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The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime, edited by Maxim Jakubowski01/09/2011 - 11:53amMammoth by name, mammoth by nature - this collection has 42 stories in total, many of which come from well-known names, with a good sprinkling of new and emerging writers. Exactly the sort of thing short story fans would be looking for. Preferring the darker side of the genre, there was lots to satisfy this reader in this collection, but there's also entries from the lighter side - how could there not be with writers like Alexander McCall Smith. In this collection you'll find a couple of entries by Ian Rankin and Peter Lovesey and others from Mick Herron, Denise Mina, ... Read Review |
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The Siren's Sting, Miranda Darling31/08/2011 - 4:59pmTHE SIREN'S STING is the second Stevie Duveen novel from Miranda Darling, following on from THE TROIKA DOLLS. These books are thrillers, featuring Stevie who works as a risk assessor in the personal / company protection game. Starting off much where the first book ended, Stevie has been assigned to mind a temperamental opera star travelling on a luxury cruise near Somalia when pirates strike. Helping drive off this attack, there's something a little odd about how easily the pirates withdraw. But there's not a lot of time to consider that until later, as Stevie undertakes ... Read Review |
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Plugged, Eoin Colfer25/08/2011 - 2:46pmNot having read any of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books, I'm guessing from the author's own description of that series as "Die Hard with fairies", that PLUGGED has a hefty dose of the same sort of humour but this time for adults. Certainly part of one blurb I read "the crime caper so outlandish, so maniacal, so wickedly funny, it could only come from the mind that brought you Artemis Fowl" set expectations pretty firmly. There's definitely something deliciously perverse about the scenario of this book - an Irish, ex-pat bouncer whose girlfriend is murdered ... Read Review |
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Blood Atonement, Dan Waddell25/08/2011 - 1:22pmOkay so I'm a bit of a fan - which after two books is quite an achievement. It's probably a little bit to do with the basic premise of genealogy being used to solve crimes (family tree research being an investigation in its own right after all), but mostly it's because Dan Waddell really can tell a bit of a tale. There is a serial killer theme to BLOOD ATONEMENT, although initially it's only Detective Grant Foster who sees the parallels between the death of Katie Drake, and the disappearance of her 14 year old daughter, and a case 3 years earlier. But do not let that ... Read Review |
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This Night's Foul Work, Fred Vargas23/08/2011 - 5:20pmBeing more than a little bit fond of the Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg series I was very annoyed with myself when I got a bit behind with the releases and had to make an effort to catch up. Poor me. So tragic. Having to spend some time with one of my favourite, eccentric detectives and the rest of his team of mildly odd compatriots. THIS NIGHT'S FOUL WORK sees Adamsberg team pretty well settled, so the introduction of any new lieutenant could be complicated. Louis Veyrenc is even more disruptive, with his tendency to speak in verse (twelve-syllable alexandrines to be ... Read Review |
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Crimespotting, Introduced by Irvine Welsh23/08/2011 - 3:34pmI think I'll just keep saying this until I run out of breath completely - but really, the world needs more quality collections of Crime Short Stories. CRIMESPOTTING, a fabulous little volume put together as a fund raiser for The ONECITY Trust, is subtitled "An Edinburgh Crime Collection". It features stories by lesser and well known authors including (in alphabetical order) Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A.L. Kennedy, Denise Mina, Ian Rankin and James Robertson. (There are some stories here which go on to be included ... Read Review |
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Killing Jodie, Janet Fife-Yeomans23/08/2011 - 1:41pmI've been meaning to pick up KILLING JODIE since a friend, who knows her True Crime mentioned the book in glowing terms. I can see what she meant. This book probably told me more about the frustrations of investigating crimes and illustrated the dedication of members of Police more than any other True Crime book I've read in a while. It also provides a very poignant reminder that murder can devastate the lives of more than just the immediate victim(s). The book is the story of the investigation into the activities of one Daryl Suckling. Accused of rape and kidnap, the ... Read Review |
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The Ghost of Waterloo, Robin Adair19/08/2011 - 2:09pmTHE GHOST OF WATERLOO is the second Nicodemus Dunne book, set in 1800's Sydney in the earliest days of the Colony. Reading the first in the series - DEATH AND THE RUNNING PATTERER will give you the complete background to Dunne - how he came to Sydney, how he came to be earning his way as a Running Patterer. It also explains why his background as a London policeman would lead Governor Darling to call for his assistance when a major robbery and spate of murders proves not just difficult to solve, but potentially embarrassing for the Colony leaders. Having said that, it would be ... Read Review |
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Ludo, Boyd Anderson18/08/2011 - 3:13pmJockey McAuley is 15 years old, with no idea what he's going to do with his life, when he somehow or other ends up working for Mr Hardaker at Paton Electrical. His job - well it's odd. It's mostly to shadow Mr Hardaker and watch / listen and remember everything that happens. Somewhere in the background there's something going on at Paton Electrical though. There's reference to "the Phoenix affair", there's police, there's the owner of the factory in his wheelchair, there's great big cars, a secretary, canteen gossip and Ludo. Ludo is Fred Paton's nurse or companion, or something ... Read Review |
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Close-Up, Esther Verhoef18/08/2011 - 2:02pmThere's something about the blurb to this book that seems to suggest that it's tending towards a romance. If that's what you're looking for, you might want to consider your options. Whilst we're talking relationship here, we're also talking manipulation, need, dependencies and some really really nasty behaviour. It's not just the possibility of overt romance that could put a reader off - there's Margot herself. At the beginning of the book she's starting out after a relationship that obviously controlled her, set her life's path. She comes across as one of those ... Read Review |
