July 25

The Housekeepers – Alex Hay

UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON.

DOWNSTAIRS, THE SERVANTS ARE PLOTTING THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY.

When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, she knows just who to recruit to help her take revenge.

A black-market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs King’s predecessor, who has been keeping the dark secrets of Park Lane far too long.

Mrs King has an audacious plan in mind, one that will reunite her women in the depths of the house on the night of a magnificent ball – and play out right under the noses of her former employers…

THEY COME FROM NOTHING. BUT THEY’LL LEAVE WITH EVERYTHING.

 

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy which I recieved through Netgalley. Thanks also to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the tour for The Housekeepers.

 

It’s 1905 and The Housekeepers is bringing readers a mashup of Gosford Park and Oceans Eight – I am here for that! This is a glorious piece of historical crime fiction, grand in its ambition and delivering some engaging subplots and distractions which all threaten to derail the characters from the successful execution of their ambitious plans.

A word of caution though, this book starts with a bit of a slow burn while characters are introduced (there were a few and I frequently mixed them up) while backgrounds are established and while territories are determined. Keep going! Once the slow burn fully ignites the main event there is plenty of sizzle to enjoy.

In one of London’s exclusive family homes there’s a period of mourning underway. The master of the house, a self-made man who had shaken up London society has passed away. But the new lady of this manor (Miss de Vries) isn’t following conventions – she decides she must host an elaborate party, a grand ball and she wants the guest list to be filled with the great and good (and rich) of the town. Naturally there’s a shocked and scandalised reaction that Miss de Vries would even consider such an event during the official mourning period she is expected to observe.

Below the stairs there’s a very different scandal when Mrs King, the housekeeper, is fired from her post for being with a man. Mrs King isn’t one to retreat and lick her wounds – she’s on a mission to extract revenge and to do this she’s going to need some very special people to help her.

And so begins Mrs King’s recruitment and planning challenge. She wants to rob the house, strip it right down and leave Miss de Vries with nothing. It’s wonderfully excessive and she knows she’s facing huge challenges but the grand party will provide the cover she needs.

With the date set and the plan revealed in stages for readers it’s fun to follow this story and see how the various players in this elaborate heist fit into their respective roles. We see them find places of employment in the house, recruit the brute strength needed to move heavy furniture and arrange costumes, drivers and equipment to make sure they have the tools they need.

Unfortunately for Mrs King there are too many random variables which are out of her control and this is where the fun and thrills will creep in.  Her team will keep secrets from her, the staff in the house unwittingly thwart ideas, there are more secrets in the household that Mrs King can’t know and Miss de Vries is an astute and observant lady – she’s hard to distract.

The Housekeepers offers readers a highly entertaining period thriller. The social history elements of the book feel nicely balanced with that gloriously extravagant crime which is being planned. There are several key characters to follow and you’ll likely enjoy some more than others but you’ll also find yourself sympathetic to these characters too – everyone has their own burden to shoulder.

All in, this was a fun read. Definitely not one I took too seriously but with lots of nice touches and some fascinating characters that I was willing to see succeed.

 

 

The Housekeepers is published by Headline and is available now in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-housekeepers/alex-hay/9781472299338

 

 

 

 

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July 18

Dead Man Driving – Lesley Kelly

 

I received a review copy from the publishers prior to taking part in the blog tour.

 

The pandemic crime series which began before the readers found themselves living through a real-life pandemic. It was a fascinating idea before 202o and with the benefit of hindsight it is quite remarkable which elements of this “fiction” came to pass. Lesley Kelly’s post-pandemic Edinburgh is a fascinating city where lives have been devastated, people are trying to retain some semblance of normal and the political situation is at the “eggshell deplomacy” where the pandemic and the fallout is casting a huge shadow over everything.

This is the fifth book in the Health of Strangers series, we follow the Health Enforcement Team (a decidedly rag-tag bunch) who are tasked with ensuring the residents of their area of the city turn up for the compulsory regular health assessment checks. Their roles aren’t popular and people are don’t take kindly to a visit from the HET so, as you can imagine, their job satisfaction levels are not high.

