ajnel's reviews
665 reviews

After That Night by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The 11th novel in the Will Trent series picks up shortly after the point where the Grant County series ended.  Sara has a new love interest, i.e., Will, and is now working with the GBI.  A rape and murder points not only back to her past but also to many of those who worked with her in that era. There are plenty of twists and macabre turns.  Not for everyone but a compelling dark whodunnit. 

Indelible by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The fourth novel in the Grant County Southern Crime series starts off with a number of murders and a hostage situation in the local police station.  This story quickly gets interwoven with a backstory where the murder of a high school girl and contemporary of one of the main characters is discovered a few years earlier.  The stories mash well and the whodunnits are well developed, both culminating in decent conclusions.  The character development is yet again a bit painful but the whodunnits are powerful enough to survive the character development.

A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The third novel in the Grant County series of Southern Crime Thrillers. Like the previous two novels, this one starts with a murder early on during the novel.   The murders all occur in and around a university campus and appear to have been committed by one of the principal characters.  There is also strong development in the characters and backstories of the main characters and a number of additional murders (as with the previous novels).  The breadcrumbs are also very similar to the previous novels and so are the reveals.  In other words, it is a bit of a recipe novel and the characters are slowly starting to become annoying and stereotyped (but for Lina).  Still a cracking whodunnit, but the characters have served their purpose and further character development is close to impossible.

Kisscut by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The second novel in the Grant County series opens with a bang (literally) and with that we are thrown into mystery with more twists and turns than a Georgia election.  Over and above the gripping and fast-paced whodunnit, we also get more insight into the characters of the main proponents in the series; something which Slaughter does without character development hampering the pace of the storyline.  There are (as always) more than one reveal, but the breadcrumbs are well-placed and the Red Hearings decently develop.  Slaughter is quickly becoming one of my favourite crime fiction authors. 

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"Blindsighted" is the first novel in Karen Slaughter's "Grant County", series.  This claustrophobic mystery thriller is centered around a serial rapist whose acts of violence increase in severity with each incident and similarly each incident moves closer to the main cast of characters.  Slaughter provides just the right amount of breadcrumbs to identify the killer a tad prior to the reveal.  Masterfully written.

Collecting Cooper: A Thriller by Paul Cleave

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"Collecting Cooper" is the fifth novel in Paul Cleave's Christchurch noir series and the second novel to feature Theodore Tait.  As with all the novels in the series, there are a number of interlaced storylines featuring events and characters from other novels in the series.  This quality to the novels creates not only a familiarity but also weaves the series together in a unique manner.  "Collecting Cooper" features (as many of the other novels) a serial killer theme and the storyline is quickly developed into a mystery around whether there are one or two serial killers.  A thoroughly engaging crime thriller with many twists and turns and a decent reveal. 

Doors Open by Ian Rankin

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

One of Ian Rankin's few stand-alone novels. The novel centers around an art heist but a very unlikely group of men, culminating in a nice little blindside.  As always there are just enough breadcrumbs to ensure that the amateur sleuth can figure out the plot twist and reveal.  Thoroughly enjoyable. 

The Summer House by Brendan DuBois, James Patterson

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Somewhere between Afghanistan and Georgia, USA, lies the reason why four Army Rangers apparently killed all inhabitants, including a two year old, of The Summer House.  A team of military crime investigators needs to find out what happened.  A fast-paced action thriller written in classic Patterson style.  Yes, Patterson tends to be a bit overly patriotic and melodramatic when dealing with matters concerning the military or federal services, but apart from that, it is a cracking novel, full of well-written twists and turns.

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Cranor's second Southern Noir novel pivots around two families and the impact of the killing of one family's thieving child, let's call them the meth cookers, by the child of the other, the junkyard owners.  The novel is set 16 years after the murder and kicks into gear with the abduction of the daughter of the now incarcerated killer.  As in his previous novel, there are plenty of twists and turns and blindsides .  It is however again the unique descriptive  writing style of Cranor which makes the novel so special.  It's pure fast paced poetry. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I eventually got my hands on the first three of the four novels in the series.  I initially felt that the four Jessica Fletchers would be the death of me, but they definitely do grow on a person and by the end of the novel, I actually liked each one of them quite a bit. Given that this was Osman's first novel, it is clear that his ability to create interesting and believable characters is top notch!  The whodunnit itself, is actually three whodunnits and Osman paced the reveal in relation to each perfectly.  The amount of breadcrumbs leading to each reveal also worked really well.  All in all, a most enjoyable novel.