Uncategorised | Blog | Book reviews | Books | Crime fiction | Writing
Enthralling trio of tricky tales
Dire and deadly start for plush Dorset coast resort
Everything old becomes new again in the book marketing world
Dressing up old books in new covers seems to be a growing ploy of publishers’ marketing departments. Authors’ names are emblazoned in bold type – more prominent than that used for the actual title – on redesigned covers enclosing novels written decades ago. It is an eye-catching trick that can bamboozle avid readers into thinking…
Love-lorn PM’s steamy backseat affair makes intriguing wartime tale
Imagine any prime minister of recent times having regular trysts with a woman many years their junior and expecting no one to breathe a word. Or a love-lorn prime minister taking his paramour for regular cosy drives in the official limousine, with its blacked out windows, without a hint of a whisper beyond their inner…
Blog | Book reviews | Books | Crime fiction | Writing
Thrills remain though we know who dunnit
The prime joy of reading crime fiction is puzzling out “who dunnit”. Yet here’s a thriller in which we know who the guilty parties are almost from the get go. And yet we are still happy to go along for the ride. Wondering where this horror journey can possibly end – and how many victims…
How cosy can cosy crime become?
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.”…
Uncategorised | Blog | Book reviews | Books | Writing
Chemistry provides formula for joy
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…
Thinking no longer needed thanks to AI
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…
Midsommer faces Canadian rival for murder frequency
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…
A crime fiction tease from start to finish of sex worker thriller
Author Adele Parks is a tease. Relentlessly so. At least, judging by One Last Secret (paperback, HQ/Harper Collins, 2022) it seems she simply can’t help herself. She never stops. Just when you think you know what is going on, she drops another bombshell and lures you into reading on . . . and on ….
Book reviewers need to get out from Between the Covers
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…