All the Reviews

Young Philby, Robert Littell

You can't help thinking that this is an interesting idea for a book, the story of one of the most famous real-life spies, told from the point of view of Philby's own life. Now the book and it's publicity material is quite tricky about the background of this book. Whilst there's nothing there to indicate whether or not this is a true story or fictional, it's written in a way that implies that the whole thing is the true story of Kim Philby's early years.

YOUNG PHILBY is however, a novel. It expands on what is known about Philby's life after Cambridge University (where he, ... Read Review

White Gold, Rachel Amphlett

It's an absolute given that one of the great strengths of crime / thriller fiction is the way that it gets into issues from the time and place in which it is set and WHITE GOLD is no exception. There's an increasing number of these sorts of books, looking at things from an environmental and/or activism role, and WHITE GOLD takes on the idea of terrorism to influence marketforces and fight off an increasing alternative viewpoint with rather frightening realism.

Given that the book has a number of very highly scientific principles at its core the language, and stylings are ... Read Review

Not the End of the World, Christopher Brookmyre

As an unrepentant, welded-on, dedicated Christopher Brookmyre fan I do have to ration these books a bit. So NOT THE END OF THE WORLD has been lurking here for quite a long time, although I was a little startled to learn it was originally published in 1998. Not because it's been lurking for that long but because the central themes, in particular rabid evangelical religious fanatics, intolerance, insistence, terrorism and short-sighted idiocy works just as well now as it did then. Actually make that less startled, more disgusted.

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD does take a little ... Read Review

The Dunbar Case, Peter Corris

I'm really not sure how Peter Corris, or Cliff Hardy manage to keep up the pace, but I'm very very relieved they do, as the New Year tradition of a new Cliff Hardy book, a couch and the Test Cricket on the radio has become rather important over the last few years.

One of the most interesting aspects of THE DUNBAR CASE is the nature of the investigation - uncovering the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck isn't the sort of case that you'd expect to find in a modern day PI style novel. But as is often the way, it doesn't really matter what Hardy is called upon to ... Read Review

August Heat, Andrea Camilleri

It's hard not to sympathise with Montalbano about the heat. Especially as I sit here trying to write this note on a 38°C day. With a worse one to come. It's something that was really particularly marked in this book - the way the heat became a part of the story, just as the sense of place, and character is so very strong. You could see Montalbano and his colleagues slogging out an investigation in the dreadful heat. You could sympathise with him when the holiday house from hell reared its ugly head, and you definitely could understand how he might be tempted by the twin-sister of the ... Read Review

Hunter, Chris Allen

I blamed Chris Allen for a lot of things whilst I was reading this book. Dog's were left hoping for games and walks. Not my fault. Cat's balefully batted toys on sticks with nobody holding onto the other end. Nothing to do with me. Pet pigs resorted to throwing their food bowls around in the air because their giant tennis ball wouldn't throw itself. Who me? It was actually rather too easy to ignore all but the bare essentials around the place when deep in the second INTREPID book - HUNTER.

As in the first book, and as you'd expect of this format, the central character ... Read Review

The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith

As strange as it may seem for somebody who prefers the darker side of Crime Fiction, I don't mind the occasional dabble in The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency and I've rather enjoyed a few of McCall Smith's other series as well. Alas THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB didn't work for me at all.

I think to like this book you're going to have to like the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie, and unfortunately, she's the sort of character that makes me profoundly uncomfortable. There was something vaguely passive aggressive about all her actions, behaviours and attitudes that made my skin ... Read Review

Eightball Boogie, Declan Burke

It really shouldn't work. Even in something as dark and noir styled as EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, there should be limits. Sure, hero's can be wise-cracking, dry, lone wolf investigators, or "Researchers". They can obviously have fraught personal lives, and goodness knows Rigby's personal life - what with a son he adores and an on again-off again live in partner, mostly pissed off with him in the extreme  falls at the very least, into complicated territory. They can have mates that can be turned easily, enemies around every corner, cops, crooks and all. They can even be somewhat risky friends ... Read Review

The Wrong Man, Jason Dean

I've got to start rationing this sort of thriller. I'm starting to develop a bit of a twitch when there are any loud bangs anywhere, and don't get me started on the reaction when anybody a bit furtive-looking is walking towards me on the streets of the local towns.... Although I will admit there's something rather appealing about close protection bodyguards. Except maybe not the lot that James Bishop gets himself mixed up with in THE WRONG MAN.

Bishop's been framed, and the initial action in the book sets up the circumstances of that event at breakneck pace, continuing ... Read Review