33) The Chain by Adrian McKinty I’d never heard of Adrian McKinty, but I’d seen this book rocket up the bestselling charts, and wondered about it. And then, what do you know, someone had left the hardback in the place we were staying - thank you mystery person in mid-to-South France. Because it was great… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 33: The Chain
Category: Year 4
Year 4 / Book 32: Blood Orange
32) Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce This one had been lying dormant on the Kindle for a while, and a holiday seemed as good a time as any to see whether it was as thrilling as some of the reviews had suggested. It’s a bit like Anatomy of a Scandal or Apple Tree Yard meets… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 32: Blood Orange
Year 4 / Book 31: Past Tense
31) Past Tense by Lee Child Yes folks, it’s Jack Reacher time. I think I’ve been reading these at a steady one a year for a long time now - someone in Acton generally buys the most recent one and leaves it in May/June time at the station community bookshelf: which is how this beauty… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 31: Past Tense
Year 4 / Book 30: Conversations with Friends
30) Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney If you read any reviews of literary fiction or any coverage of prizes in the past couple of years, or even if you just look askance at your average Waterstones book pile, you will have read the name Sally Rooney a hundred times or more. For this debut… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 30: Conversations with Friends
Year 4 / Book 29: Terrific Mother
29) Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore So, disclaimer - this is a *short* book: it's been a busy week. It's part of a set of Faber short stories published recently (called, appropriately, Faber Stories), which includes stories from a wide range of authors. Other disclaimer: I love Lorrie Moore, and she can basically write no… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 29: Terrific Mother
Year 4 / Book 28: Rather Be The Devil
28) Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin It's been quite a while since I dipped my toe back into the world of Ian Rankin - and the fabulous creations of John Rebus, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox; as well as Rebus' criminal counterpoint, Big Ger Cafferty. This is another delve into the criminal underworld… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 28: Rather Be The Devil
Year 4 / Book 27: The CEO Next Door
27) The CEO Next Door by Elena Botelho and Kim Powell For those of you who actually read this blog regularly, you will have become accustomed to a mix of literary fiction, crime, thrillers and non-fiction books on a range of topics. The latter have tended recently to be fairly wide-ranging: from the opioid crisis… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 27: The CEO Next Door
Year 4 / Book 26: Liar’s Poker
26) Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis Michael Lewis is now one of the foremost non-fiction chroniclers writing today, particularly as concerns business. I've read The Big Short, Flash Boys, Boomerang, The Blind Side and Moneyball. And if you haven't read the books, then you've probably seen at least one of the films. He has a… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 26: Liar’s Poker
Year 4 / Book 25: London Rules
25) London Rules by Mick Herron If you like spy thrillers or crime, and also enjoy a wry smile and some sharp, sardonic wit, then you have probably already read the first four of the Mick Herron-penned Slough House series. At this point, reading one of these feels like the literary equivalent of having a… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 25: London Rules
Year 4 / Book 24: The Things I Would Tell You
24) The Things I Would Tell You ed. Sabrina Mahfouz The subtitle to this collection is 'British Muslim Women Write', and it's a varied collection of short stories, poetry, essays and play scripts all written by Muslim women in Britain. And an extremely interesting and powerful collection it is too - with a wide range… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 24: The Things I Would Tell You
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 