Ballater Bugle

The Ballater Bugle and short story have just been sent out so as usual if you were expecting it and haven't received it, or would like to, then drop us a line at contact@kellascatpress.co.uk. Happy New Year!

Christmas Greetings

A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year and many lovely books to read, to all!

November's reading

Yes, yes, I know - well into December already! And inevitably it's mostly the non fiction and non crime fiction challenge books that have slowed me down - that and finishing A Lochgorm Lament which might, possibly, be out at New Year - seems like a nice time to do it.

                                       So, what have I been reading, and what did I think of it?

Non-fiction is The Scottish Clearances, by Tom Devine: Even Diana Gabaldon says this was readable, so I thought I should be able to manage it – and indeed it was, very readable. It's a balanced, pleasingly unromantic account, setting the clearances in the context of land management and clan structures across Scotland in the centuries leading up to the clearances, examining broad trends and individual cases and using a wide variety of sources, exactly the scholarship one expects of Devine. All right, so I haven't quite finished it, but I've read the chapters I needed, the bulk of the book, honestly! And I shall finish it, because it really is a good read.

Other editions

Non-crime fiction this month (though I started it last month) is Andrew Caldecott, Rotherweird – thoroughly Gormenghasty, this opening book of the series set in a part of England that subsists under some other law. We see it in contemporary times and also in flashbacks to the point where it came to be. It took me quite a while to read it: I found it hard going, though I’m not sure why: there was a fair amount of action, and the characters were nicely complex – lots of detail and an interesting plot. Though I left it for a week or so at a time, I always remembered what was going on when I came back, and though, as I say, it was hard going, I still enjoyed it, racing eventually to the end of a very convoluted plot.

Now to crime:

TheCuckoo’s Calling, Robert Galbraith: you'll have heard of this. I hadn’t bothered with this for ages, waiting for the hype to die down a bit. I didn’t have any expectations one way or the other, and was delighted with the book straightaway. I found the two main characters engaging and there was a good balance between their different perspectives. Pacing is obviously a skill the author has developed already and it was well applied here. Clearly these are not to everyone's taste, even when you push past the grudges against such a successful author, but I found it a very enjoyable read – I’m glad I have a few to catch up on, though I'm already halfway through the third.

Here are a few more 'next in series' ones, authors not new to me but much looked-forward-to:

Catriona McPherson, The Reek of Red Herrings: set in the Banffshire fishing community of Gamrie in the depths of winter, this is the usual entertainment with lots of philology thrown in – local customs and fishy mystery. The research is copious but lots of fun, and the end is really quite shocking, even if you half see it coming. I’ll be off to the next one soon.

LiesSleeping, Ben Aaronovitch: another excellent episode in this series, Rivers of London. I really enjoy the throwaway sarcasm, the random architectural observations, the erudition, the humour and the plots woven into history. I try not to read them too quickly but there – there’s another one finished. Bother.

Other edition

The Killing Code, J.D. Kirk: One of three excellent series currently set around Inverness and the Black Isle. The wit is the same as in the preceding books, but the quality of the writing is increasing. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next one, which I think may be out already - but it's another one to ration, I think.

Now for a couple of new authors for me:

Vanessa Robertson, Death will Find Me: A promising and slightly different start – a woman scarred by her experience in the First World War finding that her handsome husband is no longer interested in her. There are a few inaccuracies but not many, and soon we’re off in a sombre 1920s murder mystery set mostly in Edinburgh, very nicely evoked and quite convincing. It’s like a sober version of the Dandy McGilver books by Catriona McPherson, above, which I also enjoy. There was perhaps a little too much reiteration of the heroine’s violent past and ability to kill and generally look after herself – I hope this might be something that calms down a bit in later books – but on the whole it was a good read.

