Morreu esta manhã no Porto um dos mais importantes realizadores portugueses, senão o mais importante. Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (Porto, 11 de Dezembro de 1908 – Porto, 2 de Abril de 2015), realizou trinta e duas longas-metragens, várias curtas-metragens e participou ainda como actor em alguns filmes como por exemplo: A Canção de Lisboa, de Cottinelli Telmo; Conversa Acabada, de João Botelho e Lisbon Story de Wim Wenders.
Manoel de Oliveira obituary at The Guardian
Quercus, 2014. Kindle Format (1103 KB) First published in Great Britain in 2014.ASIN: B00EIFS5T6. eISBN: 978-178206-222-6. 518 pages.
The story revolves around a murder investigation, the first in living memory to have occurred on les Îles de la Madeleine out in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The crime took place on L’Île d’Entrée, better known to its inhabitants as Entry Island. The Madelinots are French-speaking for the most part, but on Entry they speak only English. For this reason, among the team of eight investigators sent by the Sûreté du Québec is Sime Mackenzie who will lead the interrogations, he’s the only one to speak English fluently.
It appears a straightforward case. Cowell, the wealthiest man in the Islands, has been found dead in his house. According to his wife Kirsty Cowell, an intruder with his face covered under a ski mask attacked her. Her husband was stabbed in trying to help her and the intruder ran off. Her explanation doesn’t seem convincing, everyone believes the intruder only exists in her imagination and therefore she becomes the prime suspect.
Sime has the strange sensation he already knows Mrs Cowell the first time he meets her, even though they have never seen each other before. As the story unfolds, the narration is intertwined with fragments of a diary written over hundred and sixty years ago, during the Highland Clearances, that tells the story of two characters also called Sime (The Scots Gaelic for Simon) Mackenzie and Kirsty (Ciorstaidh).
Entry Island Peter May’s first book after the Lewis Trilogy – see my reviews here, here and here, won the Deanstons Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2014, and the UK national prize, the Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year 2014. Entry Island (Île-d’Entrée in French) is an island off the east coast of the Magdalen Islands. The Magdalen Islands (French, Îles de la Madeleine) form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of 205.53 square kilometres (79.36 sq mi). Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec. The island is 2 km wide and 3 km long. The island is located 12 km from the main port of Cap-aux-Meules of the Magdalen Islands. Entry Island is only accessible by ocean or air. The island is also home to an English-speaking community (source: Wikipedia).
I really liked reading this book that has allowed me to know the story of the Highland Clearances, a historical episode virtually unknown to me. The novel is very well written and the crime investigation is quite convincing. Perhaps, for my taste, there are some secondary plots in the diary that seem to me unnecessary, even redundant, when not hard to believe. But overall, I enjoyed it very much and will certainly recommend it.
My rating: A (I loved it)
Entry Island has been reviewed at Euro Crime (Lynn Harvey), Shade Point, Crime pieces (Sarah Ward), Mysteries in Paradise (Kerrie Smith), Raven Crime Reads, Crime Thriller Girl, Killing Time, FictionFan’s Book Review, Cleopatra Loves Books, Crime Review UK, Crime Squad, and Material Witness among others.
Entry Island – Behind the Scenes
Entry Island – Canada – Peter May
Entry Island: Peter May Talks To Crime Time
Point of Entry at The Rap Sheet
La historia gira en torno a la investigación de un asesinato, el primero que se recuerda que ha ocurrido en las islas de la Magdelena en el Golfo de San Lorenzo. El crimen tuvo lugar en L’île d’Entrée, más conocida por sus habitantes como Isla de Entrada. Los “madelinots” son de habla francesa en su mayor parte, pero en la Entrada sólo hablan inglés. Por esta razón, entre el equipo de ocho investigadores enviados por la Sûreté du Québec se encuentra Sime Mackenzie quien dirigirá los interrogatorios, él es el único que habla inglés con fluidez.
Parece un caso sencillo, Cowell, el hombre más rico de las islas, ha sido encontrado muerto en su casa. Según su esposa Kirsty Cowell, un intruso con el rostro cubierto por un pasamontañas la atacó. Su marido fue apuñalado al tratar de ayudarla y el intruso huyó. Su explicación no parece convincente, todo el mundo cree que el intruso sólo existe en su imaginación y por lo tanto ella se convierte en la principal sospechosa.
