7) March Violets by Philip Kerr It seemed like a strangely appropriate moment to read a novel set in mid 1930s Germany - can't imagine why. So I returned to Philip Kerr's great set of Bernie Gunther novels, a detective who is like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe with a heavy side-dose of British sarcasm and quick-wittedness.… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 7: March Violets
Category: Uncategorized
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
Book 52: Die of Shame
52) Die of Shame by Mark Billingham I finished this on December 31st, so managed to complete my New Year's Resolution Book-A-Week-A-Thon, which has been great. And I've resolved to do the same again this year. Given probably about half my reading material it seems appropriate to be ending with a police procedural. Mark Billingham… Continue reading Book 52: Die of Shame
Book 51: Real Tigers
51) Real Tigers by Mick Herron As might be expected, I've got a load of books for Xmas ranging from the massive Japanese thriller Six-Four (terrifyingly huge) to the radical politics of Postcapitalism (terrifyingly clever). So, in classic fashion, I ignored the faintly terrifying options and went for a spy thriller - and I've been enjoying this… Continue reading Book 51: Real Tigers
Book 50: Slade House
50) Slade House by David Mitchell I've been a big David Mitchell fan for a while, particularly hooked by his early Japan-based books Ghostwritten & number9dream. I loved Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green too. So I approached this with high expectations and it didn't disappoint. It's one of his most purely readable, fun and inventive books, with a… Continue reading Book 50: Slade House
Book 49: Black Out
49) Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson. This is the third I've read by Jonasson (see previous reviews) and it's fairly easy, disposable stuff. I quite enjoyed this one, as it factored a bit of social commentary about Iceland (re. construction, industry vs the natural landscape) into the who / why dunnit plot. I think the main… Continue reading Book 49: Black Out
Book 48: The Poison Artist
48) The Poison Artist by Jonathan Moore This was recommended by Laura Wilson on the Guardian's thriller pages (well worth a look for new ideas / authors), and it's a strange and intriguing read. A guy in a bar, after a row with his partner, meets a mysterious woman with a penchant for absinthe and whispering… Continue reading Book 48: The Poison Artist
Book 47: Betrayal
47) Betrayal by the Spotlight team of the Boston Globe. So this is a bit of a change from other books I've read. If you haven't seen the film Spotlight, then it's a powerful telling of how the Boston Globe investigative team (known as the Spotlight team) uncovered systematic abuse of children by Catholic priests, and… Continue reading Book 47: Betrayal
Book 46: Without Trace
46) Without Trace by Simon Booker This shouldn't delay us all too long. It's quite an intriguing tale to start with, about a 'bad boy' coming out of prison and the woman who's a touch obsessed / in love with him. But it soon spirals into fairly cliched territory: the out-of-control teenage daughter, the creepy house… Continue reading Book 46: Without Trace
Books 42-45: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, The Distant Echo, Rubbernecker
42) Slow Horses and 43) Dead Lions by Mick Herron Coming in at a bargain £3 for both on Amazon Kindle, I thought I'd give these a whirl and was not disappointed. They are spy novels about a ragtag of discards at Slough House, a kind of repository of people who've buggered up something or other for MI5/6… Continue reading Books 42-45: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, The Distant Echo, Rubbernecker
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 