BelovedPoison, E.S. Thomson: I met the author and received a signed copy of Surgeons’ Hall, but she impressed me too much for me not to go back and start the series from the beginning before tackling her fourth book. So here we are, in mid 19^th century London, at St. Saviour’s Hospital with Jem, a woman apothecary posing as a man, and Will, an architect whose father died in the hospital’s care. It’s lovely, luscious, with characters who look like Hogarth’s grotesques but have real depth to them. Really excellent descriptions of the worst bits of London. She’s used the mysterious little coffins held in the National Museums of Scotland which I’ve known about for years and planned to use in a book except that a colleague showed them to Ian Rankin first (drat), but she’s used them to very good effect and I don’t grudge it at all! (no really. No, not very much at all. Only a very tiny bit.)

I have to admit to three did-not-finishes this month, though they'll remain nameless for now - in fact, I didn't get very far into any of them. This is unusual for me and it's possible that I just had too much in my head to take them in. 

Anyway, I've returned to work on The Slaughter of Leith Hall, the 1763 stand alone, so that should keep me busy over Christmas! I had a good day at the National Records of Scotland on some background research, and I'm awaiting a photo or two from the National Trust for Scotland to help with some detail. After that my plan is to write Orkneyinga Murders 3, and we'll see what happens then! 

And finally day four!

Just back from Edinburgh - Noir at the Bar was cancelled, sadly, but a day's research today, meeting friends and actually, actually finishing A Lochgorm Lament (somewhere near Montrose) meant it was not a waste of time. I was writing at Waverley Station until my hands froze, and when I stood up my legs had gone all peculiar!

Anyway, to more important business. The final question from last week, 'When could Hippolyta expect the railway to reach Ballater?': the answer is 1866. Congratulations to Kelly Jo Sweeney!

I'm going to be parcelling up prizes tomorrow and sending them on Monday, all being well - I hope they travel safely!

Day Three's winner

The answer to the modern spelling of Sigrid's birthplace, Heithabyr, is Hedeby, now on the Danish/German border. And the winner is Gillian Rose!

Tomorrow's winner will be announced in the evening as I'll be away first thing - off to Edinburgh today for Noir at the Bar tomorrow night. J.D. Kirk, Vanessa Robertson and Caroline Dunford will be among the other readers, and I'm looking forward to meeting them!

Winner of Day Two!

Our second winner!

The answer to the question 'In which regiment does Charles Murray's brother George serve as an officer?' is The Royal Scots - 3rd Battalion if you want to be precise!

And first out of the hat is Susan Meikle - congratulations!

Our first winner!

Breaking off from hideous editing to announce the first winner of last week's competition. The answer to 'Name the other doctor in 'The War, the Bones and Dr. Cowie' is Dr. Hanson (he of the murder story). Congratulations to Emily Methven! Signed book, chocolate and book lover's pencils will be on their way shortly.

Last day of the competition!

And the final day of the Book Week Scotland competition - Hippolyta day! Which is timely, because I really need to get on with the last three chapters of what is now called A Lochgorm Lament - Helen Braid, the illustrator, is poised to do the cover.

Anyway, as usual answers to contact@kellascatpress.co.uk by end of play on Thursday next - and remember you still have time to send in any of the answers from this week!

This time the prize is a signed copy of A Knife in Darkness, chocolate and a Ballater mug, and the answer to the question is not in the books! Here we go - in what year can Hippolyta expect the railway to reach Ballater?

Book Week Scotland competition - Day Three!

Day Three of the Book Week Scotland challenge, and it's Viking day - or Orkney day, if you prefer. As usual, answers to contact@kellascatpress.co.uk by end of next Wednesday. Prize is a signed copy of Tomb for an Eagle, chocolate and a couple of genuine authentic (no, not really) Viking charms.

And the question ... What is the modern spelling for the town where Sigrid was born?

Book Week Scotland - Day Two

It's Murray day today! The prize is a signed copy of Death in a Scarlet Gown, more of that Mackie's chocolate and a fancy bookmark.

Answers to contact@kellascatpress.co.uk by end of Tuesday 26th.

And the question: in which regiment is Charles Murray's brother George an officer?

Good luck!

Book Week Scotland competition - Day One

Slight technical diffs there, but here we are - today's question relates to Standalones, specifically The War, The Bones and Dr. Cowie.

