Alabaster Alibi by S.D. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read Bloodstone Bludgeon a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. It is the second book in S.D. Brown’s Rock Shop Series, and so I was looking forward to reading Alabaster Alibi, the first book. I was not disappointed. The main character, Allie Renault, becomes the investigating detective in a possible murder case. This is despite threats and demands from Sheriff Stone, the local police officer, to stay out of it as she is his main suspect. Initially there is one dead person, her uncle Jasper, but after a while, well into the story, it becomes a case of two dead people. The whole murder mystery seems to revolve around the rock shop left jointly to Allie and her cousin Colin. The case is not so simple of course and the tale weaves nicely in and out of many twists and turns. Allie is a very likeable character who I found I was rooting for right to the surprising conclusion.
Brown bravely introduces elements of the Viet Nam War that will seriously affect her surreptitious investigations. Some of this information in the book may or may not be true. I can recall incidents – such as the My Lai massacre, terrible and cruel - that occurred during that war. This was reported later in newspapers and TV everywhere and it brought shame upon the US fighting forces. This section of Alabaster Alibi added such sadness to the book that I found difficult to read about.
However, Alabaster Alibi is entertaining, pacey and intriguing. The characters are realistic and often amusing. For Allie many of them slowly reveal motives for murder and capture the reader’s attention. The final twist at the end when the perpetrator is revealed was good if quite confusing and I required more explanation. Maybe that was just me! Several parts of the story had unfortunate typos and the MS needs editing or putting through a word processor once more.


View all my reviews

Half Gate by K.T. Munson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I first read one of the Gate Trilogy novels in 2017, I was completely absorbed by the story because of the author’s fascinating creation of the characters in a ‘Nethergate’ kind of world. The ideas behind it involve demons and trapped spirits, amongst many other-worldly concepts. Half Gate is a short work of three short stories, which illustrates further the various kinds of problems its characters may meet.
In the first short story we meet Aqitaka and Ellaria who seem destined to become lovers. But Aqitaka is from another world. Can he stay? In the next story Azura, a commoner, is suddenly caught in a frozen world, Oran, and discovers a prince in the same situation. His father is determined to prevent the two marrying but Azura has become their world’s Gate Guardian, a powerful influence. Story three is about a student of fringe worlds. She is called Elisabeth, and she discovers a secret and dangerous book. There is a strong likelihood that the spirit trapped within it will ruin her work, maybe cause havoc in their world. Can she create a suitable device to render it friendly or harmless?
Despite the assertions that Half Gate can be read as a standalone book, I disagree. I had some idea about what was going on in this book of three stories but still struggled to understand the overall plot(s). The worlds that Munson creates here are varied and intriguing but I felt all the way through that each story could have been developed much more into a novel of its own. The pace of each is fast and furious but their worlds would benefit greatly for being in much greater depth, with its own twists and turns in my opinion. Somehow, I wanted the main characters to figure more significantly, weaving in and out of new situations developed by this skilled and imaginative author. Her world-building is so fascinating it seemed to me to be a waste to keep them so short.
Unfortunately, once again I find my overall rating reduced through the need for further careful editing in this book. For example when it said ‘palatable’ did it really want to say ‘palpable?’ There were too many punctuation and grammatical errors, with too many US idioms and words throughout the narrative that made it difficult for this UK reader to fully understand what was being explained. I am a firm believer that the patois and dialect for a region should be kept within the written dialogue of a novel. The conversations were real and well done but exposition was not always clear to me. Words in the story like: dove; snuck; sunk; snagged; scooted; and barreled mean something quite different in a UK dictionary.


View all my reviews

White Nights by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

White Nights is quite a different novel to the first book in the Shetland series, i.e. Raven Black, because the season is summer and things are not so gloomy and dark. However, the atmosphere becomes just as unsettling to Jimmy Perez and the perpetual light causes a certain amount of stress to some of the visitors.

