Review: Unexpectedly enjoyable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2012
I'm not a great fan of mysteries but a fellow reader suggested that I might enjoy Sirene, and I did, probably because there's far more to it than the solving of a mystery.A scientist is killed on his way to Italy to meet with a long-lost lady friend.Geekish French Laurent sets off with English Coren, his ill-matched girlfriend, to investigate the murder. The pair don't seem to have very much in common. "They didn't even make each other laugh, somehow they just got along."As the trail heats up, Laurent decides to send Coren back to their pad in Chamonix for her own safety. But when he vanishes from contact, virtually penniless Coren shows herself to be unexpectedly resourceful as she sets off to find him in Liguria. Not only is she worried about his safety in general, but she knows that he is running critically short of the drugs he needs.I won't go into the plot any further, that's for the reader to discover, and a neat and original twist is that there are two endings to choose from in the Kindle version.What pleased me about the book is the author's subtle humour, his obvious knowledge of the places he describes, well-drawn characterisation particularly of Coren, Lucette and the hit-man Kuss, and a cleverly woven plot revolving around contemporary environmental issues. Oh, and he knows how to get the best out of the English language.There were a couple of places I found rather long-winded, but nevertheless I thought this a worthwhile read and would certainly read more of his work.