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!

February and March reading - spring is in the air!

 Don't know why I forgot to do February's at the time - possibly rushing to finish Sea Stag but I can't remember! Anyway, here's two months' worth - some really good books here.

M.S. Morris, Aspire to Die: A good traditional police procedural set in Oxford around Christ Church. Nice diversionary tactics, and a pleasure to read. I tried the start of one of their (M.S. is a married couple) other series, but did not engage with it so much, so this is the series I'll come back to.

Arabian Noir: a set of short stories compiled by the Gulf Chapter (why do I find that word in this context faintly threatening) of the Crime Writers’ Association. This was interesting, showing different perspectives, mostly expat, of living in the Gulf. I particularly liked Michael Lynes’ own story but all had something to offer. There was a slight problem with the paragraph formatting, which made me stumble fairly frequently, but it was worth persisting.

Tim Sullivan, The Dentist: I found the beginning of this book unnecessarily detailed and complicated, and the frequent switching of points of view confusing, but slowly I began to warm to it. The characters feel very real, particularly in the way they cope with Cross and the way Cross copes with them, and the puzzle of why the first police investigation went wrong is intriguing. Nevertheless there was too much head hopping, which I hope is more controlled in later books.

David Gatward, Unquiet Bones: Harry is trying to move into his new house when two things conspire to hinder him: his father’s escape from prison and a dead body in his new living room. A nifty plot which gets away with shifting sideways halfway through, and the usual excellent bonding in his lovely team.

James Lovegrove, Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows: this starts with a very authentic-feeling, if rather heavy, introduction explaining how the author came by the accounts of Holmes’ and Watson’s investigations in Lovecraft’s Cthulan mythos. The language then lightens a little but despite a few anachronisms it still feels pleasantly Victorian, and all much more readable like Conan Doyle. It’s also fairly true to Lovecraft and a pretty authentic blend of the two – an interesting concept, and yet another Holmes rewrite.

Cecilia Peartree, The Watcher in the Shrubbery: I was glad to see this second in the new Pamela Prendergast series, with all the charm of her other books. Pamela is trying to run an art course but is cursed in her venues, yielding to falling trees and dead bodies as she tries to teach her students. As is often the case in Peartree’s books, the real world intrudes into the kind of muddled existence many of us live in, but all is well in the end and our circle of Pamela’s acquaintance is nicely expanded, too.

William McIlvanney, The Papers of Tony Veitch: the second in the Laidlaw trilogy. Again, if I had to find a fault it is that there is rather too much introspection, and amongst the wonderful language there is sometimes a metaphor or a simile over the top, but most of it is just lovely, apposite, telling, and often very funny. And it’s definitely of its time and place, utterly 1970s Glasgow, and proud as punch of it.

Andrew James Greig, The Girl in the Loch: Oddly, I found Tearlach rather flat as a character until he turned violent, and he was suddenly much more believable, less colourless efficiency. The deaths, too, though nasty, are somehow understated. The plot is the saviour as it is increasingly interesting, and gradually the characters develop. There are some odd errors, like ‘errant nonsense’, and ‘she would be dammed if …’ which an editor should have spotted, but then editors are human.

Caimh McDonnell, A Man with One of those Faces: I was expecting this to be funny, from the reviews, but I hadn’t expected the depth to the plot which comes, at least at first, from the well-rounded central character and his self-imposed lifestyle. He takes pigheadedness to Ph.D. level and the action is relentless and very amusing.

Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety: there’s a lot of biography here and the plot doesn’t move along as fast as I’m used to with Atkinson, one of my very favourite writers. But the atmosphere clings and I kept coming back for more, as the plot twisted round and connected in a very Atkinsony way, some paths comic, some tragic.

J.M. Dalgleish, The Talisker Dead: While I’m a bit off-put by the plot twist about his son, I like the police in this series and of course the setting is delightful, and portrayed much more as a proper island than a holiday destination.

Lindsey Davis, The Ides of April: This, the first Flavia Albia book, did not grab me as quickly as the first Marcus Didius Falco did years ago. I absolutely loved that series, and hoped to love this one as much. Maybe I shall, but I was not quite so taken with this, which had a more bitter feel to it. In the end I quite enjoyed it, but I won’t rush back for a second, not just yet.

Louise Ehrlich, The Sentence: Tookie has served her time in jail for a crime she sort of committed, though she was not aware of the depths of it at the time. Now she is living in Minneapolis, married to the police officer who arrested her, and working in a bookshop, but she is bothered by the ghost of a particularly irritating reader. I found Tookie’s self-deprecating narrative lovely to read, rough around the edges but very endearing as she enjoys a life she is fairly sure she does not deserve. Then Covid strikes, and the awful murder of George Floyd, and real life intervenes. This is a wonderful book, full of layers and delight – so pleased I found it.

