Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris

I just finished this book, literally, five minutes ago, and all I can say is, "Oh. My. God."

I really can't tell you too much about this book, kittens, because there are so many plot twists and turns that I'm afraid that I will give away spoilers. Because of the number of plot twists and turns, you may wish to read it again after a while, just so that you can re-trace all of the steps that Joanne Harris has masterfully laid out in this marvelous book.

I will, however, tell you of the basic plot. The story takes place in England, at the St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys. Roy Straitley is a 33-year veteran Latin teacher at the school, beloved by his pupils and his colleagues. He is also, as you will discover in this book, the center of a rather bizarre, twisted plot of revenge. This revenge plot is very well crafted; it starts of slowly, as a series of minor incidents, but then gradually builds up to a very, very surprising climax in the last chapter.

Joanne Harris really makes her characters come to life. I had read Chocolat when it was first published and absolutely loved it. She puts so much effort into the minor details. Or rather, what you may think of as a minor detail eventually comes along and becomes a much bigger factor in the story. I love books like this!

Now, I've said before that I'm not much of a fan of the mystery genre. I'm starting to warm up to it, though, thanks to books like Gentlemen and Players. What other mystery novels do you recommend?

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 2nds Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 A to Z Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the sidebar for archived lists of all of my challenges!