Silent Scream, Lynda la Plante

This book had been sitting on my shelf for a long time, unread, much like any other of my books on there. I tend to buy books when I see them and take ages to actually get round to reading them, even though I constantly have a book on the go.

Anyway, I saw this book and read the back cover again and felt like it was about time I read another police crime drama and I always enjoy a la Plante book.

This one I felt was quite slow and I know its a characteristic of la Plante's books, because they are police dramas, they go over and over the details every couple of chapters which can get quite tedious. It tells the story of a young actor who is found murdered in her new home and Anna Travis is landed with the task of finding out who her killer is. Several people are interview without success and when it looks like the case is going no where, Langton is drafted in - Anna's ex. Although they still get on well as friends it does make things slightly awkward and Anna feels that Langton is on her back all the time.

As usual this book is also full of details about Anna's private life which is a welcome distraction from the case in hand and there is quite an amusing twist to one of the relationships she starts in this book.

Although it was quite tedious and slow, the book drew me in. I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know who the killer was. There were so many possibilities it was very intriguing as to who it could be. This book is certainly recommended and those who are already fans of la Plante's won't be disappointed.

The Small Hand, by Susan Hill

I saw this book advertised in a magazine I subscribe too and it also featured a small review. What drew me to it was the fact that also on the front cover are the words 'ghost story'. This was back in October and I had visions of the autumn nights rolling in and me sitting by the fire in the evenings and this book just completed the look.

So I tracked it down, purchased a copy and started reading it at the start of November. It wasn't as big as I expected and in fact it could be classed as just a short story. The book actually starts in June, which immediately ruined my thoughts of a chilling ghost story.

It didn't live up to my expectations and wasn't as chilling as I thought it would be, but nevertheless I enjoyed it. It had an interesting twist towards the end which I didn't see coming and had quite a sad ending. Although it also didn't really explain why the ghost was there and I'm pretty certain I didn't miss it.

There were many good ideas and I think that the author could have made a bit more of the story and perhaps turned it into a full length story which would have had more of an impact. Such a shame as my expectations were so high!

The Challenge for 2011

I stumbled across this link about an hour ago and decided to take part:

http://criminalplots.blogspot.com/2010/12/inaugural-criminal-plots-reading.html

I love reading and my favourite books are crime books. I have read so many over the years and this link challanges you to read at least six different books next year with different themes. For example you are to read a book where the protagonist is a different gender to your own. Therefore I need to read one with a male protagonist. I have tried this before and not really enjoyed them - I try to stick to female ones, but it's all part of the challenge so I'm definitely game.

Once you have read the books in the categories listed then you are to write about them, so keep a look out for this blog as all reviews will be going on here.

I can't wait and I love a good challenge. I am certain I will read far more than six books next year but at least I have some guidelines for what to read. Now I need to take my list with me everytime I go to a book shop to see if I can find one in the right category. Why don't you join in too?