Review: Precious You by Helen Monks Takhar

Katherine has been editor of Leadership magazine for two decades. Where she was once the youngest editor on staff, she is now simply comfortable. However, the magazine is soon bought out and must undergo some changes. One such change is that she has a new intern, Lily, who seems like a newer, fresher, and more threatening version of Katherine. But not only is Lily threatening to replace Katherine at work, she seems to be dead set on stealing Katherine's life, and partner, Iain. As Lily starts to play a larger and more sinister role in Katherine’s job and life, the older woman can’t help but wonder what Lily’s true motives are.  

Not only must Katherine come to terms with a new office culture that proves she’s no longer at the top of her game, but she’s got to learn to navigate a world in which the forty-something women who are her peers are sliding into invisibility and obscurity, forced to pass the torch to a younger, prettier, and seemingly more capable generation. As Katherine desperately tries to cling to her glory days and stay relevant, she needs to outsmart Lily, and beat her at her own game, before she has nothing left to fight for.

Precious You is a thoroughly enjoyable book with a myriad unpredictable and shocking twists that makes for an exhilarating read. Apart from a brilliant commentary on the power of youth and beauty, as well as the devastating effects of obsession, the author has subtly and cleverly illustrated the horde of challenges faced by the modern woman in the workplace and the wider world. But most impressive is the dynamic between the two main characters, and how they represent the tension between millennials and older generations, and the misunderstandings and jealousies that fuel both groups. As a thirty-something reader, I also consider this book a cautionary tale of what’s to come – what will we have left when, like Katherine, our looks fade and the wrinkles start? There’s nothing like a psychological thriller to get you thinking about what’s really important in life, and it’s not eye cream and hair dye.

Precious You by Helen Monks Takhar is published by Harper Collins and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers

Review: Gallows Rock by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

When Huldar’s team is called to investigate a suicide within sight of the presidential palace, it seems straight-forward enough. Remove the hanging corpse before any of the political big-wigs can spot the body. However, once they arrive at the scene, it is evident that this hanging was no suicide. As if a murder disguised as a suicide wasn’t bad enough, when the police search the dead man’s apartment, it contains a four-year old boy not related to the victim, with no recollection of how he got there.

As Huldar and Freja team up to find the little boy’s home, it becomes increasingly obvious that the there’s a link between the murder, and the child’s missing family, they just don’t know what it is yet, and time is running out.

Sigurdardottir hasn’t earned the title of the Queen of Nordic Noir for nothing – this fourth installment in the Freja and Huldar series is simply brilliant. Not only does Sigurdardottir have a talent for dark story-telling, but she has created characters they never bore, and are still fresh and interesting after several installments. Add to this her flair for the macabre, and you have all the makings of a great book, that keeps you hooked from the first page.

Gallows Rock is a brilliant commentary on the social ills of class, wealth, and gender-based violence, all while being action-packed and deliciously dark. The author has a definite skill for discussing important themes through a lens that’s dusted with a bit of horror and a dash of the mind-blowing, making her books enjoyable and addictive, and Gallows Rock is no exception. With good writing and a great story line, what more could you want?

Gallows Rock by Yrsa Sigurdardottir is published by Hodder & Stoughton, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Review: Firewatching by Russ Thomas

 

DS Adam Tyler works cold cases, but his newest case is a pretty hot one. Amid the discovery of a burned corpse bricked away in a cellar, someone has been setting fire to buildings across the city, and somehow, Tyler is convinced that the two cases are linked. Unfortunately, by the time he can prove this, he may have compromised his position on the case by becoming involved with the main suspect.

But regardless of his personal involvement, the arson cases are soon taxing the city’s law enforcement to breaking point, and if they don’t find the person responsible, it could end badly for the city. With no new leads to the murder case, it’s tough to piece together who is responsible for the body in the cellar, although once they identify the victim and his sordid past, it’s hard to believe anyone would pass up the chance to get rid of him.