As we rejoin events in this new book things in Edinburgh are not going well, food is in short supply and people are taking to the streets in protest. As the police are already stretched the politicians step in and decide it would be a good idea if the HET teams also step up and help maintain the peace. For one of their number it’s a step too far as she is already threatening court action against her employers as she’s being made to undertake tasks which don’t fall into her job description. However, a new Team Leader has been appointed to oversee the HET and she’s a career administrator with no practical experience of life on the frontline – the rules are the rules and there should be no reasons why the rules should not be followed.

Unfortunately the rules are not written to cope with the discovery of a terrorist cell operating within the city.  A van full of luxury food goes astray en-route to a grand function due to be hosted by a prominent MSP. When the van is discovered so too is a a dead body and that discovery will lead to the revelation of terrorists in the city. For Mona and her colleagues at the HET team their days are about to be filled with international terrorists (though has Mona already met one of their suspects?). They are also dealing with the fallout of their latest investigation which had revealed a rogue operator within their team and in the aftermath of that discovery there are lots of red herrings floating around and police investigations are hampered by the false leads which were left for them to find, old loyalties within the team and an overwhelming level of suspicion between colleagues.

What makes these books sing for me is the humour which Lesley Kelly injects to proceedings. Dark humour and dry sarcasm is very much a feature of Scottish day to day life and the dialogue in Dead Man Driving perfectly captures the tone you’d expect from harassed and long suffering public servants faced with unwelcome challenges on a daily basis.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I am loving the evolution of this series and these characters. Where Mick Herron makes incompetent spooks an unmissable read, this is Lesley Kelly making the misfits in government healthcare equally essential reading. They are hopeless, frustrating and occasionally blessed with a flash of inspiration and they are wonderful to follow.

If you’re looking for a new Scottish Crime Fiction series to follow then you should look no further than the Health of Strangers books. A firm favourite.

 

Dead Man Driving is published by Sandstone Press and releases on 20 July 2023 in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C5GF8BGW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

 

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July 14

Twenty Books For Summer – Book Three (The Guards) and Book Four (Doctor Sleep)

It is mid-July. My attempt to read 20 summer books (as detailed here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=7360 ) could certainly be going a little bit better. as I have only finished four of the planned twenty. But I have just returned from my summer holiday where I managed to read and review book 2 of 20 – The New Kingdom by Wilbur Smith , The Guards by Ken Bruen and Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep.

I reviewed The New Kingdom here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=7444 and as it was part of my #TeamWilbur read for Zaffre Books I totally forgot to also tag it as one of my 20 Books for Summer reads. So that was the second of the twenty which took me to the 10% completion mark.  Time to move straight up to 20% as I am reviewing two more right now.

 

The Guards – Ken Bruen

The first title in the acclaimed and bestselling crime series featuring Jack Taylor, a disgraced former police detective from Galway. Mourning the death of his father, Jack is slowly drinking himself into oblivion when he is asked to investigate a teenage suicide.

Plunged into a dangerous confrontation with a powerful businessman and with the Irish police – The Guards – who have an unhealthy interest in Jack’s past, he finds that all is not as simple as it at first seemed and a dark conspiracy unfolds.

 

I hadn’t heard of Ken Bruen or his Jack Taylor series. Too many books and too little time. Then I started a wee feature I call #Decades and I began to discover many new authors. I have Paul Gadsby to thank for bringing Bruen to my attention (https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6488). Although Paul didn’t select The Guards when making his Decades selections there was a lot of chat on Twitter about the quality of Bruen’s writing and, in particular, the Jack Taylor books. I did a spot of shopping and picked up the first Taylor book The Guards. I then stuck it on a shelf for months with the well meaning intention of reading it “soon”. This is why I included The Guards in my 20 Books for summer selection, I really wanted to read it and this got it off the shelf into the line of sight.

BEST DECISION EVER.

Wow. Just Wow. What a book and what a dark piece of noirish storytelling. I am home from my holiday and immediately plan to order more books in this series, if they are only half as good as The Guards they will be brilliant.

