Tag: Killed

Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give | Review

Title: The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 448

Rating: 4.5*/5

 

Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give

 

I was a little bit worried about picking this one up because there’s been a lot of hype around its release and I knew before going in that it dealt with a policeman shooting an unarmed black dude. I worried that if it wasn’t well-executed, the whole thing would just feel off somehow. But I needn’t have worried.

True, I did have occasional problems with the book, but it was mostly just where stuff didn’t relate too well to what things are like here in the UK. Even the way that the characters talked is so different to how people talk here in the UK, but at the same time it was consistent with itself, if that makes sense. I might not have heard some of the slang, but it definitely felt like the dialogue was realistic and true to the characters.

I was also worried to begin with that because Khalil is killed so early in the book that there was a risk we wouldn’t ever get to know him. Luckily, Thomas thought of that and made sure that we continue to learn more about him after his death, and that actually reflects what generally happens when a cop kills someone. Considering it’s such sensitive material, it’s really, really well handled.

 

Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas

 

Honestly, I can see The Hate U Give going on to be considered a contemporary classic, and while I did have a couple of problems with it here and there, there was nothing that I’d consider a deal-breaker. It took me a little while to get used to the dialogue, but the same thing happens when I read an Irvine Welsh book. And after the first fifty or sixty pages, it became hard to put it down, even though strictly speaking not a great deal actually happens. Or more accurately, the biggest thing to happen is what happens right at the start of the book, and they spend the rest of the book coming to terms with it. It’s a pretty powerful way to tell a story.

All in all then, there’s not much that I can say here that hasn’t already been said somewhere else. I also see a lot of people saying that because they’re not black, they’re less qualified to share an opinion as to the accuracy of its depictions of race and culture. I’m not sure if that’s true, because I think that being from a different culture to the one portrayed made me appreciate it even more. Ultimately, it made me want to be a good person. Excellent.

 

Angie Thomas Quote

Angie Thomas Quote

 

Click here to buy The Hate U Give.


Peter James – Dead Man’s Footsteps | Review

Title: Dead Man’s Footsteps

Author: Peter James

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 582

Rating: 4*/5

 

Peter James - Dead Man's Footsteps

Peter James – Dead Man’s Footsteps

 

At first, I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to get into this. After all, I’d just finished reading another lengthy crime novel, and while I am a pretty big fan of Peter James’ writing, I wasn’t as immediately sold on the concept here as I was with some of James’ other Roy Grace books.

It turns out that I shouldn’t have worried. It’s true that the story line got a little confusing from time to time, especially because it jumped backwards and forwards in time and focused on a number of different characters who, to start with at least, didn’t seem to have anything to connect them. But as the book rolled along towards its conclusion, it all worked itself out with the sort of mind-blowing simplicity that can only come from careful planning.

And speaking of planning, I was impressed, as always, with the level of research that James must have carried out before he started work on the book. If you’re ever in doubt, you can just read his acknowledgements, but suffice to say that a huge amount of time must have been spent just looking into the way that different police forces operate, including the processes for extradition and co-operation between Australia, the UK and the United States.

 

Peter James

Peter James

 

A big part of this story is based around the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and while I think that’s been overdone in modern literature, I also thought that James handled it well. His depiction of that fateful day was evocative and brought the reader’s senses to life, and it enabled one of the major plot devices to happen in the first place. Not only that, but it all made sense, particularly when it came to how each of the characters responded to it.

There was also a lot of in-depth knowledge about stamps, which were used in lieu of money by several of the characters to make it possible for them to either legitimise crooked money or to carry large sums of it around without authorities wondering why they were travelling with suitcases full of cash.

As for the story line itself, it follows an investigation into a cold case in which the skeletal remains of a woman are discovered in a storm drain in Brighton. At first, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is worried that it could be the body of his estranged ex-wife, Sandy. She’s been missing for a long time, and a new colleague of his starts to actively investigate the possibility that Grace killed her and buried her in his front garden. But Grace has more pressing demands on his time.

 

Graham Bartlett and Peter James - Death Comes Knocking

Graham Bartlett and Peter James – Death Comes Knocking

 

Grace himself is one of the more exciting protagonists to be created in recent years, and while I’ve been reading the books out of order – and so I haven’t been able to actively watch his character as it develops – it is interesting to see different sides of him. Here, he’s forced to play the hero, as he has done before – by the end of the book, he’s (reluctantly) written his car off and received hospital treatment. But he’s also solved the crime, although there’s a little bit of wiggle room and a big twist at the end.

Overall, it’s hard to find fault with Dead Man’s Footsteps, and while it’s not quite perfect, there’s a lot to be said for it.

 

Peter James - A Twist of the Knife

Peter James – A Twist of the Knife

 

Click here to buy Dead Man’s Footsteps.