This is my second Marcus Sedgwick book and I will say that I thought that MidwinterBlood was the better of the two. This book was advertised as horror and is undeniably creepy and suspenseful. Sedgwick’s prose once again has the same sparse quality that I admired in MidwinterBlood and while it works, especially for the setting and atmosphere, I feel character development was lacking in this book. I am left unsure if this was purposeful, to leave it up to the reader to come up with some of their own ideas about the characters or if it really was due to being rushed, which was how it felt to me.

The most intriguing character in the book is Ferelith, (even though I found her name a little pretentious and annoying) but I really wanted to know more about her. The story is told in alternating POVs of the girls and a rector or priest from the 1790’s. There was a very interesting historical tie in that I was already familiar with and so I found it a good hook for the story for me. The book certainly was creepy, however not in the same league as Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which I read as a teen and it had me sleeping with the lights on for weeks and making sure my curtains were shut tight at night. The ending was good and had a twist to it.

On the whole, very quick, easy read, lovely succinct prose, but felt rushed with not enough meat to the characters.

Finished Family Pictures this evening and just would say very disappointing read.  Very obvious plot that took far too long to build to the (did I say obvious already?) reveal (over 100 pages).  Some  elements of unbelievable coincidence to make the plot work.  Sylvie was not a very sympathetic character, I didn’t like her very much.  The only character that showed growth or positive change was Maggie and  it appeared that the author didn’t want you to sympathize with her.  I got the sense that the author preferred Sylvie, as a character and we were supposed to be on her side until close to the end, but that didn’t work for me.   The teenage girls are very stereotypical cardboard characters.  We don’t really get to know Mark at all and I assume that is because he is really just the catalyst for the whole story and not a fully developed character.

This is the first of Tana French’s books that I have read.  I have always meant to read the other two, In the Woods and The Likeness, but haven’t gotten around to them yet.  I picked up this because it was a group read for a mystery club on Goodreads.

The story primarily centers around a missing woman, who had apparently ditched her young boyfriend and run off years before, at least that was what was assumed, until her suitcase turns up.  The characters, especially Frank and his family, are painfully realistic, very well done.  The mystery unfolds as Frank, who is now a police officer with a child, returns to the place of his youth and investigates.  The suspense builds at a good pace for a thriller.  I finished the book in one sitting.  The mystery plot was intriguing and I didn’t figure it out beforehand.

The subplots were just as interesting, Frank and his family and Frank and Olivia.   The damage done to Frank by his family and the early loss of Rose is an integral part of his character.  A character study in love, loss, and family, as dysfunctional as it may be.

The only thing negative I have to say is about the ending.  After the mystery plot is resolved the story continues on for a little while and though there are some parts that are significant and add to the resolution, the rest of it just seems drawn out.  Interestingly enough that is the same criticism that I have heard about Into the Woods.  This however is just a minor hiccup in an otherwise excellent thriller.

I read some blogs about Marcus Sedgwick and decided to pick up a couple of his books from the library, so I selected this one and White Crow. I am not normally a reader of YA so this is not something I would ordinarily pick for myself.

The book uses a very clever reverse chronology plot device. It works very well in this book. The prose is sparse, there are no wasted words here, which for me is definitely a good thing. I don’t know what I would classify it as, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller or romance. There are elements of each present here.

The book revolves around themes of sacrifice and love, which are interconnected over the span of centuries. I liked the exploration of undying love battling the obstacles of time, man and place. There is a very clever tie in to an actual painting and artist. The book “reads” as more mature than the average YA read, which admittedly I have read few of since my children grew out of them.

The mood the book evoked for me was one of despair and sadness. If you like dark, moody reads this may be perfect for you. I think it is impressive that the author can evoke mood and tension with so few words. Usually moody or emotional works rely on lengthy narration to paint pictures with words to achieve the effect, Marcus Sedgwick manages it with minimal words and some repeated imagery such as, the hare, the orchid, and the painting.

I was really, really excited to finally get my copy of this book from the library (I had been on the waiting list).  I anticipated a  literary version of Cheers told from a female perspective.  I thought of life long friendships with an interesting cast of characters set in the warm, dark smoky confines of pubs and bars, not exactly what I got.

The first quarter of the book is all about a seriously messed up childhood, think teen years, as a Dead Head high school dropout touring the country fueled by booze and drugs and probably lots of casual sex, although that isn’t discussed. A rape is discussed, but in an almost dismissive manner, which led me to assume sexual assaults were so prevalent that it was nothing remarkable.  I almost stopped reading but there were hints that the author turned her life around so I persevered.

The rest of the book highlights the authors quest for “regularity”, that is the state of being a “regular” at a bar.  The memoir does swerve into other areas of the author’s life such as college, marriage, religious training, and work.  I think my disappointment with the book is the lack of depth.  It is like a running narrative of: this happened, that happened, this happened, etc.  None of the characters are developed, other than some detail about Ed, we don’t really get to “know” any of the characters.   I guess I expected more of a focus on relationships and people, not this running cast of “strangers” just passing through the story.

Upon reflection, perhaps I expected too much.  Maybe Drinking with Men is an accurate reflection of  the nature of the “regular” bar relationships.  Having never been a “regular” perhaps I have an overly romanticized vision of the neighborhood bar environment?  Still I expected something more than a running account of a relatively young woman’s life to date.