RECENTLY ENJOYED FICTION

THE LIBRARY OF GOLD
Gayle Lynds - Corvus -NZ$24.99

James Patterson described this book as "The Da Vinci Code meets Bourne Identity" and I think that is an apt description.

This from the author's note, which runs to some 15 pages, - The search for Ivan the Terrible's lost library - occasional called the Byzantine Libreria - in the labyrinthe tunnels under Moscow has continued for some five centuries, capturing the imaginations of emperors, potentates, and the Vatican. Joseph Stalin stopped the hunt in the 1930's because he feared that searching the tunnels would leave him vulnerable to attack from beneath, while Vladimir Putin, in a gesture signifying Russia's new openess, allowed the quest to resume in the 1990's.

All that is fact, now to the fiction - One of the fabled volumes of the Library of Gold has come to light and the CIA has linked the long-lost book, a shadowy cabal, and a terrifying new threat to global security: the library must be found.
I was consumed from page one to the end some 500 pages later. Not only is it a great story of intrigue, suspense and adaventure but the fabled library and its illuminated manuscripts plays a key part which I found totally intriguing.

BANGKOK NOIR
Edited by Christopher G Moore
Heaven Lake Press - 450 baht

My friend Mark was in Thailand recently and bought this to read on the beach. He then brought it home and passed it on to me as we both enjoy crime thrillers. Thanks Mark.
The book comprises 12 short stories, by internationally known writers, both Thai and Western. These stories portray the dark side of this Asian metropolis - gangsters and hitmen, love and betrayal, the possessed and the dispossessed - it is all here.
And in a nice touch both the publisher and authors are donating half their earnings from the book to selected charities that provide education to needy Thai kids.
Among the authors are John Burdett, Pico Iyer, Colin Cotterill and Timothy Hallinan.

I KNOW PRECIOUS LITTLE
Joe Reich
Sid Harta Publishers, Melbourne - NZ$27.99

This is the funniest novel I have read in a while, a comedy of manners really, but it is also has a strong underlying dark tale of misunderstandings and incidental hurt. It is set in middle-class Melbourne against a backdrop of the Beatles music from the time; racism, sexism and elitism abound.
The author cleverly tells the same story from the viewpoint of a number of the major players. It is very well done. The title itself is a clever play on words.
About the author:
Joe Reich is an ophthalmologist practising in Melbourne and who skilfully uses his professional experience in this, his first novel.He was shortlisted in the Australian Women's Weekly Short Story Competition in 2009 and I Know Precious Little grew from that.

This is a totally engaging first novel and I keenly await his next book.