September's books

 September is always a really busy month for me so there are only a few books here, unfortunately! But still, quality counts.

Elly Griffiths, The Man in Black: I’m not a huge fan of short stories, but I really enjoyed this collection which interwove all kinds of bits from Elly’s writing, Ruth, Nelson, Max Mephisto, Justice and Harbinder. It was clever and great fun.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’s Package: Our heroine is off to Corfu with a friend who does not long survive to enjoy her holiday. The cast of Greek villagers is a little muddling but the setting is good and the plot entertaining.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’sPound of Flesh: Mrs Pargeter is now at a health farm, not, of course, for her own benefit as she is perfectly at ease in her body, but she does discover some dark dealings behind the scenes. These are well-written and engaging, though it might be best not to read too many in a row!

J.D. Kirk, A Killer ofInfluence: Another excellent episode, this time with the plot based in Logan’s past and some fun with social media influencers. The usual mixture of humour and pathos and a cracking good plot.

Rhys Dylan, Burnt Echo: Rather a tragic but very satisfying plot here and the team all acting well together as always. I did enjoy what they did to Byron, and I was very relieved to see the biscuits back. Young Rhys needs his food!

Guy Gardner, The Mirror Game: Mostly very good, and the period atmosphere is lightly evoked even with a few anachronisms in the language. I found the plot a bit unlikely, but it was interesting enough to go along for the ride.

G.G. Collins, Looking Glass Editor: I couldn’t resist a return to Santa Fe, this time in skiing season, to follow Taylor the editor with her new cat (no, the old one is not happy) and her new eccentric author to manage. G.G. has a talent for an exciting ending, too! Good cosy books in a very attractive setting.

And indeed there has been very little progress in writing, either. The second Cattanach book should have been finished by now, and it's barely started! Maybe October will give me a chance to catch up a little!

August reading

 Rather a mixture of books for August, but some really good ones here! See what you think.

Robert Galbraith, The Running Grave: As always, a huge book but it drew me in straight away and though I did not intend to read some of it every evening, I did. In the last twenty percent I really resented any interruptions! Horrific but compelling, with the usual strong characters often doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

K.J. Sweeney, The Body at Back Beach: This is a well-observed cosy crime set in a slightly faded harbour town in New Zealand. The main character, Helena, an older woman and pleasingly happily married to the somewhat absent academic Dave, is very sympathetic and when she finds a long-lost body she inevitably gets involved in the town’s past history to try to find out the name of the victim and the reasons for her death. The plot is nicely paced to feel real while keeping up the excitement, with a dramatic conclusion. A good debut – looking forward to more.

Hugo Rifkind, Rabbits: possibly my read of the month. Mind you, though it was recommended to me and I bought it, I put off reading it for a while because I really didn't like the cover. The narrator, Tommo (as he decides sounds best) is a lonely boy trying to fit in in the relatively posh boarding school he’s been sent to, because his mother is ill and his father is suddenly a busily successful author. One of the boys he falls in with has recently lost his brother in a shotgun accident, and the others are similarly maladjusted though some hide it better than others. As Tommo tries to negotiate his way through the usual teenage angst coupled with the unreality of his eccentric surroundings, the illness of his mother and his desperation to fit in, we’re treated to a really well observed slice of familiar and bonkers Scottish society, ineffectual parents, strange houses and habits, first jobs, outdoor pursuits and a general air of not knowing what’s going on that’s not going to have a wholly happy ending, yet it’s not at all without humour.

Simon Brett, A Nice Class of Corpse: I was lucky enough to pick up this series for something silly like 99p for eight books, and though they’d been recommended by a friend, and I knew the author from his wireless work, I was a little wary. No need: Mrs. Pargeter, widow of a kindly and generous gentleman with an interesting address book and a past history of prolonged absences at, we may assume, H.M.’s pleasure, finds herself in a genteel hotel on the south coast, seeking a place to retire quietly, and ends up investigating a couple of murders in a very entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fashion.

Simon Brett, Mrs, Presumed Dead: Mrs. Pargeter, having tired of hotel life, has bought a house in a quiet cul-de-sac of aspirational absent husbands and antisocial wives, but something is not quite right and she uses her late husband’s useful address book to help her investigate the previous house owner’s disappearance.

