Monday, August 31, 2009

BOOK: No Time for Goodbye and Still Life

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay, 468 pages

RIP IV challenge; 3rd Canadian Book Challenge

Linwood Barclay is becoming a favorite, reliable author for suspenseful tales like Too Close to Home, which I read last fall. As Cynthia Bigge reaches the twenty fifth anniversary of the disappearance of her family, she begins to look into her past a bit more, with the help of her husband and a PI. There are enough clues to make some guesses as to what happened, but you have to keep turning the pages to find out what really happened, who was involved, and why it all happened. Great story if you have a night where you can stay up late reading. Barclay has a new book out, Fear the Worst, and it's going on my wish list.



Still Life by Louise Penny, 416 pages

RIP IV challenge; 3rd Canadian Book Challenge

I first noticed Louise Penny's series when she was the highlighted author on CBC's Canada Reads: the book club. I had to go to the start of the series, and then discovered all kinds of great readers already knew Inspector Armand Gamauche and the wonderful mystery series, Three Pines, set in Quebec. I love that I've found a new mystery series and that it is set in Canada. Gamauche is a little more perfect than my usual detectives, but the mysterious death was excellently done, with enough clues dropped along the way and interesting characters to keep me wanting more.

6 comments:

  1. Great reviews! I've just finished Fear the Worst (review tomorrow) after reading last year's Too Close to Home. And am now looking forward to going backwards starting with this one which sounds just as great as the two I've read.

    I'll be reading my first Louise Penny as well shortly though I'm starting with the newest in the series as I have it as a review book. But great to see another positive review of her, I'd love to follow a Canadian detective with all the hundreds of other detectives I read. :-)

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  2. I have No Time for Goodbye waiting for me, my first by this author. Your review makes me want to read it soon! :-)

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  3. nicola - I've been impressed with Barclay so far, great suspense books. And Gamauche was a great mystery book. I am looking forward to the next few. I love finding a new series, and it's not too far into it that it seems like I'll never get finished. 2 books that fit the Canadian Challenge and the RIP perfectly.

    joanna - It was great, hope you enjoy it. And he's got a couple other books to look forward to.

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  4. Penny is one of my favorite authors now. So glad you started this series as it will be fun to read future reviews. I just finished #3 and have #5 received from LibraryThing Early Reviews, but I have to read #4 first which wasn't released until Sep 1. It should be arriving in the mail any day now. (Hope, hope)

    Are you back in school yet? Or not til after Labor Day? Wait a minute, do you celebrate Labor Day. I'm such a goose!

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  5. booklogged - I've got the next Penny book bookmarked at the library, so I'll catch up soon. I completely understand about reading a mystery series in order.

    We definitely have Labour Day in Canada, but we put a 'u' in it, and it is the signal to the end of summer. Teachers spent yesterday and today at school (ugh!) and then the kids all arrive on Tuesday. My youngest is starting grade 1 and the oldest starts junior high - grade 7. Tuesday will be an exciting day here.

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  6. Two authors that have landed among my favorites! I'm so glad you like them both, too. I think Penny gets better and better.

    Booklogged - I listened to #4 in February. I wonder why the audiobook was out well before the book?

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