Olympic Affair: A Novel of Hitler's Siren and America's Hero by Terry Frei

Leni Riefenstahl, having become well known as a dancer and actress, moved into film making - quite a feat in the nineteen thirties for a woman. However her renown was more due to the documentaries she made for the Nazis prior to World War II, and the rumours surrounding her relationship with Hitler than her gender. On the other side of the Atlantic Glenn Morris is a young athlete who is due to complete at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He's a small town boy who finds himself in the spotlight as one of the favourites to win the decathlon. This book is a fictionalised account of how they meet and the affair she claimed towards the end of her life that the pair had.

I really enjoy historical fiction, and especially recent history and tales with a firm factual basis, so this was right up my street. As well as providing an account of the developing relationship between the two, and their individual endeavours to reach the top of their field, it provides a great picture of the international fears of the coming of a second world war and the build up to that in Germany. Seeing Berlin through the eyes of the visiting athletes who try and rationalise what they are encountering provided a nice spectrum of views of what was happening at the time. 

As far as the main protagonists go Leni isn't a particularly sympathetic character. She is a demanding task master who has a way of putting her own spin on events to cast herself in a positive light. She comes across as slightly delusional and I couldn't quite get a handle on how she really felt about the relationship, and whether she really saw it as anything more than a career move. Glenn on the other hand came across as a charming small town boy whose life changes dramatically, although not necessarily in the way he had envisioned. His relationship with Leni takes a toll and seems to affect the rest of his life - a life that was full of promise.

I found reading about his preparations for the Olympics and her career to that point very interesting and enjoyed the development of their affair and the less factual part. At points the narrative was a bit too matter of fact, with lists of how came where in what event with times or distances. It makes for interesting footnotes but in most cases didn't really add anything for me. However in this blend of fact and fiction it was more forgiveable than it might have been otherwise. As always I appreciated the authors note at the end that helped distinguish where the line between the two was. My one wish would have been for more about what happened to the pair in the longer term than the relatively brief summary of the rest of their lives. It seems that the brief period of time had a lifelong impact and I would have very happily read more. Other than that I thought this was a very good read.

Format: ARC, anticipated release date 16th December 2012
Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon: The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters series) by Heather Graham

This is Book 8 in the Krewe of Hunters series. I only read book 4 (The Evil Inside) in August last year, also as an advance review copy, so I had to go and double check I was right that this was the 8th. And it is, Heather Graham is a machine!

This book is set in a Philadelphia mansion that is a feature of the city's tourist trail. There are plenty of ghost stories attached to the house, and a number of curious deaths in recent decades, but head guide and academic Allison is sceptical. When she finds a colleague dead, having apparently impaled himself on his replica bayonet, she certainly doesn't believe ghosts were involved. When there is another mysterious death and a former visitor falls into a coma rumours are flying that ghost of Butcher Bedford is the culprit but Krewe member Tyler Montague is convinced otherwise. Both Allison and Tyler believe there is an earthly explanation, and the time they spend together begins to change Allison's view of the world of the paranormal, and her initial distaste for the Krewe's involvement evolves into an overwhelming attraction for Tyler. Allison and the team have to work together to get to the bottom of the strange events and prevent more untimely deaths.

Having read two of the books in the series it appears that the members of the Krewe who mainly feature change with each book, so not having read previous stories is no handicap. This book is narrated largely from Allison's point of view and this allows the reader to discover how the Krewe work through her eyes. The writing is fluid and makes for an easy read.

I liked the overarching story in this book and was wondering which of two prime suspects would turn out to be the real villain. The book serves up a good helping of the paranormal combined with a little bit of romance and that's obviously a successful formula for this author. However I definitely preferred The Evil Inside. While I learnt a little history that I didn't already know and enjoyed the descriptions of the mansion it wasn't as thrilling as I'd like and I never really felt any sense of peril threatening the lead protagonists.

This was a good read, and I can imagine reading further books in the series but they won't be heading my To Be Read list.

Format: Kindle, ARC, anticipated release 28th August 2012
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
My Rating: 3*

Coming Soon Book Review: While I'm Still Myself by Jeremy Mark Lane

From Goodreads.com "A passionate December love affair.
The meeting of an unexpected traveler.
The consequences of protecting a young new acquaintance.
A journey into an unknown past.

