Notes of Life

Author: Mo Hayder
Publishers: Transworld Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-553-82046-1

There’s a sadistic killer on the loose in Greenwich, London. At first, one young woman has been found murdered and dumped on wasteland, but she’s not the only one. Another four are found shortly afterwards. They are all found to have been ritualistically murdered, raped and mutilated, each with a disturbing signature, revealed during post-mortem, linking them. It’s up to Detective Inspector Jack Caffrey to investigate and catch the killer before any more women come to harm, but it’s not going to be easy.

Birdman is Mo Hayder’s first novel and the first in her Jack Caffrey series of books. The Gardian newspaper called it a “first class shocker” and I have to agree! Birdman isn’t for the faint-hearted, it’s shocking and gruesome, and deals with some sickening subjects.

I first came across Jack Caffrey later in his life in ‘Gone’ (read my review), so it was interesting to go back and learn more about his character in this book. His private life kind of becomes a side-story in Birdman. We learn about the disappearance of his brother when they were kids and the effect it has on him in his adult life and relationships.

Birdman has its twists and turns and leads you up the garden path, so to speak. The story is quite fast paced and is very much a page-turner. I got through half of it in one sitting, not wanting to put it down. As I read in the evening, that left me very tired the next day!

I found this book so gripping that the back cover of the book is now creased from me gripping it so tightly while reading! I’ve found it to be one of those books that you think about even when you’re not reading it. Mind you, that’s probably because some of its content is quite disturbing!

Highly recommended, just not if you’ve got a weak stomach!

Buy Birdman by Mo Hayder at the Book Depository.

Mo Hayder is a British author of crime & thriller novels.

This book is the 3rd I’ve read for the British Books Challenge 2011.

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Please note: I received this book free from Transworld Publishers as part of The Great Transworld Crime Caper. However, this in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Here are the books I received in the past week…

From the publishers…

Birdman by Mo Hayder – I’ve been sent this book as part of The Great Transworld Crime Caper and I started reading it on Friday evening. It’s the first of Mo’s books featuring Jack Caffrey, in fact it’s her debut book. I chose Birdman having already read Gone (the fifth book in the Jack Caffrey series) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder – This is Mo Hayder’s next book and it’s released in April. It isn’t part of the Jack Caffrey series, instead it is a standalone novel. Apparently, it’s “A story so chilling you’ll be thankful it isn’t yours” – Can’t wait to get started on this one!

The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale – I was lucky enough to win signed copy of this in a competition on the publisher’s blog and it arrived yesterday.

Each of the three books above are written by British authors and so will count towards the British Books Challenge!

From the shops…

31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan – This one caught my eye in WH Smith while I was buying a book for a friend. I loved the cover and when I read the synopsis on the back I realised I’d read a good review on it. It was half price too, so I couldn’t resist buying it.

Posted for In My Mailbox. Why not join in?!

When visiting other book blogs, I frequently notice that some readers read more than one book at a time. I, myself, prefer to stick to the one book and only once I’ve finished it will I start another.

I only read one book at a time because I think I’d get confused if I was in the middle of multiple books. Somebody once replied to a comment on mine (stating that I couldn’t read more than one book at a time) saying that it is the same as watching multiple TV shows, which, of course, we all do. But, I beg to differ. I’ll explain…

If we compare a TV show to a book, I see a book as an episode and a series of books as a season of a TV show. Of course, you usually get multiple seasons of TV shows, so that’s where my comparison falls flat on its face. For that reason, it is easier to compare books to films. More often than not, you can watch one episode of a TV show and know what’s going on, because they are often self-contained as well as containing an underlying story with a bigger picture. This is much like a book which is part of a series. You can often read one book of a series and know what’s going on without having read the others (but, of course, the experience is usually better if you have read the others). Also, you wouldn’t watch half an episode of a show, flick over to another TV show and then watch the second half of the first TV show, or would you?

Another reason why I only read one book at a time is that I get really absorbed into a book, more so than most TV shows. So once I’m in a book I don’t want other distractions (though life usually has other ideas!).

Everyone is different, so how about you? Do you read one book at a time or do you read multiple books? Any particular reasons?

Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-00-739011-3

Evie likes to think of herself as a normal teenager. But what teenager has a best friend who is a mermaid and an ex-boyfriend who’s a faerie, works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency and is the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours?!

When a paranormal called Lend breaks into the IPCA and takes on the image of other people, the IPCA lock him up. However, Evie finds him interesting and keeps visiting him, despite being warned not to by her superior, Raquel.

Shortly after Lend’s arrival paranormals start to die at an alarming rate. Evie suspects the deaths and her abilities are some how linked and that she’s at the centre of a dark prophecy. Is Evie right? Should she trust Lend? You’ll have to read Paranormalcy to find out!

I ordered this book having read a number of raving reviews for it. I certainly enjoyed reading it, but I didn’t find it gripped me as much as other books in this category have in the past 12 months. I think the reason for me not enjoying this book as much as others have is possibly an age thing, though I can’t be sure. I think Evie comes across as having a younger personality than the main characters in the other young adult paranormal books I’ve read over the past few months. Another reason may be that the first half of the book is mainly set in the IPCA rather than in the “real” world and I couldn’t really get a feel for it.

I think Paranormalcy is definitely more suited to the younger readers and is best left to the teens. I know, I know… The book actually is aimed at the teenage market, but I also know that these kinds of books are more recently being read by those of us who left our teenage years behind some time ago.

Having said all that, I did enjoy reading Paranormalcy and it made me laugh in a few places (which is always a good thing). I liked the idea of Lend’s character. he’s certainly unique and I thought he made a refreshing change in this genre. Also, I read the book in 3 evenings, so that’s always a good sign.

Paranormalcy is certainly different to many of the paranormal/urban fantasy books out at the moment, but it just wasn’t for me. That said, I’m sure you’ll make up your own mind. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not one of my favourites.

Buy Paranormalcy by Kiersten White at the Book Depository.

Transworld have launched another fantastic reading challenge. This time it’s The Great Transworld Crime Caper! For more information visit http://www.between-the-lines.co.uk/?p=260

The books I’ve chosen for the challenge are:

1. Birdman by Mo Hayder (Read my review)
2. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (Read my review)
3. The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett (Read my review)

I chose the Mo Hayder book because I recently read Gone and loved it. My reason for the Tess Gerritsen book? Well, I once saw her at a book signing in Shrewsbury but didn’t get a book, however I have heard great things about her books. I chose Simon Beckett’s book simply because the synopsis sounded like an exciting read.

Can’t wait to get stuck in!