3 ⭐️ Finished reading ... Pheasants Nest / Louise Milligan � 21 May, 2024 ISBN: 9781761470349 � 311 pp.
A friend offered me a ticket to hear the author 3 ⭐️ Finished reading ... Pheasants Nest / Louise Milligan � 21 May, 2024 ISBN: 9781761470349 � 311 pp.
A friend offered me a ticket to hear the author speak at the Melbourne Writers Festival then pressed her copy of the book into my hands. The story was annoying as the author spoke about it. And it was just as annoying when in print.
What anyone without a Catholic background of a certain era would make of the storyline about a statue of the child Jesus dressed as royalty called the Child of Prague I do not know. For me, as a Catholic from that era, it was doubly annoying because that statue is, to me, the Infant of Prague. Depends how you translate the Spanish title Infante I suppose �. it's closer to prince than either child or infant. Surely Milligan could have thought of a less ludicrous object for a potential weapon.
And making the bereft lover a savvy defence lawyer really didn't fit with how the character behaved.
Some have complained about too much information about secondary characters but personally I quite liked that. Mostly my complaint is that you know too little about minor characters, detracting from the overall effect.
The statue and lawyer flaws run pretty much through the whole book so knocked off points for me. Which is a pity because the storyline, apart from those flaws, is quite good. It's not wildly complicated but it fits together well on quite a few themes.
3 � Finished reading ... The Raging Storm / Ann Cleeves � 25 November, 2023 Series: Two Rivers, No.3 ISBN: 9781529077704 � 383 pp.
When I read The Long 3 � Finished reading ... The Raging Storm / Ann Cleeves � 25 November, 2023 Series: Two Rivers, No.3 ISBN: 9781529077704 � 383 pp.
When I read The Long Call, the first book in this series, I was quite excited by a new Cleeves hero in a new setting. However, I was not so enamoured by the second, and now not the third either. Matthew Venn hasn't developed much as a hero, basically good as a detective but a bit colourless and full of personal self-doubts. He's certainly no match for Perez or Vera as a character.
The plot in this third in the series has plenty of characters and a few locations, united over decades, to provide the requisite number of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Towards the end I did predict one thing but I had no idea about the “whodunit� that was finally revealed.
4.5 � Finished reading ... Taken / Dinuka McKenzie � 17 August, 2023 Series: Detective Kate Miles No.2 ISBN: 9781460762417 � 326 pp.
Dinuka McKenzie did 4.5 � Finished reading ... Taken / Dinuka McKenzie � 17 August, 2023 Series: Detective Kate Miles No.2 ISBN: 9781460762417 � 326 pp.
Dinuka McKenzie did not disappoint with her second novel. Family dramas (yes, plural) compete with police work. A baby is missing. Who has taken her, what has happened to her. There is an interlinked group of suspects, or could it be a character who hasn't made an appearance yet? There are plentiful clues, but which ones to follow? While you might guess some aspects correctly, you'd be cleverer than me if you can slot all the pieces together correctly before the outcome is revealed. And the family dramas are set up for a third volume in the series. More than good reading!
4 � Finished reading ... A Heart Full of Headstones / Ian Rankin � 03 March 2023 Series: Inspector Rebus, No.24 ISBN: 9781398709362 � 333 pp.
It's been so
4 � Finished reading ... A Heart Full of Headstones / Ian Rankin � 03 March 2023 Series: Inspector Rebus, No.24 ISBN: 9781398709362 � 333 pp.
It's been so long since I read a Rebus Book, including the Malcolm Fox series, that I thought I must have missed quite a few. Not so. Only two. But Rebus seems to have aged considerably. And I was reminded again that I love Rebus in spite of Big Ger Cafferty, a character I find truly annoying. Thank goodness plenty goes on with him out of sight, the strings largely invisible.
Interesting to see Siobhan Clarke taking a more prominent role .... and having seemingly aged less than her old boss.
Plenty of action, plenty of characters, plenty of plot twists - all tied up neatly in the end. Almost. Will Rebus see out his days contemplating the doubtful, if successful, exploits of his past? Or is there still a bit of detecting in him yet? We shall see.