In the stories of While I’m Still Myself, Jeremy Lane eloquently describes the life changing impact of the brief encounter, showing that life and love are not shaped by an entire lifetime, but by the fleeting moments with unexpected people in unexpected places."

This anthology of short stories is set in a range of places and times, and provides plenty of thoughtful material. There's the Dad who meets his dying mother's old flame, who moves him to work harder on his failed relationship with his son's mother, and the young runaway who meets an old hand as she starts her new life. There are also darker topics with segregation, domestic violence and a hint of incest rearing their ugly heads. This provides a mix of hope and happiness with sorrow and darkness,

Most of the stories leave the ending hanging somewhat, allowing the reader to make assumptions or decide for themselves where the story will go next, which I quite enjoyed. The stories are largely plot driven, so I didn't find myself particularly connected to any of the main characters, but in stories of this length with such interesting content that wasn't a big issue. I liked the author's style and found this anthology a good, quick read.

Format: Kindle, review copy, anticipated release date 1st March 2012
My Rating: 3*

Coming Soon Book Review: Catching the Eagle (Regency Reivers Series) by Karen Charlton

This book is the first in a new series. Set in Northumberland in the early 1800s this is a fictionalised account of the a crime that rocked the community and the author's ancestors.

When £1157 in rent money is stolen from Kirkley Hall the owner calls in officers from Bow Street magistrates court in London to investigate. While many think the owner's steward Michael Aynsley is to blame, suspicion focuses on poor farm labourer James Charlton. His behaviour after the theft only serves to further implicate him and the Charlton family, including brother William, begin a battle to save Jamie from the gallows and to keep his young family from the poor house. In his own way Will is also fighting for his freedom, trying to get away from the family farm and a past that has for too long affected his present. The magnificent golden eagle that has been seen over the area is a "lucky" bird, but there are parallels between the fate of the bird and Jamie.

This book is set in rural Northumberland, and although the reader is treated to some description of the life and homes of the upper classes much of the tale is set on the farms, in workers cottages and in the gaol. It is a bleak existence, especially in winter, and the author makes it easy to appreciate how difficult life must have been for the families in the novel. While the greater issues of the time touch on the story it really deals with telling the story of a family. The charming William is considered a bit of a ladies man but the reader sees more to him. He is devoted to his family but needs to cut the apron strings. I loved him, and the way he changed during the book. I also felt for Jamie's wife Cilla who, in common with many of her peers, was a hard toiling mother and worker.

I appreciated the writing style, which was descriptive without being too wordy, and which included enough local dialect to help me hear the characters without using using anything too obscure and confusing. Once I had chance to sit down and get into this book I didn't want to put it down again. The narrative is nice and linear, and easy to follow, seeing the family going through highs and lows. I thought that the recurring presence of the eagle made for a touching sub-plot interwoven with the main story.  

I really enjoyed this book, a historical fiction that values the smaller details. I put it down wondering what would happen next to Cilla and Will in particular, and would love to read the next in the series. 

Format: E-book, ARC, anticipated release date 8th Dec 2011

My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes

From Netgalley.com - "Love, war and photography marked their lives. They were young, anti-Fascist, good-looking, and nonconformist. They had everything in life, and they put everything at risk. They created their own legend and remained faithful to it until the very end....

When Gerta Pohorylle meets Endre Friedmann in 1935, they are in Paris; she is German, he is Hungarian, but both are communists, Jews, exiles—and photographers. To sell their work more easily, they change their names, becoming Gerda Taro (in homage to the Japanese Taro Okamoto) and Robert Capa (a portmanteau of Robert Taylor and Frank Capra). Under their new identities, they travel to Spain, entering Europe’s most harrowing war zone to document the country’s quickly intensifying civil war. Love, danger, and a fierce dedication to journalism and art mark their lives as the couple’s story unfolds, and until tragedy overcomes them two years later, theirs is a romance for the ages.

Based on the true story of these legendary figures and already set to be the next film by award-winning director Michael Mann (Public Enemies, The Insider, Manhunter, Miami Vice, Collateral), Waiting for Robert Capa is a captivating love story between artists, and a moving tribute to all journalists and photographers who risk their lives to document the world’s daily transformations."

