Here we go again with another book round-up! Daily reading is one of my favourite – and fast – ways to pamper and get some self-preservation! As you will quickly realise, I have a penchant for cozy mysteries and seldom read non-fiction. I very rarely buy books, preferring to borrow them from our wonderful Danish local libraries (I have lots of library tours on this YouTube series! I use eReolenGlobal and Libby apps to find/read/listen to books, plus Goodreads to track what I’ve read. I love listening to books while I work in the garden or do housework! Here’s another round-up…
The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club #2) by Richard Osman. You’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard all the hype about the first Richard Osman book, The Thursday Murder Club (which I loved, my rating was four out of five). And here, he does it again, and it’s better, funnier, saddier and crazier than the first one. Absolutely amazing! My rating: five out of five. I know there are plans afoot to make movies – let’s hope they don’t mess it up!
A Line To Kill (Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery #3) by Anthony Horowitz. Readers of my blog will know that I love Anthony Horowitz books: his Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1) was my favourite book of 2017. Five out of five stars, a rarity! This one, from the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, was good but I’m not quite so keen on the autofiction format. I prefer Anthony Horowitz holding the pen and not parading in his own books… But he is a crafty writer, fantastic plots that will have you rereading pages to see where you missed the clues! My rating: three out of five.
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. I love P.D. James and this is her “take” on the world and characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice….throwing a murder into the mix! I listenend to this on audiobook and it’s slightly different in plot from the BBC television adaptation (which is fabulous, utterly gripping, highly recommend). My rating: three out of five.
The Well of Ice (Inishowen Mysteries #3) by Andrea Carter. I discovered Andrea Carter quite by accident a couple of years ago – picking up one of her books at our local Danish library purely because of the cover! I love the setting of these fairly “cozy” crimes: County Donegal, Ireland, present time. And the main character – a solicitor called Ben (Benedicta) – often indulges in a spot of winterbathing which, of course, is a passion of mine. The events of this one take place around Christmas and New Year – would be great for a winter read. My rating: three out of five.
And now for not one, but two, Ken Bruen books! First up. In the Galway Silence (Jack Taylor #14) Yet another Ken Bruen book…I seem to be addicted to listening to these! I’ve never read his physical books but love listening on audiobook. Despite them being full of expletives! Narration by Gerry O’Brien is, as always, utterly brilliant. As with Bruen’s previous books in the series, you can expect dry and dark humour and seething social commentary. Jack Taylor is an anti-hero, thrown out of the Irish Garda police, now working as a private eye but spends most of his time drinking his life away and swearing. He works with people you certainly wouldn’t want to meet and in this one his own life is turned upside down. So bleak but uplifting and entertaining! My rating: four out of five.
And this, of course, is the next in the series. Galway Girl (Jack Taylor #15) by Ken Bruen. The Galway girl in question is prepared to destroy everything and everyone around her, in order to get to Jack. Chilling but with the usual hilarious moments dotted in between. My rating: four out of five.
Blotto, Twinks and the Great Road Race (Blotto and Twinks #9) by Simon Brett. Simon Brett is one of my favourite authors. He has several series which I have read all of the books. Try the Fethering Mysteries or Mrs Pargeter books. He also has this series with Blotto and Twinks, a kind of pastiche in the style of P.G.Wodehouse. Some of them work. This one, alas, was absolutely abysmal. It was, thankfully, a short book and you can skim a lot of it. The team names of those participating in the road race are so long (about 10 works in total, if memory serves) and he repeats them in full length several times on every page. I felt as if Simon Brett was writing a school essay and trying to make up the word count in the easiest way possible! LOL! Tally ho, let’s hope the others in the series are better! My rating: one out of five.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions and reviews, my dear friend Sue (formerly a book seller, now a librarian) has a great book blog! http://bookaliciousbabe.blogspot.com/ Please check her out and say hi from me!
LLAP! Hugs!
Diane
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