Jack Taylor has a problem with alcohol. The few friends Jack has also have a problem with Jack’s problem with alcohol. He was a policeman who had to leave service after he overstepped the mark when pulling over a car for speeding (hilariously). He then became a private investigator as he was good at doggedly pursuing an answer to questions. But Jack has to fit his questions around his drinking time and that can slow the pace of progress.

Jack is approached by the distraught mother of a dead teenager. Her daughter died when she drowned in a treacherous spot, notorious for suicides, but she can’t accept her daughter ended her own life. Jack is asked to investigate and to find out what really happened. He agrees and begins asking questions. Not much progress is being made and Jack is still found in the pub more often than he will be found out asking questions. However, someone has decided they don’t like Jack asking questions and he is jumped and given a severe beating. Maybe there is something to be discovered after-all?

With achingly sharp writing Bruen invites us into Jack Taylor’s life and we get a front row seat at the show of a clever man losing a fight against a terrible addiction. The dialogue is witty, dark, cynical and brutally honest. The writing style is beautifully effective and I totally lost myself to this story.

Read this: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-guards/ken-bruen/9780863224102

 

Doctor Sleep – Stephen King

King says he wanted to know what happened to Danny Torrance, the boy at the heart of The Shining, after his terrible experience in the Overlook Hotel. The instantly riveting Doctor Sleep picks up the story of the now middle-aged Dan, working at a hospice in rural New Hampshire, and the very special twelve-year old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless – mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the ‘steam’ that children with the ‘shining’ produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him and a job at a nursing home where his remnant ‘shining’ power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes ‘Doctor Sleep.’

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival…

 

The fourth book of my planned summer reading is another Stephen King novel. Over the years I missed a few of Mr King’s books as they released and I am trying to go back and plug the gaps in my reading. I’ve had a copy of Doctor Sleep for a few years but never quite got around to reading it. Now I have…the anticipation I’d built up was totally justified as I had fun with this one.

Doctor Sleep is the follow up to The Shining and there’s a lot of references to the original story which made me wish I’d read the original book a bit more recently. That said the key elements of Doctor Sleep don’t rely upon knowing what happened to Danny Torrance at The Overlook Hotel, King does a nice job of recapping past events, explaining Dan’s “gift” and bringing us back into his world.

While King is bringing us back up to speed he is also introducing Abra. Abra is born with “the shine” and through the first half of the book we follow her growing up, see the early evidence of her talent and how her parents cope with their unusual daughter. Abra is aware of Dan and she finds a way to make him aware she is out there. Also “out there” is a danger to both Dan and Abra – the sinister group known as “True Knot”. These dangerous individuals seek out people with the gift of the shine and steal their power (King calls it their “steam”). With the steam the members of True Knot can retain a degree of youthful vitality and use their own powers to track more victims and keep themselves safe.

The book becomes a tale of Dan battling various demons, Abra learning she is special and that her special skills are making her a target and True Knot doing what they need to do to keep themselves alive but letting an unknown danger get through their barriers. The three elements of the story are clearly on a collision course and the build up to their meeting was great fun to read. King is the master at building a world and filling it with fascinating people who you just want to read about.

It’s fascinating catching up with Dan again. Not many characters get revisited over 30 years later and when you know his background it’s upsetting to see all did not turn out smoothly for him or his mother after the events of our first encounter with them. This was another book where a battle against alcohol was lost and it was fascinating seeing how two lead characters in two consecutive books tacked their addictions differently.

It is rare I don’t enjoy one of Stephen King’s books so I knew Doctor Sleep would likely hold my attention. And it certainly did. I found myself rushing towards that inevitable confrontation too quickly and I wanted more time with Dan and Abra. As it was a Stephen King story I was worried they may not safely reach the end of the book – maybe they did, maybe they didn’t you’ll need to read for your self to find out.

The title of the book did make me curious. Why Doctor Sleep? And why is there always a cat on the cover? The Doctor Sleep reference and the cat image are actually linked elements of the story. One of the more emotive parts of the tale is Dan’s job in a care home and his ability to help the residents at the end of their lives to peacefully see out their last hours. He’s there as a comfort and friendly voice and all the residents know he will be there for them. The cat plays a role in this time too but again it is worth reading to appreciate why.