This book looks like it will be one of those released to great critical acclaim, and translated for the big screen which I imagine will make a good film. However I found myself struggling to finish this book. I'm interested in photography but have to admit I hadn't heard of these photographers before so I wasn't sure how much of the book was a biography and how much was fictionalised. I read it expecting something that would be almost a historical fiction novel, but there were so many names and facts thrown in that it interrupted the flow of the narrative. I was also hoping to learn a bit more about the Spanish Civil war, which doesn't seem to get a lot of attention in the media compared to other conflicts. However while there was some information included it almost seemed to presuppose a degree of prior knowledge which I don't have, so it didn't really enlighten me and the scenes detailing actual conflict were limited and didn't have much emotional impact.

The story jumps around both in time and location, and the narrative in places is very choppy with incomplete sentences. The style worked in some places but overall this had a combined effect of making it a bit difficult to follow at times. Some of the references back to Gerta's life before she moved to Paris seemed to set up mysteries to be resolved, such as what had happened to her previous love Georg who went to Italy, with a suggestion something had gone on that would be revealed, but it never was. Probably a good thing there were no more flashbacks to their time together as I hated the sex scenes. I seriously dislike the use of the word "member", does anyone use it in real life in an anatomical context outside of literature?

I put this book down unsure of whether it was a biography, historical fiction or a romance novel, and my overall feeling was one of relief that I'd finished it. It was okay but I'm afraid I can't be more enthusiastic. It's a shame something I saw as really promising was a bit of a damp squib.

Format: E-book, Advance Review Copy, anticipated release date 27th September 2011
My Rating: 2*

Coming Soon Book Review: A Paradise for Fools by Nicholas Kilmer

When I read the synopsis for this, as someone with a passing interest in art, it sounded really interesting. I hoped that reading the 8th book in the Fred Taylor art mystery series without having read any of the previous books wouldn't affect my enjoyment of the story. I was definitely keeping my fingers crossed that the book would stand on its own.

Fred Taylor is getting his hair cut when one of the salon employees furtively shows her colleague a tattoo in progress. What he sees is a scene including strange animals and naked people, and the woman describes a hidden figure she characterises as a "gremlin" She mentions an old wooden painting as the source, and Fred realises it could be rare and valuable and decides he has to see it. In the course of trying to track it down he meets Arthur, the tattooist with amazing recall, and his friends. Fred finds no one is willing to talk and events turn sinister when one potential source of information is killed in a hit and run accident. At the same time Fred is involved in a nascent relationship with librarian Molly, providing him with a pleasant distraction.

In this book the reader finds out a little about Fred's background and his present employment, working for art collector Clayton Reed. However he still felt quite mysterious, although likeable. I imagine had I read any of the previous books in the series I would have had a better feel for who Fred is and what has happened in his past. I don't think it took away from the story though. The whodunnit aspect of the book for me was secondary to the who has it? and what is it? questions about the mysterious painting, and for the amount of time devoted to it in the book I suspect that was the author's intention. His descriptions of various artworks got me interested enough to google those I wasn't already familiar with. It's always a bonus to come away feeling like I've learnt something from a book, as well as being entertained.

I didn't feel the other characters were developed in any great depth but it wasn't to the detriment of the story, and I wonder whether Molly will warrant more time in future books in the series. My only real negative was that in places dialogue was more like a stream of conciousness, very stop and start, and at times it became hard to follow what a character was talking about as their thoughts jumped around. Mostly I was able to gloss over that but I hope I didn't miss anything important.

This was a very good read with one slightly worryingly and unexpected side effect - it's reignited my interest in getting more ink myself! It works fine as a stand alone book, although I can see it would probably be better if I'd read the earlier books. In fact I've already been and looked for the others in the series (although disappointingly only a couple of the previous 7 are available for kindle) I'm glad to have found this series.

Format: E-book, advance review copy, anticipated release date 6th Sept 2011
My rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: The Evil Inside (Krewe of Hunters series) by Heather Graham

The Krewe of Hunters is an FBI special unit and paranormal forensics team. Team member Jenna Duffy has been summoned back to Salem by her uncle after two murders, and she arrives just as a teenage boy, Malachi Smith, is arrested, covered in blood, for slaying his family. They lived in the notorious Lexington House, which has a history of violence and a reputation for evil. Defence attorney Sam Hall is in town to try and figure out what to do with his late parents' house. Having been the one to find the boy he feels a connection and agrees to take on his case. Both Jenna and Sam become convinced Malachi is innocent but use very different methods to try and uncover the real killer.

