It’s now the middle of June and, against all expectations, the weather is improving and we could even say that summer is coming. It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to beaches, holidays and relaxation. And there’s no better way to relax than with a book which takes you away from your own life and to far away lands. Julia Crouch’s thriller The Long Fall…
The Dead Ground
10 April 2014 by Leave a Comment
Today sees publication of Claire McGowan’s The Dead Ground, the second novel in the Paula Maguire series of crime thrillers. As I mentioned in my review of Someone Else’s Skin I haven’t really read as many crime novels as I would like so far this year, in fact this is only my second….
Gone Girl
19 August 2013 by 2 Comments
One of the most popular and talked about books of the last 12 months has been Gillian Flynn’s mystery Gone Girl. Reviews have refused to discuss the narrative in case any of the suspense was spoiled and it has been praised for its literary excellence as well as its ability to please a mass audience…
Witness
17 May 2012 by Leave a Comment
You know me by now. I love a good crime novel and I’ve been lucky recently with some of the books I’ve read, particularly by new authors. In the past year I’ve expanded my crime range quite a lot and it’s been good to discover writers…
Unthinkable
16 May 2012 by Leave a Comment
How far would you go to stop a terrorist attack? Waterboarding? Torture? Murder? Murder of the suspect’s family? That’s the question asked in the 2010 thriller Unthinkable starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Michael Sheen…
Black Swan
14 May 2012 by 2 Comments
It’s not often I watch a film and come away not knowing what I think about it. I’m usually very sure of my opinion whether or not it matches that of the mainstream. I’m the only person I know who thinks that the first Iron Man movie was completely dull…
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
8 May 2012 by Leave a Comment
In my top-ten crime writers list published last year I included Stieg Larsson. His Millennium trilogy was a tour de force and Lisbeth Salander was a new kind of heroine – spiky, unique, damaged and at times a little unlikeable…
The Boys from Brazil
7 May 2012 by Leave a Comment
Nazis are great. No, wait, let me rephrase that. For an author in search of a baddie Nazis are great. Everyone knows immediately that the Nazi is the bad guy and that anyone opposing the Nazi has to be the good guy…
Before I Go To Sleep
26 April 2012 by Leave a Comment
Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I have one very annoying trait. I have a lousy memory. I can have a conversation and agree to do something and five minutes later I’ve forgotten whatever task I was given. If I don’t write things down I don’t remember them…
Catch Your Death
28 March 2012 by Leave a Comment
The rise of the ebook has led to an explosion in self-published authors. I must admit I have a shiver of nervousness each time I see a self-published book, I tend to assume that if an author doesn’t already have a book deal there’s probably a good reason…