reading

Read more here

(son of John Le Carre) I decided to dip a toe in the audiobook world as DEAD WATER is about to become available in that format, so I jumped in with British actor Simon Russell Beale narrating this book by John Le Carré’s son, Nick Harkaway. If you’re a fan of George Smiley and his wide cast…

It would be true to admit that I’m a big fan of this writer and this series in particular. I reviewed the first book in the series CLIFF DIVER, a few months back. You can read the review here. Amato’s first career was as a CIA analyst based in Mexico, and her knowledge of cartels and…

I’ve read several books in the Claudia Rose series and have become quite a fan. There are two main characters, a traditional US detective, and his girlfriend who is a graphologist – someone who studies handwriting. I’ve learned a lot about the techniques used to determine whether a signature on a will is a forgery,…

Coincidences abound in Buried, but they’re so subtly inserted, that you only realise there are a few too many for realism when you get to the end of the book. Despite this, the concept of a true crime writer being lured back to the small town where he grew up to uncover a series of…

In previous issues of this newsletter, I’ve recommended some other authors who write in crime/thriller genres, but it seems apt today to mention the incredible anthology of stories from men and women who have worked in bomb disposal across the decades, published by Felix Fund. I must express an interest here, as it has been…

I was intrigued by the premise of this series, an ex-cop who is a heroin addict trying to solve the murder of his best friend even while he’s eaten alive by the need for his next fix. The world of Cal Rogan is grim and gritty, with occasional glimpses of a better, brighter life in…

Set in modern-day Acapulco, a small team of detectives wade through the increasing violence of gangs and cartels, where every night another two or three people lose their lives, widows pray in church while their sons are recruited to crime, their daughters are kidnapped and sold as sex slaves, and orphans wear plastic bottles around…

This is the first in a four-book series introducing DC Harbinder Kaur. The parallels between a Gothic novel and a crumbling school were genuinely creepy, with a murder scene identical to one in the novel. I enjoyed the main characters – it was refreshing to have a woman of colour as the lead officer in the…