Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page One of TwoThe Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Viking, February, 2002Hardcover, 374 pages
ISBN: 0670030643
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
The Eyre Affair takes place in 1985 Great Britain;
but it is a Britain that is slightly different from the one
with which readers are familiar. Great literature is the
abiding passion of the masses: the true authorship of
Shakespeare's plays is hotly debated, Will Speak
vending machines dispense speeches from the Bard for
a small fee, and children swap Henry Fielding bubble-gum cards
with all the enthusiasm usually reserved for the latest pop star.
The Crimean War is still dragging on, and the Goliath corporation
has its fingers in all aspects of society.
When Archeron Hades (the world's third most dangerous criminal)
finds a way to step inside the world of books, trouble ensues.
Hades kidnaps Jane Eyre from the original manuscript,
if Eyre is killed (as Hades did with a minor character from Martin
Chuzzlewit) she will be permanently removed from all
other copies of the work. Enter the Literary Division of the
Special Operations Network (SpecOps) and Special Operative
Thursday Next. With the help of her Uncle Mycroft's new
invention, the Prose Portal, Thursday is able to travel inside Jane Eyre
to try to put things right -- and save all of the world's great literature
from disaster. Of course, meddling with a story is bound to produce
some changes. And are we sure that the Jane Eyre we know
originally had a happy ending before Thursday Next intervened?
The Eyre Affair is a detective thriller with an wonderful alternate history twist. Jasper Fforde takes the familiar and weaves in the unfamiliar, with hilarious results. Thursday Next, the operative who must stop an act of heinous literary homicide is a delight. She's competent, intelligent, and perhaps just a little neurotic about her love life. Archeron Hades is a delightful villain, and Thursday's father (who is some kind of secret operative himself) pops in from time to time (literally -- he is quite the time traveler) to give some usually unhelpful fatherly advice. Thursday's Uncle Mycroft is quite the mad scientist, and his inventions are always causing trouble. Although the literary references fly thick and fast, you really don't have to have a Master's degree in English lit to have a rollicking good time in this well-conceived and witty thriller. Jasper Fforde is a major new talent, who is just coming to the notice of American audiences. His work is fresh, original and immensely entertaining.
--Claire E. White
Die for Love by Elizabeth Peters
Avon, January, 2002Paperback, 357 pages
ISBN: 0380731169
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Nebraska librarian Jacqueline Kirby is bored
with her life; it seems that nothing exciting ever
happens at the college where she teaches. So, she
hops a plane to the annual Historical Romance
Writers of the World convention in New York City
to see if she could become a romance author.
When a much disliked gossip columnist
dies suddenly at one of the events, Jacqueline is
convinced that it's murder. Now, all she has to do
is find a murderer amongst all the starry-eyed
fans, acres of pink decorations, haughty prima donnas and cutthroat
agents which populate the world of romance publishing.
Elizabeth Peters, best known for her Amelia Peabody mystery series, pens a fast and funny amateur sleuth story with her delightful series protagonist Jacqueline Kirby. Although originally written in 1984, Die for Love reads just like a current mystery novel, the only difference being that none of the characters ducks out to check her email. With a fast-paced plot, lots of good natured swiping at the romance writing industry and a very funny cast of characters, Die for Love is a charming concoction with which to while away a winter afternoon.
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