Margaret Kirk, In the Blood: I had reviewed this and for some reason my laptop is reverting to earlier versions of documents, so it was lost. Ah, well. Lukas Mahler, fully paid-up member of the awkward squad, travels to Orkney in this one, though not exactly an Orkney I know (some geographical quirks, certainly). He seems to be increasingly high maintenance and annoying, and I don't think any of the other characters really made an impression, but the plot was interesting enough and enjoyable. The title looks to me completely meaningless and unmemorable, something slapped on by a publisher, no doubt.

Jean Gill, Among Sea Wolves: Our main characters are away from Orkney and on a voyage, or pilgrimage, to Jerusalem, in a party that even from the start is divided and fractious. With Skarfr having to hide his true relationship with Hlif, things are tense anyway. This is another tremendous episode in this saga of Viking adventure and romance, where you can see the terrific quantity of research that has gone into it and then forget it and enjoy living the book with all its excitement, not just with Skarfr and his ever-growing list of skills, nor with the wonderful and mystical Hlif, but with the people he has left behind in the north and all their hideous politicking. A great set-up for the next in the series.

Dale Lehmann, A Day for Bones: My fourth in this series which is fast becoming my favourite American police procedural. This one begins with a flood and the mysteries the flood uncovers – bones, chiefly – and a possibly related series of minor problems at a gun shop. Some of the more prominent characters from the first three books take a bit of a back seat here as new ones come in: there’s a touch of over-inclusivity but perhaps that’s an American thing, and it isn’t too intrusive on the plot. Anyway, these are really enjoyable, so dive in!

And as for me, I'm doing a bit of other writing at the moment - a couple of novellas for various purposes. Then, I think, it's probably back to Second World War Aberdeen and Alec Cattanach - care to join me?

The Fate of the Sea Stag - preorder now!

 Out on preorder for Kindle, paperback coming soon:

The Fate of the Sea Stag

When a man is found dead on a Hjaltland beach, it is fortunate that Ketil Gunnarson, Earl Thorfinn’s man, is there to investigate. The killer must have been travelling with the dead man from Nordvegr to Orkney, but who knew him well enough to want him dead? And what are the strange undercurrents in Hjaltland that will follow Ketil and his friend Sigrid back to Orkney, with conspiracy and destruction in their wake? 

January's reading - a busy start to the year!

 I didn't think I'd been reading quite so much, but here's the month's-worth in no particular order - see if you can find something you fancy!

Kath Middleton, Major to Minor: A wonderful selection box of short stories. Dark Fires and Magda are probably my favourites, but it’s very hard to choose – the one about the Aztecs, the ghost wedding, the lovesick teenager, the edible flowers … just get a copy and decide for yourself!

Olga Wojtas, Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Gondola of Doom: Beautifully crafted and very witty, this latest episode sees Shona in 1650 Venice fighting an unexpected plague and homicidal doctors, and vying gondolieri of the Canaletto and Cornetto families. I had thought the Macbeth book the best yet, but this has now trumped it!

Jodi Taylor, Christmas Pie: Another Christmas short from St. Mary’s, narrated by Markham and as funny as ever, as the team try to find the most authentic mince pie for a Women’s Institute competition.

Jodi Taylor, The Toast of Time: again a short, set while Max and Markham are estranged from St. Mary’s. There’s a lovely Christmas spirit to this one, which I suspect was written in lockdown – a particularly productive time for this author.

Gareth Williams, Serving Shaka: This follows on from Needing Napoleon, at the end of which we left Napoleon and our hero Richard stranded in southern Africa after an escape from St. Helena. Here Napoleon gets involved with the growing might of the Zulus. There is a real feel for the countryside, the atmosphere, and the people here, as Richard moves between anxiety, ennui, and despair at his situation. This isn’t a history I know as well as the time around Waterloo and of course (as far as we know!) Napoleon never did meet the Zulus, but I was convinced enough by the plot to worry about how Richard might have changed history. The warfare is even more of a focus in this book than in the first, and is described with authority. But it is the relationships that drive the plot, and in the end Richard is in the grip of them and moving relentlessly on to the next episode.

Valerie Keogh, No CrimeForgotten: A body in a church turns out not to be the person they thought it was, but who is it really and why? And has the theft of identity something to do with his death? Some unappealing characters for the team to deal with in this complex case – I just wish Edel would stop getting involved, too!

Dorothy M. Parker, The Angel of Incompleteness: Art meets quantum mechanics in a time-travelling exploration of the golden age of Parisian art. Louise, leaving behind her misfortunes in the twenty-first century, accidentally falls through a painting to meet Berthe Morisot, artist and protofeminist, in 1871. Actually the science is a light and intriguing touch in a plot that is really about finding one’s own way, discovering one’s own purpose, and accepting that everyone is a work in progress – a human becoming, rather than a human being.

Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry: Not an easy read in places, though brittly amusing, this is a book full of tragedy, irritation and that feeling of wanting to slap the characters even as they can’t fail to walk into disaster. The message it conveys isn’t exactly subtle, but then it is a historical novel. And it’s a terrific read with wonderful characters.

