ajnel's reviews
670 reviews

The Killing Hour by Paul Cleave

dark funny 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

Another action thriller written in Cleave's uniquely funny first person style.  This one is a bit over the top and drags a bit, but still remains hugely entertaining. 3.5/5

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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

A macabre horror novel as only the late great Shirley Jackson could write them. 4.5/5

Witch Hunt by Ian Rankin, Jack Harvey

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

Written under the nom de plume of Jack Harvey, Rankin stepped away from his Rhebus novels but he still remained close to his alma  mater of the detective novel.  "Witch Hunt" is a fast paced twisty and turny "catch a killer" thriller, focused around a contract killer believed to have been hired to kill a prominent G8 attendee.  Rankin, as with the Rhebus novels, develops deeply layered characters without this impacting on the pace of the novel.  A great read for a lazy afternoon.  3.5/5

The Clearing by Simon Toyne

dark mysterious tense medium-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

Toyne's second novel in the Laughton Rees series not only has a very different setting but also contains a bit of a homage to the conspiracies and folklore for which Toyne's is known. Thoroughly enjoyable. 3.5/5 

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Simon Toyne shot to almost instant fame with "Sanctus" during the 90s.  His follow-up books in the trilogy however never had the same success and one got the feeling that his writing was just not strong enough to carry the stories.  However, with "Dark Objects", Toyne's writing perfectly matches the fast-moving and very engaging whodunit.  Definitely worth reading. 

Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

Eli Cranor's Dagger (New Blood) nominated debut novel truly is a tour de force in the effective use of pacing and the power thereof esp in Southern noir. Though not yet on the same level as SA Cosby,  "Don't know Tough" despite its slightly obvious whodunit, deals with the impact of a number of "personality forming" events and philosophies in the lives of the principal cast and leaves substantial food for thought for the reader.  Bravo! 

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen

dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

In this first novel in what one can refer to as the Adventure Park Trilogy, we meet Henri, a man who lives by the order provided to him by Mathematics tempered by a smidgen of Schopenhauer's philosophy.  Through his awkward human interaction it becomes immediately clear that Henri is first and foremost an actuary and he approaches everything in life by the numbers.  Now Henri needs to run a bankrupt Adventure Park based on human interaction coupled with dodging underworld figures who are more than willing to subject him to any conceivable form of pain to collect debts owed by his predecessor (his deceased brother)  Tuomainen is absolutely masterful in his ability to make this quirky black comedy / thriller come alive in the most entertaining possible way. One of the funniest writers on this planet and very much on par with the late Joseph Heller.

Joe Victim by Paul Cleave

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

The second Rollercoaster ride with the inner monologue with NZ serial killer, Joe Middleton.  Cleaver is an absolute genius at writing black comedy / horror noir. 

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

dark emotional 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

5.0

Another exquisitely written Southern noir crime thriller by S.A. Cosby.  The plot unfolds around a school shooting, the graves of the victims of a serial killer and a truck being driven into a crowd.  A masterpiece. 

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

As always, Alex Findlay weaves a fast-paced and complex whodunnit, where figuring out the motive is the real reward.  An engaging novel, which will be almost impossible to put down.