50) Defectors by Joseph Kanon This was another recommendation by Laura Wilson in the Guardian from her reliable crime fiction round-up. And she's reliable because generally the books she recommends are on-the-money, and this is no exception. It revolves around a publisher (Simon) going to see his brother (Frank) who defected from the US to… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 50: Defectors
Author: nicktemple1
Year 2 / Book 49: The Long Drop
49) The Long Drop by Denise Mina This has been recommended in lots of places as one of the best crime novels of the year, and I have to say it lives up to that billing. It has a cleverly structured plot that kind of unwinds slowly, gradually encompassing more characters and viewpoints, with the… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 49: The Long Drop
Year 2 / Book 46-48: Scandi thrillers x 3
Book reviews are running behind the reading at this point, but we are all set to hit a book a week for the year again, just about. I'm grouping these three together under 'Icelandic / frozen North' for obvious reasons... 46) The Shadow District by Arnaldur Indridason I've read almost everything by Indridason in the… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 46-48: Scandi thrillers x 3
Year 2 / Book 45: Night School
45) Night School by Lee Child There are times when only Jack Reacher will do. As the blurb on the back of the book says, “Men want to be him. Women want to be with him.” And who can argue? Probably the best-selling book hero putting aside that child-wizard, this is the 345th (estimate) book… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 45: Night School
Year 2 / Book 44: The Unquiet Dead
44) The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan I intended this to be a light read, a bit of new police procedural writing to get me through the week. I was interested by the story being set in Canada (makes a nice change from the backstreets of London/an American city) and the writer and protagonist… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 44: The Unquiet Dead
Year 2 / Book 43: Utopia for Realists
43) Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman In amongst a steady stream of police procedurals, I've managed to slot in this slightly more brain-expanding book by Rutger Bregman. It's incredibly inspiring, in the middle of Brexit-depression, to read someone who is so passionate and creative and optimistic about our future. And about the fact that… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 43: Utopia for Realists
Year 2 / Book 42: The House at Sea’s End
42) The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths I’ve been back on the police procedural / thriller front of late, and this is a series I stumbled across reading a review of a different book. It features Ruth Galloway who is a forensic archaeologist meets pathologist, and she’s a great character: flawed, struggling to… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 42: The House at Sea’s End
Year 2 / Book 41: Conclave
41) Conclave by Robert Harris If you’re going to read a literary thriller, you can do a lot worse than Robert Harris, in my opinion. Fatherland is top notch, of course, and I hugely enjoyed The Fear Index and, to a lesser extent, The Ghost as well. And the Roman ones - and we are back… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 41: Conclave
Year 2 / Book 40: Dear Ijeawele
40) Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie This is a short book, written as a letter to a friend who has just given birth to a daughter and who has asked for help on how to bring her up as a feminist. It is a follow-up, I assume to… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 40: Dear Ijeawele
Year 2 / Book 39: Lincoln in the Bardo
39) Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Fortuitously, I found myself finishing this off as it was announced as this year’s Booker Prize winner. I’m a fan of George Saunders: if you haven’t read any of his short stories, you are in for a treat: they are moving, incisive and extremely funny by turns.… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 39: Lincoln in the Bardo
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 