king, hannah, swanson &, of course lavin's whodunit opinions

i'm on facebook now and, seemingly overnight, i have 88 friends. i realize this is a small group as the facebook world goes, but still, it's nice to be friended by 88 people. thank you guys and happy new year.

 

i have three books to talk about today. if i had the time or the energy, i could use these three books to show some of the directions mystery novels can travel. in roughly alphabetical order, the three are 11/22/63: A Novel, Little Face: A Novel, and Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6)

 

11/22/63: A Novel is by stephen king and has had good reviews. the cover is very clever. the front shows a news headline, 'jfk slain in dallas.' the back cover another, what if, headline, 'jfk escapes assassination.' there you have it.

 

first a confession. i read only 100 pages of this 842 page (+ afterwards) novel. much of the first 100 pages was contemporary history, which i suppose mr. king had to present to his audience so 2011 readers would understand what his time travel hero changed. he also starts with an explanation of why the changes won't be permanent or to go back in time, weren't permanent. if you go through the 'magic' (my word, not king's) door twice you undo the changes you've made, so if our hero falls in love (of course he's going to. what else can he do while changing past history?) and has to go back through the port to help his girlfriend (today's medicine for example?) he will undo all of the good he has done. even if i'm wrong about plot, it seems to me that this is another novel that needs a good editor, not to make corrections, but rather to pare it down. a time travel book should be exciting. this isn't. and yes, i can tell from the first 100 pages.

 

it is published by scribner.

 

Little Face: A Novel is by sophie hannah. if you are any where near my age, the author's name will conjure up memories of rebecca and gaslight. or perhaps you have read other novels by ms. hannah. all of the ones i've read have been psychological thrillers, which also feature detective sergeant charlie zailer and d.c. simon waterhouse.

 

in this novel, the chief protagonist alice fancourt swears the baby in the crib is not hers. david, her husband, swears it is. they take to calling this baby little face instead of florence the original little girl's name. vivienne, is david's controlling mother, who owns the house they all live in, and who does control. we also have david's murdered first wife. all add up to a number of good ingredients to stir into the mysterious broth. the evidence  too overwhelming pushes the reader in one direction, so we, as readers, are forced into guessing the only possible alternative ending. but so what? the book is a good read, though i did not like the strong unnecessary cruelty, tortures, on the part of david. these actions have nothing to do with the story. not a nice guy? we could have guessed!!

 

Little Face: A Novel is 310 pages and is published by penguin books.

 

Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6) is one of denise swanson's cozies. i have been sent a crate of them by m.l. in chicago and perhaps will grow to love them as she does. they take place in scumble river (great name), a small illinois town. skye dennison, amateur sleuth and school psychologist, comes to the rescue when a member of her older brother vince's band is murdered. the band is, you guessed it, called the pink elephant. someone is selling the school kids drugs. someone want to build an amusement park on beautiful farmland. someone is a murderer. ms. skye finds the answers.

 

the novel is 252 pages and is published by signet books.

 

happy new year to all and to all, happy reading

 

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