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Mortal Remains - Kathy Reichs
by cazkins
I have read and reviewed several Reichs novels now and consider myself a fan, so I was quite excited when I came across this in the library as it's rare I'll find one anymore in there that I haven't already read! I enjoyed this as I thought I would for the characters, the intelligent detail and engaging writing style, though I have to ... knock a star off for the level of confusion generated by the plot becoming a little too clever and puzzling.
I've actually just discovered that this is also called 'Spider Bones' - a little confusing when I searched for 'Mortal Remains' on Amazon for a price and couldn't find it! On the cover it reads 'Death by misadventure? Or brutal murder? De Tempe Brennan Investigates', as a tag line to draw us in.
We're introduced to the much loved Reichs character Dr Temperence Brennan, aka Tempe, forensic anthropologist and consult in various regions. She's called to Hemmingford, Quebec, to investigate the scene of a drowning. After rescuing the corpse and taking a closer look, it seems like the man died during a strange sexual outing in the river. Medical evidence suggests the body was that of John Lowery. Except there's a problem. Lowery was declared dead 4 decades ago back in 1968 as a victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body now buried in North Carolina. How is that possible...?
Tempe takes a look at Lowery's grave but meets friction with his father, who is unwilling to provide DNA in an attempt to sort out the truth. He wants his son to remain having died a hero years ago, so Tempe sends the remains to JPAC, where they run operations to recover American's who have lost their lives or gone missing in conflict. The centre is in Hawaii and whilst there she contacts her daughter, Katy, who isn't doing so well. She also contacts her ex, Detective Andrew Ryan, who is also struggling with his own daughter. Thinking it could be a good vacation for them, she invites Ryan and their daughters down to see the sights of Hawaii whilst she works, and so she can also get some detective input from Ryan. But it's not long until things get even more complicated; other bodies turn up, one with John Lowery's dog tags included. In the meantime, Tempe gets called to investigate a shark death that could close off a popular beach, until she thinks the circumstances there aren't so cut and dry as an accident and unfortunate shark attack. She has a lot on her plate, and things just get more and more complicated...
I won't say any more on the premise but this is roughly what's given in the blurb, which seems like quite a lot to me. However, there's no way of piecing together what happened or guessing any endings with this one, because, like I said, things get complicated. I liked the premise in the sense that the web of characters grows and the investigation gains depth with each layer of mystery. It also enables Reichs to give us some lessons, such as on the US military's Joint POW/MIA Accounting command (JPAC) that tries to bring home lost soliders. There's a lot of detail and I found it quite engaging and engrossing.
The characters were fantastic as always, and having read numerous novels in the past I was familiar with several of them so I enjoyed their presence. Reichs has a brilliant way of 'bringing them to life' so to speak and giving each their own distinct personality, with the quips and humour between Ryan and Tempe being great to read. Tempe herself is a character is one that I love to read about, and can always make the novel worthwhile reading.
What I wasn't so keen on was the confusion I started to feel. Closer towards the end, I found myself struggling to keep up with the names and dates and who's who. All of a sudden I lost some interest because I couldn't work out quite what was going on or how they got to the assumptions they did. It got resolved in the end because Reichs can update the reader throughout and help clarify things, but it did make some parts a little more challenging to feel engaged with because of the confusion. I think she may have tried to be a little too complicated with some parts of this towards the end. Having said that, the premise and ending were still well thought through and cleverly developed, so it definitely made for an intelligent read.
It's her writing style, and characters, that made this book one of those you don't want to put down. Even when I was losing some enjoyment from confusion, I still wanted to read it. It's fluid, gripping, entertaining and intelligent all in one go. She can paint a picture of the scene well and this book, the 13th in the series, was no different.
On the back is further praise for Reichs in general, including 'Reichs has reasserted her supremacy in the field' - The Independent, and 'Reading Reichs is always an education one way or another. There is plenty of action...but it is the detail that actually makes it gripping' - Evening Standard. I'd definitely agree with the latter in the sense that Reichs does give lessons on various things, from the history of the area where she is, to details of forensic technology; I always come away feeling more knowledgeable and I find it adds to the interest, even if I don't remember it all afterwards!
All in all, this is one I would recommend, but probably only if you can give it your attention, especially after the half way point; if you miss out on any details or start to confuse names then you may end up a little lost like I was! It's top crime thriller writing, however, and blends intelligence, entertainment and mystery well.
39 chapters over 302 pages (hardback)
Selling for £5.99 on Amazon (paperback, under 'Spider Bones')
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A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke - Ronald Reng
by mcfcdave12
The story of Robert Enke is a tragic reminder that depression is an illness that can affect anybody.
I am reviewing the book, A life too short, the tragedy of Robert Enke. Ever since my teens I have struggled with depression and anxiety and three months before I decided to read about the story of Robert Enke I had been ... through the worst period of depression I had ever suffered.
I was struggling to cope with being a Father for the first time and was having problems at work. I have never been very good at expressing myself and opening up to others but this time I had too or else it could of cost me everything. Unfortunately for Robert Enke this would not be enough and depression took over his life.
Robert Enke was an International goalkeeper for Germany. During his career he played for Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenebahce, Tenerife and Hannover 96 between the years of 1995 to 2009. He made eight international appearances for Germany.