This book is the 4th in the Krewe of Hunters series, but the first I have read. I didn't feel I was missing out having not read the predecing books, possibly because Sam's side of the story is slightly more dominant and the FBI team aren't heavily involved until later in the book. The story is told in the third person from a few viewpoints, allowing the reader a good overview of everything that is going on surrounding the case, and all the efforts being made to uncover the truth.

Sam is set up at the start as a bit of a wealthy playboy but we soon see a softer side. It is almost the other way round with Jenna, who is the dutiful niece at the start but moves into the role of hard-hitting FBI agent later on. I liked both characters, and found the other minor players an interesting bunch. Jenna's ability to see ghosts, or postcognition as she refers to it, added a paranormal element that I really liked, as I'm open-mided about that sort of thing (unlike Sam)

I found the setting, and the history of the house and Salem, a very good backdrop for the story. With nuggets of information about the witch trials, and the different faiths and beliefs of the people of Salem, I felt like I learnt something as I read. I enjoy reading about other religions and faiths so it was a good match for me.

This book hit the spot in a lot of ways, crime - tick, a historical element - tick, religion/faith - tick, a not too out there paranormal element - tick. All good. However although there were moments when members of the team were in peril I never felt the level of tension was as high as I would like and I didn't have that feeling of needing to press on to find out how they would fare. I did really enjoy it and will at some point try and get my hands on the other books in the series.

Format: Advance review copy, e-book. Anticpated release date 30th Aug 2011
My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: We the Animals by Justin Torres

This book is Justin Torres' debut, an intense story about three brothers growing up in a household that veers from euphoria to despair in what seems a perpetual state of chaos.

The story is told from the viewpoint of the youngest brother and we are given a series of extracts from their life. It feels quite disjointed, possibly as there is no indication of how much time passes between each piece, but then children often have little concept of time so it suits the story where I might have found it difficult in other books.

The boys have a white mother and Puerto Rican father from Brooklyn, who became parents in their teens. As the story is told from a child's point of view what is happening, particularly between the parents, it isn't always explicit. However we learn enough to understand that despite hardships there is a lot of love and happiness. The three brothers are constant companions and despite all the fights are a tight unit. However as they get older there is a major shift, particularly as our narrator begins to see the world for himself.

To start with I was unsure how I felt about this book, it felt a bit mundane, but by the end I really appreciated how the first part set up the dramatic changes in the second part. It is a strangely beautiful and touching story, and although short at 144 pages felt the right length, understated rather than overdone.

Format: Advance review copy, anticipated release date 1st Sept 2011
My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: The First Victim by J B Lynn

As a teenager Emily Wright was able to escape from the serial killer dubbed the Baby Doll Strangler. However unable to escape the memories of her captivity she flees her small town home after graduating and builds a new life in the big city. Fifteen years later, when her father is seriously injured in an accident, she reluctantly returns to care for her fifteen year old sister. The old fears son creep back and any suggestion she is just being paranoid is dismissed when one of her sister's school friends is left on their lawn, dead. Deputy Bailey O'Neil is on the case, but their shared history colours his view. Between them and the two FBI agents on the trail of the killer they need to figure out his identity before he can kill again.

The story is mostly told in the third person, with some first person narrative from the viewpoint of the killer. This makes for very creepy reading, and finding out what Emily went through makes her fears seem very reasonable. She is a very likable character who has tried hard to find the strength to build her life again, and has become a successful career woman who stutters in the face of her high school crush and the memories her old home holds.

This isn't a particularly long book, and I raced through it, but that was largely because I didn't want to put it down. The reader is pitched into the action fairly early in the book and it's pretty relentless, although interspersed with details of the tentative relationship between Emily and Bailey which provides some light relief.

Parts of the plot were a bit predictable, but some of the turns I didn't see coming. The only thing I felt was missing was a real explanation of why the killer did what he did. We are given an idea of his logic but not what happened that affected him so much he would turn to murder, which would have completed things nicely. The story flows well and overall I really liked this thriller.

