Before I begin I'm going to clap myself on the back a bit. Sound the RESOLUTION-ACHIEVED klaxon: both of these novels came from the local library. (someone is actually waiting for The Fall so I had to read it quickly and not renew it!) I feel a warm glow of smugness just typing that!
I've been on a bit of a crime binge to start the year off. First up was Claire McGowan's The Fall, a debut novel much recommended in end of year round-ups. McGowan hails from a small village in Northern Ireland. Here I must declare a slight patriotic interest in a Northern Irish author - as a 'Nornie' myself I love reading books from fellow countrymen and woman!
The Fall follows three characters: Keisha, a streetwise yet vulnerable young woman whose life is turbulent to say the least; Hegarty, a policeman looking for his big break; and Charlotte, a PR girl feverishly anticipating her dream wedding to Dan, her banker fiance. When Dan is arrested and charged with committing a murder, their worlds collide. The multi-layered narrative switches between the three central characters as the plot progresses, a clever way of following the implications of the crime.
The Fall is not a classic whodunit. It's pretty obvious who the criminal is from the beginning, and the climax of the novel is Dan's court case. Instead McGowan explores contemporary London through the stories of Charlotte and Keisha. In interviews she has said that one of the things that interests her about London is the way that one bus ride can take you from poverty to luxury. Charlotte and Keisha live almost next door to each other, but they live foreign lives. Neither can understand the other at the beginning; by the end they've realised their connections. I found The Fall unusually touching for a crime novel; what gripped me was not just the story of Dan's court case, but also the story of how both Charlotte and Keisha grew during it.
Overall, I'd heartily recommend The Fall. I look forward to reading McGowan's next novel, which I believe is out this year.
I also read Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French this holiday. I have tried previous French novels but never really enjoyed them until I read Blue Monday. (Wow. That's an amazing novel with a powerful ending). I enjoyed Tuesday's Gone, mostly, but I didn't feel it quite lived up to the heights of its predecessor.
Tuesday's Gone takes up the story of Frieda Klein from the end of Blue Monday. Klein is a psychotherapist who has a relationship with the police. Her highly attuned observational skills, honed through her work as a therapist, enable her to spot details police officers miss. Klein is a really appealing heroine: sympathetic without being perfect, clever but modest, kind but troubled. I really felt for her in this novel as she attempted to come to terms with aspects of her past.
In Blue Monday, Klein worked on a case of missing children. In Tuesday's Gone we follow her on a more conventional murder case. A naked corpse is found in the house of Michelle Doyce, a woman suffering from a complex psychiatric problem. The police are cynically determined to charge Doyce with the crime in order to wrap it up. Frieda knows differently and uncovers a web of deceit surrounding the victim, Robert Poole.
It's interesting following Frieda through this case; once again French takes us into the unpleasant side of London in Deptford. I was a bit disappointed, though, with the continuing story of Blue Monday, which I didn't think we were given enough of! I don't want to ruin either novel for readers so I won't say much more here. However if anyone else felt the same please let me know!
I certainly enjoyed Tuesday's Gone and am already looking forward to the next instalment of Frieda Klein's story - and hopefully some more resolution to the Blue Monday storyline!
Two enjoyable London set crime novels for Christmas - now I'm going to read something completely different: Margaret Atwood's sci-fi After The Flood for my book group. Anyone out there read it?
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