4 stars out of 5
In the end, I very much enjoyed this book; in the beginning, I wasn't so sure. The "thrilling" action really didn't pick up until the last quarter or so; after that, my eyes were glued to the Kindle pages and I didn't put it down till I'd reached the last page.
The story centers on Marian Engstrom, who, after college graduation, applied for and landed a job working with dogs as part of a study on the impact of oil exploration on the caribou, moose and wolf populations in Canada. There, she meets and falls in love with the more experienced Tate, her supervisor of sorts. He's exciting, intriguing and helps her learn the ropes. But happiness over their professional and personal coupling is short-lived; when Tate sets off to help with another project, he doesn't return. She's devastated to learn that his mangled body - the damage apparently done by a bear attack - has been found in the deep woods
Marian is devastated, but at one point before he left, she learned about four women who were murdered over a period of six years and mentioned this to Tate. Surprisingly, he claims to been the person who found one of the bodies. As she deals with Tate's death, Marian begins to recall inconsistencies in what Tate told her about his earlier life and finding that body in particular. When she learns that some of that information wasn't the truth, she begins to wonder if Tate had another, more sinister, connection to those murders. Finding the name of a retired forensic profiler (Nick Shepherd) who worked on the cases, she contacts him. He, too, remains haunted by the still-unsolved murders, and the two begin to share information and dig for clues.
It takes quite a while for their findings come together in a meaningful way - chapters switch to before Tate's death to present happenings - but eventually a more complete picture of who Tate really was begins to form. And at that point, the picture also reveals that Marian may have taken her doubts too seriously and learned far more than someone wants her to know. That, in turn, puts her own life in danger - and brings the whole thing together with a bang-up ending.
So what got in the way of a perfect rating? It's abundantly clear that the author did far more than her fair share of research on everything from the history of animal scat to bear attacks to surviving in the wild. That's commendable (as well as absolutely necessary). But to me, research is like an iceberg; most of it can and should remain out of sight. There's just too much of it here, and it tends to bog down the flow of the story. Besides that, by the author's own admission (based on her own life experiences), the story is intended to empower and embolden women who might be dealing with similar experiences. That, too, is commendable, but some portions seemed a bit too "preachy" as a result.
Overall, though, the writing is outstanding and the story both solid and unique. I'm very glad I read it, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.
The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets (Berkley, March 2019); 352 pp.
5 stars out of 5
My honest thought as I finished this book? Thank goodness I got my hands on it before relations between the United States and Canada started to go you-know-where in a handbasket. That's because, I'm delighted to report, I've found a new series to love.
Well, sort of new; apparently, it was first published in 2011, so I'm not sure why it hasn't made it across the border till now. I am quite certain, though, that I want to read more about "Mac" MacNeice (oddly, I don't recall seeing a first name), a senior police detective in the fictitious Dundurn, Ontario. Apparently, there are three more books to be released between now and November, so there's plenty to look forward to.
I really love MacNeice, who is still grieving the loss of his beloved wife. Oh, there are hints of a possible personal connection with his co-worker Fiza Aziz - herself an interesting person in that she's a Muslim with a doctoral degree - but nothing serious developed by the end of this book. Is it a thriller? Not really; I'd characterize it as a basic police procedural (albeit with a unique method of murder), and for the record, that's my favorite kind of book.
As he returns from visiting his wife's grave, MacNeice gets a call to a murder that took place in a remote beach house. For more than one reason the woman can't be readily identified, but a bruise under her chin tells MacNeice that she was a violinist - as was his late wife. The rather horrific way she was killed doesn't help much in the clue department, so the motive remains a mystery as well.
But with input from the unusually perceptive MacNeice and investigative work by Fiza and other very capable (and likable) co-workers, the woman is finally identified; she'd recently graduated from a conservatory and apparently was headed toward a career as a professional musician. She had a wealthy businessman for a father, giving rise to the possibility that her murder may have been intended as some kind of message to him. But then, another body turns up - and connections between the two murders begin to take shape, as does the investigation itself. As much as anything, I enjoyed the character development and interactions; there are a few plot twists and life-threatening situations that keep the intrigue going, but at the same time I finished the book with a full set of intact fingernails.
In short, this was a joy to read (and thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy). Now if I could just get my hands on the next one, hint, hint...
Erasing Memory by Scott Thornley (Spiderline, June 2018); 322 pp.
3 stars out of 5
All things considered, this is a good choice for those interested in espionage and high technology with a few twists added in. Getting the most enjoyment out of it, though, requires buying into the notion that jealousy has a place in a marriage and that otherwise reprehensible behavior performed while under the influence of that emotion can be rationalized as acceptable. For better or worse I do not, thus making it impossible for me to empathize (or sympathize) with either of the two main characters.
