The Cephalopod Coffeehouse - August 28th. Book review - Mark Pryor's The Reluctant Matador

Hello book lovers!

I stopped reviewing for Armchair Squid'sThe Cephalopod Coffeehouse some time ago because of time constraints. I love reading and lately all I've been doing is dropping a few lines on Goodreads once I finish a book. Signing up again to this bookish meme gives me the motivation to do a more lengthy review again.

Click here to read more book reviews

Out of all the wonderful books I've read recently, (and hello, there's been a few!) Mark Pryor's latest in the most excellent Hugo Marston mystery/thriller series, The Reluctant Matador, comes up trumps.

I've read all the books in the series in the order they've been written, as the publisher picked up my rave review for The Bookseller, the first in the series, and since then, I've been put on a mailing list. Lucky, lucky me! I can't resist the 'long, tall Texan in his ten-gallon hat'...black overcoat and cowboy boots hoofing it around Paris and beyond.

Now to The Reluctant Matador, Pryor's latest. The story starts in Paris, with Hugo, the security chief at the American Embassy in Paris, heading off to meet a friend's aspiring-model daughter for a full-on, full-fat American breakfast. So this book had me salivating right from the get-go (geez, I'm so full of Americanisms today!) But I love food in books, so I was quite miffed when the teen stood Hugo up and Hugo (and vicariously, me) had to be satisfied with just a coffee and no pancakes and maple syrup and bacon. Darn!! But smelling something fishy, Hugo's sleuthing skills switch into gear, and another great thriller begins. Hugo finds out that this 'model' daughter was actually a dancer at a seedy strip club in Paris, ooh la la! And he finds out that she's been lured to Barcelona by some seedy guy she met at the club. We know this is bad. 

The juxtaposing of the usually straight-up Hugo with the anything-goes drunken, slovenly former CIA agent, Tom Green, always makes for colourful reading. During their illegal sleuthing in Barcelona, which really offends the Spanish police, Hugo and Tom stumble upon a shocker of a scene right out of a Gothic novel. The teen's father, Bart, is implicated in this grizly murder and imprisoned by the Barcelona police.

So the story unfolds with the two Americans facing their biggest challenge ever--find the killer/s, prove Bart's innocence, and trace the missing daughter who they can only hope and pray is alive. Meanwhile, they need to avoid being killed along the way.

Okay, I'm a gushing fan of Pryor's books and I hope he keeps them coming. And I'm a big fan of his settings--usually Paris, London and most recently Barcelona. Can't go wrong with these heavy lifters adding colour and excitement to an already-glittering plot.

So if you'd like to see what I have to say on his other books, check out my reviews on Goodreads. (Click on any of the first book covers in my Goodread's widget in my sidebar). This series doesn't have to be read in order as each has its own storyline.

Thanks for visiting/reading.

• Have your read any of Mark Pryor's Hugo Marston series? Would you like to after reading my review?

As you saw from WEP's Spectacular Settings challenge, (which was a spectacular success and finishes today), we love settings which sing, and Pryor's are definitely a character in his books.

 

Plot Ideas, Characters, Wordy Details

A short paraphrase from a recent Pep Talk from Gail Carson Levine (author of Ella Enchanted) revving up NaNo writers:

When you run out of plot ideas, write about setting and what each character is wearing, in exquisite wordy detail. When you run out of setting and apparel, write about the voice quality of each speaker, speech mannerisms, facial ticks, body language. Hey! That sounds like me on a good day!

Now that I've cleverly downloaded the word count widget from NaNo Fun Stuff, I don't have to be so pedantic about my progress. Saturday I was a bit of a social butterfly for once, so only got about 700 words written and I've decided my brain is going to hurt if I don't take a day off, so Sunday I wrote zilch. I also gave the local Write In the flick. My fingers itched every time I looked at the computer but I stuck to my guns. I confess I had a bit of a play with my blogs etc.

I'm pretty happy how my story is going, but I have a love triangle coming up and I don't know who the heroine is going to end up with. Hmmm. I hope they can sort it out.

Happy writing everyone!

Questions to ask yourself about your novel

Day Three 3/11 - Tuesday - Words 2874 (9336)
Day Four 4/11 - Wednesday - Words 1771 (11,107)


A very useful little set of notes came my way courtesy of my local Nano region. They are good to check every now and then.

1. Character

• How can I make the actions/reactions of the characters believable?
• Have I provided enough background to understand the characters?

2. Setting

• How can I make the setting contribute to the tone, theme, plot of the narrative?

3. Plot

• How can I make the plot believable?
• Do the characters have a significant role in the plot?
• How can I make the plot fresh and original?

4. Theme

• What larger issues do I want readers to think about as a result of my novel?

5. Dialogue

• Is the dialogue natural?
• Does the dialogue develop the characters and plot?
• Does the dialogue show action?

Notes from Book in a Month, by Vl Schmidt and Writing for Emotional Impact, by K. Iglesias