Wulf's Book Reviews

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza My rating: 3 of 5 stars A young high society woman is murdered and DCI Erika Foster from the London Metropolitan Police is sent to investigate. Foster has just returned from extended compassionate leave after her husband’s death, which she blames herself for - on basically every single page. Either because of that or because she has a completely annoying personality, Foster is pretty much constantly acting offensive, rude, and annoying. As if that weren’t enough in itself, she keeps making spectacularly stupid mistakes: She goes to the slummiest bars on her own, she searches a home she has to assume is life-threateningly dangerous on her own, even after having been assaulted by the murderer before. There doesn’t seem to be much more to her character either: Throughout the entire novel, Foster remains a sketch of herself. Apart from working, she doesn’t seem to do or reflect on anything. Since she gets suspended for insubordination relatively earl...

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant My rating: 2 of 5 stars Gorgeous setup, then a miraculous theological derailment Wow, didn’t that blurb read great? And it started off well enough in the woods where Cooper and his daughter have been hiding for years. The atmosphere felt genuine and plausible, the prose was smart and elegant, the characters endearing - what could possibly go wrong? Cooper especially, and Finch to a lesser extent, live a tense but ultimately peaceful life: they hunt and gather, roam through the wilderness, and they do so frequently, extensively, and repeatedly. Yes, some of these excursions bring new information, but did we really need to hear about the “King of Trees” and each of its manifold brethren? Well, yes, I felt bored with large parts of this novel, but then it got worse: A certain character is introduced, and suddenly, drastically, the story springs into action. What ensues is completely unbelievable and seems to be the author’s traditionalist theo...

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been working as an IT consultant/engineer/leader for about 30 years now. During that time I've professionally met hundreds of men - and a handful of women. The men could (and sadly can) get away with almost anything, or receive a mere slap on the wrist. I've also interviewed men and women for jobs: Overwhelmingly, HR ultimately decided to hire a man over a (usually more competent) woman. The one woman I was actually allowed to hire and mentor went on to perform spectacularly in her job and is still thriving. In my field, women, just like Trishara in this novel, have to work more, work harder, and swallow a lot of abuse while doing so. I have yet to meet a woman of colour in such a position. (The one I tried to get hired was rejected by HR, of course…) This is pretty much Trishara’s starting point: Despite being a skilled engineer, she's been passed over for promotions for years and now she is to be the to...