Two Books: A Comparison

I recently read Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm and Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd. They're rather different books, but they both have a mystery at the heart of them, but aren't exactly mysteries. And my expectations of -- and reactions to -- these two books was quite different. So I thought I'd compare them here.

+++WARNING!+++ There's spoilage ahead, so if you've been meaning to read either of these and don't want to be spoiled, don't read this post!

Death Qualified is about Barbara Holloway, a former defense lawyer who gets sucked into defending a woman who's up on charges of murdering her absentee husband. It's got some sci-fi/fantasy elements to it -- no aliens or unicorns, just an alternate way of interacting with the universe that I will not attempt to explain here. But by and large, it works like a mystery/courtroom drama, trying to establish the client's innocence, figure out who did kill the husband, etc.

Ordinary Thunderstorms also involves a murder. Adam Kincaid, an American scientist in London to apply for a job, accidentally walks in on the freshly-committed murder of a stranger he'd bumped into earlier that day. Suddenly he's wanted for murder, on the run, hiding out with London's homeless. Eventually, he rebuilds a life for himself and the real murderer gets brought to justice.

So, two books, both involving a murder. Neither one is a conventional mystery. And neither one ever reveals the whole plot behind the murder, brings the culprits to justice, or clears the wrongly accused. They're very similar in their open-ended endings.

And yet, I did not like Death Qualified when I'd finished it. I felt let down, unfulfilled. I wanted my good guys to triumph and my bad guys to pay, darn it all! And although Ordinary Thunderstorms had a similar lack of resolution of similar issues, I liked it.

Why?

I think it's because, somehow, Death sets itself up as a mystery/courtroom drama with a bit of a supernatural twist. And then it fails to fulfill the rules about solutions or crimes that those kinds of books generally adhere to. Thunderstorms, on the other hand, sets itself up as a literary novel with a mystery as a catalyst but not the central theme of the story. And so I didn't mind not getting a tidy wrap-up at the end because I wasn't expecting one.

Silly expectations.

However, both books are quite well-written, so I do recommend them both.

"The Pawn" by Steven James

I actually read this almost three weeks ago, but haven't managed to blog about it until now. Thank the Lord the rest of my summer looks calm and empty!

Anyway, my mom recommended Steven James' books to me when I was at home in NC last month. We were watching an old ep of Bones together, and I told her she should read Kathy Reichs' books that inspired the series. I said one of the things I liked best about her books is that they take place partly in North Carolina, my adopted home state. Mom said. "Oh, you should read the Patrick Bowers books by Steven James! The first one takes place here too!" So when I got back to CT, I got the first one, The Pawn, out of the library.

Ironically, I had warned her that Reichs' mysteries can get rather gruesome and spooky, and I wasn't sure if they'd bother her because of that. Turns out, I needn't have worried, because The Pawn was more gory and creepy than any of the four books I've read by Reichs. A goodly chunk of it is written from the point of view of a sadistic killer, and it creeped me out so much, I had to read it in just three days because I wanted to get it over and solved and behind me as fast as possible.

The Pawn is about FBI Criminologist Patrick Bowers tracking down a sadistic serial killer in the mountains around Asheville, NC. Bowers is recently widowed and alienated from his teen stepdaughter, and his personal life gets tangled up in his work and vice versa. Overall, the book is taut and suspenseful.

I think this is James' first mystery thriller, and as a debut in the genre, it's pretty good. The only thing I didn't like, besides it being a little creepier than I care for, was that I kept seeing the author in the book. By that I mean there were things that made me go, "Oh, he's setting up the workplace conflict here," or, "Here's the obligatory Special Ability that will come in handy at the book's climax." As the book went along, it had fewer obvious Mystery Components, and there were quite a few twists I didn't expect, so I'm betting the other books in the series (it totals four so far) are smoother and bear fewer authorial fingerprints.

Anyway, I liked James' style, so if I can get more of his books from the library, I probably will read more. So yes, if you like suspenseful mystery thrillers, you'll probably dig this book.

PS. Don't forget to enter my canteen giveaway here! Only four days left!!!

"Death du Jour" by Kathy Reichs

I read Death du Jour so quickly, I didn't even get around to putting it in my sidebar here before I'd finished it. I'd say it was even more absorbing that Reichs' first book, Deja Dead. The characters are more fully realized this time around, and the dialog in most places was much more natural.

Once again, the story crept inside my head and stayed there until I'd finished the book, which is the main reason I read it in just a couple days despite it being nearly 400 pages long. That's pretty rare for me these days, with Daniel demanding so much of my attention, though it was normal for me back in my pre-parenting days. It was possibly even more creepy than Deja Dead, as it dealt with things like cults and some decidedly unnatural deaths. So if you're not a fan of creepy books or all those forensic crime shows on TV, you might not dig this.

