Month: December 2018

SVEISTRUP’S DEBUT WILL SEND YOU NUTS FOR THE NEXT INSTALMENT

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The Chestnut Man JacketIt’s almost a week since some of us roasted chestnuts on an open fire and possibly a good while since Jack Frost nipped at our nose (it was a very mild Christmas Day here on the East Coast of Ireland). In life as well as in literature criminals or especially serial killers get fancy monikers, while plain old Jack Frost and the like are the heroes, as in ITV’s detective drama starring the very wonderful David Jason. Although The Chestnut Man is a new one on me in the evil villainous names department. He’s the mysterious killer in this months second and last review and blog tour of 2018.  It’s The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup and published by Michael Joseph, part of Penguin  (www.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/michael-joseph.html) on the 10th January.

One Tuesday in October, the Danish Social Affairs Minister Rosa Hartung returns to her job after a leave of absence, following the abduction of her daughter who was never found, despite a suspect being arrested and convicted but unwilling to disclose the child’s fate. On the same day, police in Copenhagen discover the body of a young woman in a playground, one hand has been severed and a chestnut figure is found near the body. Young Detective Naia Thulin and her partner Mark Hess a detective recently dismissed from Europol, are assigned to the case. Soon they find evidence connecting the chestnut man to the Rosa Hartung’s disappeared daughter. Shortly afterwards when another woman’s body is discovered, this time with both hands severed and another chestnut figure nearby, the two detectives realize they are racing against the clock to catch a serial killer before the city becomes totally paralysed by fear and he completes his twisted agenda…

I have a confession. I missed the furore surrounding ‘The Killing’, the Bafta and Emmy award winning series created by Dane, Søren Sviestrup. The thriller captured the imagination and shredded the nerves of fans worldwide. It also started a trend for Faroe Isle knitwear- I’m not so sorry I missed that.  It wasn’t the subtitles which deterred me, I have enjoyed many of the ‘Walter Presents’ international offerings on Channel 4 but I hate missing the beginning of a story and unless I watch BBC4 shows when they are aired I cannot catch up with them or watch them ‘on demand’ with Sky here in Ireland.

My friends will tell you that I’m the same with a series of books featuring the same characters, I have to start at the start and stay in order. In that way I was delighted to be in at the beginning of the Thulin and Hess story reading The Chestnut Man, Sviestrup’s debut novel. I predict (and hope) for many more cases to come.

Soren Sviestrup

Søren Sveistrup

 

I love a good murder mystery. Weaned on Agatha Christie, I moved onto Ruth Rendell and PD James at an early age and still return to those old favourites when the urge arises. I loved their ingenuity, the twists, turns and red herrings. I prefer to not know the identity of the killer at the start but to be led through a maze of clues, misdirection and revelations to a satisfying conclusion. This book ticked all  my boxes. Two flawed and realistic detectives, newly paired. A ‘cold case’, a serial killer with a disturbing signature and a tension filled climax.

This is a meaty book at 500 pages but I couldn’t wait to pick it up each day. This was my equivalent of a binge watch. I could easily see it being made into a television series. Some the writing is very much a screenplay. You can almost hear the movements of the actors being directed. There are no long descriptive passages regarding scenery or inner thoughts, unless they are pertinent to the narrative. This is very much plot driven. Saying that I enjoyed the characters.

The book introduces us to a typical sleuthing pairing in Naia Thulin, a detective in the murder squad, looking to advance her career and Hess sent back to the police department after some infraction at Europol . Hess is at first disinterested in the new case, just biding his time until he can return to his real life. but he soon is drawn headlong in. As for the minister Rosa Hartung and her husband, their presence suggests there is political machinations at play. The book is populated with a plethora of smaller characters who all have a role to play, even if its only to help us learn a little more about the main characters and maybe send us off tack.

This is Danish scriptwriter Søren Sviestrop’s first book, but he is best known for his highly acclaimed TV crime drama The Killing, which won various international awards and sold in more than a hundred countries. More recently, Sveistrup wrote the screenplay for Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman. He obtained a master’s in literature and in History from the University of Copenhagen and studied at the Danish Film School. He has also won countless prizes, including an Emmy for Nikolaj and Julie and a BAFTA for The Killing

Like the Killing, In The Chestnut Man there is a mix of police work and politics. There is aFaroe Isle sweater dig at bureaucracy and paper pushing in relation to those who fall through the cracks and left without support. The violence is graphic. The tension builds. I’ve always been particularly terrified by those movies and dramas where the victim enters their home and the bad guy is already there hiding so this book gave me a couple of anxious moments, but for a thriller that can only be a plus!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and so will you. I suggest you  pre-order a copy at your local bookshop or download one post haste. Meanwhile I await a sequel with anticipation and the odd glance over my shoulder into the darkening house, while nibbling  on a roasted chestnut…

Reviewed by Georgina Murphy

This review  is part of a Blog Tour, to see what the other reviewers thought see their sites below and visit them. If you agree or disagree with their reviews after reading the book, let us know.

