Reviews

‘I opened this book with high expectations. They have been admirably fulfilled.  Here we have a stand alone thriller about two lonely people who pursue a relationship of monthly weekends together in remote spots.  Suddenly one of these two fails to get to the rendezvous-vous and the other realises how very limited her knowledge of her  companion is . . . Gradually the reader pieces together some of the facts as an atmosphere of rising tension envelops everything. The intelligent way Jay, Lisa and others plan their actions is enjoyable and the suspense of the tale is palpable.’

- MYSTERY PEOPLE

Holiday reading

Posted on Aug 26, 2009 in emergency reading, holiday reading | No Comments

I’m always anxious when I go on holiday that I might run out of things to read – or take the wrong books. Two occasions spring to mind. One was a trip to Italy when I fell ill in Urbino and had only the Nonesuch Byron to read. Nothing wrong with it as such – far from it – but a good thriller would have been more like it. The other time was at an airport in Greece when our flight was delayed and I discovered that Amanda Cross was not my favourite crime writer. I’ve been careful since then to make sure that I keep something very absorbing in reserve for emergencies. Careful planning is essential when you’re flying, but when you’re driving to France as we did this year, it’s possible to pack a bag full of books, and I did.

I took and read:
Sue Grafton, M FOR MALICE – excellent, one of her best
Andrea Camilleri, AUGUST HEAT – as usual, a treat
Raymond Chandler, THE LONG GOODBYE
Patricia Highsmith, THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY
(these last two is preparation for a paper that I was planning for the St Hilda’s crime fiction conference, the Chandler repaid rereading, the Highsmith didn’t)
Brad Gooch, FLANNERY: A LIFE OF FLANNERY O’CONNOR
Hakan Nesser, THE MIND’S EYE – a fine addition to Swedish crime fiction
Colin Cotterill, ANARCHY AND OLD DOGS – to be honest I might have read this before I went away, but it’s so good I’m going to mention it anyway.

I took and didn’t read:
Jane Austen, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Richard Cobb, PARIS AND ELSEWHERE
Jeffrey Deaver, A GARDEN OF BEASTS
Elliott Patterson, THE SKULL MANTRA
Alan Furst, THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
Francis Spufford, I MAY BE SOME TIME: ICE AND THE ENGLISH IMAGINATION

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