Review: THE SABOTEUR, by Simon Conway. published by Hodder and Stoughton.
NOTE: I conducted a short interview with Simon Conway on SHOTS E-ZINE, which you can find here: http://shotsmag.co.uk/interview_view.aspx?interview_id=318 I hope you enjoy that too! As a reviewer and reader, there are rather few authors whose work I look forward to every year. My old stand-bys like John le Carre and John Gardner, are dead. Other … Continue reading
Review: A CURSED PLACE, by Peter Hanington, published by Two Roads, an imprint of John Murray.
My first reaction? Not good. When I see that someone who has been a BBC journalist for twenty-five years has been published, and that he has wonderful shout lines from Kirsty Wark, Michael Palin, Melvyn Bragg, Allan Little, and a raft of other BBC members of staff or those who are often interviewed by the … Continue reading
Review: THE BLACK DRESS by Deborah Moggach, published by Tinder Press
Hardback ISBN: 9781472260529 This is a rather strange one for me. Occasionally I am lucky enough to have a new book sent to me to review, and I’m always grateful. After all, with my income any opportunity to read another writer’s work is to be appreciated. And because I’m an author it’s not always easy … Continue reading
Review: EMPIRES OF CRIME by Tim Newark, published by Pen And Sword History
ISBN: 1526713047 I have to admit, I picked this up with a degree of trepidation. There are so many books published which blame the British Empire for everything from famine, slavery, warfare and xenophobia, that I am forced to select my reading with care, just to avoid damage to my blood pressure. I need not have … Continue reading
Review: THE KILLER ACROSS THE TABLE by John E Douglas and Michael Olshaker published by William Collins
Many years ago I came to the conclusion that I should only review books I’ve really enjoyed. There was a logic to that decision. Basically, since I have a real problem with diverse authors, such as Philip K Dick, Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson, my judgements about books are not, clearly, mainstream! However, my attitude … Continue reading
Review: MIDNIGHT IN PEKING by Paul French, published by Penguin
I’ve spent quite some times reviewing crime books recently, and here’s another – except this one isn’t fiction. In the early morning in January 1937 the body of a late-teenaged British girl, Pamela, daughter of the city’s former consul, ETC Werner. She had been appallingly mutilated, and even her breast had been opened and her … Continue reading
Review: THREE STATIONS by Martin Cruz Smith, published by Simon & Schuster
I have always had a soft spot for Martin Cruz Smith’s book, ever since I first read GORKY PARK, the book that introduced Arkady Renko, the disillusioned cop of Moscow’s police force. There are several books in the series, and I find each of them utterly captivating. Yes, they are page-turners, and they have great … Continue reading
Review: ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE by Martin Edwards, published by New English Library
I have written already about a Martin Edwards book, THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE. This was the second book of his, which was irritatingly a book earlier in his Harry Devlin series, but which was superbly well written. Martin’s books had a bit of a choppy beginning, I think. This was originally published by Judy Piatkus … Continue reading
Review: THE DROWNED CITY, by K.J. Maitland
Published by Headline Review in hardback, paperback, ebook and audio. Hardback published 1st April 2021, £16.99 A book by KJ Maitland is always something to savour. She has an enviable reputation both as a crime writer and expert in the beliefs and daily lives of our ancestors. In previous books she has delved into the … Continue reading
Review: THE LAST BERSERKER by Angus Donald, Canelo
ISBN e-book: 978 1 80032 186 1 £3.99 Paperback: 978 1 80032 187 8 £8.99 I am not big on Vikings. I read a lot about them in the 1980s, but there was not a lot in their history that grabbed my attention. I was always more drawn to the first kings … Continue reading
