All the Reviews

I blamed Chris Allen for a lot of things whilst I was reading this book. Dog's were left hoping for games and walks. Not my fault. Cat's balefully batted toys on sticks with nobody holding onto the other end. Nothing to do with me. Pet pigs resorted to throwing their food bowls around in the air because their giant tennis ball wouldn't throw itself. Who me? It was actually rather too easy to ignore all but the bare essentials around the place when deep in the second INTREPID book - HUNTER.

As in the first book, and as you'd expect of this format, the central character ... Read review

As strange as it may seem for somebody who prefers the darker side of Crime Fiction, I don't mind the occasional dabble in The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency and I've rather enjoyed a few of McCall Smith's other series as well. Alas THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB didn't work for me at all.

I think to like this book you're going to have to like the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie, and unfortunately, she's the sort of character that makes me profoundly uncomfortable. There was something vaguely passive aggressive about all her actions, behaviours and attitudes that made my skin ... Read review

It really shouldn't work. Even in something as dark and noir styled as EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, there should be limits. Sure, hero's can be wise-cracking, dry, lone wolf investigators, or "Researchers". They can obviously have fraught personal lives, and goodness knows Rigby's personal life - what with a son he adores and an on again-off again live in partner, mostly pissed off with him in the extreme  falls at the very least, into complicated territory. They can have mates that can be turned easily, enemies around every corner, cops, crooks and all. They can even be somewhat risky friends ... Read review

I've got to start rationing this sort of thriller. I'm starting to develop a bit of a twitch when there are any loud bangs anywhere, and don't get me started on the reaction when anybody a bit furtive-looking is walking towards me on the streets of the local towns.... Although I will admit there's something rather appealing about close protection bodyguards. Except maybe not the lot that James Bishop gets himself mixed up with in THE WRONG MAN.

Bishop's been framed, and the initial action in the book sets up the circumstances of that event at breakneck pace, continuing ... Read review

SCARED YET? is the second, standalone, psychological thriller from Jaye Ford. In this outing, readers are introduced to a woman who suddenly finds herself in a fight for her life against an unknown assailant for an unknown reason. When things escalate to her friends and loved ones, Liv doesn't know who to trust.

There is a lot that's not going well in Liv's life, and somewhere within all those problems, is the answer to who and why the harassment steadily ramps up. Because of the maelstrom surrounding her there are a lot of possible suspects. A bitter relationship with ... Read review

I'm starting to wonder if it's become mandatory for ex-SAS or other special forces members to leave active duty and write books. It seems that there are a lot of options for this sort of informed thriller style book, but you'll need to be partial to something that includes a military theme somewhere.

KILLING FOR THE COMPANY has, as it's first military connection, an ex-SAS member, Chet Freeman, invalided out, now working in anti-bugging and surveillance on contract for a major American corporation. Long story short, he catches Suze McArthur, a peace campaigner, ... Read review

Less of a review - more of a note to self. If Terry Pratchett published the doodles from the notepad on his telephone table I'd probably read that, so MAKING MONEY was no trial at all, even though it's probably not one of the better of the Discworld novels.

Maybe that's because there was a decided lack of wizards, maybe it's because Moist Von Lipwig isn't quite as flamboyant or, well let's say it, lunatic as some of the central characters in other books. Maybe it's also because the plot isn't quite as convoluted, layered, twisty, and, well lunatic, as others. ... Read review

I do really like the fictional Charlie Resnick. Sure he's another loner cop with a fractured personal life and a work ethic that sometimes seems to veer dangerously close to avoidance of the mess of the personal life, but he's also a man who loves his cats, is good to his friends, seems quite attractive to the ladies, and makes a very mean sandwhich.

There is a pool of these good, solid police procedural series coming from a similar time, and I am working my way back through them on occasions. Some of the books are re-reads, some of them are new, all of them are ... Read review

I got confused which is nothing, absolutely nothing, new. But one night, for some reason, I plucked THE INNER CIRCLE by Mari Jungstedt from the stacks, and started reading. Then I got quite convinced I'd already read the book. So I went to check and found UNSEEN, which I then re-read, ending up very struck by the similarities between the two plots. Which got me wondering if there were similarities in all of them, and as I had a number of the books to hand, I thought I'd read them in order and see what was going on.

Still managed to screw up the order completely. Sigh. Oh ... Read review