51) Real Tigers by Mick Herron
As might be expected, I’ve got a load of books for Xmas ranging from the massive Japanese thriller Six-Four (terrifyingly huge) to the radical politics of Postcapitalism (terrifyingly clever). So, in classic fashion, I ignored the faintly terrifying options and went for a spy thriller – and I’ve been enjoying this series as much as any in 2016, so was very happy to get the third instalment from Santa.
It’s probably the best of the three so far (see previous reviews) – Jackson Lamb is as politically incorrect and dismissive as ever, River Cartwright rushes in before thinking, Roderick Ho is still working on becoming a human…and so on. It’s a well-woven plot with plenty of double- and triple-crossing, and an action-filled finale. It doesn’t have the depth of characterisation of a Le Carré or a PD James, but it’s lots of fun and the pages fly by. Oh, and currently 99p on Amazon.
Score: 7.5/10
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 