Last year I read my first book by Malone who is a mainstay of Tartan Noir. Quicksand of Memory led me up the garden path and back again with its twists and turns, so I wasn’t going to turn down his latest, The Murmurs, was I? It begins with Annie Jackson waking from a nightmare Read More
The Traitor by Ava Glass – blogtour
Emma Makepeace is back! Last autumn, I absolutely devoured The Chase – Glass’s first book in the ‘Alias Emma’ series, and I was delighted to join the blogtour for the second book in the series, The Traitor. It begins with a body in a suitcase, Emma is called to join her boss Charles Ripley at Read More
A quick one for Czech Lit Month – A little bit of Hašek
I’m delighted that back in July, our Book Group made a serendipitous choice of book for September allowing me to participate in the first Czech Lit Month hosted by Stu. The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek Translated by Cecil Parrott (1973), with original illustrations by Josef Lada We’ve been playing ‘word association’ to pick Read More
The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue
I really should read more novels by African authors, this one by prollific Nigerian author Nwelue was only the second I’ve read this year. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of a novel that is titled Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai with mentions of Nollywood and Bollywood, the end of the blurb stresses the former concerns Read More
My first Booker longlist read…
Of the four books from the 2023 Booker Prize longlist that I already had or treated myself to, I picked the shortest one to read first. (The others I have are In Ascension, The Bee Sting, and Prophet Song by the way.) Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein Bernstein, a Canadian living in Scotland is Read More
Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist – blog tour
Translated by Quentin Bates The identity of Stella Blómkvist is a secret – she/he/they are the Icelandic equivalent of Elena Ferrante – and has been publishing crime novels in Iceland since 1997 featuring the maverick lawyer Stella Blómkvist in a long-running series of Icelandic bestsellers. Two seasons of TV adaptations have appeared in Iceland too. Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Wifedom
First Saturday of the month, time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. This month Read More
#20booksofsummer23 : Mackie, Herron & Kuang
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie There is a select sub-genre of crime novels featuring prison confessions of serial killers. One I read last summer was A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G Summers. In that book, Dorothy Daniels is a food critic and black widow, murdering her lovers – and enjoying eating select Read More
First Blood by Amélie Nothomb – #WITMonth
Translated by Alison Anderson Squeezing in a last review for #WITMonth. I was to have reviewed this novella for Shiny, but a longer form review escaped me. Belgian author Amélie Nothomb is always an exciting author, (see my reviews of The Book of Proper Names, Fear & Trembling, and Strike Your Heart). However, First Blood Read More
The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard – blogtour
This was my first encounter with the Irish thriller writer, I very much doubt it’ll be my last, for I enjoyed The Trap very much, not wanting to put it down. Howard is particularly known for her twists, so I was hoping for some in this novel, which didn’t disappoint on that score – but Read More
Two in Spanish for #WITMonth – Piñeiro & Posadas
Today, two more from my #20booksofsummer23 for #WITMonth too, both novels written in Spanish for you – both by South American authors – one from Argentina, the other from Uruguay; I loved one, and nearly DNF’d the other! A Little Luck by Claudia Pineiro Translated by Frances Riddle I discovered Argentinian author Claudia Piñeiro last Read More
Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons – blogtour
I’m delighted to be one of those closing the blogtour today for this thought-provoking take on the forgotten character of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, for Natasha Solomons has done a very clever thing in giving Juliet’s cousin Rosaline her own voice. I’m looking forward to now going back to visit as many of the others Read More
Going Arthurian at Shiny …
Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch Shiny is back from its summer break today with one of my reviews. I do love all these retellings of ancient myths and legends that have covered the bookshelves in recent years telling the stories from female perspectives, but if truth be told, I am getting fed up Read More
Assassin Eighteen by John Brownlow – blog tour
I am delighted to be one of those leading off the blog tour for this page-turning thriller. Imagine, if you will, that there is a long lineage of the world’s greatest hitmen – seventeen ‘generations’ actually – and that you only get to the top of the tree by killing the current leader. So seventeen Read More
Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin – #WITMonth
Translated by Hildegarde Searle Valérie Perrin’s third novel to be translated and published by Europa Editions this July is actually her debut from 2015. Her second novel Fresh Water for Flowers (reviewed here) was a huge bestseller in France, and has been widely translated. That is one of those quiet novels, the story of a Read More