4 � Finished reading ... The Darkest Evening / Ann Cleeves � 29 January 2023 Series: Vera Stanhope, No.9 ISBN: 97811509889525 � 373 pp.
My third Vera book4 � Finished reading ... The Darkest Evening / Ann Cleeves � 29 January 2023 Series: Vera Stanhope, No.9 ISBN: 97811509889525 � 373 pp.
My third Vera book. Early on it briefly crossed my mind who the perpetrator might be but I dismissed that idea �. only right near the end did it become obvious enough for me to know. Almost a 'country house' mystery as one such building features. The cast isn't quite locked in though � although the weather � all that snow � almost does the job for the Big House and the tenants cottages.
There's a real variety of characters, quite a few of whom are not what they at first seem, so you do have quite an array of suspects. My only gripe is that three couples coming for dinner and staying overnight is made out to be a much bigger contingent than it is. Hardly “all these people� to be rushing and fussing about as they arrived, came to dinner, etc.
3 � Finished reading ... Payment in Blood / Elizabeth George ... 12 October 2022 Series: Inspector Lynley, No.2 ISBN: 9780553284362 � 381 pp.
A holiday r3 � Finished reading ... Payment in Blood / Elizabeth George ... 12 October 2022 Series: Inspector Lynley, No.2 ISBN: 9780553284362 � 381 pp.
A holiday read, picked up in a secondhand bookshop when I finished my e-book. As such, it was an OK read. Once I got covid it became more of a chore � the number of characters became difficult for a fuzzy covid brain to keep on top of at times.
Original copyright date is 1989. It hasn't aged well. Who cares any more about a detective who is a Lord, and Lady This and Sir That amongst the cast of characters? It becomes both tiresome and cumbersome. Although it does allow for some issues to be highlighted through the different lenses of privilege and lack thereof.
That a troupe of actors gathered in a relatively remote location to read through a new play sets the scene for many twists and turns. But as is often the case, you get towards the end and all the red herrings thus far need to be tossed out the window for a new set of circumstances.
Good enough for a holiday read but not a series I want to read all of, i.e. I wasn't particularly invested in the characters or what happened to them. As much as anything, Lynley's arrogance is a turn-off.
4 � Finished reading ... The Girl She Was / Alafair Burke ... 14 March 2022 Published in the US as Find Me: A Novel Series: Ellie Hatcher No.6 (Wikiped4 � Finished reading ... The Girl She Was / Alafair Burke ... 14 March 2022 Published in the US as Find Me: A Novel Series: Ellie Hatcher No.6 (Wikipedia); Ellie Hatcher No.5.5 (ŷ) ISBN: 9780571345588 � 289 pp.
I really liked this until I came to enter it on ŷ and discovered its confusing identity. Why do publishers do that?! It is so annoying. OK, so I can think of some reasons � but why not find a title that works in all publication jurisdictions? As it is, Find Me doesn't suit as well as the title I read as nowhere does the central character seem to be genuinely wanting to be found. But I can't hold all that against the author (not entirely?), so �.
I'd not heard of this prolific author but the name Ellie Hatcher was vaguely familiar so this series must have been mentioned at book group. However, it was no disadvantage that this is no. 5.5 (or 6!) in the series. Hatcher has a relatively small, although critical, role in the story so that any backstory I've missed wasn't a problem.
There is a really well crafted plotline to this story that plays out until the end. The plot covers over that the characters are not fully fleshed out, but they are sufficiently described to carry the story. That the central character has a 15 year long amnesia problem cunningly, in a good way, allows a lot to happen or be discovered, or not, right to the last page.
3.5 � Finished reading ... A Lesson In Dying / Ann Cleeves ... 25 January 2022 Series: Inspector Ramsay No.1 ISBN: 9781447289098 � 165 pp.
Curiosity drov3.5 � Finished reading ... A Lesson In Dying / Ann Cleeves ... 25 January 2022 Series: Inspector Ramsay No.1 ISBN: 9781447289098 � 165 pp.
