THE POISON TREE

by Erin Kelly - to be released January 2010

It's 1990s London and Karen Clarke is a straight A college student with a long summer and bright future ahead of her when she meets aspiring actress Biba Capel at Queen Charlotte's College. This chance meeting changes Karen's life forever. Her middle class upbringing and dedication to her studies are swiftly swept away as she becomes enamored with Biba and her bohemian lifestyle. She soon joins Biba and Biba's brother Rex in their crumbling family home amid the emotional turmoil of their lives; lives filled with drugs, alcohol and lost days that can only end in tragedy in this psychological thriller.

As Ms. Kelly deftly weaves the past and present, we fast forward ten years as THE POISON TREE begins; Karen and her nine-year-old daughter arrive to pick up Rex from prison where he's spent the last decade for murder. The author never drops the ball as the suspense and tension build in this well written novel, right up to the dramatic ending.

Ms. Kelly's writing has been compared to that of Donna Tartt, but while reading THE POISON TREE I also found it reminiscent of BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER, a coming of age novel from the '60s by William Goldman.  This is a wondeful first novel and I highly recommend this psychological thriller!

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

bu John le Carre - available in hardcover

I have a number of friends who are big le Carre fans so I decided to give him a try.  OUR KIND OF TRAITOR was a total disappointment and I won't be buying another le Carre book.

Briefly, a young English couple on vacation (Perry and Gail) meet Dima, a big-time Russian criminal and money launderer.   Dima latches on to the couple to solicit their help in obtaining asylum for himself and his family in return for spilling his guts.  They return to England and are interrogated endlessly before becoming part of the plan to get the Russian's information.

While the idea was a good one, the writing was so dry and dull, I had to force myself to finish this book.  There was no action for the first 240 pages and by then I cared so little for these characters that it didn't even matter what happened. 
After reading OUR KIND OF TRAITOR, I'd suggest you save your money and go to your local library for one of le Carre's earlier books which are supposed to be terrific. 

FAITHFUL PLACE

by Tana French - available in hardcover

Set in Dublin, young sweethearts Frank Mackey and Rosie Daly plan to run away to England. They want a better life for themselves and Rosie's father hates the Mackeys, forbidding her to have anything to do with Frank. When Rosie doesn't show up on the night they plan to leave, Frank begins his own journey believing that Rosie has dumped him.

Flash forward twenty-two years; Frank is working as an undercover detective when he receives a call from his sister that Rosie's suitcase has been found. He's quickly embroiled in trying to find out what happened to Rosie as well as confronting the very destructive and dysfunctional family he left so many years ago.

Nicely written, but with a predictable ending, you could do worse than spend a hot summer afternoon unravelling the mystery of FAITHFUL PLACE.