Look Who's Back - disturbingly funny!

It's always interesting when you read a story about a person who feels a bit like a fish out of water, but what if the author takes this one step further, using a person that history would rather forget? That's the risk Timur Vermes makes in Look Who's Back, when he brings Adolf Hitler back from the grave, 50 years after his death. It's 2011, and Hitler wakes up in a park (we, and he, have no idea how or why). Somewhat disorientated, he slowly realises that this is not the Berlin he is familiar with. He comes across a newspaper vendor who assumes he is an out-of-work actor playing the role of his life by never breaking character, and touting for business in the area. Hitler does not disabuse him of this assumption and finds refuge with this man. The advantage of this for Hitler is that he gets to read all the newspapers and starts to catch up on the events of the present day - barely believing that his beloved Germany is now run by a woman! The vendor makes an introduction to one of his regulars, and Hitler is recruited for a satirical TV sketch show, where he becomes a sensation. Some viewers are offended by what he says (as they should be), but most think it is hilarious ... little do they know that, being who he actually is, he really means every word he says. What his employers think of as burning satire is, for him, a vehicle to reach the masses with his fervent nazi beliefs. Despite it's subject matter, this is a deeply funny book wrapped around a cautionary tale. The people we may think hold the oddest of views, can express themselves in such a way that at first you may think it's funny, and nobody could possibly take it seriously. However, hear it often enough and it can start to take traction and resonate with so many people that it can turn the world upside down. The humour comes in seeing Hitler trying to get to grips with the modern world, and also his reaction to the politicians and society he sees around him. This makes him determined to put the German people "back on track" and makes it his mission to do so. I read the audio edition, narrated by the marvellous Julian Rhind-Tutt, who almost explodes during the increasing rants from Adolf. I really enjoyed this book and felt it was over all too soon.

POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 6: A novel based on a real person.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.99.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

The Devil's Star - Harry Hole, how I've missed you!

It's sometimes hard to like Harry Hole, the alcoholic Norwegan detective who takes centre stage in The Devil's Star, by Jo Nesbo. To say he is on a mission to self-destruct is putting it mildly. He hasn't turned up for work for a couple of weeks. Instead, he's been on a bit of bender following the collapse of his case against fellow detective, Tom Waaler, who, he is convinced, is responsible for the death of his partner. His love interest, Rakel, cannot take his erratic behaviour anymore and has thrown him out of her home. His boss has been incredibly understanding, but can't cover for him anymore and puts him on notice to quit the force. However, it's the height of summer, and due to the high amount of staff on holiday, Harry is hauled in to investigate the murder of a young woman. She is missing a finger, and also has a star shaped diamond wedged under one of her eyelids. Oh, and guess who is also on the case ... yes, the smarmy Ton Waaler! While Harry battles to remain sober, his fog clears, he starts to see a pattern developing that shows that a series killer who seems to have a fascination with the devil's star is on the loose. There are twists and turns aplenty, and lots of red herrings too. The reader feels like they are on the investigative journey with Harry as he sifts through evidence and interviews the witnesses. Just when you think you've worked it out, something knocks you bandy. It's a great read, although it really helps if you have digested the previous books in the series, so that you can understand how Harry has got to where he is, and also how the different relationships he has with people in his working and personal life all fit together. Harry is a troubled, deeply frustrated soul, but you cannot help but root for him, which says something about the skill of Nesbo as a writer. Satisfyingly complex, this is well worth the effort.

POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 5: Nordic Noir.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 522 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, unabridged audio CD, ebook.

On The Brinks - darkly funny

Even though I am a big fan of crime and thriller fiction, I was not looking forward to the challenge of reading a True Crime book - I'm strangely happy with bad things happening to people, but only if I know it's not real! Whenever I searched for True Crime, the options that came up were, primarily, books about serial killers ... urgh! So, when I happened upon On The Brinks, by Sam Millar, which was about a famous robbery, I grabbed it with both hands. It is, in effect, the autobiographical account of Sam Millar, from his childhood growing up in Belfast, to his unexpected involvement with the IRA, followed by a long incarceration in the notorious Long Kesh prison. On his release, he goes to America and starts a new life and a new family. Unfortunately for him, he just cannot resist the chance to make a lot of money in one go by stealing from the Brink's Armored Car Depot in Rochester, New York, and manages to get away with $7.4 million. This book is a great read from start to finish. The funny details of childhood and the grim realities of the treatment meted out on political prisoners in Northern Ireland are put before the reader in the same chatty style. There is humour alongside heartache and you keep having to remind yourself that this story is true. The people who populate this book are so well observed that you feel yourself empathising with the most unlikely of characters. I found myself disappointed when I finished, not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it was over too soon! I can heartily recommend this book - yes there are sweary bits, yes there are violent bits, but the journey the author goes on is so incredible, that all is forgiven.

POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 2: True Crime.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 464 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library.
Formats available: print, ebook.