Tormod Cockburn, The Ness Deception: This is fun – Calum is forced to investigate the Loch Ness Monster while still clinging on to his credibility. Additionally distracted by his father’s frailty, a rather lovely scientist, and some subsea geological oddities, he risks life and limb to produce reasonable copy for his magazine and solve at least some of the mystery. Just a couple of pedantic points, though: there's an extra apostrophe in the very first line of the book description on Amazon, and, argh, a fracture and a break are the same thing!

G.R. Halliday, From the Shadows: A creepy portrayal of Wester Ross and the country between Gairloch and Inverness as a social worker seeks a boy he had been supposed to meet but who has disappeared, and police investigate another young man’s death. Michael Bach, the social worker, is a bit of a mess and the crimes are nasty. I don’t like ‘the kid’ being used so much, particularly when it’s by a parent about her child, and there’s very little lightness to balance the darkness. The plot is interesting, but I didn’t find any of the characters particularly sympathetic, which was a shame because I wanted to. Just me.

D.V. Bishop, City of Vengeance: Set in mediaeval Florence, this has a good atmosphere, a fine sense of setting, and an interesting, if not overly engaging, hero. The plot is strong and the secondary characters varied and interesting – Ruth, cousin of a bereaved daughter, though minor, was a fine inclusion. It would have been better without the constant use of merda and palle – surely mediaeval Florentines had access to more swear words than these? – but otherwise a good, if relentless, read. A bit of humour would not have gone amiss, here and there.

David Greig, Columba’s Bones: This is the tale of what happened on Iona after a Viking raid wiped out all the monks and other inhabitants, except for one young monk and the widow of the smith and, unexpectedly, one of the Vikings. It’s a witty, coarse and lovely tale by turns, quick to read but with lots to think about, including what is service to God and what is martyrdom, and what, in the end, faith is.

And what else is going on? Well, I'm working very slowly indeed on The Gowden Wifie, the second in the Alec Cattanach Second World War series - but September has now hit and there will be no time for anything!

July reading

 I don't think I've read quite so much this last month - partly because we've been busy setting up the new mailing list system and the volume of three novellas you get when you sign up! (here's the link if you feel the need: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/1007729/126295472895689891/share).

But here are the books - a bit of a selection, as always!

Alison O'Leary, Sleeping Cat Blues: This is a lovely series, where the cats investigate almost as much as the humans but in very different ways – it’s not sweet, and it’s not magical realism, just two different perspectives on the same investigation. The humans are very sympathetic, as they try to find the reasons behind an attack on a journalist and links with murders in the past. If I had any criticism to make, it’s that it ended rather abruptly.

Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey: This is so much better than the last book of Fforde’s I read. Witty, knowing, clever, mysterious, satirical, but based around humans trying to deal with the world as they know it – and it’s a strange place indeed, where all society is based on the ability to perceive particular colours. Really interesting, and apparently the start of a series.

Mick Herron, Real Tigers: A Slow Horse is kidnapped, for very complex reasons and with complex results. Good and interesting plot and an ending that leaves you wondering what will happen to Slough House next.

Jason Monaghan, Byron’s Shadow: The action here is mostly set in Greece, where Flint (and I can’t help thinking of Ruth Galloway’s cat) is wanted for a murder that he just avoided being arrested for many years before. I preferred the English setting of the first book, but the cat and mouse chase is good fun to read – though if I were Lisa I’d have run a long time ago. The ending is a little deus ex machina but it works well.

A.J. Aberford, Bodies in the Water: There’s a bit too much international conspiracy in this for my preferred reading, and not very many likeable characters, though the main character is sort of sympathetic if a bit innocent-abroad. I quite liked the setting, Malta, but would have preferred something a bit more domestic to allow me to get to know it. But the plot trots along at a good pace – not its fault that it’s not so much my kind of thing. It became more intriguing about 20% from the end, though.

Lesley Kelly, Death at the Plague Museum: I was reading this at the same time as Real Tigers and had to watch as there are characters in both called Markus who like a bit of a flutter. This is great stuff, though: a high heidyin in the government has gone missing, just before her mandatory health check, and then someone similarly elevated who attended a meeting with her is found dead. Bernard and the others at HET are forced to investigate along with Police Scotland, an unhappy alliance. There are revelations about Mona and the greater plot, as well as a moment of glory for poor Bernard, and a cliff-hanger ending – very enjoyable.

