Category: Books
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Books, Books, Books
If you’re a reader of this blog via an RSS reader like Feedly then two things are of note: You are very sensible. RSS readers are still excellent ways to stay on top of numerous websites. You are going to see a deluge of book reviews sometime around about now. Read on to discover why.…
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The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney
The Quaker is simply one of the best crime novels I’ve read for a long time. I devoured it. Unusually the book begins several months after a series of murders has already taken place. Glasgow of the late sixties is in a state of flux. Families are being moved out of the slum tenements that…
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Another Fine Mess by Tim Moore
Tim Moore seems to love setting himself unlikely challenges, often related to cycling. In French Revolutions he rode the route of the Tour de France a few weeks ahead of the race. In Gironomo! he did something similar, with the 1914 Giro d’Italia route, but used a bike from the era to do so. Most recently in The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold, he…
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The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts
A twisty psychological thriller than will keep you on your toes until the last page. In 1997, ten-year-old Laurel and six-year-old Rosie are playing a game that somehow results in the death of a baby. The country is shocked, and Laurel is old enough to be criminally responsible. She ends up juvenile detention and later prison, while…
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Very Good, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
Just over a year ago, I thought that I’d read some Jeeves and Wooster stories set in and around Christmas. Looking around, it seemed that Very Good, Jeeves was my best bet. It included Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit – a Christmas story if ever there was one surely? Now for the past few years, I’ve been…
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The Secret Barrister
I think it’s safe to say that The Secret Barrister is easily the scariest book I’ve read in a long time. The one takeaway you instantly get from it is that you never want to get involved in the UK legal system. Unfortunately, even if you’re a squeaky clean individual who does nothing wrong, there are many…
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Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
A superb gothic horror set in the wild fens of Suffolk. I first came across Michelle Paver with her excellent ghost story Dark Matter, set amidst an arctic expedition in 1939. She followed that with Thin Air, another great ghost story, but this time set in the Himalayas in the 1930s, following the route of…
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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Have you ever wondered what life was like in a band in seventies? Then this is the novel for you. I am something of a sucker for books, films and TV series set in the music industry. From Almost Famous (which perhaps is closest in vibe to this novel), to Vinyl and the little seen Roadies, I’m fascinated by a life that…
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Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
Possibly my favourite show on Amazon Prime Video is Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly series of novels. The fifth season isn’t due until next year, but the good news is that Amazon has already renewed it for a sixth season! Harry Bosch has now appeared in something like 21 novels now, and Dark Sacred Night…
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For the Missing by Lina Bengtsdotter
The search for a missing girl in rural Sweden forms the backdrop to this intelligent crime story from Lina Bengtsdotter. A teenager, Anabelle, has not returned home from a wild party in a down-at-heel town in deepest Sweden. DI Charline “Charlie” Lager and her colleague Anders have been sent to investigate. Nearly everyone involved in…
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Where the Truth Lies by M J Lee
Ten years ago, a junior detective accidentally captures “The Beast of Manchester.” In the present day a series of dead prostitutes in turning up on the streets of Manchester. Is there a relation between the two in this pacey police thriller? Now a Detective Inspector, Ridpath is recovering from treatment to cancer and has been…
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She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge
In 1983, seven teenagers go into the wood and only six come out. Thirty years later, a body is found and DCI Sheens instantly realises it must be Aurora, the teenager who disappeared all those years ago, but who was never found. Aided by his small team, including the novice DC Hanson, we revisit the…