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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pained Major Characterizations,
By Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Our Lady of Pain (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
As police procedurals go, Elena Forbes' new novel, "Our Lady of Pain," seems to walk the walk and talk the talk . . . as far as I know. Not having much experience other than traipsing alongside an author who fashions a microcosmic crime-fighting world based on what I assume would be good researching skills, I find this second installment of the Barnes Murder Squad series of CSI-type mysteries realistic in the way the crime unravels due to the efforts of the detectives as they flounder though the quagmire of their own expectations and personal flaws.
Forbes' employs the same techniques as Donna Leon in her Venice-based Commissario Guido Brunetti series and Lindsey Davis in her Roman historicals featuring Emperior Vespasian-commissioned Marcus Didius Falco to present not only a completely satisfying episodic situation in the careerography of their protagonists but to further flesh out in terms of actual character psyche the full spectrum of the personal agenda, incremented in only the baby step that the timeline of the story allows. Where Leon concentrates on family man Brunetti and Davis on the cynical yet humorous Roman citizen Falco, Forbes takes her cue from Michelangelo, fashioning an operatic giant of a man that in her own words she describes as physically resembling thirty-something baratone-hunk Ildebrando D'Arcangelo. A supposed outsider to the London city scene, Mark Tartaglia is a Scot of Italian extraction with an almost stereotypical touchy-feely family concerned with little else but the status of his dating life. Young, handsome and wrought with a lethal efficiency, Tartaglia dominates the novel as the quiet hero; it is quite evident that Forbes is grooming him to be the next star in a BBC produced adaptation of her series. Unlike Davis's comedic Falco whose farcical antics and acerbic wife makes for the expected absurd and entertaining read, Forbes' man Tartaglia waxes between real and caricature, marrying the sex appeal of a subdued Simon Templar to the stoic bone-cracking assuredness of Stephen Seagal. Unfortunately for Forbes' her characterization doesn't always ring true. Difficult as it is for a female author to tell her tale from the male vantage point, Forbes, at times, fails to deliver. Tartaglia seems a character fabricated from the feminine idea of perfect maleness rather than the stuff of reality. Like Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen, he needs a flaw--or many flaws--not just his aloneness to catapult him out of the Heathcliff-hewn whimsy of romance into the gritty and more fascinating realm of winsome defect. Having not read Forbes' first installment of this series, "[Die with Me]," I had little familiarity with the historic interchange between the two major characters of Tataglia and Samantha Donovan. But obviously the burgeoning relationship intends to impart nothing new. In "Our Lady of Pain," Forbes creates a predictable attraction that will be developed in further episodes where the two will alternately tango between liking one another and other secondary players to ease and tighten the tension according to the author's whim and hopefully resulting in the reader's ultimate pleasure. In terms of plot line, "Our Lady of Pain" boasts of a sophisticated yet sordid little story of jaded affections. Precipitated by the murder of a young and attractive gallery owner, the Murder Squad cranks into high intellectual gear, following clues and working off of intuitions that eventually lead to a satisfying albeit weak conclusion. Admirably, Forbes systematically situates her guest-staring characters in a sparkling cavalcade of life in the City -- emotionally charged with enough guilt and angst to make the reader almost forget about the disappointing lack of development with regard to her major players. Nevertheless, in accomplishing a complete story where the complex composition of a murderer is explored proves that Forbes can deliver. She need only concentrate on the more difficult task of crafting the less intense more subtle psychologies of her regulars. The seemingly "normal" hide even more than those who lash out. Bottom line: Elena Forbes' "Our Lady of Pain" explores the darker side of love and obsession in an interesting yet routine little tale set in modern day London. A page-turner from the get-go, the actual procedure of this police procedural glides along with a slickness that seasoned followers of this genre will definitely enjoy. Recommended with the hope that Forbes will add more complicated layers of reality to her main protagonists rather than just let them go the usual route of being attracted to one another while they sort through the trials and tribulations of accumulating notches on their respective relationship belts and garnering civic gold stars. I rate this as fluctuating between three and four stars. Diana Faillace Von Behren "reneofc"
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A TALE AS FINE AS THE LONDON MIST,
By
This review is from: Our Lady of Pain (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Similar in style and cadence to the stories of Robert Goddard and P. D. James with a little bit of Ruth Rendell thrown in for good measure. Our Lady of Pain is a wonderful and literate murder mystery that engages the reader from the very first page.
While the plot is driven by the investigative team's probe into two brutal murders, the true beauty of the book lies in the author's meticulous development of the characters and their surroundings. The reader is allowed a voyeuristic look into the day to day existence of detectives Mark Tartaglia, Sam Donovan and Simon Turner from their work environment, to their co-workers and families as they work their case, scrutinizing every aspect of the lives of the victims and the suspected culprits. As they expose some unsavory aspects of the case to the light of day (a difficult task in rainy London) we follow the trail of scattered breadcrumb clues as the truth slowly emerges. If I had one complaint about this book it is was with the character of Sam Donovan whose previous faulty judgment (read gullibility) in the Bridegroom case was repeatedly referred to and made her appear less professional than her male counterpart. (I have not read Ms. Forbes previous book "Die with Me", but I got the impression that Tartaglia too was involved in that case, however the author did not carry the question of HIS character's acumen and perception forward into this book). Perhaps I am just nit-picking, since on the whole I sincerely enjoyed reading experience. No Michael Connelly style roller coaster ride here, no Lee Child super hero either, just well drawn characters and great atmospheric writing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Enjoyable Murder Mystery,
By
This review is from: Our Lady of Pain (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I found "Our Lady of Pain" to be a gripping and suspenseful story with a very surprising ending. I was a bit hesitant to read it for fear of it being too graphic so it sat for some weeks. When I finally had an opportunity to read it, I finished it in one day and really enjoyed it.
I had not read the first book in this series by Elena Forbes so was not familiar with the characters. I thought that they were believable, quite complex, and interesting. You gradually get to know them as the story unfolds and, especially in the case of the victim, learn some pretty surprising details about their private lives. I saw that one of the other reviewers of this book mentioned that they had it figured out in the first few chapters. I cannot believe this as I was completely surprised by the ending and don't really feel I'm that naive. There are many more detailed reviews already written so I will just add that I recommend this book without reservation to anyone that enjoys a good, modern day "Sherlock Holmes" type murder mystery. Or better yet, start with her first book, "Die With Me", and then move on to this one, just for the sake of continuity.
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