in this series, so I’m looking forward to filling in this gap… 😀
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Sorry, when you stack all of the crime up together in one post and blurb after blurb is about missing children (a parent’s worst nightmare)—along with the missing family—well, I must say I’ll stick with poetry for the month of April, LOL. That and my own writing, for when I murder my own darlings, I can rest easily because they’re just words. The only ones who will rejoice are editors and the grammar police. No slack-jawed detective will be hovering outside my door, waiting to slap the cuffs around my wrists and lock me in the slammer.
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Haha, yes! There was a real spate of books about murdered kids a few years ago and it’s one of the things that put me off contemporary crime for a long time. I’ve been dipping my toes back in the water recently and happily that particular trend seems to have passed… I think!
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