Anne Wedgewood, The Botanist: A clever book. We know the murderer from the start, but that does not mean we should jump to any conclusions about the murder, either the victim or the motive, or the surrounding circumstances. These are revealed very subtly, leading us down a number of garden paths. Did I like the ending? I’m not sure, and that ambiguity is also a sign of how cleverly the book twists you round!

GG Collins, Dead Editor File: A cosy mystery in an idyllic setting laid on thick with affection – the heroine lives in an adobe house in Santa Fe with all the original features and an Abyssinian cat, and works in a publishing company. There are a few changes in point of view which are sometimes a bit disconcerting, but on the whole this works very well – the characters are entertaining and the plot is very nicely paced with an exciting ending. I very much enjoyed this.

There! not so many, but some good ones. What am I up to? I've just started the sequel to A Vengeful Harvest, the Alec Cattanach book set in Second World War Aberdeen. Life is getting in the way, though, particularly with our two big events, the Banchory Agricultural Show and the Aboyne Highland Games, both in the last fortnight - lots of logistics and making of packed lunches! Now things are a little clearer and I'll have to run to catch up. But if you need to know, the new book is to be called The Gowden Wifie - if I ever get it written.

May and June reading

 I was sure I'd posted last month! Then when I looked at the books I had read, I realised some of them were quite a while ago! Anyway, here they all are, many not with the covers I was expecting: 

Carmen Radtke, Ghost and the Haunted House: This had an extra twist on the previous books – a sense of threat towards the ghostly Adriana. There has always been a background hint of ‘solve the mystery of her death and she can rest in peace’, but now Genie and Adriana are such firm friends that that seems like an unhappy ending – and now there’s the extra threat of exorcism! I gather the next book is to be set in Scotland, so I’m looking forward to that.

Cecilia Peartree, An Unfortunate Return: Another Pitkirtly, hooray! This one involves roadworks and a mysterious disappearance in the Alps, Amaryllis’ heroic cat and a good deal of Pictish Brew. Excellent.

Anna Penrose, Death at Castle Wolf: A good, intriguing locked room mystery in a great setting, an island off the Cornish coast. Mal isn’t sure if her friend Jacques can be trusted and this adds to the spice of the plot.

Vaseem Khan, The Lost Man of Bombay: I see this changed its title! A tantalising mystery with links to wartime Dehra Dun but very current murders in Bombay, and Persis struggling with both her father and Archie in her private life.

Vaseem Khan, Death of a Lesser God: one of Khan’s gifts, apart from strong characters and a cracking plot, is the witty simile, like the one about the man’s wig looking like a dead beaver slapped across his skull. Persis gets a taste of Calcutta in this one as she tried to review the case of a man to be hanged for murder, under pressure from his unpopular English father.

Helena Marchmont, Bunberry, A Murderous Ride: I still feel that the hero is a bit of a mystery in these books. They are not first person but are written so much from his perspective that we don’t get to find out anything he doesn’t want us to, but his charming potterings as he searches the Cotswolds for killers while hinting at the griefs of his past are tremendously readable.

James Oswald, For Our Sins: Good to see Tony McLean back in at least partial action here, in a slightly less paranormal case than usual. It’s still a terrific read, with cameos from Madame Rose and Mrs. McCutcheon’s Cat, even if some of the churchy bits are a little garbled.

Jodi Taylor, The Nothing Girl: I’m a fan of Jodi’s St. Mary’s series, of course, but even more I like the Elizabeth Cage books, and this was rather more like them. Hilarious and unnerving in equal measure, this could have been written as a much less original domestic noir thriller, but instead there’s a hint of the supernatural (well, a large golden horse that only the heroine can see), and a lot of humour. I’ve started the next one already.

Jodi Taylor, The Something Girl: The Patagonian Attack Chickens feature in this book, where Jenny is again under threat and the beautiful (and hilarious) golden horse reappears to support her. I regret to say the end of this book had me laughing out loud and then crying – on a crowded train.

Barbara Pym, Some Tame Gazelle: This is a beautifully observed and witty book about two spinster sisters, one in love still with the awful archdeacon she met when they were students, the other obsessed with curates, and each rather embarrassed by the other.

Mick Herron, Dead Lions: The title made me think of the Lyle’s Golden Syrup logo, but this is the second episode in the now famous Slough House series. Spider Webb’s machinations to achieve greatness by building links with a man tipped to rule Russia are interwoven with a plot from the past in a way that will not spell happiness for all.