Curiosity drove me to read one of Ann Cleeves' earliest novels. My introduction to Cleeves was via her Shetland series (2006-2018) � because I'd holidayed on Shetland. I wasn't wildly impressed with the writing at first but ploughed on because of my love of Shetland. But I thought the writing kept improving until I gave it "very good". So I wasn't expecting much from such an early work (1990).
What a pleasant surprise! I rather enjoyed this. A good plot line with sufficient twists and turns to keep you guessing, and characters developed enough to suit the plot. It did strike me as rather old-fashioned for the time it was written though. A detective smoking a pipe?
With so many other books to read, it's unlikely I'll pursue this series further. But if, for some reason, books from this series were the only books to hand, I wouldn't complain that there was nothing worth reading.
Borrowed from my local library. My library's copy of this is a "Print on Demand" book....more
3.5 � Finished reading ... The Heron's Cry / Ann Cleeves ... 11 January 2022 Series: Two Rivers No.2 ISBN: 9781509889679 � 382 pp.
It took me a little wh3.5 � Finished reading ... The Heron's Cry / Ann Cleeves ... 11 January 2022 Series: Two Rivers No.2 ISBN: 9781509889679 � 382 pp.
It took me a little while to settle into this one. Several deaths, many motives � or none?, the characters all horribly intertwined, possibly too many plot lines. Starting to get a bit heavy handed with too many repeats of his husband Jonathan - yes, we know already that Matthew Venn, the chief detective in this series, is gay. 'Whodunit' as usual not immediately obvious to me. Some issues left hanging � for the next book? Another good Anne Cleeves read but this wouldn't rank in my favourites.
3.5 � Finished reading ... Missing / Erin Kinsley ... 02 January 2022 ISBN: 9781472280954 � 384 pp.
My third outing with Erin Kinsley took a slower pace3.5 � Finished reading ... Missing / Erin Kinsley ... 02 January 2022 ISBN: 9781472280954 � 384 pp.
My third outing with Erin Kinsley took a slower pace than the previous two and the characters developed a bit too slowly to get you really hooked from the beginning. Also the collision of the two story lines is obvious pretty early on. This is barely a whodunit, the 'reveal' is almost an anti-climax. But that's OK, this is a different type of book.
As with the previous two books (Found and Innocent), the emphasis here is on the victims and, extending the character driven narrative, this time it also emphasises the feelings, reactions and character of the detective working a cold case.
Overall, a slow burner that gets there in the end. Probably more true to life than most other whodunits. Another worthwhile read from Erin Kinsley.
4 � Finished reading ... Innocent / Erin Kinsley ... 14 December 2021 ISBN: 9781472274281 � 387 pp.
I'm glad I was introduced to Erin Kinsley. She's now 4 � Finished reading ... Innocent / Erin Kinsley ... 14 December 2021 ISBN: 9781472274281 � 387 pp.
I'm glad I was introduced to Erin Kinsley. She's now on my watch-list for new publications. Now I've read her second book, I can definitely say she is just that bit different �. but who knows for future offerings?
Kinsley is not (so far) writing a series. There are no characters continuing from her first to her second book. What is the same is the way the detectives are more in the background, the family situations and feelings taking a greater part of the story.
In this book, we're well into proceedings before we get a dead body. Is it the victim of assault? Or does another victim appear unexpectedly? And the title? Without it being a plot spoiler, it's fair to say that innocent, with various nuances, can be used to describe several characters.
Another highly recommended read. I've given this one star less than Found only because Found taught me more. Found's descriptions of grappling with the situation of a missing child gave me more new insights than I got from Innocent - and most whodunits, to be fair.
5 � Finished reading ... Found / Erin Kinsley ... 27 November 2021 ISBN: 9781472260772 � 371 pp.
Having read some of the reviews, I feel compelled to sa5 � Finished reading ... Found / Erin Kinsley ... 27 November 2021 ISBN: 9781472260772 � 371 pp.
Having read some of the reviews, I feel compelled to say that this book is not a psychological thriller, not even a thriller, not exciting in any usual sense. This is not your usual whodunit.
This is the story of a family as it breaks and mends (as many families in such a situation do not) when an 11 year old boy is abducted and missing for months. In this sense, this could be called psychological but it is more descriptive than analytical, parents and grandparents flying by the seat of their pants.
