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
Category: thriller
Year 2 / Book 33: Missing, Presumed
33) Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner This came highly recommended, although I think it was last year's thriller / police procedural of choice (there's now a follow-up on the market as well). For obvious reasons, I won't go too much into the plot, but it starts with a young woman disappearing, and that is the… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 33: Missing, Presumed
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 25: Hostage
25) Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson I've read the first three novels by Kristina Ohlsson, and they've all been pretty gripping - with a nice central double act of Alex & Fredrika as the grizzled / talented detectives solving a variety of grisly crimes. In this novel, Ohlsson moves beyond the bleak Scandinavian tundra into a… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 25: Hostage
Year 2 / Book 22: Cold Earth
22) Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves I've never been to Shetland, so most of my knowledge about it has been gleaned from Ann Cleeves' series of police procedurals set on the island. They all feature Jimmy Perez, and this is the seventh in the series (apparently there is one more to come) - and I… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 22: Cold Earth
Year 2 / Book 14: The Power
14) The Power by Naomi Alderman Have you ever wondered what a world in which teenage girls and then women are the ones with the power and the strength? And what might become of society? Or felt a little burst of lightning between your finger tips? Well, wonder no more. Naomi Alderman's near-future dystopia is… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 14: The Power
Year 2 / Book 13: A Thousand Cuts
13) A Thousand Cuts by Thomas Mogford This is the fourth (or possibly fifth) Spike Sanguinetti mystery by Thomas Mogford, and I think this is one of the best. What raises them above the average or the norm for me is the setting on Gibraltar, which is a place I don't know at all (apart from… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 13: A Thousand Cuts
Year 2 / Book 12: Devices and Desires
12) Devices and Desires by PD James Busy times tend to mean more crime in reading terms for me, and there are few better at the top of the game than PD James in her pomp. She is as quintessentially English as her main detective leading man, Adam Dalgleish - and incredibly adept at bringing… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 12: Devices and Desires
Year 2 / Book 10: Sirens
10) Sirens by Joseph Knox God bless the community book share at Acton Central. This is a recently released thriller with lots of favourable reviews, and I had mentally consigned it to the "wait till it comes out in paperback" list but then found an uncorrected authors proof at Acton station. If you work in… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 10: Sirens
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 