Alex by Pierre Lemaitre (4.4🌟)

Alex is a crime thriller novel, second book in the Brigade Criminelle  (Camille Verhoeven) trilogy.

Won't say much about this novel to not spoil anyone's read. But, I think it was better than Irene,  and that is a lot to say. We meet Commandant Camille Verhoeven again a few years after the events in the first book. We follow him as soon as he is asigned the case of the kidnapping of a woman. He doesn't want to lead the case but he is forced by his superior Le Guen. There are very little clues as to the identity of the kidnapped woman. There was only a witness who saw a man taking her into a white van and then dissappear. No one else saw anything and the case seems an impossible one.

Opinion:  it was mind blowing. The twists were brilliant and the ending though brutal and hard was satisfying. I liked Camille's character development and maybe also the relationship with his colleagues Armand and Louis. But the best in my opinion was Alex, everything about the character was gripping,  interesting, thought provoking and more.

I got my edition from my local public library. It was published by Quercus publishing in 2013. It has 354 pages.

Irene by Pierre Lemaitre (4.2🌟)

Irene is the first novel in the Brigade Criminelle (or Camille Verhoeven) Trilogy. It is a crime thriller dealing with a peculiar police investigator and  a twisted serial killer.

The story follows Camille Verhoeven, a Commandant from the Parisian police. He is married and lives a stable live. Only problem with him is, he is too aware of his short stature though he tries not to show it to his colleagues. Camille is called to investigate the murder of two girls. The crime scene is so disturbing most police officers cannot stay there more than a few seconds. Through the investigation Camille and his team are able to connect the murder with two more. One in France and one in Scotland.  Moreover they are sure the killer is the same and that he is copying the brutal murders from classic crime novels.

Opunion: An excellent, gripping novel.  Well written. Short, quick chapters. This is the kind of novel I could have read in one long sitting had I had the chance, and time, and energy.  Excellent protagonist, very well presented, a likable character. The villain a mean, twisted mind. The plot, a puzzle, so clever and interesting. And the ending is.. ahhhhhhhhhh! 😨😲 I want to continue with the trilogy so I'll probably grab the second book soon.

I got my edition from my public library. Published by Quercus publishing in 2014 with 398 pages.

I have not been in the mood to update this blog. Maybe because I am enjoying so much my readings (and want to read rather than write here) or just because because. ... I'm kind of forcing myself to at least leave a short entry about my recent read, to keep my records up to date.

The Child by Sebastian Fitzek (3.6🌟)

The Child is a crime thriller, originally written in German in 2008 and translated to English in 2014 by John Brownjohn.

The story follows Robert Stern, a lawyer, who is secretly called to help a terminally ill child who insists he is a serial killer. Reluctantly Sterns listens to Simon's story, about how he killed a man 15 years ago. The boy is 10 and Stern is sceptical. The boy takes him to the scene of a murder and guess what, they find a body showing the exact signs as described by Simon.  Despite of all the evidence Stern is not willing to continue even when Simon confesses there are more victims.

However when he receives a dvd showing the exact moment in which his baby son, who died of sudden death syndrome, is being switched with another baby, he is forced to continue with the investigation to find out if his son is alive or not.

Opinion:  This was a super fun read. Didn't expect to read it so quickly. 4 sittings in 2 days. It's fast paced with short chapters. There is crime and a mystery which may have paranormal or supernatural causes. We hear about reincarnation and similar and start to believe that this is really the case. Stern's fragile state of mind plays a role in confusing the reader. He is sceptical but at the same time needs to  believe because this way he'll be able to find his lost son.  Carina, his ex girlfriend and Simon's nurse, is an interesting character. She wants to help Simon but is trapped between her love for the boy and here duties as his nurse.

Liked the book a lot despite its problems. Some scenes or events were not quite convincing perhaps unrealistic and I think the ending needed a more powerful punch. Nevertheless I'd recommend this novel if you are looking for quick and easy entertainment.

I got my edition from my local library. It was published in 2014 by Sphere. It has 370 pages.

The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (4.4🌟)

The Last Question is a short story about humans wondering, through time, how to reverse the aging (and death) of the universe. It is entertaining and gripping.  A quick read. I had read it years ago in web-comic format but I had forgotten most of it. This re-read was refreshing and thought provoking particularly because it was my last reading of 2019... it's only 1 year (and the story takes place over hundreds of thousands of years) but it was a reminder that time passes, and that we are not eternal.

