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Oracle J C Martin Books

When a string of homicides hits London on the eve of the 2012 Olympics, DI Kurt Lancer becomes the point man in a race to stop a killer that's anything but ordinary. Lancer's quarry is ruthless, cunning and seemingly driven by Greek mythology. Nothing is random. Everything is executed according to an unknown plan. And with the body count rising and the clock ticking, Lancer must solve this macabre puzzle, even as the killer strikes dangerously close to home.

What I really enjoyed about ORACLE was its strong sense of place. Film-makers call this the 'voodoo of location', and author J.C. Martin most certainly exercises it to its fullest potential. London here is alive, frenetic and filled with personality, and you can just feel the buzz and excitement of the Olympics permeating the pages. What's pure genius, though, is the way the author gives equal coverage to the two contrasting sides of the city -- the shiny, smiling Cool Britannia shown to the world, and the dark, brooding underbelly that hints at urban decay.

The real stand-out of the story, though, is Kurt Lancer. Having lost his wife under tragic circumstances, he is the archetypical Byronic hero -- strong, steadfast and laden with just the right amount of emotional angst simmering under the surface. His two key relationships, with daughter Meghan and police partner DS Sam Blaize, are finely drawn and brilliantly realised. There's sensitivity, pathos and dark humour. Certainly a cut above what you would find in most other books in the genre. And it's exactly this kind of relationship-building that makes the cat-and-mouse games with the killer all the more gripping. With everything precious in Lancer's life on the line, you can really feel the adrenalin and sweat and desperation as the stakes ramp up.

To say much more would be to give away spoilers. But if you enjoy stories by Mo Hayder and Ian Rankin, then ORACLE is truly a superb police procedural that you just have to read. Pick it up. You'd thank me later.


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Oracle J C Martin Books Reviews

This story is a fantastic read. I'm not usually a mystery reader, but something about this book really intrigued me so I had to give a try. I'm so glad I did. I look forward to the next book from Martin.
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1. CHARACTERS [1 CUP OF COFFEE]
JC Martin puts you right into the driver's seat of the action with a very vibrant first scene, telling you exactly how things are going down. The opening scene is vivid and risqué, but not over the top, which is a big plus for me.

I found the second chapter to be an excellent contrast to the in-your-face style of writing from Chapter One as our main character, Kurt Lancer (cop and single father), is spending some quality time with his daughter as they are reading through the night's bedtime stories.

Throughout the novel, I got a strong sense of Kurt's character as he struggles to balance his family life with his life as a detective. Of course, as it is with all crime thrillers, this juggling act is just out of reach.

I really like the banters that Kurt has with his daughter Meghan, and the two of them have a relationship that is notably adorable, especially because fathers are typically displayed as scumbags.

One issue that I could not really grasp with Kurt was that he is described as having corn rolls, but I found that hard to believe in that he is a detective, and having been a detention officer at one point of my life, none of my coworkers wore corn rolls. Regardless, that wasn't too much of a setback for me, but it was in the back of my mind.

JC Martin is very patient in the development of her characters, and she exposes deep issues about the team of detectives in natural and fluid ways, tying these issues back into the story very smoothly.

2. WRITING STYLE [1 CUP OF COFFEE]
JC Martin's writing style is very vivid, the kind of style that you would expect with a police mystery. The lines are snappy, the inner dialogues are sarcastic, and the descriptions of the scenes are brilliant.

She is very keen about using images and analogies at just the right time to really get you, the reader, to come a little closer to the story. Comically, I even found myself "hearing" some of the sounds she made, or "smelling" some of the scents that she referred to. But, I guess I'm just weird like that.

Each chapter seemed to be well-placed, and development of the story seemed to progress in a very linear pattern, not straying too much from the main story line, even when important backstory needed to be inserted.

I will say that I was a bit bothered at one point in the story (and I won't spoil it), but there is something that the killer says to passerby, and that "something" is not stated in the text. I felt like that was cheating a bit, because all other parts of the conversation were made known to the reader. But, I decided to look past this point and keep reading, and I'm glad I did.

3. PLOT [0 CUPS OF COFFEE]
So this may seem like a harsh assessment here, but hear me out.

The plot itself is good. It's, as I said before, what you would expect from a police mystery. However, that worked to the book's disadvantage as well. Many of the things that took place were too predictable, in my opinion, and coming from me, that's a big deal, because I usually suspend my intelligence whenever I read or watch movies. I try not to figure out plots and the whodunits.

That said, if I do manage to figure these things out, then I feel like the presentation of such events could have been done better.

Keeping that in mind, I was not sure what the heck the killer was going to do next, and there were many times where I was impressed my his motives and schemes, but holistically, I will have to claim that the plot was simplistic.

4. BELIEVABILITY [1 CUP OF COFFEE]
This factor is one of the most important in my opinion. Do characters act out of character? Do situations arise that are unrealistic? Does the author break her own rules?

As I read through ORACLE, I would have to say that there were no glaring plot holes that I saw. The characters made wise decisions; they were afraid when they needed to be afraid; they were stoic when they needed to be; and they resisted temptations whenever they needed to.

To me, this makes for a much more enjoyable read, because I don't find myself thinking, "But if he had just grabbed the gun, then none of this would have ever happened." Kurt Lancer thinks of his daughter first in all situations, though he has a difficult time balancing work and home life.

Halloway and Blaize (his partners) also do things that you would expect to them to. They act like real people, not pawns in a story created by the author to do the author's bidding.

5. GRAMMAR [1 CUP OF COFFEE]
As I read through this book, I noticed VERY FEW typos. I probably could count them on one hand. For this reason, Oracle reads very smoothly!
When a string of homicides hits London on the eve of the 2012 Olympics, DI Kurt Lancer becomes the point man in a race to stop a killer that's anything but ordinary. Lancer's quarry is ruthless, cunning and seemingly driven by Greek mythology. Nothing is random. Everything is executed according to an unknown plan. And with the body count rising and the clock ticking, Lancer must solve this macabre puzzle, even as the killer strikes dangerously close to home.

What I really enjoyed about ORACLE was its strong sense of place. Film-makers call this the 'voodoo of location', and author J.C. Martin most certainly exercises it to its fullest potential. London here is alive, frenetic and filled with personality, and you can just feel the buzz and excitement of the Olympics permeating the pages. What's pure genius, though, is the way the author gives equal coverage to the two contrasting sides of the city -- the shiny, smiling Cool Britannia shown to the world, and the dark, brooding underbelly that hints at urban decay.

The real stand-out of the story, though, is Kurt Lancer. Having lost his wife under tragic circumstances, he is the archetypical Byronic hero -- strong, steadfast and laden with just the right amount of emotional angst simmering under the surface. His two key relationships, with daughter Meghan and police partner DS Sam Blaize, are finely drawn and brilliantly realised. There's sensitivity, pathos and dark humour. Certainly a cut above what you would find in most other books in the genre. And it's exactly this kind of relationship-building that makes the cat-and-mouse games with the killer all the more gripping. With everything precious in Lancer's life on the line, you can really feel the adrenalin and sweat and desperation as the stakes ramp up.

To say much more would be to give away spoilers. But if you enjoy stories by Mo Hayder and Ian Rankin, then ORACLE is truly a superb police procedural that you just have to read. Pick it up. You'd thank me later.