THE ARTIST VANISHES (2021) - Review

The Artist Vanishes by Terry Westby-Nunn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I picked up The Artist Vanishes, my plan was to read the first few sentences and then add it to the bottom of my virtual stack. Instead I knew I had just discovered a treasure in this literary mystery thriller!

FIRST SENTENCE: "The wind blew last night, taking with it dead things, forgotten things, lost things."

THE STORY: 

THEN: Capetown artist Sophie Tugiers disappeared after one of her controversial installations, Bloodbath, was linked to a participant's brutal suicide. 

NOW: Several years later James Dempster, a film maker in a creative and alcoholic slump, discovers his apartment was once Sophie's home. His curiosity is aroused. What happened to Sophie? James' daughter encourages him to do some research hoping a new project will restart his life and career.

WHAT I THOUGHT: After that first sentence, I immediately started reading. The plot alone was interesting but the creation of the world of the book was even more fascinating. It's impressive how the author managed to touch on so many volatile issues without patronizing or preaching to the reader while writing about big pharmaceutical companies and animal testing, the responsibility of artists and how they are changed by fame and money, and the meaning of friendship.

Characters are distinctly drawn and memorable. The pacing moves the story along with surprises and rewards. It's a delight to read writing this beautiful.

Terry Westby-Nunn is also the author of The Sea of Wise Insects.

BOTTOM LINE: This is an amazing book. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

DISCLAIMER: Thank you to NetGalley / Penguin Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

ENTRY ISLAND (2015)

Entry Island by Peter May
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Peter May paints pictures with words to bring the reader into the world he has created. I started reading Entry Island expecting a modern day police procedural and was surprised to find the historical fiction aspect.

THE STORY: A murder has taken place on a small island off the coast of Quebec. Sime McKenzie finds himself assigned to the investigation team because the hundred or so people who live on Entry Island speak English not French.

What first appears as an open and shut case, takes an unexpected turn when Sime interviews the suspect and feels that he knows her.

Plagued by insomnia since his divorce, Sime's few hours of sleep contain vivid dreams composed of stories he heard as a child about his ancestor's life in Scotland.

WHAT I THOUGHT: My first Peter May book was The Blackhouse, part one of The Lewis Trilogy (The Lewis Man, The Chessmen). I always intended to read the other two books so when Entry Island appeared, I assumed it would be similar and, of course, in some ways it is.

Entry Island begins as a police procedural and morphs into historical fiction creating an engaging pastiche through the use of Sime's dreams and ancestral journals.

This may not appeal to all readers; but for those of us with roots in Scotland, who love journals, islands, and literate mysteries, it's a wonderful adventure.

The human characters are interesting and well-drawn but the most care is taken with the locations. Vivid word illustrations cause the reader to remember times they saw such a sunset or storm on the horizon. I found myself searching for pictures of the island on the internet. As much as I enjoyed the descriptive language, I sometimes had to force myself not to skip over it in pursuit of the story.

Obviously much research goes into May's works so there is the added pleasure of learning something new. The terror of the Highland Clearances in the 19th century resonates. My Mackay's left from Wick to come to Canada and eventually the United States around this time.

Although told in the third person, Sime's memories, dreams, and journal entries are told in the first person. Some reviewers pointed out the language was modern throughout. To that and some of the other criticisms, I would say forget your expectations (suspension of disbelief) and follow where the author leads you. You will have much more fun!

And I should admit that I was moved to tears many times. Peter May is gifted storyteller. You need to add his name to your list of authors to follow.

FIRST SENTENCE: "It is evident from the way the stones are set into the slope of the hill that industrious hands once toiled to make this pathway."

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those who love language, police procedurals, and historical fiction.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: Entry Island

Author: Peter May

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Publisher:  Quercus

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 544 pages

Copyright: September 15, 2015

ISBN-10: 162365663X

ISBN-13:  978-1623656638

Peter May is the multi award-winning author of:

• the internationally best-selling Lewis Trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland;
• the China Thrillers, featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell;
• the critically-acclaimed Enzo Files, featuring Scottish forensic scientist Enzo MacLeod, which is set in France;
• and several standalone books, including the multi award-winning Entry Island (January 2014, Quercus UK) and his latest Runaway (Quercus 2015).

He has also had a successful career as a television writer, creator, and producer. Born and raised in Scotland he lives in France. (from the author's web site)

I LET YOU GO (2016)

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After writing reviews here for over eight years, you'd think I would have figured this out. Write about the book you just finished reading before starting the next one and entering a new world. Many a worthy title has never been reviewed because I moved on. I think the fact that I enjoyed discovering I Let You Go so much was what propelled me to start Peter May's Entry Island.

THE STORY: A terrible accident changes everything in an instant. With nothing to live for, Jenna Gray flees her life finding solace in the isolation of a remote village in Wales. Slowly she begins to heal, but her past isn't through with her yet. To say more might spoil the experience.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I have always read a lot of 'first' books especially thrillers and mysteries. Readers find the popular titles on their own. I have always wanted to be able to discover new possibilities.

