Customer Reviews

Sanctum

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4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

People, the prologue stating that the author got the book in manuscript form from the protagonist (or from a dusty attic, or a secondhand shop) is a literary device that goes back at least as far as Gulliver's Travels. It is used frequently in novels of detection, especially historical detective fiction. One of the best examples is the Amelia Peabody series by the marvelous Elizabeth Peters. Anybody literate enough to read the book is supposed to be in on the joke.

Having read a couple of other novels by this author, I was prepared to like this one. (Yes I do recognize the fact that the "journal" was a literary device--one that has been used successfully by Laurie King and Elizabeth Peters). However, I did not like it. The writing is skillful and the pacing is fine. I just didn't care for the narrator of the story. I didn't care for the other characters either. It makes it very difficult to continue plowing through a story when the characters are so unsympathetic, and the plot is related in such a dry, almost clinical fashion.

I'm befuddled by other people's reaction to this book. I thought it was terrific. In the first place, I'm reasonably certain that Lachlan Harriot is Ms. Mina's creation. She just wrote it in diary form--something I thought really added to the story since you're experiencing it just from his point of view.

Although this story is taken from real life, proving that fact is stranger than fiction, I still can't say that I ENJOYED this book. A brilliant female psychiatrist, Susie Harriot, has become obsessed with a serial killer in her care, and also the people surrounding him, to the point where her stay-at-home husband, a reluctant doctor (and wimp), no longer knows whether or not she is guilty of the crime of murder and mutilation of the serial killer.She is found guilty and sentenced to a long prison term and, frankly, I don't give a damn ! I couldn't empathise with ANY of these characters and really don't care what happens to them. I finished the book to see what happened but wouldn't have worried if I hadn't.

I found this a fascinating read. It is true that the central characters in Mina's Garnethill Trilogy and Paddy Meehan series are more compelling (partly because they are tough but good-hearted women -- a more recognizable type). I would recommend those more highly, but Sanctum is a good choice if you like mysteries that verge toward "real" novels in the density of world and depth of character that they create (while still hooking you with plot). If you like Elizabeth George or Minette Walters, you will probably like Mina.

I was expecting a novel, but when I read the Prologue that Mina wrote, it turns out that this book contains the diaries of Lachlan Harriott, whose wife was up for murder. Mina got these diaries by bidding for them. She only wrote the Prologue and Epilogue, numbered the entries and wrote the starting date. So this book is neither fiction (though shelved in the fiction section of my library), nor Denise Mina's writing. I feel ripped-off. I skim-read the book, and couldn't get interested. (DNF)

I was expecting a novel, but when I read the Prologue that Mina wrote, it turns out that this book contains the diaries of Lachlan Harriott, whose wife was up for murder. Mina got these diaries by bidding for them. She only wrote the Prologue and Epilogue, numbered the entries and wrote the starting date. So this book is neither fiction (though shelved in the fiction section of my library), nor Denise Mina's writing. I feel ripped-off. I skim-read the book, and couldn't get interested. (DNF)