To The Last Page

In a way that now seems typical of Rosa Ribas's Commissioner Cornelia Weber series, even after just reading the first book Entre dos aguas , the second book in the series Con anuncio  (which translates something like 'As Announced') opens with what you might call a low-key explosive situation. A package has been delivered to a publicity agency in Frankfurt that explodes on opening. The device only showers confetti over the terrified receptionist, but there is a message inside that warns that the next one will be real. The Baumgard & Holder agency is in competition for a contract to run a major campaign for the city of Frankfurt, one that promotes cultural, ideological and religious tolerance in a multicultural society. The city suffers a reputation of being one of the most dangerous in Germany and that image won't be improved by the threats made against an agency hoping to promote a campaign of tolerance. It's not the only threat that has been made. Several anon...

Not all cases are as easily resolved as Mrs Merckele, who has been charged with the killing of her husband, even though both are elderly and not the kind of people you expect to be the subject of a murder investigation. After his death, a secret room was found in the office of Jörg Merckele who worked in the banking sector, an Aladdin's cave, filled with numerous purchases, from jewellery and CDs to gym equipment. His wife has murdered him, suspecting an affair because of the spending on his bank accounts, but she is unrepentant even when she finds out that he has been hoarding so much over the years. That case is quickly wrapped up and the paperwork done rather in a rush, because there is another more troubling case for Commissioner Cornelia Weber and her homicide team. The weather has been bad in Frankfurt, causing flooding and bringing the city traffic to a standstill, and the Main river has thrown up a dead body, wrapped around one of the pillars of the Alte Brücke bridge. The ...

Where is Marianne Everly? Marianne disappeared from the family home one night, just walked out and indeed literally vanished. Who wants to know? Well, her brothers for a start, Ambrose and Gabriel. Gabriel is searching for her in cities all over the world, while Ambrose remains at home with Violet, the daughter his sister abandoned when she vanished. The person who really wants to know however is a mysterious magical and dangerous figure known as Penelope. Children all around the world are abducted whenever she appears, leaving behind nothing more than a scent of vanilla. Her business with the Everlys and her concern for the disappearance of Marianne however is of another matter altogether. There is a curse lying over the Everlys that has lasted generations, the reasons behind it lost in myth and fairytale, but it results nonetheless in Penelope claiming one of the Everly family every generation. She wants Marianne, but if the brothers don't manage to find her the child Violet will...

There's a lot to take on board when you start any new epic science-fiction series and there can often be some initial confusion about making sense of the new worlds, new technology, new religions, warring factions and a troubled history leading up to the current crisis. Any SF reader will be used to that and remain confident that all will become clear and that in the meantime they will hopefully be presented with an exciting situation with compelling characters and ideas. Bethany Jacobs, in her debut novel, can be relied upon to deliver just that in These Burning Stars , with the promise of more exciting adventures to come in the rest of her Kindom Trilogy. In the first volume we are in the Treble, three star systems which have been colonised in an ancient past from a now largely unknown background. What we do know is that there are several rival families and religious divides and that the three adjoining star systems are connected through jump gates that were fueled by jevite, a m...

Looking to explore some more Spanish language fiction, particularly in the field of crime fiction and thrillers, I'm afraid I didn't get on well with Juan Ramón Biedma's Luz poniente and left it unfinished. In my defense, I'm going pretty much blind into the world of Spanish crime fiction, trying out some names and recommendations that I have picked up. I think it might be better in future to work on sample downloads to get an idea or what is and what is not worthwhile. Although, when you are reading in Spanish, you are at least sharpening up you language skills, so it's never totally wasted time. It often felt like it however reading Luz poniente (The Setting Light), and it feels almost as much as a chore trying to summarise it. I will be rolling my eyes throughout as I write this. I haven't read The Da Vinci Code , although I did see the movie of the Dan Brown second book Angels & Demons and thought it was entertaining hokum. You could maybe look at Luz...