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From all of us at The Library Door, I’d like to say thank you for visiting the site over the past year and following us both here and on twitter (@apaulmurphy) and wish you all a very happy New Year.

Adrian Murphy

CAMEL’S DEBUT WILL LEAVE YOU SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD IN THE QUEEN VIC

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ATTEND AW.inddEvery year millions are spent around the world by people trying to stall the march of time and retain their youthful looks. According to an article on Marie Claire online last year, British people spend on average £4,400  per year on beauty products. Its all well and good staying young like Dorian Gray, but what about living forever? Yes, our own mortality is still one of the biggest taboo subjects  but eventually death comes to us all.  With the advances in medical science, we are all living longer, thus putting a strain on the planets resources and those of the individual countries we live in, pensions, health care etc. Eternal life is one of the main topics in this month’s book review and blog tour. Its ‘Attend’, by  West Camel which is published by Orenda Books (www.orendabooks.co.uk) on the 13th December.

Anne is an ex drug addict whose been away for a couple of years rehabilitating. She returns to her home town of Deptford, in the southeast of London and is starting to rebuild her life and relationships with her family and friends, whose own lives have moved on in her absence. Things are complicated by her ex sister in law whose been diagnosed with terminal cancer asking her to get some “gear” so she can take her own life.

Sam is a young chap from the North of England who’s moved to London to follow his heart and find love in the city’s gay community. He starts a relationship with a small time East End gangster, called Derek after witnessing him beating up a local drug dealer in a back street. Derek is a mate of Mel, Anne’s ex husband.

They both separately meet Deborah an old woman and ex-seamstress who lives in a small ramshackle house on the banks of the river Thames, with no power or running water and who survives by sewing, sailing her boat up and down the river and fishing in the Thames. She’s basically an “Off-Gridder” in the middle of one of the world ‘s largest cities. In her own unique way, she helps both Anne and Sam start to turn their lives around. Things come to ahead when Anne witnesses her sister in law buy drugs off the local dealer, the same guy Sam witnessed Derek beating up and she subsequently takes her life. Which sets Derek and Mel on the war path for him. But Deborah’s got a bigger secret that she finally reveals to Sam and Anne. She’s well over a hundred years old and can’t die due to a strange motif she’s been sewing on pieces of cloth for years. Now she wants their help to die. Can Anne and Sam stop her ex and his lover from going to prison and also help Deborah, finally rest in peace?

Everything about this book is weird, from the title, to the authors name (which sounds made up but appears to be genuinely his) to the story within the covers. Its hard to describe it but basically it comes across as The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Eastenders and City of Angels. As for the title, at almost three quarters of the way through the book the word ‘attend’ is mentioned once. You never really get an inkling as to what or who we’re  supposed to attend to…

Met Police Helicopter Eastenders

 

The story unfolds like a modern-day soap opera, set in London and you are at every turning page expecting to hear the Duh, Duh, Duh drumbeat of the cliffhanger ending to an episode. However, it is hard to see where its going and what type of story it is. Also the little voice in my head kept trying to impersonate Phil Mitchell and Pat Butcher when reading dialogue. Well out of order!

 

The book doesn’t come across as a love story, or a mystery.  Neither is it an attempt at some sort of modern fairytale. It was a bit of stretch to try find a moral message about assisted suicides and mortality within the pages.

Initially I thought that Deborah was an angel, as the only people who seem to see her are Anne and Sam. She seems to pass unnoticed by every other single member of public.  With the time of year that it is, it was quite apt and the only thing missing is the sound of a church bell tolling and some kid saying the immortal line, “Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings..”

This is British author West Camel’s (www.westcamel.net) first novel. He is currently an

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West Camel

editor with Orenda books and The European Literature Networks Riveter magazine, along with writing for various arts organisations plus ghostwriting a new adult novel. Before that, he was an editor with the Dalkey Archive Press, which is based just up the road from me, here in South County Dublin. He has also written several short scripts which have been produced in various theatres on London’s fringe network.

Did I like this novel, Yes’ish… I didn’t hate it. It was readable, but it wasn’t what you’d call a “one session read”. The characters are stereo-typical, bar Deborah who is like-able, if at times she has a sort of Mary Poppins-esque vibe about her. Considering she’s quite a few stops past a decade on this planet, I was amazed she was still nimble enough to be able to sail a boat single-handedly. So if you are up for a safe middle of the road modern story, then download a copy or get one in your local book shop and maybe you can find some deeper meaning to this story.

To see what the other bloggers thought visit their websites below.

Happy Christmas from all of us at The Library Door

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