Book Group Report – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré
This was my suggestion, actually a re-read for me, however, in between reading it for the first time decades ago and now, I must have watched the original 1979 TV series starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley at least four times including during lockdown, and I’ve seen Thomas Andersson’s film with Gary Oldman a few Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Romantic Comedy
First Saturday of the month, time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. This month Read More
The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers
I’ve been a fan of Jude Roger’s writing for ages having followed her from music mags Q and Mojo to the much-missed The Word, where in all of which she was one of the few female voices. She’s also written for the Guardian and freelances, and has a substack column Stop, Look, Listen, which I Read More
Silly Season Stats Fun – Author Tag Frequency
I may be struggling with reviewer’s block, but my mind is still thinking bookishly! I was selecting the tags to accompany my post for this Saturday’s #6degrees, and I was struck by how some letters of the alphabet are more represented than others in author’s surnames. Cue a graph! Strictly speaking, what I’ve charted above Read More
#WITMonth 2023 – Women in Translation
Another reading month I always look forward to with great anticipation is WIT Month – Women in Translation, founded by Meytal Radzinski. One thing I like to do each year is review my past year’s reading of women authors in translation, and I’m delighted to say it’s my best year ever. Admittedly, that’s buoyed by Read More
Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo – #20booksofsummer23 & #parisinjuly2023
Firstly, an update on my 20 Books of Summer – I’ve read 9, all from my TBR and owned before 2023. But I am falling behind my 20 goal, so I have decided to be an even bigger cheat than normal. Due to the number of wonderful new books recently published that I’m desperate to Read More
Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott – blogtour
Translated by Marina Sofia I should state at the outset that Marina (who blogs here) and I have been blog-friends for many years now, but despite living not so far from each other have never quite managed to meet up – yet! She and her colleagues are the brains behind Corylus Books, crime translation specialists Read More
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay – blogtour
I don’t normally read much historical fiction, and when the publisher sent me a proof copy of this debut novel a good while ago, I wasn’t sure about it, but added it to my pile as publication was still months away. Later, when Anne from Random Tours invited people to join the blogtour, I realised Read More
Watchlist: May into mid July
It’s ages – two and a half months – since I did one of these, and I’ve had a busy time watching things, including three theatre trips which I’ve reviewed at length separately: THEATRE TV FILM What have you been watching lately that you could recommend?
Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila
Translated by Lola Rogers In my ever-growing experience of Nordic reads, I think that the Finns win in terms of quirk factor! And, Summer Fishing in Lapland is perhaps the quirkiest of the lot so far – described as Finnish weird in terms of genre. It is a delightful, madcap adventure and debut novel by Read More
Dirty Geese by Lou Gilmond
It’s nice to be able to support a local publisher. Fairlight Books is based in Oxford, and Dirty Geese is being published under their Armillary Books imprint. Dirty Geese is a political thriller, set in the very near future. The Tories are in power, but the Whigs are now the main opposition and beginning to Read More
The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson – blogtour
Translated from the French by David Warriner The Bleeding is an unusual crime novel with three timelines covering three different eras, combining a millennial police procedural strand set in Québec, with two historical threads, one set in post-WWII Québec in 1949, and the other older still in 1899, in Belle-Époque Paris. The focus of each Read More
Millar, Kay & Taylor: #20booksofsummer23 nos 5, 6, 7
Amazing that I’m on target with my 20 books. Famous last words probably as I have four blog tours lined up for July, and the rest of the review pile beckons not to be left behind. But, I only have one more mega-hectic week at school, followed by a busy few days, then I’m at Read More
Six Degrees of Separation: Time Shelter
First Saturday of the month, time for the super monthly tag Six Degrees of Separation, which is hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest, Six Degrees of Separation #6degrees picks a starting book for participants to go wherever it takes them in six more steps. Links to my reviews are in the titles of the books chosen. This month Read More
Bellies by Nicola Dinan
If I were to reduce this novel to a single line, it would be: ‘Boy meets boy, but when boy becomes girl, can love survive?’ This is the essential plot of Bellies, but that would be doing this complex novel a real disservice, the relationships aren’t as straightforward as that suggests. We follow the lives Read More