Pleased to finally catch up on a book I’d been keeping back as a treat for myself when I had time to enjoy it. What better time than on my summer hols?

 

You can order a copy of Doctor Sleep here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/doctor-sleep/stephen-king/9781444761184

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July 4

The New Kingdom – Wilbur Smith with Mark Chadbourn

In the heart of Egypt

Under the watchful eye of the gods

A new power is rising

In the city of Lahun, Hui lives an enchanted life. The favoured son of a doting father, and ruler-in-waiting of the great city, his fate is set. But behind the beautiful façades a sinister evil is plotting. Craving power and embittered by jealousy, Hui’s stepmother, the great sorceress Isetnofret, and Hui’s own brother Qen, orchestrate the downfall of Hui’s father, condemning Hui and seizing power in the city.

Cast out and alone, Hui finds himself a captive of a skilled and powerful army of outlaws, the Hyksos. Determined to seek vengeance for the death of his father and rescue his sister, Ipwet, Hui swears his allegiance to these enemies of Egypt. Through them he learns the art of war, learning how to fight and becoming an envied charioteer.

But soon Hui finds himself in an even greater battle – one for the very heart of Egypt itself. As the pieces fall into place and the Gods themselves join the fray, Hui finds himself fighting alongside the Egyptian General Tanus and renowned Mage, Taita. Now Hui must choose his path—will he be a hero in the old world, or a master in a new kingdom?

My thanks to Zaffre/Bonnier Books for the review copy and to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to revisit the books of an author I haven’t read for too long!

 

When I was still at school I was the reader in our house. My parents enjoyed reading but were too busy to read much so I relied upon the local bookshop (when funds permitted) and the local library (always). Occasionally I’d peruse the family bookcase but nothing really grabbed my attention until one day I realised my dad had over a dozen books all written by Wilbur Smith. As a boy who liked a series (and I still do) I decided to give one a try. I read all those books over the next couple of months then shopped for the titles my dad didn’t own – I was hooked.

Once I’d hit my limit and blitzed Mr Smith’s back catalogue I stopped reading. This was the late 1990’s – more books were released but I didn’t read any of them. Until now…I’ve got some catching up to do! I started with The New Kingdom and more will follow.

In The New Kingdom we are following the story of Hui – the intro kindly reminded me Hui had featured in earlier books and would be a familiar name for returning readers (after 30 years you will have to forgive me if I didn’t recall him). Fortunately this book is a great jumping on point  for Hui’s story as we meet him as a young man in the cusp of adulthood.

Hui, his older brother Qen and his best friend are on a bold (read foolish) mission to steal a valuable stone from a group of dangerous bandits. They plan to sneak into the enemy camp, steal the Ka Stone while the bandits are sleepy and drunk then make their escape before they are discovered. Sadly for Hui his plans don’t run smoothly and only two of the three “would be” heroes rerun from the raid.

The outcome of his foolish venture is not just the loss of a friend – the events which open the story will define Hui’s journey. He will be betrayed, cast out, accused of murder and will be left to find for himself in the toughest of environments.

Egypt is a dangerous land and there are bandits and warring factions intent on pillage and plunder – Hui will need his wits about him to avoid their interest and keep himself alive. But Hui’s luck will only hold so far and he invariably finds himself captured and at the mercy of his enemies.

The authors have delivered up a pulsating page turner. Hui’s adventures see him betrayed, framed, imprisoned, on the run and forced to learn new survival skills to avoid a brutal death. The chapters zipped by and I remembered why I loved reading Wilbur Smith’s adventure stories all those years ago.