One of them is Neil Henberlin (a.k.a. Neo Henbrin, for no apparent reason); he's in the business of sales for a company called R.E.S., which manufactures some kind of super-secret processor/work station/software related to the oil and gas industry. Unbenownst to anyone except his handler, he's also a Canada Security Intellilgence Service spy, helping his country by pretending to have an affair with, and providing secret information to, the beautiful Chinese double agent Yanmei Albin during meetings in Neil's secret apartment.
But early on, the second main character, Neil's wife Leyna - a woman who is unable to deal with no longer being the apple of her successful politician father's eye (and being a media darling) - discovers the existence of both Yanmei and the apartment. Immediately, she concludes that her husband and Yanmei are having an affair, thus adding another facet to her emotional misery.
Of course, Neil fiercely denies any romantic liaisons; but he is under orders to not reveal his spy status or the real reason for his meetings with Yanmei. Leyna takes no comfort from her husband's denial, and her imagination grows wilder by the minute. And then, something terrible happens in the secret apartment that puts Neil between a rock and a hard place - in trouble with his R.E.S. family, his CSIS handler, Yanmei's elderly but powerful father and yes, his wife. To whom does he owe the most loyalty? Can he keep the government's secrets safe, resolve all the issues and satisfy everyone concerned without someone getting killed or put in jail?
If you want to find out, you'll just have to read the book. As for me, I thank the author for providing a copy to read in exchange for an honest review.
Undertow of Loyalty by M.D. Davies (Creativia, November 2017); 279 pp.
4 stars out of 5
By and large, I enjoyed this book. Now that I'm finished, though, I'm having a heck of a time coming to terms with what I read - but I'll give it the old college try. College, in fact, is a good place to start; that's where the four main characters - Meredith, Lilly, Jonathan and Julian - met as law students at McGill University in Toronto in the mid-1990s. Ten years later, they've graduated and, for the most part, have all grown up.
Now a prosecuting attorney, Meredith gets assigned to a grisly murder case, and surprise (or maybe not), the accused is old friend Julian, who is being defended by none other than Jonathan. Lilly, an attorney who works with Meredith, mostly stays behind the scenes to offer cryptic advice while Meredith grapples with her mixed feelings about the outcome. Will the talented Jonathan work his magic and get his client home free? Can Meredith prove her old friend is lying and convince the jury to return a guilty verdict? Perhaps more to the point, does she really want that to happen?
Chapters about the trial are interspersed with flashbacks to the friends' days as carefree students whose most pressing life question is, "Will that be on the test?" Gradually, readers get a fairly in-depth look at their individual personalities and rather complex interactions. Lilly and the off-kilter Julian, for instance, apparently are an item; Lilly is aloof and fond of bragging about her high IQ. Meredith, the only one who doesn't come from a monied background, seems stuck in inferiority complex mode - likely contributing to the off, on, off, on ad nauseam relationship she's had with Jonathan lo these many years.
Although I never really warmed up to any of the characters, they're certainly interesting. The plot, too, is well crafted and intriguing; the courtroom preparation and procedures in particular really held my attention (but then it's rare for me to read a book with a legal or medical focus that I don't love). For whatever reason, I wasn't thrilled with the ending - not the verdict, which I won't reveal, but the actual last page (nope, won't discuss that here, either).
Then, when I read the author's notes at the end - the part where she explains why she wrote this book under the pseudonym Julie Apple - I realized that if I'd known that ahead of time, it probably would have greatly influenced my take on the book - and I'm not at all sure in a good way. The author does suggest reading another of her books, Fractured, hinting that it will shed some light on this one.
At any rate, I give this book as it stands 4 stars and, as I said before, I enjoyed it. If you want to see the author's explanation of how it came about, you don't have to wait to the end; turns out it's in the "From the Author" on the book's page at Amazon.com. And if you want to read that other book first, that's your choice as well. As for me, I'm going back to trying to make a dent in my stack of to-read books, for now simply saying many thanks to the author and publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read an advance copy of this one in exchange for an honest review.
The Murder Game by Catherine McKenzie writing as Julie Apple (Amazon Digital Services LLC, November 2016); 303 pp.
In the end, I very much enjoyed this book; in the beginning, I wasn't so sure. The "thrilling" action really didn't pick up until the last quarter or so; after that, my eyes were glued to the Kindle pages and I didn't put it down till I'd reached the last page.
