Val McDermid book cover
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Devious mix of students, spies, voyeurs and fishermen

CATCH-up time, trying to reduce the pile of recent reads that have provided a mixed bag of distraction, intrigue, twisting plot-lines and unreliable narrators. Two old favourites and one comparative newbie among a clutch of authors with an unfailing ability to grip and taunt with narratives that leave you guessing to the very end. The…

Saddened by surgeon stalker’s nasty story
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Saddened by surgeon stalker’s nasty story

STARTING a previously unread book is a journey into the unknown, but one full of hope and expectation. Perhaps it’s sparked by an intriguing review, or an enthusiastic word of mouth recommendation. Maybe fellow book bloggers – at least those with no axe to grind or promoters to please – have heaped praise on the…

Mystery fun with criminals, bishops and barristers
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Mystery fun with criminals, bishops and barristers

FOR those of a certain age (i.e. anyone born in the last century) one word will be sufficient to evoke fond memories of unmissable criminal court dramas. A reminder of tantalisingly clever tales rich in humour, wry comment and a panoply of credible and almost loveable rogues. And that word is Rumpole. Horace Rumpole, barrister….

Baffled by Hadrian’s Wall and a mystery postcard
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Baffled by Hadrian’s Wall and a mystery postcard

SURELY mine is not the only brain that has gradually turned to mush thanks to this endless lock-down. I sense previously lively little grey cells have coagulated into something resembling sago pudding.  Thus my head is host to an amorphous  splodge of lifeless nothingness. A once active organ languishes listless and lifeless. Bogged and befuddled,…

Spy tale irritates more than it thrills
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Spy tale irritates more than it thrills

BOOK lovers are a stubborn and peculiar breed. They will determinedly push on to the very last word despite all the negative vibes they are receiving from their current choice of reading matter. They plough relentlessly forward, deaf to a background noise about plot, characters, writing style, inconsistencies, typos (polite word for spelling errors), plodding…

Have a cuppa with pride, not prejudice
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Have a cuppa with pride, not prejudice

NEARLY choked on my afternoon cuppa. Spluttered and dribbled before disaster was eventually averted. Yorkshire’s finest it was, too. You know, the brew that guy with the accent as broad as the Dales is forever chuntering on about. Seems that the much adored novelist and regular tea drinker Jane Austen (pictured) has fallen foul of…