Night Kills by John Lutz

From Amazon ~

On The Trail Of A Bloody Killer.

Frank Quinn is sure he is hunting for a madman: someone who is shooting young women in the heart, defiling their bodies, leaving only the torsos to be found. Quinn, a former NYPD detective, is called into the case by an ambitious chief of police and mobilizes his team of brilliant law-enforcement misfits. But in the concrete canyons of New York, this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different.

A Cop And A Victim Fight Back…

Jill Clark came to the city with too many hopes and too little cash. Now a seemingly deranged woman is telling her an extraordinary story. New to an exclusive dating service, Jill is warned that other women have died on their dates-and that she could be next. Struggling against a death trap closing in around her, Jill has a powerful ally in Frank Quinn. But no one knows the true motives behind a rampage of cold-blooded murder-or how much more terrifying this is going to get. (from B&N)

 

Retired detective Frank Quinn and his team are called back to the NYPD as special consultants in the Torso Murders (the second book featuring these characters). A series of sick murders that end up with only the torso’s of the victims being found. Not only are they mutilated, but they are also defiled. Without being able to identify the victims, it’s nearly impossible for them to find a connection between the victims – until the next potential victim is approached by the only person to have escaped with her life. And in turns contacts Quinn and his team in an effort to save her own life. An extremely clever reasoning behind the murders helps the reader turn each page faster just to find out what will happen next. A chilling, thrilling story that will make you think twice about signing up for online dating services.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Synopsis:  Nine year old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. (taken from Amazon).

Review:  A quick but mindlingering read. 

Although a children’s story it works well as an adult read.  The perspective of the main character Bruno is from his 9 year old eyes and for adults this contains irony and depth of meaning to his observations.  The fact that we can see the end coming does not detract from the book as the main point is that Bruno in his naivity does not and this makes it more horrific.  There is so much that he does not understand that through his observations the adult reader does understand – I love the way it works on those two levels while his words for ‘Fuhrer’ and ‘Auschwitz’ are pertinant mistakes.

LibraryThing rating:  4/5

Other books I’ve read by this writer:  None

Review by JudyB

When the Darkness Will Not Lift – John Piper

When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper is a Christian book for those suffering with depression, or people aiding those who are suffering. It was an Amazon recommendation when I purchased another Christian book on depression.

Here is the Amazon synopsis:

John Piper offers insight into depression and spiritual darkness, and the Christian response to them. For sufferers and carers, he provides reason for hope that God will lift them out of despair and into the light.

This is not a long book, only 79 pages. However, it did take me quite a while to read this book. Piper has some very helpful things to say, and he includes lots of quotes from famous people, such as John Newton and C.S. Lewis as well as many quotations from the Bible. Some comments I found related to me personally, such as the fighting to get out of bed when feeling down. It was also interesting to learn that sometimes in order to help ourselves we need to help others, that way we will experience God’s grace.

However, some of the quotes used were written in very old fashioned English so I struggled with some of the meanings. I don’t like Piper’s writing style either. I find it does not flow easily and sometimes his sentence structure throws me.

All in all, this was a bit of a tough read but with some very helpful advice.

7/10