I found the short story here: https://www.multivax.com/last_question.html
And the comic version: https://imgur.com/gallery/ApzEV

Enjoy

Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Stugartsky (4.2🌟)

Roadside Picnic is a science fiction novel about first contact but without actual contact. It was written in Russian in 1972 and translated to English by Olena Bormashenko.

A few years back earth was visited by aliens. No one knows why they came or what they did here. We only know that they stayed in several "Zones" around the planet. When they left the Zones were closed. Access is restricted to everyone to this day. Strange things happen there and people are scared.

Red Schuhart is a Stalker. His live depends on the Zone. He illegally collects artifacts the aliens left to sell them in the black market. He risks his life every time but the danger and mystery of the Zone are too tempting. His wife is scared and unhappy. Their daughter is a mutant as is every Stalker child. She is becoming less human every day. Perhaps she is a gift (or a curse) by the aliens. In his desperation Red will go back to the Zone in search of hope.

This is an excellent read. To me, more a character study than a plot driven story. Though the background information and narration of the trips to the Zone are interesting and gripping. We look into the mind of a man who doesn't know or want anything outside the zone. We see him making life and death decisions but lacking the morals and values to guide them. There many layers of meaning to explore in this novel. How a visit by aliens can affect people and societies? how can an exclusion zone, and black market corrupt people and their families? What are the effects of new, alien technology in our world? Why did they not stay or contact humans? All these in addition to the questions raised by Red's actions which are not necessarily moral...

My edition is a paperback, SF Masterworks published by Gollancz in 2012. It has 193 pages plus a foreword by Ursula K Le Guin and an afterword by Boris Stugartsky.

And

There is a movie titled Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky which is based on this Roadside Picnic. I have to say that the movie is a work of art. Though a simplification of the original story it conveys the emotions and tribulations of a Stalker through a particular trip to the Zone. I would say it digs deeper into the mind of the Stalker and two other men he guides.

Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto (3.8🌟)

Queen Emeraldas is a shonen, science fiction Manga.

It follows a woman called Emeraldas and her spaceship Queen Emeraldas. She is a pirate and an assassin. Brave and strong but at the same time she is compassionate and good hearted. She fights for justice but is feared by most, maybe because she doesn't hesitate of kill. She once did and got a scar on her face. We follow her in a few aventures, searching for criminal and enemies, or trying to save people in need. We know very little of her past, only that she is looking for someone and because of that she will wander the sea of stars until she finds him.

Opinion: I liked the stories but I liked the protagonist more. I guess I was intrigued her mysterious aura and her secrets. Not much more to say except that the stories are easy to follow and entertaining.

My edition was published by Kodansha comics, in 2 beautiful hardcover volumes.

Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino (4.7🌟)

Journey Under the Midnight Sun is a mystery, crime thriller originally published in 1999 in Japanese.

The story spans over 20 years after the mysterios murder of Yosuke Kirihara,  owner of a pawnshop in Osaka. The police investigation is led by Junzo Sasagaki. He and his team follow leads to a woman who seemed to have been Kirihara's mistress. They suspect her even though she has a boyfriend. But, when the mistress and her boyfriend die in two separate incidents they end up losing all their leads. Years pass and a series of seemingly unrelated events are narrated. In each event there is always someone who was involved or had some kind of relation to the original case. The main protagonists of these events are Yukiho, daughter of the woman suspect in the murder of Kirihara and the other is Ryo, the son of the murdered man. We see them go through school, college and work. Incidents and fatalities surround them but we can never be sure they are involved. We are also not sure why we are following their stories, but we don't mind because the writing skills so good and entertaining we just want to continue.

Opinion: I loved this novel. I am aware it has its flaws but it was an excellent, mind blowing read.  The narrative bouncing from subplot to subplot, from character to character is always engaging, gripping. We are made to suspect everyone and make up theories, which adds up to the entertainment.  In terms of flaws i cannot say much to not spoil the book but suffice it to say that I found some situations or characters to conveniently appear to sort a problem or provide information in a way which did not seem realistic to me.

I got my edition from my local library.