Reading Challenge: Broken Prey, With No One As Witness, and The Virtu
29: Broken Prey by John Sandford
I've loved John Sandford's Prey books for years, long before I moved to Minnesota. Now that I'm here, though, this mystery series set primarily in the Twin Cities fascinates me even more. (I love seeing references to places I've been. Every now and then he mentions Uptown, which is where I live, and I get all silly like the crying girl on American Idol. Okay, not that bad, but you know.) This one is about a serial killer who kept me guessing all the way through. At one point I guessed the right person, but immediately doubted myself and changed my mind. I love it when the answer isn't obvious, and it most definitely wasn't in this case. I can't wait for the next in this series.
30: With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George
This is the book that I should have read before her What Came Before He Shot Her. Dear god, that was an amazing, powerful book, and so was this. They're two very different books, with one tragic moment in common. What Came Before He Shot Her is the story about the suspect's life in the year before a woman was shot. With No One As Witness is about the investigation the woman's husband is involved in at the time of the shooting. If I'd read them in order, I'd have had no idea she was going to be shot, and I wonder now how I would have reacted to it when it happened. As it is, I went into this book expecting my emotional reaction to the shooting to be fairly weak. George does such an incredible job of building to that point, though, that it still hit me hard when it finally happened.
All of this makes it sound as though that shooting is the only thing, or the most important thing, going on in the book, when in fact, there's a fascinating investigation of a series of murders of young boys. There's also loads of tension between the cops, the profiler, an organization that seems somehow connected to the murdered boys, and the press, and that's every bit as gripping as the shooting and the serial killer. I absolutely loved this book.
31: The Virtu by Sarah Monette
I read her Melusine last year and developed a gigantic book-crush on one of the characters, Mildmay the Fox. I started The Virtu on my way back from Florida at Christmas but was too sick to see straight and put it away, and of course I promptly lost it. I finally found it again, and when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. My book-crush on Mildmay has grown dramatically. Ohyes. It's not just that, though. This book is so incredibly well-written that I can't find words to describe it. The point of view switches back and forth between Mildmay and his brother, Felix. I usually don't much care for that and find myself getting all twitchy every time a switch happens, but Monette handles it really well. I want to say that she does it so well that I don't notice, but that's not quite right. The two voices are so distinctive, so completely the voices of two very different characters, that it would be impossible not to notice the change. But it's done so smoothly and naturally that it just flows seamlessly from one point of view to the other. She reminds me of George R R Martin (who is, by the way, my favorite author ever, and who handles multiple points of view more beautifully and smoothly than anyone else I've ever encountered, so when I say that, I definitely mean to compliment her) in her handling of the transitions.
So. I love both of these characters. I love being inside their heads, seeing their conflicts from both sides and knowing that if only this one would just say this or that one would just do that, they'd understand each other a little better. I love seeing that they are both good people at heart, but that they're good people with very real, very human flaws. The little glimpses of Mildmay's sense of humor and the way Felix covers his insecurity with snark make them so real and so likable and so like people I know.
I also really, really like Mehitabel Parr. I hope we'll see more of her in The Mirador, which cannot come out fast enough to please me.
Also, I truly wish I had my copy of The Virtu with me right now because there are a couple of phrases that are so brilliantly worded that I would love to find ways to work them into my conversations, or just share them with you.
I've just realized that the part about The Virtu is really much good to you if you want a solid idea of what the book is about. Had this been a book report, I'd have failed miserably. Amazon does a better job of it here. Also, if you're going to read it (and you should!), read Melusine first. It's an incredible book, too, and you'll be glad you did.
I've loved John Sandford's Prey books for years, long before I moved to Minnesota. Now that I'm here, though, this mystery series set primarily in the Twin Cities fascinates me even more. (I love seeing references to places I've been. Every now and then he mentions Uptown, which is where I live, and I get all silly like the crying girl on American Idol. Okay, not that bad, but you know.) This one is about a serial killer who kept me guessing all the way through. At one point I guessed the right person, but immediately doubted myself and changed my mind. I love it when the answer isn't obvious, and it most definitely wasn't in this case. I can't wait for the next in this series.
30: With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George
This is the book that I should have read before her What Came Before He Shot Her. Dear god, that was an amazing, powerful book, and so was this. They're two very different books, with one tragic moment in common. What Came Before He Shot Her is the story about the suspect's life in the year before a woman was shot. With No One As Witness is about the investigation the woman's husband is involved in at the time of the shooting. If I'd read them in order, I'd have had no idea she was going to be shot, and I wonder now how I would have reacted to it when it happened. As it is, I went into this book expecting my emotional reaction to the shooting to be fairly weak. George does such an incredible job of building to that point, though, that it still hit me hard when it finally happened.
All of this makes it sound as though that shooting is the only thing, or the most important thing, going on in the book, when in fact, there's a fascinating investigation of a series of murders of young boys. There's also loads of tension between the cops, the profiler, an organization that seems somehow connected to the murdered boys, and the press, and that's every bit as gripping as the shooting and the serial killer. I absolutely loved this book.
31: The Virtu by Sarah Monette
I read her Melusine last year and developed a gigantic book-crush on one of the characters, Mildmay the Fox. I started The Virtu on my way back from Florida at Christmas but was too sick to see straight and put it away, and of course I promptly lost it. I finally found it again, and when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. My book-crush on Mildmay has grown dramatically. Ohyes. It's not just that, though. This book is so incredibly well-written that I can't find words to describe it. The point of view switches back and forth between Mildmay and his brother, Felix. I usually don't much care for that and find myself getting all twitchy every time a switch happens, but Monette handles it really well. I want to say that she does it so well that I don't notice, but that's not quite right. The two voices are so distinctive, so completely the voices of two very different characters, that it would be impossible not to notice the change. But it's done so smoothly and naturally that it just flows seamlessly from one point of view to the other. She reminds me of George R R Martin (who is, by the way, my favorite author ever, and who handles multiple points of view more beautifully and smoothly than anyone else I've ever encountered, so when I say that, I definitely mean to compliment her) in her handling of the transitions.
So. I love both of these characters. I love being inside their heads, seeing their conflicts from both sides and knowing that if only this one would just say this or that one would just do that, they'd understand each other a little better. I love seeing that they are both good people at heart, but that they're good people with very real, very human flaws. The little glimpses of Mildmay's sense of humor and the way Felix covers his insecurity with snark make them so real and so likable and so like people I know.
I also really, really like Mehitabel Parr. I hope we'll see more of her in The Mirador, which cannot come out fast enough to please me.
Also, I truly wish I had my copy of The Virtu with me right now because there are a couple of phrases that are so brilliantly worded that I would love to find ways to work them into my conversations, or just share them with you.
I've just realized that the part about The Virtu is really much good to you if you want a solid idea of what the book is about. Had this been a book report, I'd have failed miserably. Amazon does a better job of it here. Also, if you're going to read it (and you should!), read Melusine first. It's an incredible book, too, and you'll be glad you did.