The Ophelia Cut – John Lescroart

Netgalley sent me a free download of the Ophelia Cut by John Lescroart, another title in the series with one of the most famous crime novel characters Dismas Hary.

In the Ophelia Cut Hardy is defending Mose, his brother in law, who is accused of committing a murder. Mose is supposed to have killed the rapist of his daughter. At the same time there is a growing concern that Mose will become talkative about a police cover-up they’re both involved in.

I really enjoyed reading the Ophelia Cut. It’s is well written. The core characters, Dismaz, Mose and Glitsky are sympathetic, very human and fully formed. It’s not just a whodunit. Lescroart really does a great job of keeping the reader in suspense about Moses’ guilt or innocence. Even in the end you can’t really be sure if Mose is the actual killer or not.

It is a good overall read, especially if you enjoy reading legal thrillers. Only the courtroom part could have had more pace, it’s a bit long-winded.

This is not my first read of a title by John Lescroart, nor my first read about character Dismas Hardy and definitely will not be my last.

Here you can find the website of John Lescroart.

Enter, Night – Michael Rowe

I received this book as part of NetGalley in exchange for a review. Quite different from the kind of books I usually read. But that’s all right, reading a book that makes you step out of your comfortzone. Enter, Night by Michael Rowe is that kind of a book to me. Not entirely true, because I’ve read Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll as one of the books in the Transworld Book Challenge. Yet, this is a completely different, much more creepy novel. A horror-novel with vampire-type creatures. And, believe it or not, I really liked it. It’s Michael Rowe’s first novel and he can be proud of it.

The novel is about Christine Parr, her daughter Morgan and her brother-in-law Jeremy Parr. Christine and Jeremy left Parr’s Landing years ago for different reasons but mainly to escape from Adeline, the dominating mother of Jack and Jeremy. After Jack, Christine’s husband was killed in an accident, Christine and Jeremy have no other choice then to return to Parr’s Landing. They’re forced to beg Adeline for help, who is unfortunately still the same the unbearable, hate-filled woman she used to be. Billy Lightning is also returning to Parr’s Landing. A professor who seeks answers to the recent killing of his father and believes the killing is connected with the history of murder and madness associated with the land Adeline Parr owns.

The novel is creepy, violent and terrifying. It’s extremely well written with fabulous characters. My favorite character in the novel is Finn, the 12 year old boy with his dog Sadie. I really enjoyed reading Rowe’s description of the relationship between Finn and his dog. Yet, it’s also the part of the book that is sometimes so scary that you have to put down the book. What I like about the book is that there are a lot of characters to sympathize with, Finn and his dog, Christine, Morgan Jeremy, Billy, they’re all very lovable characters.

The prose is outstanding. Consider Rowe’s description of the images Finn has: “the gift of a glimpse of the world as experienced from Sadie’s perspective – a mosaic of smell no human nose would ever experience; the literature of light on grass and snow; the secret language of birds and squirrels and cats; the true meaning of unconditional love, something no human being would ever truly understandl the perfect ecstasy of Finn’s fingers combing through her soft black fur, the utter completion of falling asleep at the foot of his bed. Pure and uncomplicated gratitude for every affection ever shown to her. Vigilance for Finn’s safety. Selfsacrifice”. A quote to remember “when she was sure she could see the beauty, she allowed herself to feel hope”. It’s not what I expected to find in a vampire fiction novel.

I’m very curious about the next novel by Michael Rowe. This one deserves four stars. Here you can find the website of Michael Rowe.

Promissory Payback – Laurel Dewey

Promissory Payback is actually one of the shortest novels I’ve ever read. But that’s nice, especially after reading The Lonely Polygamist and The Help. Just perfect for a rainy afternoon.

It’s a short crime story about detective Jane Perry. She’s investigating the murder of Carolyn Handel, a woman so much hated that almost everyone that knows her could have killed her. Perry finds out that Handel is stealing money from people that trusted her and thought they were investing in real estate. Quite a motivation for murder.

So, less then 100 pages, It’s a quick read, also due to the fact that the book is fast and fun to read. Dewey’s writing style is fluid, sharp and descriptive, The story develops in a gripping pace, it catches you from the beginning but in the end it really lacks action and suspense. It wasn’t that much of a brainteaser to understand who did it. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this novel. Three stars (out of five).

Laurel Dewey has got her own official website.