All the Reviews

BLACK ICE is the first of German author Hans Werner Kettenbach's novels to be translated into English, and it's taken me from it's original publication date of 2005 to read it.  Which is good in one way as there appears to have been more books since then.  Which are now on my immediate buy list and I know that is probably going to sound very strange, as this isn't a particularly straightforward book.

Scholten, the long-time employee of Erica Wallman, isn't a pleasant man.  He's probably one of the most unpleasant characters I've encountered in crime fiction for quite a ... Read review

Hilda is writing her memoir, so it's probably just as well that Rumpole doesn't know what she is doing locked away in the boxroom for hours on end.  But Rumpole is very busy telling his own story of how he nearly lost his livelihood (aka the Timson family clan), and found himself involved in the new world of Terrorism trials.

Despite being extremely concerned about the wherewithal to support both the ongoing requirement for furniture police, Fairy Liquid, scrubbing brushes and Vim alongside his own meagre indulgences in Chateau Thames, Rumpole's sense of justice is ... Read review

Big conspiracies, cyber-threats and nefarious company goings on aren't my favourite thriller material, so I was more than a little worried about my reactions to THE GENESIS FLAW.  This is a first book from Australian author L.A. Larkin (who, from her blurb, works for one of Australia's leading climate change consultancies).  The author's background, and the sorts of research listed that went into the book did make it something I thought might be worth having a look at despite my personal preferences.

There's an interesting combination of settings in THE GENESIS FLAW.  The ... Read review

Dialogue.  It's something I'm increasingly aware of, as it should be part of the way that an author can show (as opposed to tell) the reader what the characters are seeing, thinking, considering, experiencing.  Combine really good dialogue with a feasible plot and an author can transport the reader to the world that they are building within the book.  Poor dialogue on the other hand yanks the reader out of the immersion experience and makes a book a less enjoyable experience.  Obviously the problem with this is defining what is "good dialogue".  For this reader, it's all about ... Read review

You really have to worry about Cliff Hardy.  Every year he seems to dig himself a bigger, deeper more dramatic hole and he's not as young as he thinks he is.  

Or so it seems from these books, but realistically Cliff is timeless.  He has to be - don't try to do the maths of how old he must be - your brain will hurt or you could suddenly wonder why you're not quite such an action hero when you're nowhere near Cliff's age!  Cliff's timelessness is part of his attraction, as is his blatant disregard for the rules, personal safety, and doctors advice.  In recent years he has ... Read review

I originally read and reviewed REDBACK when it was released in 2007 by MIRA Press, so when Clan Destine republished it, I was really really interested to see if it would hold up well, particularly given that it has a number of quite topical references (okay well some digs as well) for the time.

At the time I mentioned that REDBACK is a quite a step away from Cameron's Kit O'Malley series - it's very much a big, pacey thriller, peopled with strong characters (male and female), a complicated yet disconcertingly believable multi-threaded plot and a hefty dose of subtle ... Read review

I always think of these books as Jane Austen meets Crime Fiction.  Which is probably somewhere between extremely unfair and absolutely acceptable depending on your own particular point of view.  LAST NOCTURNE is from author Marjorie Eccles - who is best known in these parts for the Gil Mayo series, which was made into a short TV series that became quite a favourite.  

Whilst Grace Thurley's decision to break off her engagement to a rather pompous local man secretly pleases her mother, moving to London to take up the position of paid companion and secretary to Dulcie ... Read review

Every now and then it does a dedicated crime reader's heart good to read something that proves that there's nothing better than not taking yourself too seriously.  And if there's ever a fictional character that can't afford to take himself too seriously it is crime reporter Laurie Lane.  His wife has walked out on him (he did eventually twig she wasn't there), his daughter's remained at home, somewhat indulgent but equally pointed in her opinions of her father.  At the newspaper he's being investigated for fiddling his expenses, but there's a distinct smell about that.  Especially as ... Read review

If the idea of a serial killer novel titled THE MERRY MISOGYNIST has you slightly confused, then I can only guess that perhaps you've never read a Dr Siri book before.  If you're a fan of quirky, without cute or cosy, humour without slapstick and the most marvellous sense of place that you're likely to encounter, then I can only suggest that you rectify that as soon as possible.

THE MERRY MISOGYNIST is the sixth Dr Siri mystery, all set in Communist Laos.  Dr Siri is a most reluctant national Coroner, although he is supported by a most willing morgue team of colleagues ... Read review