Death du Jour focuses on a series of seemingly unrelated murders in Canada and South Carolina that Dr. Tempe Brennan ends up investigating more than her jobs as forensic anthropologist and professor would ordinarily necessitate. It involves more personal relationships than its predecessor, and we not only meet up with Brennan's daughter and ex, but also her sister and nephew. And her professional relationship with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan takes a more personal turn as well, much to my delight.

Reichs' descriptions are the most powerful aspect of her writing, something I admire since I often struggle when describing things in my own writing. Here's my favorite passage from this book: "The new flakes lay white atop the underlying gray, like newborn innocence on last year's sins." Good stuff!

"O Jerusalem" by Laurie R. King

I've read O Jerusalem before, but I think I enjoyed it more this second time through, possibly because I got to relish the storytelling this time through instead of breathlessly wondering what would happen next. It's one of Ms. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books, and it's actually the fifth book in the series, although it takes place during the events of the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Someone recommended that I read O Jerusalem after Apprentice and before the second book, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and I've done that on both my trips through the Russell/Holmes books. I've yet to read all of this series, but I was inspired to start the series afresh when I met Ms. King a few months ago at a book reading. I'm not sure it's best to read the books out of published order like this, but that's how I've done it, so oh well.

O Jerusalem follows Mary Russell and her mentor Sherlock Holmes to Palestine, where they seek refuge from a deadly enemy back in Britain while helping solve a mystery in the Holy Land. Since this is a mystery, I won't say much more, so as to not spoil things for anyone coming newly to this marvelous series. If you want to know more, you can read an excerpt and reviews here on Ms. King's site. I will only say that this book continues the exceptional relationship between Russell and Holmes and is an adventure worthy of them both. If you are a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I highly recommend this series, as it is the best non-Doyle portrayal of the master sleuth I have ever read.

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is an engaging book, full of earthy wisdom and charming observations on life. Told mostly from the point of view of Mma Ramotswe, the only lady detective in all of Botswana, this book is a collection of several small mysteries and one larger one that runs through the others now and again. I found this to be a quick read, though not a particularly absorbing one.

My favorite aspect of this book was the look it gave me at life in modern Botswana, as well as other parts of Africa. Mma Ramotswe had a likeable voice, and the writing was never dull. But as a mystery book, it wasn't terribly exciting. So if you're looking for a thrilling mystery, this might not be for you. But if you want some lighter mysteries, this would probably please you. I thought it was a good summer read.

"Deja Dead" by Kathy Reichs

Deja Dead is Kathy Reichs' first novel, and it's a riveting read. Her dialog can be a bit stilted, but her characters were excellent, and the plot kept me guessing, which is actually a bit unusual for a mystery.

I don't mean that in a conceited way -- I love reading mysteries, and I don't usually try to figure out whodunit or anything else. I like letting the stories unfold before me, without me spending time trying to outsmart the author. If I do figure the ending out ahead of time, I get all disappointed and feel like the author didn't do their job very well.

But while I read Deja Dead, I couldn't stop the story from popping into my head while I wasn't reading it. I had theories on who the bad guy was (all wrong, yay!) and who would die next (I was mostly wrong, so mostly yay!), and I kept trying to figure out how I was going to get creeped out next.

Yes, this is a somewhat creepy book. Reichs is a real-life forensic anthropologist, like her protagonist, Dr. Temperance Brennan. She fills this book with all sorts of vivid details about death and other not-so-yummy-things -- so vivid sometimes that my skin started to crawl. If you're a fan of forensic TV shows like Bones, NCIS, and the CSI: shows, then you'll probably do fine here. If those churn your stomach, you might want to avoid this book.

Speaking of Bones, these books by Kathy Reichs spawned that show. I've been a fan of the show right from the start, due to the presence of David Boreanaz (who had starred in my second-most-favorite-show-ever, Angel). Bones is a really fun show, revolving around the characters of Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz). I think my biggest surprise while reading this book wasn't at all related to the plot -- it was regarding how different the book's Dr. Brennan is from the one on the show. On Bones, Dr. Brennan is socially awkward and has a pretty unusual view of life, people, relationships, everything. The Deja Dead Dr. Brennan is cerebral, but not to the point of social awkwardness. She's actually a divorcee with a college-age daughter, and seems to have no problem relating to "normal" people. There was no Seeley Booth, but I'm hoping he pops up in one of the next books in the series.

So, I enjoyed Deja Dead, and I hope to read the next book or two later this summer. If you like forensic mysteries, you'll dig it!