A good holiday read, but not too demanding.

The translation from French seems to have suffered somewhat and gotten lost in translation. Frédérique Molay's The 7th Woman introduces us to Nico Sirsky, Chief of Paris' elite Criminal Brigade, as he battles wits with a serial killer who has vowed to kill a woman each day for seven days (hence the title). While Molay's story was entertaining, to call her the French Michael Connelly is overgenerous. Some of her writing was awkward (does anyone refer to women as "chicks" anymore?), which may be attributable to the translation from French to English.

There's a lot of fat-hate in this book. There's also a lot of alcohol consumption, so PLEASE DON'T have a drink every time a character has a drink. Also, don't drink-and-drive - the characters do, but you definitely shouldn't.

And here's something else YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT DO. <spoiler>DON'T RAPE A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL. Also, DON'T RAPE ANYONE.</spoiler>

There's D.I.Y. eye abscess draining, so if you get queasy about reading that you may want to skip that chapter.

I read The Dinner by Dutch writer Herman Koch, when it was a bestseller. It’s a masterfully crafted psychological novel with the evil incident revealing itself largely by dialogue around a restaurant dinner. (Read it – it will grab you and not let you go.) So, once again I had expectations of a similar read with his second book Summer House with Swimming Pool. What happened to Mr. Koch’s writing? Where is his craft? This book, written entirely in the third person, lacked any plot as of five chapters in and the main character, whose revolting thoughts and dreary ramblings we must endure, is entirely unlikable. With The Dinner, the reader could relate and even empathize with the protective parents. This follow-up has none of that soul or depth. It is almost as if Mr. Koch dusted off one of his earlier writing attempts and the publisher ran with it.