The prize today is a signed copy of the book, a bar of Mackie's chocolate and a box of pencils, and answers should be sent to contact@kellascatpress.co.uk before end of play next Monday.

Now for the question:

What is the name of the other doctor (i.e. not Dr. Cowie!) in The War, The Bones and Dr. Cowie?

Next question tomorrow!

Book Week Scotland - competition time!

It’s Book Week Scotland, so this week we’re going to have a little competition for prizes!

Here’s how it goes: on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there will be a question posted here and on the Facebook page. If you think you know the answer, send it to contact@kellascatpress.co.uk along with a postal address for any possible prize. Don’t be put off if you don’t live in the U.K. – I’m prepared to post a prize anywhere I can legally send a book!

The questions and prizes will relate approximately to Murray, to Hippolyta, to the Orkney series, and to one of the standalones.

As this blog is slightly slow at appearing on GoodReads this will not be a first right answer wins competition: the right answers, if there are enough, will be drawn out of a suitable receptacle, possibly even a hat (heaven knows there are plenty of them in this house) the same day of the following week.

Unless you specifically ask to be added to our mailing list, all contact details will be destroyed at the end of the following week.

Join in, do, and good luck!

October's books

October was a busy month and I only just fitted in two non-crime fiction - though one of them, sneakily, did have a murder in it. I promise I didn't know before I started it - or indeed until about halfway through!



The book was Rose Tremain's Trespass, and I nearly didn’t find out that there was a murder in it as I almost gave up on it. Beautifully written misery, with no sympathetic characters at all, even when they are excused because they are so damaged – my usual experience with Rose Tremain. I still think it’s not really a crime book - certainly not a murder mystery - though (can’t read all this turgidity for nothing!), so I’m telling myself it’s really literary fiction (I’m sure her publisher tells her the same thing) and trying to enjoy the lovely writing instead.

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Very different indeed is the other non-crime fiction for October, Maureen's (not so great) British Cake-Off, by the versatile Jonathan Hill. Another short read in this funny series, this one sees Maureen trying to hold a garden party by generously allowing all her friends to do the work for her. Maureen is an awful character, who brings every disaster on herself, yet she somehow manages to keep our sympathy: she does care for her friends, in the end, and she can't bring herself to be nasty even when some of her neighbours really do deserve it!

Now - in no particular order - for the crime!

What Lies Buried, Margaret Kirk: One of those forgettable titles. This, like the first in the series (which I loved) is written in the present tense, and it took me a little longer to get over it than with the first book. I didn’t fall for the book straightaway, either, as I did for the first one. But it was well plotted and compelling: I love the main character and the ‘sidekick’ Fergie, and Kirk doesn’t rest with giving them depth but goes on to portray other people with sympathy and realism. But why present tense? It just doesn’t work for me!

Other editions

Fiona Leitch, Dead in Venice: Funny book from the start, with a blocked writer struggling to come up with a new book in her series and receiving an invitation to Venice. Her portrayals of the difficulties of writing, not to mention how crime writing makes you look at the world, are worryingly accurate! You need quite a suspension of disbelief about the whole thing but it’s entertaining, and Venice is real, and the ending is, well, satisfying in the circumstances – read it and you’ll see.

Births, Marriages and Death, Will Templeton: An interesting set up, a registry office, and it's well used. The start is slow and for my own personal preference I like a book where I try to work out the offender along with the investigators, rather than see them in action in parallel with the investigation. But the characters are well-drawn, if often very unpleasant – though even then the unpleasantness is not unmixed with common humanity. And the plot is well-constructed, too. Altogether a good read.

Other editions

Alison Morton, Inceptio: Interesting premise – an America handed by the Dutch to the British in the early 19^th century then finally given up by the British in the 1860s, with a consequently Dutch-biassed society, and a country called Roma Nova where Latin is still spoken. We’re on Karen’s side immediately, too – victimised for taking reasonable action against a stoned preppie who was tormenting an old man in Central Park. When a new client she takes on helps reveal some interesting things about her childhood and background, her life becomes very complicated and she is thrown into a fast-paced adventure with the handsome Conrad. Of course I love the idea of an up-to-the minute nation still conversing in Latin. The pace changes when she moves right into Roma Nova and starts taking control of her life. There’s a lot packed into this book, but it’s an enjoyable ride and clearly the first in a series.