Sime tiene la extraña sensación de que ya conoce a la señora Cowell la primera vez que se encuentra con ella, a pesar de que nunca se han visto antes. Conforme se desarrolla la historia, la narración se entrelaza con fragmentos de un diario escrito hace más de ciento sesenta años, durante la expulsión de las Tierras Altas de Escocia, que cuenta la historia de dos personajes también llamados Sime (el escocés gaélico de Simon) Mackenzie y Kirsty (Ciorstaidh).
Isla de Entrada es el primer libro de Peter May escrito después de la Trilogía de Lewis, ver mis reseñas aquí, aquí y aquí, ganó el Deanstons Scottish Crime Book del año 2014, y el premio nacional del Reino Unido, the Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read del Año 2014. Isla de Entrada (en francés: Île-d’Entrée) es una isla de la costa este de la islas de la Magdalena (Îles de la Madeleine), que forman parte de la provincia canadiense de Quebec. La isla posee 2 km de ancho y 3 km de largo. Su territorio está situado a 12 km del principal puerto de las islas de la Magdalena, “Cap-aux-Meules”. La Isla de Entrada solo es accesible por mar o aire. La isla es también el hogar de una comunidad de habla inglesa (fuente: Wikipedia).
Me gustó mucho la lectura de este libro que me ha permitido conocer la historia de la expulsión de las Tierras Altas escocesas, un episodio histórico prácticamente desconocido para mí. La novela está muy bien escrita y la investigación del delito es muy convincente. Tal vez, para mi gusto, hay algunas tramas secundarias en el diario que me parecen innecesarias, incluso redundantes cuando no difíciles de creer. Pero en general, me gustó mucho y sin duda lo recomiendo.
Mi valoración: A (Me encantó)
In the first quarter I read 6 books by new to me authors. I was particularly glad to have meet for the first time Ben Pastor, Margaret Millar and Margery Allingham, but I have to admit that Eva Dolan’s debut novel Long Way Home, was a great discovery. A brilliant novel, very well written that openly deals with the always difficult issue of immigration and on the extreme conditions in which immigrants have to survive.
Do visit Mysteries on Paradise here and check out what other bloggers have to say.
Long Way Home (Vintage Digital, 2014). Format: Kindle Edition by Eva Dolan (A+)
The Man Who Bought London (Delphi Classics, 2014). Format: Kindle Edition. First published in 1915 by Edgar Wallace (C)
A Dark Song of Blood (Bitter Lemon Press, 2014) Format: Kindle Edition, by Ben Pastor (A)
Beast in View (Orion Books, 2011) Format: Kindle edition. First published in the USA in 1955 by Margaret Millar (A)
The Beckoning Lady (Vintage 2007) Format: Paperback. First published in Great Britain in 1955 by Chatoo & Windus by Margery Allingham (A)
God Save the Mark (Rosetta Books, 2010) Kindle Format. First published in 1967 by Donald E. Westlake (A)
For a number of reasons, my reading pace this year has slowed down a bit and March was not an exception. Anyway I managed to finish reading:
God Save the Mark (Rosetta Books, 2010) Kindle Format. First published in 1967 by Donald E. Westlake (A)
Cómo nace un personaje: La historia de un detective en La Habana (Tusquets Editores S.A., 2015) Kindle Format (Free booklet) by Leonardo Padura.
The Liza Marklund Reader’s Companion A Collection of Excerpts By Liza Marklund (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 2013) Kindle Format. (Free Ebook)
Gun Street Girl (Serpent’s Tail, 2015). Kindle Format, by Adrian McKinty (A+)
Endless Night (Harper, 2007). Paperback Format. First published in 1967 by Agatha Christie (C)
Among them, my favourite has been:
Gun Street Girl is the fourth in the Sean Duffy series by acclaimed crime writer Adrian McKinty. When Duffy grudgingly takes on a double murder case, he finds himself on the trail of a conspiracy which could cost him everything.
As is his custom, McKinty uses characters and real cases upon which he builds his work of fiction. The case here revolves around the murder of a wealthy couple under strange circumstances and the subsequent suicide of their son, the main suspect. But what seems to be an open-and-shut case, soon it will become something much more complicated. In any case the plot is not necessarily the most outstanding feature of the novel, although it is well structured and is interesting. In my view what makes this book an outstanding experience is the quality of the writing, the complexity of the characters and the authenticity of the context in which the story takes place. Moreover, it is a highly entertaining read and, occasionally, with a nice sense of humour. Highly recommended.
A Crime is Afoot 