6) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe This was recommended to me by our good friend Nina, and although it's taken a while for me to get to it, I"m really glad she did, and mea culpa on my part for having not got to a novel that has sold over 20 million copies and… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 6: Things Fall Apart
Category: international
Year 3 / Book 4: A Horse Walks Into A Bar
4) A Horse Walks Into A Bar by David Grossman This was so heavily recommended in the end-of-year books of 2017 round-ups that I put it on the Christmas list; Santa delivered, and here we are. It's a novel about an Israeli stand-up comedian, and is set over the hour and a half or so… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 4: A Horse Walks Into A Bar
Year 2 / Book 51: Resurrection Bay
51) Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic There are few ways left, one would think, of making a detective unique given how many crime thrillers there are around and how many with different quirks, tics and particular characteristics (jazz, drink, ex-wives, comedy partners, etc). Emma Viskic has hit on something new though with her main protagonist,… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 51: Resurrection Bay
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 35: The Thirst
35) The Thirst by Jo Nesbo I'm mid-way through a book on the Booker longlist and a business book based on scientific research...but there are times when you just have to reach for some Scandinavian crime: pure, instant escapism. Jo Nesbo is the publisher-acclaimed Scandi noir king, and a massive bestseller with his series of… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 35: The Thirst
Year 2 / Book 34: A Beautiful Young Wife
34) A Beautiful Young Wife by Tommy Wieringa Tommy Wieringa is a Dutch writer, and this slim novel(la) is the first I've read by him: I can't remember where I ran across his name but he's been on the Wish List for months, and I took the plunge a few weeks back. And I'm very… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 34: A Beautiful Young Wife
Year 2 / Book 28: Dead at Daybreak
28) Dead At Daybreak by Deon Meyer Deon Meyer is a great South African thriller writer: one of those who consistently rises above the 'genre' of police procedural and standard crime thriller to create memorable, involving characters, complex plots and insight to the country they are based in. In this instance, Dead At Daybreak doesn't feature… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 28: Dead at Daybreak
Year 2 / Book 8: The Ghost Riders of Ordebec
8) The Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas I haven't read a Fred Vargas novel for quite some time, but was fortunate to see this at our local station's free community bookshelf, and grabbed it. Vargas is an excellent writer of quirky, original and often slightly mystical French crime thrillers - featuring the wonderful… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 8: The Ghost Riders of Ordebec
Year 2 / Book 5 & 6 – Bird in a Cage & The Last Temptation
After the heavy but brilliant non-fiction of The Unwinding, I've retrenched to a bit of escapist crime & police fiction.... 5) Bird in a Cage by Frederic Dard This is a short, atmospheric, slightly gothic tale which packs a lot of plot complexity and character exposition into a slim number of pages. It follows a… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 5 & 6 – Bird in a Cage & The Last Temptation
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 