Format: ARC, anticipated release date 13th June 2011
My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

The Restorer is the first in a new trilogy, being released 26th April 2011, November 2011 and May 2012, with a free prequel available from publisher Harlequin's website. Amelia Gray is the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer and archeologist who sees ghosts. She has always lived by the rules dictated to her by her father to protect herself from the dead. In this, the first book in the series, when a body is found in a cemetery she is restoring, Amelia is asked to help Detective Devlin with the case. If there are clues to be found in the headstones she is the one to interpret them. However allowing him into her life could have serious consequences for her.

The story is told in the first person from Amelia's point of view. Having the narrator be a taphophile (a great new word in my vocab, meaning a cemetery enthusiast) gives the reader a murder mystery told from a completely different angle to that of a police detective or medical examiner. For a start she provides some really interesting information about the symbolism used in headstones. There is also such an enthusiasm conveyed for the beauty that can be found in cemeteries that I doubt I'll look at them in quite the same way again.

As a character Amelia is clearly burdened by her ability to see ghosts, and lonely as she can't share it with anyone. I felt for her, having to deal with her conflict about letting Devlin get close. He is suave and mysterious, and appears to put up barriers as a result of the events in his life to date but is irresistibly attractive to Amelia. There are several supporting characters, drawn in less depth but all with their quirks and their role to play in the story.

As a murder mystery it wasn't one where I looked at the cast of characters and could see a whole list of them as potential suspects. I actually appreciated that, I think I became more involved with the story as I wasn't sat trying to look for more clues and figuring out who was the most likely suspect. This book also proves you can tell a gruesome story without labouring over the gory details.

One of the aspects of the book I enjoyed the most was the setting, Charleston, and the beautifully descriptive prose the author uses to describes the places, including the cemeteries. It conjured up some wonderful and some gothically scary images for me. The only thing that is stopping me giving this book a 5* review is that there were a couple of scenes that could have had my heart thumping as main characters are placed in serious peril but they didn't quite reach enough of a pitch to have that effect. I thought this was really good read though and the epilogue leaves the way temptingly open for the next book in the series which I will definitely be looking out for.

Format: Advance review copy, anticipated release date 26th April 2011
My Rating: 4*

Coming Soon Book Review: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

There aren't a lot of TV programmes I make an effort to watch but the show Cold Case used to be one of them. When I read the synopsis for this book it sounded like it could be along similar lines so picqued my interest. The author is considered Denmark's premier crime writer and has won various crime-writing awards which made it even more attractive to me, a lover of a good crime novel.

Carl Morck is a homicide detective who has just returned from work after a period of leave. His last visit to a crime scene left one colleague dead, another seriously injured and Morck with wounds of his own, including self-imposed ones as he blames himself for not doing more to save them. When he does return he is initially amazed to find he has been promoted until he finds himself working in the basement as the head of a the brand new Department Q, tasked with reviewing (and ideally solving) cold cases.

This is the first crime novel I think I have read based in Scandinavia and at the start of the book I was a little concerned about keeping track of such unfamiliar place names, and that I was missing out on some cultural references. However I needn't have worried, the place names weren't all that important and any references I might have missed didn't impact upon the plot.

I felt that the book was a bit slow in getting started, but once the story took off and gathered pace I was keen to keep reading and find out how the various threads to the story would play out. The story accelerates to a dramatic conclusion. Having read that this is the first installment of a Department Q series there is a reasonable argument that setting up how the Department comes about is important in the wider scheme of things. I found the author's style economical with descriptions but without sacrificing too much detail, a welcome change from some other books I have read recently which have been unduly wordy.

The book is told from Morck's viewpoint and that of politician Merete Lynggaard, whose disappearance years before was never solved. It also moves around in time, but moves are well signposted, and although at the beginning it isn't entirely clear how the two narratives link up it soon becomes obvious. Carl is a man with flaws, and plenty of them, but I found myself liking him for the way he deals with all of the problems he encounters. However I felt Merete and the other characters were less well developed, although there is plenty of scope for some of them in future installations.

I liked the plot, but won't say anymore to avoid giving the game away, and although the first part felt laboured the rest of the book redeemed itself and I'd be interested in reading future episodes in this series.

Format: E-book, advance review copy - anticipated release date 18th Aug 2011
My rating: 4*