"Tripwire" by Lee Child

“Tripwire” is Lee Child's third Jack Reacher novel and I enjoyed it even more than the first two. His debut, “The Killing Floor”, was written in first person whereas the second novel, “Die Trying” was written in third person, as is “Tripwire”. However it seems to me that with this third book Child is really hitting his stride as a writer. 

“Tripwire” is written with a broader canvas and with greater depth to all of the minor characters. In Hook Hobie Child has created a great villain, ruthless and psychotic. 

Although the story follows a similar blueprint to the first two Reacher tales with many similar elements the writing does not seem formulaic. Child has a fantastic ability to keep the reader guessing and his plotting here is exemplary. I particularly enjoyed seeing how he carefully wove the plot strands together, slowly resolving each thread for the reader. It's a real skill.

His prose has a sparse economy. He often uses short sentences to rack up the tension. It's a trick that works.

There were a couple of interesting decisions that he made throughout the novel. Whilst he provides his readers with a satisfying resolution to the main plot he deliberately chooses not to resolve the fate of some of the minor characters. In some senses I can understand the desire to not tie everything up too neatly, but having spent a few hundred pages in their company I suppose I would have liked just a hint of resolution. It’s a very minor gripe in an otherwise excellent novel.

I look forward to reading the fourth novel in the series by way of comparison.

"Before We Met" by Lucie Whitehouse

There has been rather a glut of thrillers with unreliable narrators recently. I guess it’s been a bit of a publishing trend. However, I found “Before we met” to be superior to many that I have read, both in structure, tone and tension. I think that this is down to Lucie Whitehouse’s skill as a writer in creating believable characters with consistent voices throughout which draw the reader into the story. I found myself unable to resist the immersion, but for me it really worked.

The premise of the novel appears to be straightforward at the outset. Having reached her mid-life without a significant other Hannah Reilly appears to have finally met the man of her dreams, in upstate New York of all places. Mark is rich, successful and single, and after a whirlwind romance they marry and relocate back to the UK where Mark’s business is based. However when Mark unexpectedly fails to return home from a business trip back to New York Hannah slowly begins to discover that all is not as it might appear on the surface. She begins to question everything that she thought she knew about her new husband, and discovers that the truth is not quite as easy to navigate or explain.

The plot is beautifully judged, without veering into ridiculous or ill-conceived set-ups. I found the novel to be a bit of a slow burner at the start. There is a lot of back story to get through (not all of which can be relied upon) and many of the early chapters explore this aspect of the story. However as a reader I found that once you get past this initial hurdle you find yourself drawn into a labyrinth of riddles and lies from which there seems to be no easy escape.

This is the first of Whitehouse’s novels that I have read, but on the strength of this I’m tempted to try her debut, The House at Midnight. In the interim I would have no hesitation in recommending this well-constructed thriller.

"The Miniaturist" by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist is Jessie Burton's debut novel and it is, quite simply, extraordinary. I know that it has been hyped to death (as is the way of things) but to my mind it still exceeded any of my pre-conceived expectations. I am in awe of her skill in creating such a brave, daring and thoroughly entertaining tragic novel.

 

Set in Amsterdam in 1686 it charts the fall of a wealthy dysfunctional family as their dark secrets are slowly revealed. Wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt commissions a cabinet-sized replica of his wife Nella’s new marital home. However its furnishings and puppet inhabitants are created for Nella by an elusive and enigmatic miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror the lost loves and hidden hopes of their real life counterparts.

 

Burton's cast are brilliantly drawn, particularly Marin, Johannes’ dark and intriguing sister who slowly emerged as my favourite character. Everything about the book is meticulous, from the deft plotting to the complex interwoven narrative. I found myself totally immersed in this compelling story as meals went uncooked and the dog unwalked - (I'll make it up to her!)