I Let You Go is an outstanding debut. Clare Mackintosh has cleverly plotted a griping and unexpected story - one that has the power to keep you up way past your bedtime. 

Well-drawn, interesting characters populate a world in which the reader gets caught up. The author's description of the beauty and bleakness of the ocean cliffs in Wales is seductive. A sense of dread lies below the surface. Like Jenna, the reader must be alert. This is storytelling at its best.

Although I am getting tired of multiple voices, they work perfectly in this psychological tale. Alternating points of view between first person (Jenna and Ian) and third person (the police investigation), draw the reader into the stories of all the characters. As a matter of fact, the story threads developed for Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and his team, could lead one to suspect this may be the beginning of a series. We can only hope.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The wind flicks wet hair across her face, and she screws up her eyes against the rain."

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for those who love psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: I Let You Go

Author: Claire Macintosh

Genre: Psychological thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 480 pages

Copyright: May 3, 2016

ISBN-10: 1101987499

ISBN-13: 978-1101987490

Claire Macintosh spent twelve years in the UK police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time.

Clare is the founder of Chipping Norton Literary Festival, and lives in the Cotswolds, UK, with her husband and their three children. (from AMAZON)

ANGELS BURNING (2016)

Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In 2014 I read my first Tawni O'Dell. After just a few pages of One of Us, I wondered why I had never heard of her before. Then I learned that her first published book Back Roads had been an Oprah Book Club selection.

THE STORY: A fifty year old mine fire forced residents to abandon Campbell's Run years earlier. Now someone has tried to hide the body of a teenage girl in one of the fiery surface holes.

Fifty year old Chief of Police Dove (named after the soap) Carnahan narrates how the gruesome death of Cami Truly affects the nearby small town of Buchanan, Pennsylvania and its residents. The investigation brings unwelcome memories of the murder and trial of Dove's mother when she was a teenager. Complicating her life are a relationship with Police Detective Nolan Greely and unexpected family problems.

WHAT I THOUGHT: First of all, any author who can work Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets into a story using it as a paint color has my undying allegiance. And I've always been fascinated by the ghost town of  Centralia, Pennsylvania on which Campbell's Run is based. Beyond that, I marked a number of quotes - some touching and some funny like this one, "My ability to arouse passion in men who arouse nothing is me is the stuff of legends."

Family secrets, lies, and people trying to escape their roots in rural Pennsylvania are recurring themes in O'Dell's stories. In Angels Burning she has created another compelling psychological thriller, with memorable characters. You don't doubt she knows these people. It's the details that make the story resonate. Unsettling issues are handled well which makes the reader feel safe.

There were several compelling story lines that weren't actually wrapped up which led me to suspect (and later verify) that there will be more adventures for Dove!

FIRST SENTENCE: "The last time I was this close to Rudy Mayfield he was leaning across the seat of his dad's truck trying to grope my recently ripened breasts."

BOTTOM LINE: A highly recommended literate mystery.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review. Also have to admit I grew up and lived many years in Pennsylvania and that it will always be my home.

Title: Angels Burning

Author: Tawni O'Dell

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Gallery Books

Rating:4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 288 pages

Copyright: January 5, 2016

ISBN-10: 1501132547

ISBN-13: 978-1501132544

Tawni O’Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including Back Roads, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. She is also a contributor to several anthologies, including Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female. Her works have been published in more than forty countries. (from Amazon)

Descent (2015)

Descent by Tim Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tim Johnston's novel is very disturbing. I realized it shortly after beginning, but I kept reading.

OPENING LINE: "Her name was Caitlin, she was eighteen, and her own heart would sometimes wake her - flying away in that dream-race where finish lines grew farther away not nearer, where knees turned to taffy, or feet to stones." 

Visiting Colorado on vacation, Caitlin, with her younger brother Sean tagging along, goes for a run leaving her sleeping parents behind. What happens then is every parents' worst nightmare. Only Sean returns.

The story explores the aspect of each person's life as it is affected by the disappearance, not just the immediate family but others in the community as well. The author brings the Colorado mountains to life. As a matter of fact, his descriptions would easily transfer to a visual story telling medium.

For most of the story I was totally anxious about what was going to happen and it only got worse as the end approached.

Don't misunderstand. This is an excellent story beautifully told. Almost like a impressionist watercolor painting, details and feelings are only suggested in beautiful and emotional language. And the reader doesn't see everything all at once. Instead bits and pieces are revealed over time.

This haunting thriller will stay with you for a long time.

BOTTOM LINE: Well written, plotted, and with incredibly real characters, this book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Title: Descent

Author: Tim Johnston

Genre: Literate Thriller

Publisher:  Algonquin Books

No. of Pages: 384

Copyright: January 6, 2015

ISBN-10: 1616203048

ISBN-13: 978-1616203047

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Net Galley

Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Descent was provided to me by Algonquin/Net Galley for review purposes.

Tim Johnston , a graduate of the University of Iowa and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has done a lot of writing and won awards for it, but Descent is his debut novel. He currently teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Memphis.