4 January 2025

Reader dismay follows fantasy switch by fave crime author

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To see the name of crime fiction favourite Jo Nesbo shouting at us from a book’s cover is generally enough to persuade us to cough up the required cover price. No waiting for the cheaper paperback edition or shopping around but an immediate done deal. Instant gratification is guaranteed. But not on this occasion. Instead, the… Continue Reading

4 January 2025

Reader dismay follows fantasy switch by fave crime author

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To see the name of crime fiction favourite Jo Nesbo shouting at us from a book’s cover is generally enough to persuade us to cough up the required cover price. No waiting for the cheaper paperback edition or shopping around but an immediate done deal. Instant gratification is guaranteed. But not on this occasion. Instead, the… Continue Reading

5 September 2024

How cosy can cosy crime become?

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Cosy crime book cover

Reading cosy crime at bedtime is better than any narcotic; a sure cure for insomnia. But sometimes the level of cosiness irritates rather than calms. Frustration with plot, characters or dialogue wakens rather than lulls, and sleep becomes a forlorn hope. Maybe it is a case of “you can have too much of a good thing.”… Continue Reading

7 August 2024

Chemistry provides formula for joy

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A recent trip into the chemistry lab surprised and delighted with the discovery that it held a formula for joy. It produced the recipe (pictured left) for sheer undiluted pleasure, as well as moments of laugh-out-loud comic interludes. Thankfully there was no need this time for the white coat and protective goggles demanded by Health… Continue Reading

4 August 2024

Thinking no longer needed thanks to AI

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Can I write something for you?

A click of the mouse was all it took to reveal that thinking is no longer needed. Henceforth I can safely leave such a stressful activity in the efficient hands of AI. With Artificial Intelligence taking care of my thought processes I can stop creasing my brow and pacing the room in frustration as I… Continue Reading

31 July 2024

LinkedIn or lost out?

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Somewhere along the way I seem to have lost out on the many advantages LinkedIn claims to offer. Several years of membership and I am none the wiser. It’s like being admitted to one of those exclusive London clubs and being allowed to enter no further that the lobby. Am I wearing the wrong tie?… Continue Reading

21 July 2024

Putting on a fresh face

We have given birth. And it was almost pain-free. Certainly devoid of screaming and wailing in the delivery room. Mind you, doing the major part of it remotely probably helped. We are, however, talking not of humankind, but in techno terms. Our corporate flag is being waved from a totally new look website. And this… Continue Reading

2 April 2023

Midsommer faces Canadian rival for murder frequency

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Why would anyone want to risk living in the outwardly charming British village of Midsommer? The number of bizarre and sudden deaths that beset its residents must be an estate agent’s nightmare. The ultimate hard sell. Charming 18th century cottage for sale, all bloodstains removed, two previous owners shot, two knifed, one poisoned and another… Continue Reading

11 March 2023

Crime so cosy that it makes an excellent nightcap

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There has always been a leisurely air about Guido Brunetti’s approach to crime. In Give Unto Others his creator dips him even deeper into the realm of the soporfic. Better than a warming cup of camomile tea. More digestible than a tab or two of valerian. It’s dreamtime in Venice. Give Unto Others documents the… Continue Reading

29 December 2022

Fading air fryer fervour sends gadget to the cooling rack

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CAN’T help wondering how many of the doubtless thousands of air fryers bought in the Christmas shopping madness will end up discarded, re-gifted  or otherwise dumped. This must surely be the most useless bit of kitchen gadgetry ever. Over-publicised, over-promoted and  oversold it is destined for the dump once reality bites. As commented on here… Continue Reading

21 November 2022

Book reviewers need to get out from Between the Covers

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It’s time for members of the BBC’s weekly book discussion group to emerge from Between The Covers and broaden their field of vision. Doing so might change their outdated and somewhat snobbish attitudes to the vast world of crime fiction. Even put some excitement and joy into their studiously serious lives. This tired old viewpoint… Continue Reading

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