23) IQ by Joe Ide This crime thriller has been tucked away in the depths of the Kindle for a while: I bought it having read a review (I forget where) that basically said it showcased the arrival of a hip-hop Sherlock Homes for the 21st century . Which, at worst, sounded like it might… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 23: IQ
Category: thriller
Year 4 / Book 20: Girl Zero
20) Girl Zero by A A Dhand Back into police procedural land, and into the world of A A Dhand and his creation, Harry Virdee. The world in question is Bradford, which makes a refreshing change from London or, at a push, Edinburgh, where I often feel like most fictional crime in the UK seems… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 20: Girl Zero
Year 4 / Book 17: Dying Fall
17) Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths I've read quite a few books by Elly Griffiths over the last couple of years, and they are pretty uniformly entertaining. Whilst mildly undemanding on the whole, the main characters are what raises her books above the norm a little - Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist and single… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 17: Dying Fall
Year 4 / Book 10: My Sister, the Serial Killer
10) My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Well this was quite a gear-change from anything else this year. I described it to my wife Katie as like a Netflix crime series spliced up for the millennial generation and repackaged into chapters. It is dark, darkly funny, funnily disturbing and disturbingly dark; not necessarily… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 10: My Sister, the Serial Killer
Year 4 / Book 8: The Hunting Party
8) The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley I was excited about reading this; a bit of light, crime relief after some heavier reading. The premise was good too: a bunch of posh-ish friends going away for New Year's in a secluded country house somewhere in Scotland, and then a body is found as they find… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 8: The Hunting Party
Year 4 / Book 7: Ghost Wall
7) Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss This came from the Christmas pile of gifted books, and was added to the list after reading multiple positive reviews in the 'books of the year' round-ups. And bloody hell, does this book deserve it - it's an absolutely compelling novella, which gripped me from start to frenzied finish.… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 7: Ghost Wall
Year 4 / Book 5: Brothers in Blood
5) Brothers in Blood by Amer Anwar This is a fast-paced thriller in which we are introduced to Zaq Khan (and later his friend Jags), who is plunged into the middle of a family feud which escalates rapidly into a tale that is darker, more violent and more complex than it first appeared. I struggled… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 5: Brothers in Blood
Year 4 / Book 2: Force of Nature
2) Force of Nature by Jane Harper I very much enjoyed Jane Harper's runaway bestseller The Dry (see my review of that from Year 2) with its tale of small-town murder in a parched, drought-ridden Australia. This follow-up, Force of Nature, finds the same policeman (Aaron Falk) working in the finance department, tracking down money… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 2: Force of Nature
Year 3 / Book 52: The Defenceless
52) The Defenceless by Kati Hiekkapelto Holidaying in Helsinki, and for my final book of Year 3 of Dogeared Man, I wanted to read a Finnish novel and remembered I had downloaded this many moons ago on to the Kindle. It’s the second novel by Hiekkapelto to feature Anna Fekete, a policewoman whose origins lie… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 52: The Defenceless
Year 3 / Book 51: The Midnight Line
51) The Midnight Line by Lee Child It wouldn’t be a year of reading if I didn’t slip in a cheeky Lee Child along the way. This was the latest that I’ve read (I know there are others already released) and I would place it firmly in the upper middle of the Jack Reacher canon… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 51: The Midnight Line
