3) Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid My resolution to read fewer crime novels made it to the third week, and then I've lapsed. Val McDermid is a safe bet, and the bet gets no safer than a Carol Jordan and Tony Hill novel. If you've read anything involving the duo before, you'll know that… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 3: Splinter the Silence
Category: thriller
Year 2 / Book 53: Home Fire
53) Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie A bonus book sneaking under the wire that I finished on New Year's Eve. Looking back at the year's reading, I can see that I've done better on gender split this year (28 male authored books, 25 female authored books) but well over half are crime, detective or police… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 53: Home Fire
Year 2 / Book 52: Eleven Days
52) Eleven Days by Stav Sherez Yay, book 52 - book a week for a year done with a few days to spare (and a couple of long train journeys to read on still). And a good one to hit the 52 mark on, as well. I read the first Carrigan and Miller book by… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 52: Eleven Days
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 50: Defectors
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
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 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 37: A Dark Redemption
37) A Dark Redemption by Stav Sherez I’ve been running behind on reviews, as work has been a bit busy, but am catching up gradually on books I’ve read. This is a really good police procedural by Stav Sherez, a British crime writer I hadn’t heard of until stumbling across on the Guardian books pages… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 37: A Dark Redemption
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 