Review: MIRACULOUS MYSTERIES edited by Martin Edwards
Published by British Library; ISBN 978 0 7123 5673 2 Rather too many years to think of, when I first created Medieval Murderers, and later, when we decided to collaborate on a novel, one of the very first decisions we made was, that no matter how things went, we would avoid a collection of short … Continue reading
Review: TARGET ZERO by Tony Riches, published by Head of Zeus
I have just finished TARGET ZERO, which is the second in the superb The Protector series by Tony Riches. Please check my last post for a review of NEMESIS, the first in this series. In this second book, Michael Bale, now no longer a policeman, has returned from a year-long escape to Thailand. He lost … Continue reading
Review: NEMESIS by Tony Riches, Published by Head of Zeus
I have found over the years that there are several authors who basically give me big problems. Some I will never look at again – because they put safety catches on a revolver, or on a Glock, for example, which drives me potty. Others because … well, think of Terry Pratchett. Every time he wrote … Continue reading
REVIEW: A DEVON NIGHT’S DEATH by Stephanie Austin, published by Allison and Busby
ISBN: 978 0 7490 2892 3 This is one of those books that arrived without my expecting it. Usually, books I don’t expect have one thing in common – they aren’t the sort of books I’d ever think of buying. I am, after all, a crime writer. There is a strange thing about publicists in … Continue reading
Review: TRAITOR IN THE ICE by KJ Maitland, published by Headline Review
ISBN: 978 147 227 5479 There are times when you pick up a book and just know you’re in the hands of a brilliant story-teller. Karen Maitland is an old friend, but don’t let that get in the way of things. She has been a writer of superb stories for some years, first of all … Continue reading
Review: THE DA VINCI FRAUD, by Jack Dunn and Jonathan Coad, published by Silvertail Books
Phew. Where to start with this one? Okay. When I wrote THE LAST TEMPLAR, back in the far-distant days of March 1994, not only did I know that this would be the start of a glittering literary career, I also knew that my research had been impeccable, the characterisation superb and the plotting without fault. … Continue reading
Russia Research
I was chatting to a friend recently, and the conversation gradually migrated to Russia and the state of the world. His view was that Putin had given back pride to Russia, that he had made the country strong again, and though he deplored Putin’s methods, Putin had succeeded in making Russians feel a sense of … Continue reading
A Short Interlude
I’ll soon be back to normal. There are two books I really have to review here shortly – both superb pieces of historical research that deserve a much wider audience. However, unfortunately last week I had a horrible cold. It was quite vile, and knocked me backwards quite dramatically. Then, on Sunday, I discovered that … Continue reading
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: RED TRAITOR, by Owen Matthews, published by Bantam.
Just recently your reviewer has enjoyed a vast range of different books to read and comment on. The delightful editors of Shots are keeping me busy, thank goodness, because all too often the books sent to me by enthusiastic publicists tend to have got me confused with writers of bodice-rippers and historical romance, rather than … Continue reading