This Body of Death by Elizabeth George

I've read all of Elizabeth George's novels and have mostly enjoyed them. The last couple she has been focusing on child abuse which is an area that I do not enjoy reading about. I'd forgotten that this book was about that before I started to read it. What I like about her books is that the characters are continued and they have mostly shown growth and depth as the books have progressed.

I had trouble with this one from the start mostly because of the style. She uses the flashback method to tell one of the story lines. But where the method was intriguing and engaging in Louise Penny's book,Bury your Dead, in this book it was intrusive and annoying, at least at first. This is because the flashbook story is being told in the form of a report. I suspect it's partly to lessen the horror of the story. And the story is horrific even told in the bland, reporting way of a psychologist's report.

The other story line is good. I'm not sure I like where she's going with a couple of the main characters. it will be interesting to see how they develop in later books.

If you are a staunch Elizabeth George fan then you will want to read this book if only to keep up with Detective Lynley and Barbara Havers. Otherwise I would recommend reading her earlier books as there is more story telling and less background stuff to wade through.

Bookaholism

Hello, my name is Shari, and I’m a book-aholic.

How do I know this? You might think it’s because I have a lot of books, and you’d be right. If you’re my mother you know this because you’ve packed umpteen books whenever I’ve moved.

How I know this though is because I have 3 books that I’m reading right now. And someone just gave me another that I’ve been wanting to read and I’m trying to figure out how I can fit that into my reading schedule without dropping any of other books I’m reading.

Hello, my name is Shari and I’m a bookaholic. Please tell me I’m not the only one. Maybe we can start a support group.

True Blue by David Baldacci

True Blue is a police crime thriller involving two sisters; one who is chief of police and one who has just gotten out of prison for a crime she was framed for.

This is a solid, action-packed novel. As you know by now if you've read my blog for very long, I prefer books with in depth character development. This is definitely not one of those but still entertaining in a shoot em up; good vs evil type of way. And there is plenty of bad guys to be had. Baldacci has some interesting theories on how far the US gov't will go to combat terrorism. This is a modern tale with modern bad guys and strong women who can hold their own against anything that comes their way. This one won't tax your brain very much but will get your heart pumping a few times as you follow the action.

Bury your Dead by Louise Penny

In most jobs you can make a mistake and nobody dies. But in some jobs; air traffic controllers, fire fighters, and police detectives mistakes can be deadly. These jobs have a built in terror factor; the terror that if you fail people may die.

It’s this terror that Louise Penny uses to create suspense and plot development in her latest book, Bury your Dead. Once again we meet Inspector Gamache. He’s in Quebec city recovering from a deadly mistake. While there he becomes involved in a murder mystery and a historical mystery. And if that wasn’t enough mystery, the fact that he may have made a mistake in the Three Pines case (The Brutal Telling) begins to haunt him.

While he is going about the city looking for clues to the murder, we are given access to his thoughts as he plays back his most recent mistake; the one that resulted in a leave of absence from his job. If this hadn’t been handled properly it could have become very confusing for the reader but instead the transitions between real time and his thoughts are smoothly done and the reader is caught up in the story playing in Gamache’s head as much as the one playing out around him. Gamache’s side-kick, Inspector Beauvior reopens the Three Pines case, giving us yet another narrative to follow in this complex but entertaining novel.

This is also a book about history, specifically Quebec’s history. In fact it’s possible to think of Quebec, it’s history, it’s present and it’s politics as another character in the novel. Penny’s love for the province she lives in is very evident throughout all her novels. But the descriptions of the places and people in this one made me want to book my next vacation there.

You could read this book as a stand alone; there’s enough information about the people of Three Pines and the previous murder case to go on. However, the real pleasure in reading Louise Penny’s books is getting to know the characters and their surroundings. She was a journalist before writing fiction and has the journalistic eye for detail and commentary.

Bury Your Dead is a compelling, complex book that examines history and portrays the present through excellent story telling and interesting characters. Buy the book, read the series, you will be glad you did.