An art exhibition, on Shetland, that is not going too well when an unknown man becomes upset, weeping and collapsing in front of everyone. The main artist is Bella Sinclair but a new artist, called Fran that is also present, looks like a woman of interest to Perez. He feels that the mystery man is overreacting but he is curious when the man claims to have completely lost his memory. When the same man is found hanging dead the next day, together with some other strange circumstances, Perez starts an investigation. Was it murder or suicide?

The subsequent case and Jimmy Perez’s romantic involvement with Fran are the main components of the plot from then on. The build-up of the story through the descriptions of the settings, the characters and the intriguing developments in the case are excellent. There is an ongoing feeling of resentment and suspicions from the locals about visitors to the islands, These feelings come through to readers and feels somehow natural and understood. It is down to the writing skill and talent of Ann Cleeves and the tension throughout the book is just what one expects from a crime thriller. Twists and turns occur in almost every chapter! Unfortunately I found the motive behind the murders a little questionable and for me this was the book’s only weakness.
It was still worth reading right to the very end and every bit as enjoyable as the first book in the series.



View all my reviews

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been a fan of Ann Cleeves’ crime novels, set on the Shetland Isles, for quite a long time. The characters that she creates are so realistic. The reader is led into their lives so well and so subtly that any surprises at the denouement are quite genuine. Jimmy Perez, the police inspector and primary character is a brilliant figure for you to latch onto. He has a real background, along with the highs and lows of a life spent solving crime. The customs of the Shetlands confused me for quite a while, particularly when they became relevant to the suspected murders. But patience was rewarded later!

This was the kind of criminal thriller that I enjoy the most. It has characters you get to care about, both as victims and as possible perpetrators. The plot is both believable and intriguing from the start; full of twists and turns. There is even the hint of a little romance between Perez and a woman involved in the discovery of a dead body. It is a hint that may tempt you to read the sequel or subsequent sequels. Highly recommended.



View all my reviews

And Away... by Bob Mortimer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was full of surprises. Bob Mortimer comes across as a quiet, shy and quite compassionate man; not at all the brash and loud person he seemed to be in the TV show, Shooting Stars. We discover a lot about the heart operations he had when he came near to death. In a rather impassive and practical way he describes some of what he endured during the medical attention he required.

But there is a lot about his young life and some of the names he talks about had a ring of familiarity to them, probably due to the stories we hear him giggle through on Would I Lie To You? – another TV program. Who would have thought that Bob had some legal training in his past life? That section was amusing and intriguing, and I found it quite entertaining.

It was extremely endearing when he wrote about his mother and how important she was in his life. Although it appeared to be described in a dispassionate, even funny, way I felt that there was an underlying love there that could not be denied. It was just what I suspected all the way through his book. And Away is touching, real and very appealing to his fans, and may even encourage more people to engage with Bob Mortimer in his writing and TV appearances. Greatly enjoyable and funny!


View all my reviews

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing: Life, Death and the Thrill of the Catch by Bob Mortimer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the TV series we often see Bob fall over and Paul moaning at him about winding in his fishing line. And of course this is not evident in the book unless it is mentioned. However, the fact that the two are very good friends comes across to readers just as well as the visual antics shown on the TV screen. The book has a lot of information about fishing and fish and the wonderful rivers they visit. This was interesting enough not to make it spoil the book for me. I suppose it may inspire some people to take up the hobby but I thought that what comes up best of all is how the pair of funny men love nature and enjoy just the experience of being there together. Having been seriously ill with heart problems in recent times they also tend to joke about ‘sensible’ diets if they want to stay well – even stay alive!
Occasionally the two become a bit philosophical but like the TV programs you are never certain whether it is serious. This is particularly when Bob asks the odd zany question, for example about ‘pocket meat.’ It always appears to be something he just thought of at that moment. The comedy element is never very far away from their conversations. But what is patently obvious is how much they both enjoy the simple experience of sitting beside a beautiful river, surrounded by an environment filled with trees and meadows and bird song. A gentle, relaxing and lovely read, reminiscent of the TV show.