Scholastique Mukasonga, Igifu: A series of short stories or perhaps reminiscences, telling, from various angles, the tragedy of the Tutsis of Rwanda. The writing is beautiful, whether the author is speaking about hunger, AIDS, cattle and the loss of cattle, or the most recent genocide and its aftereffects. A sad, but perhaps hopeful, read.

Pauline Tait, Abigail Returns: This is I think a romantic thriller, if that’s the right term: Abigail has come back home to Skye full of resentment, suffering from amnesia, forced to settle in her grandmother’s old house. Her past comes back to haunt her in the form of not one, but two, handsome young men, and some distinctly dodgy characters. The island itself is an understated but lovely backdrop. I was initially thrown by the lack of page numbers, but once I was settled into the plot I thoroughly enjoyed it, and raced through it in a couple of days.

Sue Lawrence, The Unreliable Death of Lady Grange: I had feared that this was to be another story of a noble and beautiful lady done wrong by her horrible husband, but this is a bit different, and it’s hard to know exactly what to make of Lord and Lady Grange at first. There is definitely fault on both sides! It’s based on a true story, set in Jacobite times, and with a good, readable sense of language and style, though I found the capitalised ‘My Lady’ a bit jarring. I was glad to find an explanation at the end of what was historical account and what was not, as I had read a little about the subject before but not enough to know where things had been changed (apart from the bewildering relocation of Aberdeenshire Kintore to the west coast!). Anyway, altogether I found this a much better read than the author’s The Green Lady, much more satisfying and convincing.

Carmen Radtke, Ghost Stirs the Pot: Back to Cobblewood Cove for this culinary adventure starring the wonderful Adriana, long-dead, and her great great niece Genie, long-suffering. These are great fun, and the animal-whispering is a lovely touch!

Liz Hedgecock, A House of Mirrors: Well, this was fun, and unexpected: I thought Mrs. Hudson would turn out to be surprisingly helpful in the cases we all know of Sherlock Holmes, but here she has her own case, her own mystery to solve, where she does not know whom she can trust. Maybe her relationship with Holmes moves a bit faster than I had expected, but the plot is nicely intriguing.

James Oswald, Nowhere to Run: A Constance Fairchild novel, set at the tailend of lockdown in Wales. This is pretty action-packed with the usual touch of the supernatural, well-written, fast-paced, and very enjoyable.

Helena Marchmont, Murder at the Mousetrap: A good contemporary cosy with a real Golden Age feel, set in a village with a good cast of characters. A tremendously easy read, and very entertaining – and I think there’s a good deal still to learn about our hero in future books.

J.M. Dalgleish, The Dead Man of Storr: Our policeman has transferred back to Skye where a dead man is found on the Old Man of Storr in the snow. An impoverished photographer on the brink of success as a painter, he has plenty of people wanting him dead. An engaging police procedural with a good atmosphere and interesting cast.

Val McDermid, Past Lying: So very well written that the plot is secondary, really: you sort of know what’s going to happen but it doesn’t matter because the ride is so enjoyable. I did wonder why the SOCO didn’t geophys the concrete (if you read it you’ll know what I mean) but perhaps they don’t. Val McDermid would know!

David Gatward, Fair Game: A good if gory start in the lovely environs of Hawes, where a man is found dead in a mantrap. However, nothing is as it seems – poaching, trafficking and mad farmers combine to produce another excellent plot in this series – and once again, the investigating team and their associates  (and dogs) add a substantial amount of charm to the mix.

Dale Lehmann, Ice on the Bay: Again, two cases, one almost cold and one up-to-date, entwine for Peller and his squad – a man of dubious reputation shot dead, and a missing vet’s assistant. This is a thoughtful, intelligent series, yet not without its excitement. The ending is satisfying, the ongoing story of the team is plenty to take me on to the next in the series.

Mark Jackson, The Revenge of Colonel Blood: In 1920s London, four yeomen go AWOL from the Tower of London when the Crown Jewels are stolen and they are suspected. They know there’s a connexion with the Boer War, in which they served, and they go on the run to find the real criminals in a cleverly woven plot. There’s some repetitive description here and a few typos, and the feeling is more Victorian than between the wars, but it’s a good yarn, suitable for teenagers and above.

Chris Nickson, The Anchoress of Chesterfield: The fourth in this very enjoyable series set in mediaeval Chesterfield, Derbyshire, with John the Carpenter as the detective. Six years after the last episode, John is well-established in married life but trade is poor, and when a local lord demands he look into the death of the lord’s daughter, a religious anchoress, John has no choice but to agree. The place and time are very well-written and the characters are very sympathetic, even including the famous crooked spire of the town’s church which makes a guest appearance again here.

And here? Progressing slowly with The Fate of the Sea Stag, looking forward to Granite Noir in a few weeks, entering too many competitions and not looking forward to changing the way I do my mailing list - but it has to be done!