Veronica Heley, Murder of Innocence: The series turns serious with an assault on a young boy and Ellie’s efforts to bring his attacker to justice. This is set alongside the usual dreadful Diana, daunting Drusilla, and the other lovely characters we’ve grown to know – and hooray for Rose!

Mike Hollow, The Blitz Detective: Another one that has changed its name, this time with a reissue of the series, it seems. I was wary of reading this when I was actually writing a Second World War book, but London is sufficiently different from Aberdeen to make it not too dangerous, and the setting is a good one, well portrayed here. The body of the owner of a printworks is discovered just before it is destroyed by a bomb, and the investigation tries to uncover precisely what he was doing out that night. I enjoyed the book though I felt there was maybe one coincidence too many at the end.

M.J. Lee, The Coffin in the Wall: I liked the main character and the plot was fine. It could have done with another run-through for typos - a Kilner jar turns into a Kelvin jar at one point. I'd like to have known more about the actual coffin, though it was not important for the plot, I suppose. Apart from the main character and one minor character I found the cast rather thin, and ultimately then the murderer a bit unconvincing. Enjoyable, though.

Liz Wildwood, The Melin Murder: One of those books where you find yourself yelling at the heroine not to trust so and so, or not to go to such and such a place, but a very good read with a well-rounded lead character.

And yes, I've been working on sorting out my mailing list and writing a book of three novellas which will be free to those signing up (or re-signing up!). The first one existing members will have seen before, a Murray novella with a very young Hippolyta in it. The second is an episode in Orkney that sees Ketil and Sigrid in terrible danger, and the third is set in 1940 Aberdeen with the death of a shopkeeper whom nobody liked. Now that's all written (and the technology is almost lined up), I'm making a start on the second Cattanach novel, set in September 1940 ish. I hope it's as much fun to write as the last one was!

April reading - not as late as usual

It's been quite a busy month, by the look of it! Some cracking books here.

Masterworks: This is a fairly erudite collection of longer short stories (if you see what I mean) inspired by works of art, all with a historical setting, some of them quite unusual in my reading of historical fiction – for example, 1620 Bohemia, one of my favourites from which I learned a lot. The quality is mostly high throughout. I enjoyed the story of George Romney and Emma Hart, though the conversation was rather anachronistic and Sir William Hamilton is not the same as Lord Hamilton. Another one had some French that had become rather lost in translation, perhaps. Gareth Williams’ evocative piece written through the person of the Chandos portait of Shakespeare was absolutely terrific and thought-provoking. On the whole a very interesting and informative collection.

Anna Faversham, One Stolen Kiss and Other Stories: A lovely little collection of very different short stories, each with a charm of its own. My favourite one might be the drabble featuring Charles Dickens, but really, it was quite difficult to choose. One story is connected with the author’s full length books, so is a good little introduction to those. It's possible she had me at the cat.

Rob Rinder, The Trial: I had never heard of Rinder until he appeared on Strictly, and had few expectations of this book. But as it turned out I enjoyed it very much – well plotted, good characters, and with the technicalities of the legal system observed but not over-explained. It doesn't abide by the Fair Play Rule but it's close.

Veronica Heley, Murder at the Altar: I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy mystery featuring a new widow coming to terms with the virtues and failings of her late husband, as well as their awful daughter and his terrible aunt. Ellie is a good character to spend time with, and I hope there are more in this series soon.

Veronica Heley, Murder by Poison Pen: A good follow-up with some of the same characters already in action when we start. Ellie is still being tormented by her husband’s aunt and her own daughter, horrible characters, and is accused of seeking solace in the company of men – but which men? Her changing relationship with the aunt is very amusing. This was just as much fun as the first one, but disappointingly ended at 93% in the ebook.

Patricia Finney or P.F. Chisholm, A Taste of Witchcraft: Sir Robert’s love, Elizabeth Widdrington, has been accused of witchcraft by her horrible husband, and Robin, though he knows it’s more than likely a trap, is determined to rescue her. There is more to the witchcraft charge than meets the eye, and this is another rollicking adventure of border reivers, conspiracy, tragedy and humour. I hadn’t read one of these for a good while, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

J.D. Kirk, Where the Pieces Lie: the usual entertaining mixture of hilarity, gore and emotion.

