As always, I’m saving my books of the year for the 31st, and you’ll get my book stats (my favourite post) on the 29th, but today as in previous years I’m sharing my blogging highlights, including all those reading weeks, months and challenges I took part in over the year. You’ll also find a book Read More
Tag: Crime
Review catch-up: Susanna Clarke, Amy Lord, Daniel Klein
In an effort to clear the decks a little so I can concentrate on my year-end posts, here a three shorter reviews for you today. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke This is a short story published as a single little hardback, fully illustrated by Victoria Sawdon. The story itself is about 50 pages, Read More
Five Feat . . . Duos
In my irregular themed look at old posts (previous posts here), this time I’ve picked Duos as the link. Like the musical duos Simon & Garfunkel and Althea & Donna, all the titles in this list feature two names in the title. However, they aren’t all couples, there are friends and colleagues too in this Read More
2 more novellas for #NovNov24: A ‘Maigret’ by Simenon and a ‘Parker’ by Stark
The Madman of Bergerac by Georges Simenon (No 15) Translated by Ros Schwartz Inspector Maigret is embarking on a holiday, going to the Dordogne to see an old friend and colleague, with a small job to do in Bordeaux on the side, while Madame Maigret is visiting her sister in Alsace. In his sleeper compartment, Read More
Black Storms by Teresa Solana – blog tour
Translated from Catalan by Peter Bush I’m delighted to be today’s stop on the blog tour for another new to me crime author, now published by Corylus books in translation. It’s the third crime novel by Teresa Solana, and the first to feature her detective Norma Forester. Now I know you’re thinking that doesn’t sound Read More
Short reviews catch-up – Susie Dent, Fred Sirieix, Barbara Pym, Michael Findlay
Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent Popular broadcaster and lexcographer Susie Dent has written her first novel, after writing a handful of books all about words, and jolly good fun it was too. (I went to see her talk about it back in August.) And where else would a lexicographer choose to set their murder Read More
The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen – blog tour
Translated by David Hackston I’m delighted to be helping to lead off the blog tour for Antti Tuomainen’s latest novel, a standalone murder mystery set in the world of saunas, all done with his surefire comic touch. Once again, in 53-year-old Anni Korpinen, as with Henri Koskinen in Tuomainen’s wonderful Rabbit Factor Trilogy, he has Read More
Five Feat… “Surrey”
This is the first of a new occasional series ‘Five Feat…’ (apologies to those who don’t like the slangy abbreviation of ‘featuring’, but it keeps it neat!). I’ve decided to start at my beginning and have found five books I’ve read that are set or partially set in or adjacent to my home county of Read More
Two Fab Thrillers – Jordan Harper & Steve Cavanagh
Two superb thrillers for you today, one from last year and in my #20booksofsummer and one brand new out. Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper I love the tag line of this novel, ‘In Hollywood, nobody talks, but everybody whispers.’ It immediately drew me in, and simultaneously got me humming Leonard Cohen’s wonderful song that shares Read More
Two contemporary French novels – De Vigan and Mehdi – for #WITMonth #20booksofsummer24
From my pile of unread novels by French women authors from Europa Editions for both WIT Month and 20 Books of Summer – two reviews for you. Both contemporary stories with dark themes (you have been warned) – I found both of this pair to be provocative, thought-provoking, intense and moving. Kids Run the Show Read More
It’s #20booksofsummer24 reviews 1 & 2, Rinder & Moshfegh
And I’m away, with my first two books in Cathy’s #20booksofsummer24. May into the early days of June I had so many blogtours, but I’ve really cut down on them for the duration of the challenge, so I can give it a good go, and join in some of the other reading themed events too, Read More
The Venus of Salò by Ben Pastor – blog tour
Although The Venus of Salò is the eighth book in Ben Pastor’s Martin Bora series, due to the nature of Wehrmakt officer Colonel Martin von Bora being posted all around the Theatre of War in Italy, it’s more episodic a series in nature than many, so I was happy to jump in to the latest Read More
Hattie Brings the House Down by Patrick Gleeson
It was a true delight to read this debut novel for the blogtour. A cosy crime mystery set in the world of the theatre, the story is led by Hattie Cocker, who has been hired to be Stage Manager (SM) of a company who will perform Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Tavistock, a theatre attached Read More
Murder Under the Midnight Sun by Stella Blómkvist
Translated by Quentin Bates It’s my turn on the blogtour for the second Blómkvist novel to be translated by Quentin Bates for Corylus Books, who continue their quest to bring us translated crime fiction with a sense of social justice. Murder Under the Midnight Sun was published in 2010, and the series has a huge Read More
Profile K by Helen Fields
