Book Review: Style and the Solitary by Miriam Drori

 

Yet again, my Bookaholic friends, I am delighted to be kicking off a Blog Tour. This one is for Style and the Solitary, a cracking crime book by Miriam Dori. 

BLURB

An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.

Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?

His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?

She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?

In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?

Review

Having lived in Jerusalem for a year I jumped at the chance at being able to read this book as I love anything to do with Jerusalem. I also love crime fiction, so this was a no brainer. I loved the premise of the book, a retelling of beauty and the beast and was intrigued to see if it would work.

Let me reassure you straight away that it most definitely worked. From first word to last, this book is fabulous. The characters are well drawn with a lot of depth and nuances of characterisation. I found myself both drawn to them and empathising. I would say they are true to the Israeli people and culture. Asaf and Nathalie, the main characters are realistic and I found myself imaging them and their character traits, perfectly. I could genuinely feel Asaf's bewilderment, confusion and pain, and found myself wanting to take him away from it all. 

Drori is a skilled wordsmith, with a real gift for writing, something which is evident in every skilful word and sentence. She uses the words to draw the reader in and to keep them reading. The pace is swift and at no point did I feel the storyline flagging; in fact, the very opposite was true. I toyed the story which tantalises and intrigues in equal measure and I genuinely wanted to know the outcome. 

I could not review this without mentioning the setting, Jerusalem. Whilst setting does not play a major part in this story, what was sprinkled in was enough to give the reader a flavour and transport me back to my time living in the City.

To conclude, an excellent and well written crime novel which I would highly recommend. 

   

You can find out more about the author and her books via:

website 

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That is it for another week, Bookaholics. I will be back soon with another reading or writing blog. Until then, keep reading and keep writing. 

I was given a copy of this book from the author and blog tour operator as part of the Reading Between the Lines Blog Tours. At no point was I asked to provide a positive review and my review is based on my reading of the book. The links above are affiliate links and I will receive a few pence if you buy the book via the link. 

Was Judas Iscariot as Black as he Was Painted?

Good morning Bookaholics. A beautiful morning it is too, The sun is shining, the birds are singing and spring has sprung. The perfect day for sitting outside with a nice glass of something cool and a good book. What's that you say? It's snowing where you are. Another perfect day for curling up with a good book. Today I bring you a very different kind of book but I am sure you will enjoy it.

This has to be one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. We don't hear much about Judas Iscariot, and indeed, even the bible does not go into great depth about him. My first thought on seeing this book was, how could anyone make a factual book about Judas Iscariot, when all we really know about him is the fateful kiss? well, I can assure you that Peter Stanford has managed this. The book is not only well researched but interesting to the nth degree. It doesn't just go into the Biblical accounts, but also the Apocryphal Gospels and historical accounts. Stanford's research is so detailed it even goes into architecture which depicts Judas such as an arched doorway in Jerusalem, and Whistler's Judas Window in a Church in Dorset. It also covers such things as the Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, and icons and paintings depicting Judas.

Given that this is a historical examination of the life of Judas, one would think it would be dry and boring. Far from it. Stanford's writing style is such that the book is highly readable. The chapters are fairly short and look at Judas in both historical and contemporary accounts. Judas continues to fascinate today even down to analysing the lyrics in Bob Dylan's songs. This demonstrates the level and detail of the research which Stanford has carried out. I love the A-Z of Judas which runs through the book. A couple of examples are

B: Judas Beer
Y: Judas yellow, a colour of paint.

These snippets are one of the things which help to lift this book out of the humdrum and in to the exceptional. You will need to buy the book to find out what Z covers, but I can assure you it's not what you think.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I really could not put it down it was so interesting. It is not often a non fiction book does this to me.

I was given this book by the Publisher in return for an honest review. I was not at any time asked to provide a positive review. I have done so based on my reading, and enjoyment, of the book.

      

That brings us to the end of another Bookaholic review. See you all back here soon. Until then, grab a good book, even this one, and keep reading.