 

Burton's foreshadowing of the darker secrets within the household is effortlessly done, and the intrigue grows around Nella like a spider’s web. Some of the riddles can be deduced by the reader, others spill out through chance observations and fate. However every aspect appears to be known to the mysterious miniaturist who sends Nella a succession of tiny gifts, each a metaphor that echoes Nella's life yet which also appears to accurately predict her future.

 

Elliptically convoluted, the story is like a maze, with half-truths wrapped within secrets and lies. The pleasure of unravelling these enigmas is palpable; as a reader I found some easy to deduce, whilst others were more skilfully concealed.

 

One of her hardest juggling acts is managing Nella's development from wide-eyed innocent to a strident and forceful woman in charge of her own destiny. Those are difficult waters to navigate successfully, and occasionally Nella seems to vacillate between the two extremes, but to me her voice remained convincing throughout.

 

If I'm being critical I find that occasionally Jessie's writing is a little overblown; it’s as if she feels the need to create a writerly description when sometimes a more direct and simplistic passage will suffice. To be honest it's nothing that a slightly harsher editor couldn't correct. I know myself that sometimes tough love is what is needed. However when she judges it correctly the beauty of her writing shines through and it can be jaw-droppingly good. The childbirth scene had me wracked with tears and cursing her for making me cry.

 

I enjoyed the fact that not every element is neatly tied up at the end of the book. Whilst there is a satisfactory resolution to the main issues Jessie lets her readers use their own imaginations for some of the minor story arcs, a space I found welcome; although I appreciate that this may not work for everyone. It can be quite a brave move if you deliberately don’t explain everything.

 

I was reminded of the writer’s maxim: - "if you care about your characters your readers will care about the story". I was entranced, and I certainly came to care about the characters, whilst Jessie reeled me in to the story with dexterity and with her meticulous plotting. It's a rare skill.

Curtis Brown Creative - Approaching the end

It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the conclusion of the Curtis Brown Creative six-month novel writing course. The weekly sessions (every Tuesday punctuated by the occasional Wednesday) have become a central part of my life over the last six months. I’m already anticipating a keen sense of loss once it’s all over.

 

My fourteen fellow students have been so generous with their time both within the sessions and more acutely with their evenings and weekends to provide such detailed feedback on the extracts we have all submitted. Do the maths; fourteen other students, three 3,000 word extracts each, equates to 126,000 words critically evaluated. But for me this has been one of the most gratifying and supportive aspects of the course.

 

As writers I suppose we all seek validation for our writing. However, more important are the constructive criticisms, no matter how hard it may be to hear them at the time. Personally I felt a little bruised immediately after my tutorial with Anna, but once I’d had a chance to reflect on what she’d said, to process her criticism, I realised that in most cases she’d been spot-on. I will be forever indebted. Out with the red pen then!

 

The peer feedback sessions (along with those harsh but fair tutorials from Louise and Anna) have helped to shape my novel “Ilona”. I feel that it’s a radically different and greatly improved novel now from where it sat when I first submitted my extract to Anna and Rufus to apply for a place on the course. The process has helped me to slowly change “Ilona” into the novel that I originally aspired to write, rather than what I had written. It’s an important distinction.

 

I have been re-writing “Ilona” throughout the last six months, a process which is still ongoing. My issue now is trying to determine just how much further work is needed at this stage.

 

If I’m honest with myself my aims at the outset of the course were to improve “Ilona”; to make it the best novel I could possibly write, alongside the longer term aim of securing literary representation. I feel certain that most of my fellow students had similar aims.

 

My short-term aim is now to complete the current re-write, incorporating much of what I regarded as valid criticism and largely ignoring the comments that I felt were made without any innate understanding of what I was seeking to achieve.

 

That can still seem like a Sisyphean task (analogies of rolling boulders uphill can step forward) but it’s one I’m embracing. Just once in a while I’ll write something that has me punching the air both metaphorically and literally and just in that brief moment I feel it’s all been worthwhile.

 

It turns out that that the act of writing can sometimes be the best part of the whole process. No matter what happens for me in the future just occasionally the craft of writing turns out to be its own reward. Who would have known?