The police procedural aspects weave in and out of the family's life. A lot of time more out than in due to budget restraints. But it's not really a story about a crime, beyond the necessary bare bones of the story, no gory details. Nor is it about the police beyond a few details.
In a nutshell, this is the story about how one family is affected by a particularly abhorrent crime which involves, amongst other things, the police moving in and out of their lives for a relatively short while. It is one of those rare crime novels that is more about the victims of crime than about the crime itself.
5 � Finished reading � Snap / Belinda Bauer ... 04 September 2021 ISBN: 9780593075548 � 335 pp.
Who am I to argue with Val McDermid? On the front cover5 � Finished reading � Snap / Belinda Bauer ... 04 September 2021 ISBN: 9780593075548 � 335 pp.
Who am I to argue with Val McDermid? On the front cover of this book she is quoted as saying "The best crime novel I've read in a very long time.�
Yes, it's detective fiction, there's parts you could call “thriller�, and you can say this is pretty much all about family relationships. But my strongest impression is that this is a story about grief � about murder and a missing person and the effects on all the characters around those two realities. All the action follows on from grief caused by the murder which had already happened when the book starts.
This is very much a plot-driven novel. The characters are described sparingly yet their emotions are on full display. This is really clever writing. The various situations in the story are all believable. The situation of the children might not happen often but it is not unknown. The only situation that stretches credulity is the find at the end of the story, well, end of the book really as you can see the story continuing. Yet that find is so heart-warming in relation to all that has gone before that you want to accept it.
This is a wonderful read. Very highly recommended.
4 � Finished reading � The Murder Room / P.D. James ... 01 July 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #12 ISBN: 9781400076093 � 415 pp.
In finishing The Murder Ro4 � Finished reading � The Murder Room / P.D. James ... 01 July 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #12 ISBN: 9781400076093 � 415 pp.
In finishing The Murder Room I have now read, out of order, all books in the Adam Dalgliesh series. It was good to finish on a high note (not that the quality varies very much) - a quirky but believable setting, a satisfactory murderer from a range of likely suspects, and well drawn characters.
The age of this series is dated by the manners and courtesies shown by the characters and by the not yet universal use of mobile phones. But otherwise, the series could have been written now - except that P.D. James's superb writing is more than a cut above that of most current authors.
Highly recommended, especially to younger readers who might be tempted to dismiss works from an earlier generation.
4.5 � Finished reading � Death in Holy Orders / P.D. James 31 May 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #11 ISBN: 0141004789 � 548 pp.
This is really good! But i4.5 � Finished reading � Death in Holy Orders / P.D. James 31 May 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #11 ISBN: 0141004789 � 548 pp.
This is really good! But it's hard to believe it's ever been a best-seller. It's setting is a Church of England theological college, with lots about various aspects of that sort of life and establishment. At publication date, 2001, you would not expect readers to either know or care much about anything much to do with religion, especially this quite arcane framework. More suited to 1941 I would have thought.
However, the characterisations are good, the plotting flows well, you (or I, at least!) don't guess whodunit until it's pretty much spelled out almost at the end, and best of all, the writing is a dream to read.
Not everyone's cup of tea because of the setting. But, if that doesn't put you off, you'll find this a jolly good read.
BUT ... One jarring note is the soft, lenient attitude of only twenty years ago towards paedophile priests. This is not a huge element in the novel, used only to explain the reclusiveness of one character and antagonism towards another. This might also, understandably, put some off. But it is interesting to see how such attitudes were portrayed relatively recently. ...more
4 � Finished reading � A Certain Justice / P.D. James ... 01 May 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #10 ISBN: 0140274685 � 482 pp.
Much better than the last D4 � Finished reading � A Certain Justice / P.D. James ... 01 May 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh, #10 ISBN: 0140274685 � 482 pp.
Much better than the last Dalgliesh book I read � more suspects and motives than you can poke a stick at. Excellent writing, it goes without saying. The plot more far-fetched than some but, if you suspend belief just a little, it works. The one jarring element is the letter of explanation written by a suspect. It reads as though written by P.D. James, not as a suspect of the suspect's station in life would write, certainly not at the excessive length written. A pretty good read....more
3 � Finished reading � Original Sin / P.D. James ... 21 April 2021 ISBN: 057122959X � 551 pp.