The reason I was drawn to reading Robert Enkes story is on November 10th 2009 he committed suicide by standing in front of an express train. He was thirty two years old and was on the verge of being picked to be Germanys number one goalkeeper at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after showing his best ever form playing in goal for Hannover 96.
Robert had been suffering from depression for six years and had been seeing a psychiatrist to help him past it. At the time of his suicide nobody had any idea that he was going to kill himself.
Some might find it strange that I chose to read a book about a man that suffered from depression so badly that he went on to commit suicide but for I thought that maybe it could help me and I have to admit that in some ways it did.
A book about a footballer might not be everybody's cup of tea but this book is about so much more than football. The story of Robert Enke is unbelievable and in my opinion would be an interesting read to anybody even if they don't like football. This isn't any ordinary footballer though. Most of todays footballers write books and really don't have a story to tell.
For me personally it helped me to think about ways I can improve my life and how to spot the signs of depression and get the help I need at the time. In lots of ways Robert Enke was no different than anybody else even though he was earning a good living as a professional footballer he suffered the same weaknesses and tragedies as all other people do.
Everybody thought of him as a really nice person, not one person in the book has a bad story to tell. Now this may seem obvious because who would talk ill of a dead man but most stories are about no matter how down he was, he was always willing to help others. He even devoted some of his time to promote PETA. He was a dog lover so decided to appear on posters promoting the charity.
The main cause of his depression seemed to be because whenever he thought he was on the rise, changes in management would occur and knock him straight back down. In one chapter of the book during his career at Barcelona he is treated disgracefully by the new incoming manager Louis Van Gaal.
Throughout his career depression and anxiety would nearly destroy him. I always got the feeling throughout the book that a little luck his way wouldn't have gone amiss.
Another chapter tells a very sad story. In 2006, Robert Enke's two year old daughter passed away due to a heart defect that she had been born with. Although it was three years later when Enke committed suicide it is thought that he never got over losing her. He was already suffering from depression at this point in his life so I can't even imagine how bad he must of felt for the next three years after her death.
As I said earlier this book did help me fight my own personal demons in some ways and still does a year on. It made me realise that I had to talk about my feelings more. It wouldn't help anybody if I tried to make out that everything was alright. After I did talk to a couple of people about it I was taken by surprise that others had suffered the same as I had. People that I wouldn't have dreamed would open up about their experiences were all of a sudden giving me advice on how they cope. That in itself is a good feeling to know you're not alone.
I am glad I read the story of Robert Enke. I just wish he could of got the help he needed before it was too late. For anybody that has suffered from depression I think it would make an interesting read. It was very thought provoking for me. There was moments where I really empathised with him. In certain situations I thought of when I had felt the same as he did and how I had dealt with it in the past.
The biography of Robert Enke was written by a sports journalist by the name of Ronald Reng. He wrote it in collaboration with Teresa Enke, Roberts wife. In 2011, Ronald Reng became the first author that didn't write in English to win the William Hill sports book of the year award.
I bought the kindle edition of this book through amazon for £5.98. It is currently for sale on amazon in hardback for £10.87 or in paperback for £6.29.
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The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor - Robert Kirkman
by Stewwydablue
My wife and I have been absolutely loving the Walking Dead series on Fox (it's a satellite channel) and were sad to see the recent series finish a few weeks ago. We now have to wait until the Fall - not the Manchester band with Marc E Smith as singer but the American for autumn. To help fill my zombie loving gap, I've recently read a ... book connected to the series, called Rise of the Governor.
It's a story about the Governor; a despot who we know from the TV series is in charge of a safe haven called Woodbury. The book covers the time before and just up to him getting to Woodbury and gives a good insight into his background and how he became the ruthless leader that he is. Rick, Daryl et al from the TV series aren't featured in this tale, their paths haven't crossed yet. Think of it as like that StarWars film, the Phantom Menace, in that this book shows us how everything we know about a series / book came to be, a prequel.
The Governor, Phillip Blake, travels to Atlanta with his brother Brian, friend Nick and daughter Penny in search of a refuge centre that they've heard exists there. It's soon apparent that Atlanta is lost, a fallen city now populated with the walking dead. They manage to escape the city they tried so hard to get to get to and find shelter in an old abandoned colonial style homestead set amongst a peach orchard. They look set to last the winter here, but are soon violently ousted by a gang of chancers with more firepower. It's here that the Governor's daughter is killed, which is known to those who watch the TV series. On the move again, they arrive at Woodbury, and the rest as they say is history and has made some fantastic Friday night viewing for Mrs Dablue and I.
I like my zombie books to be about zombies, not about a romance between two survivors or an adventure story that barely features the walking dead. This book satisfied my zombie yearnings, they are central to every decision that the Governor and his band make and the story pivots around them at every twist and turn in the plot as they try to stay one step ahead of the biters.
I wouldn't say that you have to have watched the Walking Dead programmes to enjoy this book, if you like a good zombie story then I recommend it to you. There is a brilliant twist on the very last page of the book which, when revealed, mends a big flaw in the story of the Governor as we know it to be up to that point. After reading this, I'm now counting the days until next autumn when it returns to our screens. Well done Robert Kirkman, I thoroughly enjoyed your book. Five stars.
ISBN 978-0-330-54133-6
RRP £7.99
Published 2011
Available on Amazon for £5.03 brand new
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