Can you call any murder ‘light’?

Currently J.D. Robb's "Indulgence in death" lies on my bed stand. I consider it 'light' reading, although on occasion Eve Dallas investigates some gruesome murders. This time it's a crossbow and a bayonet. Imaginative. Before J.D. Robb I read John Connolly's "Every dead thing", the first Charlie Parker novel. In this book people also die, but in not such pleasant ways. I don't consider that 'light reading'. Why? In both series people die usually in the most horrible ways. Charlie Parker is a troubled lead character, but so is Eve. Is it of the love affair between Eve and Roarke? Charlie also has his love affair, the beautiful, pathologist Rachel. 
So what is it then which makes J.D. Robb 'light' and John Connolly not? I think it has to do with the fact that Connolly writes his detectives more in a horror-style. Nobody is safe. Not the victims, not the murderers, not Charlie Parker himself, not even innocent children. Connolly doesn't spare his readers any of the gruesome, gory details of an autopsy or a murder scene description. Plus Charlie Parker lives in the present. Although Connolly describes horrible things, they do happen in the nowadays world. I think that is the biggest difference between Charlie and Eve. She lives in the future, solves all her cases. Yes, she has her demons, but they are not so present as the demons in Charlie's lives. His demons are not just his own – alcoholism, the murder of his wife and child, his family's history – he is also confronted with the demons within other people. The gruesome things people can do to each other. That also happens with Eve, but besides having nightmares, she doesn't seem to be affected by it. Charlie is literarily haunted by the ghosts of the dead.



And yes, "Every dead thing" has a sort of happy end. The serial murder responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter is caught. But knowing that an FBI-agent is responsible, kind of makes you lose your faith in human kind. The happy end is therefore not so happy after all. Some of the people involved survive, but scared for life.


Do I prefer one over the other? That depends on my mood. When I'm in for something 'light' I read about Eve, when I'm in for something darker, more sinister, I read about Charlie. As for now, Eve is enough. I'll keep Charlie for the future.

PS. As I remembered later on... J.D. Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. She writes lovie-dovie books. Is that knowledge of any influence in my decision to consider Eve’s murders as ‘light’? 

PPS. An other funny thing I just noticed: look at the cover art of both books... 

Twenty-five

Every time we go on holiday to England I resolve not to buy that many books. This year (we just returned last week), I even brought books (10 or so) with me to discard at Oxfam. After travelling across the country (and forgetting to drop off the books every available time), they finally found their way to the Oxfam Bookshop in York.
But still, the fun thing about going on a holiday to England is to buy new books. So this year I bought 25. Actually, it is 27, but two books are doubles; one I already bought earlier (in Canterbury and again later on in York) and the other one... well, I didn't have my little blue book with me (at that time) and made a mistake. Yes, it happens. These two books will find their way to Oxfam in August. So, all in all, I have 25 new books.


I bought the following books for pleasure reading:

1. Steve Berry, "The Venetial betrayal"
2. Steve Berry, "The Paris vendetta"
3. Suzanne Collins, "The hunger games"
4. Suzanne Collins, "Catching fire"
5. Suzanne Collins, "Mockingjay"
6. John Connolly, "Every dead thing"
7. John Connolly, "The reapers"
8. John Connolly, "The killing kind"
9. John Connolly, "The white road"
10. John Connolly, "Bad men"
11. John Connolly, "Nocturnes"
12. Bernard Cornwell, "Death of kings"
13. Jude Fisher, "Sorcery rising"
14. Michael Jecks, "The last templar"
15. Jill Myles, "Succubi like it hot"
16. S.J. Parris, "Prophecy"
17. J.D. Robb, "Kindred in death"
18. J.D. Robb, "Treachury in death"
19. J.D. Robb, "Indulgence in death"
20. Simon Scarrow, "The legion"
21. Simon Scarrow, "Centurion"

One of my favourite bookshops is Heffers in Cambridge. It is so refreshing to find at least 6 or more bookshelves filled with books on (ancient) Roman history. I found a new book here which I might use for my thesis and if not, it will still be an interesting read:

1. Harriet I. Flower, "Roman republics"

 Even dear hubby found some interesting books. So technically, I did not buy 25 books:

1. Lloyd Clark, "Arnhem. Jumping the Rhine 1944 and 1945. The greatest airborne battle in history"
2. Ben Macintyre, "Agent Zigzag"
3. Louis Hagen, "Arnhem lift. A fighting glider pilot remembers"

As I didn't brought much books with me to read (only books for Oxfam), I've read already some of these books. A review will follow shortly (or whenever I find the time as a deadline for the thesis is coming up).


But all in all, I'm very happy that I've now almost own all the Charlie Parker-novels (by John Connolly, check him out if you like a darker, more supernatural detective. Oh, and before you start reading, in his books people will die in the most horrible ways).
If you look at the list, it is quite a strange grouping of books: the dark detectives of Connolly, compared to the lighter (but not always less gruesome) detectives of J.D. Robb on Eve Dallas. Some historical novels set in different ages (Romans, Saxon England and medieval England), one fantasy novel (bought in Oxfam Canterbury as a try out), "The hunger games trilogy" (they came cheap) and some Indy meets Da Vinci books. Steve Berry is always fun to read, if you don't demand too much. And then there is Jill Myles. I think I read a book by her some years ago. It was funny and for £ 2,- you can never go wrong. A lot more to read, now I have to find the time...

 
PS. And thanks for my lovely ginger cat for keeping me company.