SPARKS

[Alex Robertson]

Dead In Devon by Stephanie Austin…ploughed through this one, if for no other reason than to prove myself right about the murderer ( I was!)
There is an awful lot of padding, over descriptive depictions of the village, of the food and not enough of the characters. Some seem added as an afterthought to “spice the story up a bit”, there is at least another in the series but I don’t think, I’ll invest the time or effort.

[Alex Robertson]

Too Much Of Water by LC Tyler…one of his historical mysteries, a pleasant departure from his (excellent) comedy murder mysteries…set in 1670 in a village mostly fallen under the sea due to coastal erosion, this book is as pleasing to read as the aforementioned comedies, there are touches of humour as well as a wonderfully crafted plot. Definitely be looking out more in this series.

[Alex Robertson]

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer, this is a wonderfully old style murder mystery, slyly funny with a host of eccentric characters all with motives of sorts. This “delightfully charming” mystery set during WW II in a rambling country house ( as they all are)is deserving of its recent resurgence (it had been out of print for over 70 years) and would make a smashing Christmas film or tv show… no gruesomeness, no gratuitous violence and not one iota of bad language…well worth looking out, I thoroughly recommend this.

[Crabby]

Just finished reading "His Bloody Project" by Graeme Macrae Burnet..... I thought it was a really good read but for some reason l found myself skimming over the last 15 pages... A strange combination of fiction, history. murder.... I felt it fizzled out a bit.....
So, in an attempt to get away from the 19th century crofting communities l'm about to start reading Jack Kerouac "On the Road"........it's going to be an interesting Christmas.

[Alex Robertson]

Fire by LC Tyler…another in the Sir John Grey murder mysteries, set in 1666 during the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. Another great factional read, including the xenophobia and conspiracies about how the fire started.
An enjoyable (even if it is obvious who the baddies are) read.

[Alex Robertson]

Midnight And Blue the latest offering from Ian Rankin in the Rebus series, can’t fault it in any way, the seemingly eternal Rebus and his associates once more embroiled in cases which are connected more than just tangentially…a thoroughly cracking read!

[J. Prufrock]

The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune, 2020) is about a middle-aged bureaucrat sent to check up on an orphanage dedicated to children with magical abilities, and who finds joy, love, family, all of which were missing from his prior lifestyle, while there. The sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea (2024) finds the former bureaucrat, his new love, and the orphans trying for government recognition as a family - and taking in another teenage boy with his own issues - while certain ambitious government ministers are trying to shut down the orphanage to gain custody and control over one especially powerful child. The books have a lot in common with sappy Christmas movies (though they're not set at that time of year) and part of the resolution of the government conflict in the second book has a touch of deus ex machina, but they did provide me with 'tidings of comfort and joy' and may be of particular interest to readers who enjoyed the Harry Potter books back in the day but don't want anything more from the author of that series.

[Crabby]

So, that's Jack Kerouac 'On the Road' done and dusted.
So much more enjoyable than l thought. I don't know what l was expecting but it was beautifully written, l felt as if l was travelling with him and his descriptions of scenery and atmosphere were just wonderful.....

Right now, off for the latest Alan Moore book!

[Alex Robertson]

The Day Of The Jack Russell (spooks, crooks & a puppy dog’s tale) by Bateman, I’ve been honestly laughing out loud reading this follow up tale. Not a good move in a hospital waiting area. I hope there is a third in the series, if not already, on the cards for the near future.
Funniest author I’ve read for a long time!

[Alex Robertson]

Mr. Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd, this book is unswervingly funny and coldly dark (or perhaps darkly cold). One minute you are in a twee English village where two spinster cousins and their strange new neighbour live (their cottages are either side of his), then suddenly you are reliving horrific flashbacks of their lives, written with such simplicity that the horrors are almost skipped by, transitional almost but there are deaths galore in the present (spoiler alert, even the sweary parrot cops it) a most satisfying read.
Midsummer Murders this ain’t, get your readers polished, grab a cup of cocoa and a couple of ginger snaps and get yourself settled for a surreal rollercoaster of a read.
Unputdownable I promise!

[J. Prufrock]

Teenagers trying to survive in and ultimately overthrow the dystopian societies they're growing up in have gotten fairly common in literature (probably thanks to The Hunger Games series.) For those who enjoy that genre, Soyoung Park wrote Snowglobe in 2020 but its English translation was just published in 2024. In this particular future dystopia the Siberian-winter-level snow and cold are actually outside the title globe, which is populated entirely by actors, support staff (also required to be on camera), and directors of 24/7 reality TV shows. The protagonist aspires to qualify to live in physical comfort inside the globe as a director but is instead offered a position replacing her favorite actor; I saw part of a big plot twist coming and then shook my head at myself for getting surprised by the twist on the twist. A fine addition to the teenagers-fighting-dystopia genre, with a sequel to wrap up the story supposedly coming this year (though I'm unsure how much delay to expect between the Korean original and English translation this time.)

[Alex Robertson]

Murder Most Antique by E.C. Bateman the second ( I assume) in The Stamford Mysteries…another cosy murder mystery, an enjoyable little romp through English village sensibilities…didn’t get the killer though but who I did suspect isn’t out of the woods culprit wise…I’ll have to get the next in the series to see if they are killer or killee 😜

[Alex Robertson]

Bucket’s List A Charley Field Victorian mystery by Gary Blackwood. Ex-Inspector Charley Field, the inspiration for his friend Charles Dickens, Inspector Bucket from Bleak House, has set himself up as a private enquiry agent, spending more time in his offices, pub or brothel rather than at home with his cold wife and her nagging mother. Things become more than personal when his preferred sexual companion is found drowned, an apparent suicide, but Field knows she would never contemplate leaving her young daughter alone and sets to prove it was murder.
A great mixture of characters and atmosphere…again I hope there are more of these books, I’ll be looking out for them.

[Alex Robertson]

Inspector French’s Greatest Case by Freeman Wills Crofts. I’ve ploughed through this, but it’s hard going.
The writing style isn’t gripping, the plot drags on, it’s more like a travelogue than a story about a Scotland Yard detective trying to solve a murder and diamond robbery. He’s been all over Europe chasing red herrings and still no closer, his leads all come through serendipity and stars aligning. His boss allows him free range ( I imagine to the detriment of other crimes) his wife ( who seems to see him once in a blue moon)serves him the obvious wisdom to reassess the salient points in clues he’s missed… and sets him off on his travels again. There are elements whisked out of nowhere, to which the reader is supposed to be aware of and characters introduced in great detail only to be abandoned a few paragraphs or chapters later!
This is the first in (at least) three books about Inspector French but it’s the last one I’ll be bothering with…turgid barely describes this plodding nonsense!!

[Alex Robertson]

Galway Girl by Ken Bruen, a strangely written book, a good story well plotted but actually written strangely, like something Joyce might’ve written. I enjoyed this immensely, so much so I’ll definitely be looking out the other books in the series and hopefully they will continue in the same trend of surreal grammar and obscure quotes.
100% recommended

[Bnx]

Rereading Mark Z. Danielewski's The Familiar to my mum. It's about a 12 year old girl who finds a cat...

(and a lot of other things)
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