Timothy Williams (1) (1946–)

Mostly boring and I found myself rather annoyed with the story for most of the book. I got tired of the use of "madame le juge" 10 to 20 times on every page. I'm not even sure what the story was about even though I can recite all the events. It was like a whole ton of intrigue, but what any of it was related to was the biggest mystery. The main character madame le juge orbited oblivious to all goings-on. It seem like the 20 or 30 other central characters all knew what was going on, but would only whisper hints every great now and again to slowly enlighten madame le juge. I wanted to like it, but it was kind of dumb. And madame le juge was weak and stupid even though she was supposed to be portrayed as a strong, intelligent woman. None of the characters were interesting in any way, and all were rude and annoying throughout. The "to be continued" ending didn’t help in any way whatsoever.… (más)

Sometimes it's just not meant to be. Have you ever tried multiple books written by the same author and had none of them "grab" you? That's what's happened to me with Timothy Williams. This is the second book he's written that I've read (from two different series), and both just fell flat.

In Persona Non Grata, the reason for my disinterest lies almost entirely in the lap of Commissario Piero Trotti. He is a thoroughly unlikable person. The only character that I did like was Ciuffi. She's good at her job, she works hard, and she's sick and tired of being treated like a fourth-class citizen by the men in her department. She has some very valid complaints which she brings to Trotti's attention from time to time. She admires and respects him for the quality of his work and would love to have him as her mentor, but Trotti very plainly has no intention of listening to anything she has to say unless it directly relates to the case they're investigating-- and sometimes not even then.

As always, your mileage may certainly vary-- and I hope it does-- but for me, I think I've learned my lesson. I'll refrain from reading any more of this author's books. He undoubtedly enjoys so-so reviews just as much as I (don't) enjoy writing them.… (más)

Set in 1978 Italy with the Moro kidnapping as the backdrop, Commissaro Trotti has a kidnapping and murder in his own city that he must solve. I do not know how he made the connections because I never would have but he manages to solve them.

This book sets up Trotti's life and world. It pulls in the politics of Italy and the police. He's an interesting man, very low keyed. He gets angry but it's when he should. I hope to read more in this series to see how his world expands or contracts based on what his fellow characters are telling him.… (más)

I received this book free from the publisher through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program. I gave this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, for believable characters, good dialogue and a well constructed plot. I could not figure out what happened until near the end.

This book takes place on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, now a French departement, but formerly a French colony. The central character is Anne Marie Laveaud, a juge d'instruction(examining magistrate), a position in the French legal system, denoting a person in charge of a criminal investigation. She is a single mother of 2 children, juggling her job with demands of motherhood. She is already investigating 1 death when she is called to the scene of a second suspicious death, a young female tourist, found dead on a beach.

There are some interesting insights into leftover traces of French colonialist racism and tension between Anne Marie Laveaud and her boss, anxious to solve a murder that could cause a loss of tourist money.

There are 2 mistakes in this "Advance uncopyedited edition"(prominent label on the front of the book).

P70 "For some reason(he) took offense."

p.99 a conversation between Madame Vaton and Monsieur Trousseauis repeated almost verbatim, lines 6-17. It looks like a bad cut and paste mistake.… (más)