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Liar, Justine Larbalestier17/08/2011 - 1:27pmIt's been a Long Time since I was a young adult - or whatever it was that they called us in those days. I should declare I'm not 100% sure I know why I was reading a book that's so obviously for young adults as LIAR is. I should also declare that I'm profoundly and very dogmatically allergic to some aspects of the "fantastic". I am, however, not completely opposed to the entire "other", the mystical or inexplicable (otherwise a couple of my all time favourite books are completely unfathomable), but I am twitchy about these things. Very very twitchy. LIAR is therefore ... Read Review |
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A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul, Shamini Flint17/08/2011 - 1:10pmThe second Inspector Singh novel from Shamini Flint takes Singh to Bali to join the anti-terrorism efforts post a major bombing that ripped through the tourist areas. What exactly Singh is doing as part of a anti-terrorism squad is no clearer to him than it is to anybody else, but the body in the wreckage, shot dead before the bomb gives Singh the sort of case that he's used to solving - a straight-forward murder. When I read the first book (A MOST PECULIAR MALAYSIAN MURDER) I did comment "This book is definitely on the lighter side of crime fiction, I'll have to read ... Read Review |
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Crosskill, Garry Disher16/08/2011 - 4:37pmCROSSKILL is another of my Wyatt series rereads - just because I want to. This book, in particular, really takes on the bad guys. Wyatt may not immediately seem to have much of a moral conscience when it comes to taking other people's money - but he does think honour amongst thieves is important. Especially where his money is concerned. As with all the Wyatt series, Wyatt plays a lone hand, with just a little help (and hindrance) from his friends. But when trouble arrives it hits him from all sides. Wyatt will, of course triumph in the end. There will be ... Read Review |
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In Your Face, Rochelle Jackson11/08/2011 - 3:38pmWell it shouldn't come as any surprise that a book written "for" an old time notorious crim seemed somewhat revisionary, but even allowing for that aspect, there's something slightly odd about this book. Billy Longley is one of those notorious old-time crims - known far and wide in Victoria in particular, who was very active in the equally notorious Painters and Dockers Union. I've now read a few books which purport to tell the tales of the Painters and Dockers but I don't think this book is going to add much to anyone's overall understanding of the truth of what used ... Read Review |
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Joe Cinque's Consolation, Helen Garner11/08/2011 - 3:05pmRead this book for our f2f bookclub meeting this weekend. Unfortunately I'm going to miss that gathering now, so I'm waiting to hear what reports himself brings back from everyone else - as I think it's going to be quite a discussion. JOE CINQUE'S CONSOLATION isn't a "traditional" true crime book. What starts out as feeling like a genuine attempt on the part of the author to understand the case, the participants (victim and perpetrator(s)), quickly becomes an analysis of why this is such an elusive and frankly, bizarre case. Anu Singh, the woman ultimately convicted of ... Read Review |
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Chelsea Mansions, Barry Maitland11/08/2011 - 1:17pmWith any long term series, it's not surprising to see an author rejigging the relationships just a little, bringing in new perspectives or adjusting the expectations. CHELSEA MANSIONS is the ninth Brock and Kolla book from Barry Maitland, and in the last book there were hints that there is a little viewpoint modification going on. It's always particularly interesting to watch how various authors move their long-term characters in and out of the limelight, particularly when you have an inherent seniority built in, as you have in a police pairing. Maitland seems be carefully ... Read Review |
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De Luxe, Lenny Bartulin02/08/2011 - 1:19pmHands up everyone who has ever thought that owning a secondhand bookshop sounds like their idea of a perfect life. If your hand is in the air you might have a problem. Reading DE LUXE is either going to put you off the idea - or make it seem just that bit too exciting. Personally I still rather like the idea of a bookshop of my own, so I'm hoping that the extra-curricula activities that Jack Susko gets involved in aren't compulsory! DE LUXE is the third instalment in this wonderful set of books, set in Sydney, "starring" Jack Susko, aforementioned bookshop person, cat ... Read Review |
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Dead Man's Chest, Kerry Greenwood12/07/2011 - 2:28pmDespite constantly "bragging" that we live about an hour from just about anywhere... it does mean that every trip in the car do to anything takes a while. We've recently turned to audio books to fill in the hours of dodging kangaroos and potholes and the most recent that we've been listening to is DEAD MAN'S CHEST by Kerry Greenwood. Number 18 (good grief.. really!) of the Phyrne Fisher series, the audio version is read particularly well by Stephanie Daniel who does an excellent job of individual accents for each of the characters - and there is a lot of characters in this book, ... Read Review |
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Love Honour and O'Brien, Jennifer Rowe07/07/2011 - 2:55pmI do like a bit of a romp novel, and LOVE HONOUR AND O'BRIEN is nothing if not a bit of a romp. Which surprised me a bit - because the blurb sounded just a little dauntingly like it might be too chick-lit for me. But Jennifer Rowe's return to mystery writing has hugely exciting, so exciting I picked up this book as soon as it arrived. Set in the Blue Mountains (Rowe's home territory it seems), LOVE HONOUR AND O'BRIEN is, you'd have to hope, the first outing of accidental Private Detective Holly Love. I say accidental as she starts out as an office worker who chucked ... Read Review |
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A Man You Can Bank On, Derek Hansen06/07/2011 - 5:11pmI don't know - maybe it's because the book is set in a small country town struggling to survive (and I live 20 kilometres or so out of just such a town), or maybe it was the line on the opening page "He had the sort of body normally achieved by eating plankton.", but I was particularly disposed to liking A MAN YOU CAN BANK ON. It's not going to come as much of a surprise that this is a bit of a romp style novel. There's the local town bank manager, a disgraced cop sent to the outback to serve his time, the bank manager's daughter, the local animatronics expert, a bloke ... Read Review |