Thrillers

There is a darkness about the Scandinavian books recently released in New Zealand that makes them fascinating reading.

Publishers could be deliberately releasing books similar to those written by Stieg Larsson to attract readers or it could be the way of thinking by authors from countries where much of winter is spent in darkness. Whatever the reason, it works.

Anne Holt in Fear Not has written a chilling book based in Norway with a plot that grips from the first page. It is not a particularly easy book to follow and that is one of the attractions.

There are several surprises throughout the book, not the least the skill with which Holt manages to drag the reader to an obvious conclusion only to turn the page and find the plot drifting off in another direction. The book is both frustrating and rewarding - at every stage.

The Bishop of Bergen is stabbed to death on an otherwise empty street on Christmas Eve. Why was she walking alone through the city in the dead hours of the night?

Adam Stubo leads the police investigation of the bishop's murder but it is criminal-profiler partner Johanne Vik who suspects the death of the bishop and the death of a promising artist are related.

The book has an openly (friendly) gay theme but the murders are perplexing enough that you need to keep a clear head and not prejudge the outcome.

A downside is Holt adopting an increasing trend of adding a epilogue/prologue after the book really should have ended. If authors think readers are not bright enough to work out the obvious, then put the prologue where it belongs, at the start.

  • Stephen Leather breaks a few rules with his Fair Game (Hachette), managing to tie in racially motivated crimes in London with terrorist activities in Somalia, ship hijacking and concluding a theme from his previous books.

The book is busy but hugely readable and written with a flow that does not require heavy analysis.

It manages to have just enough details about weapons and explosives to give readers a general idea of their use, enough torture to make you cringe and some good old-fashioned Irish violence to make it seem real.

  • Clive Cussler has continued his Isaac Bell Adventure series with The Race.

These books are becoming once over lightly, written as they are with others. This time Justin Scott has his name added to the front cover.

Bell is a private investigator with the Van Dorn Detective Agency which is hired in 1910 to protect aspiring aviatrix Josephine Frost from her particularly violent and totally unpleasant husband.

The book is set around a race to become the first aviator to cross America in 50 days.

This book is made for speed reading on an afternoon when nothing much else takes the fancy of a reader. Do not expect to be drawn into a rich and complex plot.