David Gatward, The Dark Hours: An interesting set-up, with the victim the tutor on a residential weekend for people wanting to learn to be private investigators – needless to say, the participants on the course are not all that they seem. There’s a subplot about a young lad who flees his awful father and goes missing in the snow, to be sought by Mountain Rescue. All very entertaining, with a good atmosphere.

David Gatward, Silent Ruin: I like the way some of the side plots overflow from book to book, though sometimes it makes it hard to remember what bit occurred in what book. Here we have a pair of missing teenagers and some peculiar activity in a ruined castle, along with the hare coursing we met in the previous book (I think!). The team continues to grow and develop – of course I have a soft spot for Jadyn but I particularly like Gordy and Anna. Not so keen on some of the creeping American spellings, though. And I wanted some serious come-uppance for the couple who invaded the house!

Rhys Evans, A Mark of Imperfection: At last we have a plot featuring the awful Geoghans, who have been flagged up in several books as wanting their revenge on Evan Warlow. Hindering progress is the dreadful KFC or Kelvin Caldwell, never a fan of Evan’s, and a problem with Evan’s beloved dog Cadi.

Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and a Most Misleading Habit: I was stuck in Perth for a couple of extra hours and made my way to the A.K. Bell Library to find a comfy seat and take this off the shelf. I hadn’t read one of them for ages, and had forgotten how much I enjoyed them, so that when I had to leave the library at closing time I made sure I had the Kindle version pretty snappily when I came home. Set in a convent orphanage and a home for mental cases on a bleak moor, this is a great read and made me rush on to find another one in the series I hadn’t read.

Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and a Deadly Measure of Brimstone: Lots of fun here, too, with Dandy and her family arriving at a spa hotel to find out what happened to a previous guest. The family and the investigation become tangled with some pretty gruesome incidents and a large party of mediums before we reach our conclusion. I love Dandy’s narrative and her blindness to some things, and Alec is of course lovely.

Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder: I enjoyed this but for much of the plot had no real idea who was who in the multi-generational Aitken and Hepburn families, warring over the customers of Dunfermline. The best bit by far is the unexpectedly heroic arrival of Dandy’s mostly-despised husband Hugh at the police station to rescue her, which almost brought tears to my eyes.

Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and the Unpleasantness in the Ballroom: This is better than the above book, much clearer, with some nasty characters in need of a come-uppance. I’m not sure that her Victor Silvester character is based on the real Victor Silvester, who was rather interesting, but any fan of Strictly will find this at the very least a historical curiosity.

Julie Adams, Into the Woods: This feels very like a convoluted family saga for a long time, until it starts remembering it’s a murder mystery of sorts and the pace increases. The narrative is told by various different characters and the plot is full of extraordinary coincidences and a few anachronisms, but in the end is fairly satisfying.

Helen Dunmore, Exposure: It took me a long time to get into this book where bad things happen to good people who can't seem to help themselves, and there appears to be no hope. But it is very well written and observed, the characters deeply drawn, and at last it drew me in. A Cold War spy plot, on the surface, but so much less and more.

Jeanette Winterson, The Gap of Time: This modern retelling of A Winter’s Tale is a really rewarding and absorbing read, with a summary of the original plot at the beginning and a reflection on the retelling at the end. It felt as all-encompassing as Shakespeare, as ambiguous and as satisfying. I’m delighted to have read it.

Allan Gaw, The Silent House of Sleep: This features a Scottish pathologist in London in the aftermath of the First World War, damaged by his experiences but noted as the most rigorous pathologist available. Here he’s investigating the discovery of a pair of corpses discovered in a most unsettling position while the police come to terms with his expertise and his assistant tries to help. I did find the frequent use of figures rather than written numbers a bit annoying (15 for fifteen) but the atmosphere was good, evoking the period tremendously well, both the trenches and the London police procedural.

Leon Stevens, The View from Here: A strange book, where an older man and a younger woman make an appealing team as they venture into a strange world through a hole in our own, and try to work out how it fits together. It’s intriguing and confusing, and as the start of a series it certainly piques the curiosity.

Jason Vail, There was a Crooked Man: I do like this series except on the occasions when it (a) gets too political or (b) gets too American. Here it works very well, and the book is fast-paced and entertaining.

And the usual update: in order to revamp the mailing list (yes, I know, it's taking ages) I've written a Viking novella and am now embarking on a Cattanach one, before planning the second Cattanach novel. It seemed to make sense to fit them in now, but it's taking longer than I had hoped!