book number 2 - The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam

book number 2 is The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam published by pan books and again is available from amazon in either paperback or hardback, Its also available from play.com in paperback
The Cairo Diary is a book within a book, a story within a story and personally I found that only one of the storys is really finished off properly, only one really carries its self and has the power to keep you gripped and sadly, over all I feel that it suffers because of that, Its set in modern day France and also turn of the century Egypt, -dont worry though theres no time travelling to get your head around lol,

The book is a thriller crossed with a detective story crossed with a murder mystery crossed with the current genre du jour, conspiracy. and its manages to tie it all together reasonably well, if only thanks to the last 50-60 pages,

The characters in the main are very flat and not fleshed out in the way they are in the book within the book, (which is easier to read than it is to talk about) and even then it ask's you believe that someone who saw something. Which were not told what it was, just that its so bad the lead character in the outer book -Marion, is whisked off to Mont Saint-Michel -a spiritual retreat of sorts, by a french mi6 style specialist police section. Where she is to be hidden untill her life is no longer in danger, from who and why were only given a vague idea.

Then theres the problem with the ages of the characters. Maxim Chattam implies that someone of approximatly 110yrs old is not only as quick and nimble as a teenager but fleet of foot enough to out run some one while racing up and down flights of stone steps. Which isnt a trait i've seen in many people over 80 let alone 110. but I can see why this was done, to tie the two storys together and it manages that, just about.

The book with the book or the story within the story depending on how you look at it, Is Much better. The characters are much more engaging, and seem to be the authors favourite's as well.

The lead charachter in the story within is a police detective, who is hunting the vicious and brutal murderer of children in and around Cairo, The local police force are more superstitious and believe only a ghoul could be responsable for such terrible crime's. So its left up to the detective and his partner to hunt the killer as best they can. Attempting to profile the suspect and catch the killer.

Im not going to call the ending trite, But its not far off, personally the way its all neatly bundled up in the last couple of pages is a shame as the last 50-60 pages were some of the best in the book, and allow the story to flow with the ease of a James Patterson thriller.

If your not looking for much other than a decent story and you can look past the flaws in the plot -and the graphic details of some of the murders within the book within the book, then im sure you'll enjoy it, at the time when I read it I enjoyed it. Its just that I'll not be going back to for another read any time soon, I think it could have been finished off alot better than it was and thats what lets it down in my eyes, and detracts from what is overall a decent if patchy story

book number 1 - Child44 by Tom Rob Smith

just before I begin, I'm letting you know that i'm not posting reviews or anything about the books in the order that I read them in, I'll be posting about them in any old random order, much the same as my selection when reading them,

ok book number one,

Child44 by Tom Rob Smith, published by Simon and Schuster
and is available from amazon in paperback or hardback or from play.com in paperback or hardback

Child44 is the 1st book by Tom Rob Smith, and in it, he captures the grittyness of the time, the fear of being denounced, be it by your work mates if they wanted your job, by your neighbours if you didnt get on with them, basically in Stalinist Russia -when this book is set, you could be denounced at anytime by anyone famliy member or stranger alike,

The book follows the life of Leo Demidov and his wife Raisa, now I'm not going to give you a blow by blow description of the plot line and risk spoiling what was a very well written and enjoyable book, all I will say is that the author manages to bridge that gap that some authors dont even see, between reader and book, be it the descriptions of the and feeling of paranoia that the book conveys so well, Or the way it grips you and draws you in, If there was a bad thing I had to say about this book its that it wasnt long enough lol either that or I should have paced myself lol rather than reading over the space of a couple of days

Ive not read much cold war fiction, infact I think it would be fair in saying that this is the first one, and even though it can be tough going, its rewarding and ultimatly very satisfying and while you may think you know where the story is going trust me its not where you think.....

child44 is a muder mystery / thriller in the classic sense of the silver screen, its got all that you'd need for a rip roaring family denouncing good time, you've the reluctant hero, his wife and their life all get cast into the wind, and all the time laws are being broken in the quest for the truth -laws which could get you executed or worse you could be sent to the gulags in siberia.

its a murder mystery which is set at a time when murder isnt just illegal and not allowed, its denied being recognised as happening full stop. can Leo Demidov the loyal MGB Officer, save more innocent lives by putting his own life and that of his wife Raisa at risk?

read the book and find out its worth it!