Other editions

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Sean Campbell, and/or Daniel Campbell, Dead on Demand This is a familiar idea, made easier with the internet: you want someone dead, you swap victims with another person who wants someone dead. However, this one takes on some extra twists and turns not quite envisaged by Hitchcock or Agatha Christie. The writing is occasionally a little stilted and I couldn’t warm to any of the characters who were very flat or inconsistent throughout, but the plotting is quite clever – it occasionally loses itself, or becomes over-convoluted, and a couple of lines I found completely incredible. But honestly, the Americanisms – ‘toll free number’? Deputies? Where are you trying to tell us this is set? And if it really is the U.K., then when? We haven’t had W.P.C.s since 1999. And even if we had, they would be wearing stab vests …

ExpiryDate, Alex Walters: These are really very good books, and I was delighted to find a new release in this series. I’ve been reading a few police procedurals recently which will not live long in the memory (and are possibly best not mentioned here) where the characters are just names on the page, and not even memorable names at that – where it’s hard to remember what first name goes with what surname, whether the police are male or female, who is friends / lovers / rivals with whom, whose the body is and whether or not we should even care. These are different. It’s not as if we’re wallowing in character description but they are real people, with depths, humour, emotions, stories. When you add to that good plotting and an interesting case, or intertwining cases, the book is irresistible.

Other editions

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Robert McNeill, TheInnocent and the Dead: Perhaps not the most gripping of titles, but I liked the cover, which shows an old place of work of mine. But I was a bit confused – the story ended halfway through and another one started. This book must contain some of the wordiest ransom notes in crime fiction history, and again, not particularly interesting characters. Edinburgh became a – not even a tourist brochure, more of a leaflet – in the background. In addition, there were I think three plots in the end which had no connexions – probably a more realistic depiction of police work, but not the grounds for a particularly gripping novel - so perhaps the title was apt.

 Jasper Fforde, Early Riser: I loved Fforde’s Thursday Next books, but hadn’t read one for a while. This is rather different, another cleverly imagined alternative reality (Britain with the kind of winters most people hibernate through), where collective dreams start to drive people mad. It’s less funny (though still witty), more tragic, more all enveloping and challenging. The plot is clever and convoluted and beautifully imagined. My main question, though, is – what happens the animals?

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Deathin the Dordogne, Martin Walker: Enjoyable bit of leisurely French crime, full of lovely food and enviable lifestyles, but the crime has its root in Vichy France and all the pain that involves. An interesting rummage around the tensions of modern France, and an enjoyable read, the first in what looks like a comfortable series. In Dark Vineyard, the second, there are distinct hints of Louise Penny – nasty murders in a charming setting.

TheRat Stone Serenade, Denzil Meyrick: Good crack, though the body and violence count is high. The setting is very traditional, family gathering marooned in snowstorm, family business causing family tension. I found the plot stretched credulity a bit far and I spotted the ending coming, but Daley and Scott, and new boss Symington, are very entertaining. One excellent thing about Denzil Meyrick's books, however, is the titles: they're intriguing, hard to forget, distinctive, and relatively easy to find on GoodReads!

Other editions

Wellof the Winds, Denzil Meyrick: I’m a bit behind in this series, so followed on quickly with this one. The meshing of contemporary narrative with 1945 was well done and intriguing, coupled with present day conspiracies. The relationship between Daley, Scott and Symington is developing in an interesting way, and there was a good little twist at the end.

And my own progress? Over halfway through The Incident at Lochgorm (Hippolyta V), and planning to get straight into The Slaughter of Leith Hall (standalone) when it's done. And then, perhaps, Orkneyinga III, then Murray XII? The vaguest of plans!