View all my reviews

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell


In An Event in Autumn Kurt Wallander is nearing his time to retire from policing. It is a novella, but the shortness of this much smaller book has just as much intrigue and interest for the reader as any of Henning Mankell’s previous crime thrillers. The writing is excellent as usual with a plot that captured the thriller-fan side of my interest; but also there is the occasional metaphorical analogy between seasonal autumn and Wallander’s attitude towards his own mortality. He is considering buying a house and leaving the apartment he shares with his daughter, Linda.

Problems arise and continue rising, of course, to stir the reader’s engagement even further.
Kurt is surprised to find some potential for the house but things begin to unravel when he discovers a skeleton in the garden. And so the mystery (a reader hopes for) begins! The investigation will involve his usual colleagues as well as his daughter. It has few police resources as it is an old case but Kurt Wallander becomes as obsessed as usual in solving it. Despite his need to retire in peace his many years in the force as a detective push him on to find more clues, especially when there is another body found. There are twists to the tale and it is just as compelling a read, albeit a much shorter novel than Mankell’s previous books.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers.


View all my reviews

The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story begins with the horrific murder of many individuals, all residents living in a small village somewhere in Sweden. My attention was grabbed immediately and for page after page I was kept wondering, why? who? how? And so on, when you also discover there is also when? In fact there are several whens? As well as some wheres? The tale slowly reveals historical events in China that involve a particular family and the internal feuds and conflicts affecting them.
It took me a while to realise that there was a lot more detailed information to come before I’d get some kind of take on the tale. Mankell is most adept at writing stories that will include other countries and characters that eventually relate to the central plot, intriguing and entertaining the reader throughout the book. Another reason I like his books so much, albeit that it is usually a Kurt Wallander crime thriller that I turn to. But The Man From Bejing was just as much a compelling read. It is full of detail, relevant and interesting historically. It’s a story that asks you to work at the plot sometimes, with rewarding conclusions.
The main investigator this time is a Swedish judge, Birgitta Roslin, whose grandparents are among the murdered victims. Birgitta Roslin is an impressive woman who deserves another book! I wonder if there is another thriller with her at the helm? Highly recommended.


View all my reviews

Depths by Henning Mankell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It took me a few pages to realise that the author is holding the reader inside the very weird and strange head of a mad, maybe even psychopathic killer. It felt uncomfortable and alien to the effect that I was tempted to give up reading ‘Depths’ - even though it is by an author popular with me through the Wallander novels. However, of course I pressed on with it and ended up liking it.
The title refers to the process of measuring the depths of the sea, or soundings, in the waters around the archipelago of Sweden, and in particular seas that are around Stockholm. The main character is a compulsive obsessive, and the depths of his mind were dark and very dangerous. I started reading under the impression that it may be a story about World War 1, which in essence I suppose it is. But not at all; this is a tale about the way a human mind can ‘go wrong’ and how distraction and lust may result in tragedy. There is tension and unease throughout the novel, reflecting Mankell’s amazing skills as a writer. He is precise and accurate with realistic situations and dialogue. It is quite a different kind of ‘crime thriller’ and I can recommend it to fans of the genre as well as to anyone who just enjoys a good read with oodles of – pardon the pun – depth!


View all my reviews

Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seconds Away is the novel that follows on from Shelter, Coben’s previous Mickey Bolitar book. It did not disappoint with the usual intriguing and engrossing chapters throughout the novel, and had the occasional snippets about the characters from the first one to keep readers up to speed. I was pleased to see Spoon and Ema return in this book as they helped to provide an element of humour to counterbalance some of the more sinister moments. There is the expected suspense and danger you need in a thriller and a great ending. All in all I enjoyed this book just as much as Shelter and can thoroughly recommend it to adults, younger and older!
There was a lot in this Mickey Bolitar book about the relationship between him and his uncle Myron. There was also some more about the back story, the fate of his parents and so on. That was also done well and it helped me gain an overall context to their family. Something I think all readers will welcome.


View all my reviews