Mr. Clarinet by Nick Stone

This book is an intricate weave of a story, filled out by lucid, living detail. Never once boring, Nick Stone infuses and colours the world of Haiti, giving the reader a vivid picture of the country and the people.

Permeating through the Haitian culture he gives us a superb whodunnit, led by the character of Max Mingus whose morality is acceptable and in whose presence we are comfortable. Yet Max is a character who is so far past jaded that you can smell the stale cigarette smoke coming from the pages of the book, however many times he tells us he has given up. The man has been a cop, a PI and a con; succeeded, failed and plain lived through life. He is investigator, judge, perp and executioner all in one, yet we sympathise and above all trust him. Max’s attitudes are our attitudes and we are prepared to accompany him on his determined journey after reading the first few pages.

Around this solid centre revolve other very plausible characters. Some lead down dead ends, others challenge perceptions and none are entirely blameless but what of? That is what keeps the reader guessing and provides the intriguing pull which keeps the interest and the eagerness to find out, to know. It is not often that a book keeps its secrets until the end but this one does.

The plot twists and turns and is never predictable. We only know what Max knows and we feel his frustration as threads close down, to open in entirely different places but later the satisfaction, as motives slot into place, is immense: as if we personally have found the solutions.

Nick Stone’s easy style leads the reader on, the way he interlaces Haitian superstition and myth is flawless and entirely complements the story and characters. It is integral, yet does not overwhelm.

The book is a pleasure to read and to fans of the detective/PI genre it is a must.

A reader of Mr. Clarinet will never leave the book unfinished, just like our man Max never leaves a case unsolved.

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I do have to confess, a book whose cover features long legs slinkily attired in pink wellies is not my normal choice of summer reading.

But casting that reservation aside, I found myself rather enjoying Adele Parks' 'Game Over'. It's a at once a fairly trenchant - and prescient - attack on reality TV, as well as an earthy and contemporary love story, grounded enough to feel credible and real.

Her main characters, Cas and Darren, are well drawn - so well, perhaps, that they obscure everyone else in the book. But that matters little, as the twists and spills that Parks puts them through keep you entertained.

Yes it's predictable, but that doesn't mean it's not fun while hinting at more important themes.

So, what colour wellies should I be looking for next?

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I looked forward to reading this book as the New York Times Book Review classed it as "a novel that is little short of a work of genius".

It's the story of Asher Lev, a boy with the gift for painting and drawing. I felt the story was slow and didn't capture my imagination, dwelling on Asher's thoughts and feeelings, despite occasional glimpses of events going on in the background with his own family. Asher becomes almost obsessive about his gift despite attempts by his father to stop his "foolishness". He sees the world in a different light with disregard to the torments of his own family.

Not having an understanding of Jewish culture I struggled with some of the terms used and would have liked a glossary.

This was very descriptive but not my kind of book.

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