The Silkworm

Author - Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling)

Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Detective, Cormoran Strike #2

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

September 2014

Dated review:
JKR is a genius. That's all.
If you are a lover of detective fiction, you would not miss this.Go on, what are you waiting for?

A Place Of Execution

Author : Val McDermid

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Detection

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

April 14

The problem with reading two detective novels that are absolute all-time greats by masters of their games (namely 'The devotion of Suspect X' by Keigo Higashino and 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn), is that a perfectly good, rather well-written detective novel such as this, would still leave you with a feeling of 'that's all?' after you are done with it. This is a fine example of a detective/police-procedural novel, really. Finished it in one go, and wasn't disappointed really. Just felt that it's not ... ah... how do you put it .... not in the league of the other two. Not saying that this one is bad, not at all. .... in fact, I would gladly read other stories by McDermid. Just cognitive bias, I guess.
 A high 3, this one. Almost 4. So, round off to 4.

Gone Girl

Author : Gillian Flynn

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

April 14

Shudder. A delicious, twisted, evil, satan of a book. Unreliable, lying, attractive, detestable, addictive narrators; the most realistic take on a crumbled marriage I've read in recent times; twists and double twists and triple twists and then --- just as we were slowly moving towards some kind of an expected conclusion, a whoosh-what-the-f**k-was-that howitzer of an ending. I hated, HATED the ending. Perfect ending. Hated it. Loved it.

Inferno

Author : Dan Brown

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Robert Langdon

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 3

March 14

Not bad. Not great. As we call it in India, 'good time-pass'. It was ever such with Dan Brown.

The Devotion of Suspect X

Author - Keigo Higashino

Genre - Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Murder, Japan

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4 (a high 4)

December 2013

The most brilliantly convoluted plot for a murder mystery story you will ever read. Not a whodunit (you know who is the murderer in chapter 1.. or do you?), not quite a whydunit (pretty obvious), but a masterful howdunit, probably the most difficult to convert to a very good book, and indeed the best of its type you will ever come across. You will find mystery stories that are better-written, you will find mystery stories that are better, fullstop; but you will struggle to find another with a more incredibly labyrinthine plot-twist.

The Cuckoo's Calling

Author - Robert Galbraith

Genre - Detective, Mystery, Thriller

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

August 2013

I am a fanboy, so let me get done with the gushing first. JKR is such a legend! Love her! 
Ok, let's talk about the book now. Ms. Rowling has an incredible ability of putting word after word, and making you look forward to the next word. A natural-born story-teller to compare with the very best. Even while reading the Potter novels, I had always thought that mystery would be her natural habitat, she is so brilliant and ingenuous at plot and storytelling. And this here is a proof. Does it hurtle through like, say, a Lee Child novel? Nope, the story builds up gradually -- this is a classic detection novel, the thrill is secondary to the detection -- but it is still effective, you can still not put the book down. I couldn't. 
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are both such interesting characters, that I'd very much like this book to be Cormoran Strike #1. And okay then, let's have the acid test for all private-eye books --- Could I guess the killer? Nope. Not till the very end I couldn't. 

The Club Dumas

Author - Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Book-about-books, Mystery

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Excellent! This is a thriller for the book-lover, yet isn't a highbrow one like Eco. Not as thrilling as an 'Eye of the Needle', say, but mazy and intelligent.