Heart Collector
Have Kindle, will travel!
Let’s hear it for the trusty Kindle … or indeed e-readers in general! Mine is decidedly worn and elderly but once again it carried a great store of holiday reading for my recent trip to Sardinia and Corsica.
Two books stood out …
Heart Collector by Jacques Vandroux (translated by Wendeline A Hardenberg) took me into the minds of two diabolically clever psychopaths who torture young women and surgically remove their hearts for their personal gratification. The macabre plotting, the coldly calculating minds, the race against time to save yet another young woman’s life, kept the pages turning to the last word. Chilling, gripping, disturbing.
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell explores a marriage between bluff New Yorker, Daniel Sullivan, and his wife, Claudette, an eccentric and reclusive ex-film star living in the wilds of Donegal with a propensity to shoot at anyone daring to venture up their driveway. The lyrical prose, the criss-crossing of continents and time zones, the perceptive insights into both the psyche and illness, make this compelling reading.
Though totally different in almost every way, both carried me effortlessly through long journeys, and many hours waiting in airports and stations, and sitting on the hotel balcony between sightseeing and meals.
Much as I love the heft and allure of actual hard copies normally, the weightlessness and choice of sixty plus e-books is ideal for such times as this. The fact that the first of my chosen two is set in France, and the main character in the second book is half French, seemed to position them naturally for this time under deep blue skies and surrounded by turquoise waters and foreign tongues.
After the fireworks
Well, the 2016 Festivals certainly ended in fine style on Monday with a few thousand pounds worth of fireworks exploding spectacularly over Edinburgh Castle on a still dark night perfect for purpose.
Now the millions of flyers and posters are being swept from the streets; the artistes have left the city’s hotels and guest houses; mysterious venues become their alter egos again; the buses return to running on time; the air in Princes Street is no longer riven with native American music; the good people of Edinburgh heave a collective sigh of relief.
As you know, I’ve enjoyed dipping into the huge diversity of amazing opportunities available in this magical city. But now it’s time to knuckle down to some serious work.
Back to the masterclass in thriller-writing I spoke about last week. My attention has turned to analysing other new-to-me authors’ work: Heart Collector by Jacques Vandroux, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins; The Winner by David Baldacci.
All helpful in reinforcing the essential elements I outlined last week, but also in highlighting things that don’t work for me:
Names which sound/look very similar; characteristics which are too similar. When you have a cast of many, it’s hard to hold them all in your head. Distinctive attributes help to keep them sharply defined.
Too many foreign place names.
Knowing too much too soon – reduces the tension too early.
Too many dates and flashbacks that require the reader to flick back and forth, calculating ages and years. A thriller’s meant to be tense, keeping you moving forward searching for answers.
Too many lies from an unreliable narrator; so many that they muddle the brain and the plotline.
But it’s also been comforting to see that the thriller author does not need a degree in jurisprudence! I’m hanging on to that thought at least. So many stories in this genre hinge around police procedures and court wrangles, but there are other ways to approach crimes.
Also I am newly aware that even in the staccato sentences and fast pace and intense action of thrillers, building up a detailed picture of each character over time adds to the reader’s engagement with them.
The more I read the more I’m impressed by the skill behind these books … and the more daunting my own task becomes. I’m forced back to the question: Could I do it? or maybe it’s: Could I do it? Jury’s still out on this one.