Firewatching has some very clever and novel narrative devices in play – including a key witness to the cold case that now suffers from dementia. While this excellently builds tension and prolongs the mystery, there are aspects that Thomas overuses, such as the detective’s homosexuality. Every pages, the reader is reminded of this fact, giving the impression that the author is concerned we’ll forget the detective’s sexual orientation.

Despite this, Tyler is an immensely intriguing character with enough emotional baggage to make him relevant for several books – the perfect introduction to a series. Add to this the writer’s flair for the macabre, and we have the first in what will likely be a long series of great stories. Russ Thomas has a knack for penning the unexpected, and making any outlandish details so believable that he can master any narrative – it’s impressive and enviable, and an indication of true talent.

Firewatching by Russ Thomas is published by Simon & Schuster, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Review: I Will Miss You Tomorrow by Heine Bakkeid

It’s safe to say that Thorkild Aske has hit rock bottom. The former Internal Affairs investigator not only lost his job, but attempted suicide and ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a while. However, now that he’s served his time for accidental death he caused, it’s time for him to once again join the world. Though he is banned from police work for life, he somehow gets roped into a private investigation into the disappearance of a young Dane. As he delves into the investigation and goes in search of the missing diver, he comes face to face with his past, and memories the spirited woman who was key to his downfall.

I Will Miss You Tomorrow makes superb use of the unreliable narrator. In his near constant drug-addled state, Thorkild spends his days balancing on the edge of a very thin divide between truth and fantasy – between witnesses and hallucinations. Despite this, he seems convinced of the truth, even though the doctors and police have their reservations. With a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Thorkild seeks not only the truth, but the redemption that accompanies it.

An interesting mix of fantasy and gritty dark crime drama, this book is an unexpected treat that seeks to humanize the detective genre, and the stone-hearted people who create the face of the genre. 

Despite his flaws, his dependency on anti-psychotics and pain medication, and his hesitancy to actually investigate, Thorkild proves himself to be an excellent detective, and a decent human being.

I Will Miss You Tomorrow is the first of a series, and while the protagonist seems to lack the staying power we generally associate with series, I can’t help but feel excited to see what happens next. If you like your whodunnits to have as much heart as they do grim reality, this book is for you. An easy read that transports you to the cold and storm north of the world, it’s a great adventure, and worth every second.

I Will Miss You Tomorrow by Heine Bakkeid is published by Raven Books, a Bloomsbury company, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Review: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Lydia was happy. She was surrounded by things she loved – her husband, Sebastian, their son, Luca, and her book store. Then, at a family barbecue, everyone she loved was taken from her – her entire family brutally massacred with the exception of Luca. And all because her husband wrote an expose on a drug cartel.

Now, Lydia needs to escape not only her hometown of Acapulco, but her country – as long as she’s alive, she’ll be hunted by the cartel. But how do you escape a country when the cartel has everyone on their payroll – from the police to the staff at the check-in counters at the airport? Lydia and Luca have no option but to flee as migrants, trusting their lives to a coyote and the vast desert that lies between them and freedom – between Mexico and the USA.

American Dirt is an incredibly moving and gripping story – not least because of Cummins' grace at describing the macabre realities of Mexican migrants, but at her ability to highlight the plight of millions of people who are otherwise ignored and invisible. Through the power of the pen, Cummins illuminates just a fraction of the deplorable state of immigration for migrants, and yet just this small piece is enough to leave you reeling.

Not only is American Dirt well-written, with flowing prose made all the more poetic with tasteful insertions of Spanish, but it is a poignant social commentary that speaks to the strength of character of people who have nothing to lose; who have had everything taken from them, and yet persevere. This book is a testament to the cruelties we inflict on each other, while at the same time, emphasizing the enormous strength that can be found if only we are allowed to hope.

Reading this book will make you uncomfortable, outraged, and shocked, yet grateful that so much is presented in such a beautiful package. In a world of complacency and fake news, this is exactly what we need.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is published by Tinder Press and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.