More great writing and characterisation by P.D. James but3 � Finished reading � Original Sin / P.D. James ... 21 April 2021 ISBN: 057122959X � 551 pp.
More great writing and characterisation by P.D. James but this was so let down by the ending. It was almost as though most of the book needn't have been read, so little had the end to do with most of the whole....more
4 � Finished reading � Devices and Desires / P.D. James ... 02 April 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh No.8 ISBN: 0571143040 � 408 pp.
Another jolly good read4 � Finished reading � Devices and Desires / P.D. James ... 02 April 2021 Series: Adam Dalgliesh No.8 ISBN: 0571143040 � 408 pp.
Another jolly good read from P.D. James. When you stop and think about it, it's surprising how little Dalgliesh appears in this story. There are quite a few characters, each with their own link to the story, or two stories in one, in a way. These characters, or groups of characters, are quite distinct yet our hero only has to cross paths with them at relatively few points to be able to know whodunit.
This book is a masterclass in how to give three dimensions to characters so that they come alive on the page. Yes, that makes the book longer (and I'm becoming less and less a fan of overly long books) but it makes the characters real, it's not merely padding out the story (or boosting the word count!) as more recent novelists tend to do.
There is a very neat ending, but not necessarily what you might expect. The Adam Dalgliesh series is always highly recommended!...more
4.5 � Finished reading � The Winder / John Hunter ... 05 April 2021 ISBN: 9781800460584 � 383 pp.
I really enjoyed this for the humour and the anarchic 4.5 � Finished reading � The Winder / John Hunter ... 05 April 2021 ISBN: 9781800460584 � 383 pp.
I really enjoyed this for the humour and the anarchic style of the detectives, i.e. both (some of) the police, and the archaeologist, using their different detecting skills. I've read other whodunits with a bit of an archaeological theme but this is the first to sound really genuine � probably because the author is a former university professor who has written over a dozen books on archaeology, forensics and landscape history. In fact, I learned quite a bit but, never fear, there is nothing heavy about it. It's all done lightly and with humour. I'd guess the author is a man who takes his work, but not himself, seriously.
When I read the blurb I wasn't sure if it was going to be very 'me'. I'm not into spies or cannibalism. But they fit splendidly into the cast of characters and scenes of action. The book starts a little bit slowly. But then, with several seemingly unconnected plots in play, the pace picks up and rollicks along to finish with a bang, not a whimper. The various plots come together and all the loose ends are tied up but �... there's a small thread dangling that could lead to a second instalment from this team of police and archaeologist. I do hope so!
This book landed in my lap in the most unexpected way. On a visit to the UK back in 2008, amongst other bellringers across the country, I visited Alison at her farm and I was taken to the church where she rings. As it turns out, the church where the fictional clockwinder was killed is loosely modelled on that village church that I visited. When Alison saw the book she thought to send it to me as a memento. A lovely surprise. My photos from the visit reminded me that I did see the clock weights. But I remembered without prompting the stairs to the ringing chamber, a style I'd never seen before.
Highly recommended. This is a solid 4� but I give it 4.5� because of the pleasure of the gift and the memories (although they are worth much more than 0.5�, even more than 5�!) ...more
3.5 � Finished reading � Dark Vineyard / Martin Walker ... 21 January 2021 Series: Bruno, Chief of Police, No. 2 ISBN: 9781849161855 � 309 pp.
I guessed 3.5 � Finished reading � Dark Vineyard / Martin Walker ... 21 January 2021 Series: Bruno, Chief of Police, No. 2 ISBN: 9781849161855 � 309 pp.
I guessed whodunit! But what did they do? Everything you need to know is crammed into the last few pages. This is an enjoyable read: more luscious food, and a couple of "issues" ( wine growing and GM crops). However, there are a few too many characters doing a few too many things, making this not flow as well as the first in the Bruno series. But my reservations are relatively minor and haven't put me off reading more of Bruno.
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