I love thrillers that will standalone, and Helen Fields’ latest took me by surprise slightly. I was expecting a sequel to The Institution which introduced us to Connie Woolwine, an American profiler and her British sidekick Brodie Baarda, who went undercover in the world’s most secure prison hospital for the criminally insane. Instead, after a Read More
Review catch-up: Van Pelt & Gustawsson
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – Book Group review We’ve moved onto an animal/plant A-Z theme for picking our books for a while, but our opener was an animal free choice, and Alex’s pick about an ageing and clever octopus kept in a Seattle aquarium came out of the hat. It is now Read More
Point Zero by Seichō Matsumoto
Translated by Louise Heal Kawai Seichō Matsumoto is widely regarded as Japan’s greatest populariser of crime fiction, being a prolific author of it himself. Last year, Penguin published a new translation of his first novel from 1958, Points and Lines as Tokyo Express, I was seeing reviews for it everywhere, including Shiny New Books where Read More
Nordic Snø & Íss
While I haven’t formally run my Nordic reading month this year keeping it casual, I offer many thanks to those blog friends who have still included it in their own reading plans (Chris reviewed The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Lizzy reviewed Hunter in Huskvarna and other stories by Sara Stridsberg. Do let Read More
The Dancer by Óskar Guðmundsson
Translated by Quentin Bates Corylus Books are certainly keeping Icelandic translator Quentin Bates busy. There’s another Stella Blómkvist in the works soon after last year’s Murder at the Residence, amongst others he has translated for Corylus and other publishers. This novel is Guðmundsson’s fifth, the second to be translated, and the first in a new Read More
Two reviews: Laura Shepherd-Robinson & T M Thomas
In an attempt to clear the books to review decks before my Review of the Year posts next week, here are some shorter reviews, with more to follow. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson I was very lucky to win a signed copy of this from Laura in a giveaway. It is a totally Read More
Dean Street December – Viva Las Vengeance: The Elvis Mysteries #3 by Daniel Klein
I love taking part in themed reading weeks and months whenever I can, and Liz is hosting this one (see here). Dean Street Press were reprint specialists, particularly mid 20th century women’s fiction from the decades and Golden Age crime – and those are not my usual fare. However, in 2022 they also reprinted a Read More
Dead Sweet by Katrín Júlíusdóttir
Translated by Quentin Bates I’m delighted to be today’s stop on the blog tour for the debut novel by a former Icelandic politician. Katrín Júlíusdóttir served as Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism and Minister of Finance and Economy, and as such she is well placed to give the inside view to the political and Read More
The Weatherman by Royston Reeves – blogtour
Now this was dark fun! Wilbur Cox works in an advertising agency in London. He commutes in every day from north of London. He likes to go for a drink with his colleagues before catching the train home. It’s a bit of a walk to the tube station, but there’s a short cut through a Read More
Two for #GermanLitMonth #NovNov23 – von Chamisso & Dürrenmatt
Just squeaking in at the end of the month, here are two shorter reviews of novellas (hence qualifying for Novellas in November also) originally published in German, however, neither are by German-born authors. Adelbert von Chamisso was French, becoming naturalised German, Friederic Dürrenmatt was Swiss. Peter Schlemihl by Adelbert von Chamisso Translated by Leopold von 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 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
Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen
Translated by Megan E. Turney This debut novel is already a prize winner in Madsen’s home country of Denmark, and it’s easy to see why. At first we love to hate the protagonist, Hannah, an established writer of much praised and exquisitely crafted prose novellas, who has fallen into that mid-career slump; her backlist is Read More
Skin Deep by Antonia Lassa
Translated by Jacky Collins I’m delighted to be today’s stop on the blogtour for Corylus Books’ first publication translated from Spanish – and Skin Deep is an absolute winner! At just 114 pages, it may be brief, but as crime novels go it’s not a quick read, for it has real depth. There is so Read More
Watchlist: mid-March to end-April 2023
Films on the small screen: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Prime) – after reading Baxter Dury’s memoir (reviewed here) I was recommended this biopic of his dad, Ian and loved it. Andy Sirkis’s singing is a little more raucous in comparison, but he was brilliant. Tetris (Apple+) – starring Taron Egerton. Who’d have Read More
The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz – Blogtour
Translated by Rachel Ward I joined Buchholz’s Chastity Riley series at #4 Hotel Cartagena, which was an amazing introduction to the fiesty, smoking, hard-drinking Hamburg State Prosecutor – she was caught in a hotel penthouse bar siege, with blood poisoning gradually affecting her which made for a truly different first person narrative. I followed her Read More
