Summer
reading 2001
|
Jin, Ha |
Lin Kong
has been in love with Manna Wu for 17 years, but they cannot marry because
he already has a wife and child. His repeated requests for a divorce are
turned down and the lovers are frustrated year after year as their love
remains unconsummated. Set against the backdrop of Mao’s Cultural
Revolution with its crazy bureaucracy and restrictions, this is a wry
novel with insights into the nature of love and relationships. |
|
French,
Nicci |
A young criminal psychologist is viciously wounded, but persists with
pursuing the truth at great risk to her personal safety. Kit Quinn moves
amongst the psychotics, sociopaths, the abandoned and exploited. This is a
particularly gripping novel by an author already renowned for previous
breathstopping psychological thrillers. |
|
George, Elizabeth |
When a gifted young concert violinist is suddenly unable to play, his
psychiatrist advises him to keep a diary. At the same time, a series of
vicious hit and run accidents in London streets provides Inspector Lynley
and his team with a puzzle of 20 years to unravel. A first class mystery
with a diverse cast of characters. |
|
Johnston Jennifer |
Ms Johnston is back to her old form with this story (set in Ireland) of
two strangers recovering from personal tragedy who meet by chance one
rainy afternoon. Clara and Laurence are both struggling to come to terms
with their own grief, yet each helps the other without either meaning to,
or really wanting to become involved. In spite of the depressing topic,
this is a positive story. If you haven’t yet read Jennifer Johnston, try
this one. Those who are already fans – add it to your list of things to
do. |
|
Palmer, Michael |
Neurosurgeon Zack Iverson suspects that unorthodox practises are occurring
in a local hospital. Power and money are at stake and people are afraid
to talk. A medical thriller with the human interest of a love story and
more. |
|
Patterson, James |
Two children of wealthy parents are kidnapped and one is murdered. Alex
Cross, a detective-psychologist becomes involved with Jezzie, a Secret
Service agent. Together, they seem to be on the point of solving the case. |
|
Picoult, Jodi |
When 7-year-old girl claims to see and talk to God people react in very
different ways. Her father and mother become locked in a custody battle, a
cynical TV show host has a background to hide and a Jewish rabbi and a
Catholic priest reach a new level of understanding.Picoult always tells an
interesting story, but this one has more creaks in it than her others. |
|
Picoult, Jodi |
Jack St. Bride arrives in Salem Falls in order to escape his past. He has
spent eight months in jail, after being falsely accused of having an
affair with an under-age student at the school where he taught. In Salem
Falls, he begins a romance with a diner owner - Addie, who is still
mourning the death of her young daughter. They fall in love but soon
Jack's past returns to haunt him, also implicating Addie by bringing up
painful scars from her own life. |
|
Provoost, A |
This is a hard hitting and even disturbing book about a 17-year-old boy
who is drawn into making some unfortunate choices. Set in provincial
Belgium during a long hot summer, the novel is marked by brooding tension
– between Lucas and his friends and between the locals and the migrant
workers. The personal, social and political dilemmas laid bare in this
novel are unforgettable. Highly recommended. |
|
Robinson, Peter |
After a mild-mannered family man is brutally murdered in his barn by two
masked men, Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds the investigation raises more
questions than answers. Robinson spins a good detective yarn in the great
English tradition in a Yorkshire setting, and Banks is a credible
character with a life and problems of his own. |
|
Robinson,
Peter
|
When a human skeleton is discovered in a formerly submerged village,
Inspector Alan Banks is faced with a puzzling mystery. He must not only
identify the victim, but also discover where, when, how and why she was
killed. A great suspense novel, just as satisfying as his others. |
|
Shields,
Jody |
When a young girl’s body is found in a Vienna city garden, the chief
inspector begins a careful search for the killer. It is 1910, so forensic
science is in its infancy. He is unaware that his wife is obsessed with
the case and is undertaking her own secret investigations. This is a
unique psychological thriller which brings to life the sights, sounds and
life of Vienna at the turn of the century. |
|
Walters,
Minette |
The inhabitants of a downtrodden housing estate are galvanized into
horrifying action when they hear that a paedophile has been moved into
their area. A young woman doctor is taken hostage by a violent psychopath
and a pregnant teenager and her partner are caught in the crossfire.
THRILLER, RELATIONSHIPS |
|
Yoshimura,
Akira |
Set in a remote coastal settlement in medieval Japan, this short novel
focuses on the battle for survival experienced by nine-year old Isaku and
his family. When merchant ships founder offshore during winter storms, the
villagers plunder the cargo to supplement their needs. But one wreck
brings with it a mystery. Highly recommended. |
Books read and reviewed by Jenni van Wageningen
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