Soldiers, bandits, warriors and a witch. Wenches, servants, traders and grooms. All had their role to play under the hot Egyptian Sun and their stories are woven around Hui’s in an absorbing manner. Great fun and perfect for the beach (which is where I read my copy)

 

The New Kingdom is published by Zaffre and available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08PKYX4ZX/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1688394714&sr=8-1https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08PKYX4ZX/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1688394714&sr=8-1

Watch for more Wilbur Smith reviews over the coming weeks by searching for the #TeamWilbur hashtag on social media platforms

 

 

 

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June 30

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Alison Belsham

Welcome back to the Decades Library- my ongoing quest to assemble nothing but the very best books in a single collection. All thriller (and literary fiction, science fiction, horror etc) and no filler. Okay that one got away from me…

Why is it callled the Decades Library? Each week I invite a booklover to join me and I ask them to nominate five books which they believe belong on the shelves of the very best library, unmissable stories, memorable ones or simply books they consider to be the very best. When making their selections I ask my guests to follow just two rules:

1 – You Can Pick Any Five Books
2 – You Can Only Choose One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

If that sounds easy then please take some time to put together your own list. I love hearing about wonderful new books. The best thing for a blogger is to be able to feel you have been influential in introducing a reader to a new book they loved. Every week a new Decades post is released I get some wonderful feedback about the selections I have just shared. TBRs grow as a result of the recommendations my guests make.

This week I am thrilled to be joined by Alison Belsham – and it’s Alison’s publication week too. The Girls on Chalk Hill released this week (it’s the first in a new series) and you can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girls-Chalk-Hill-completely-Detective-ebook/dp/B0BZ8Y2C5Zhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Girls-Chalk-Hill-completely-Detective-ebook/dp/B0BZ8Y2C5Z

www.alisonbelsham.com
Twitter: @AlisonBelsham
Facebook: @AlisonBelshamWriter
Instagram: alisonbelsham


DECADES

When Gordon invited me to submit my selection of books for Decades, I was hard at work on the first draft of the third book in my new police procedural series – and over the next few weeks as I continued writing, random book titles kept popping up in mind that absolutely had to be included.

But there was one big problem – either my chose titles seemed too many decades apart, or I had to make an impossible choice between favourites that had been published in the same decade. Ouch!

But finally, I whittled the list down to these five:

 

Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris (1989)

Surprisingly for someone who writes serial killer thrillers, I only got around to reading this a year ago. The film had so terrified me that I’d never dared to pick up the book, and when I started writing crime I tended to avoid reading in the same genre. However, I’m so glad I did read it – an absolutely outstanding book that sets the bar for all who followed in its footsteps. But is it a thriller or a love story?

 

The Vintner’s Luck – Elizabeth Knox (1998)

The Vintner’s Luck is very definitely a love story. On a summer night in Burgundy in 1808, vintner Sobran Jodeau is visited by a beautiful male angel called Xas – and they continue to meet here on the same night every year for the rest of Sobran’s life. The love story between Sobran and Xas is beautifully complemented by the love story of Sobran and the Countess. The writing is incandescent, and the characters live long in the memory after book is finished. Ravishing!

 

Modern Ranch Living – Mark Jude Poirier (2004)

Hands up if you’ve read Modern Ranch Living? I thought not. This little-known book really deserves a much wider readership. If you like to embrace your inner weird, this could be the book for you. Set over a blistering summer in Arizona, teenage body builder Kendra is alarmed when her pothead boyfriend mysteriously disappears. Her 30-year-old neighbour Merv manages a water park and lives with his insomniac mother. As the temperature rises, they join forces to hunt for the missing boy… More observational than plot-driven, it’s an absolute delight.

 

The Art of Fielding – Chad Harbach (2011)

When I suggested to my book club that they should read this, they all declined, saying they didn’t want to read a baseball book. Well, it was their loss, because although the main character is a college baseball star, it’s about so much more than that. In fact, it’s one of the best coming-of-age books I’ve ever read, full of wonderful characters that make compelling reading. Yes, there’s been some controversy about this book – a suit against Harbach claiming ‘large-scale misappropriation’ was dismissed – but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this riveting read.

 

The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward (2021)

I’m an unforgiving reader – if I come across something I don’t like in a book, I have no compunction about stopping reading. One of my bugbears is giving sentient voices to things that don’t speak. For example, the speaking foetus in Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum made me bin the book almost immediately. So, when it became apparent that one of the characters in The Last House on Needless Street is a cat, my reading faltered. But…something kept me going and thank God it did. Billed as horror, this is actually anextraordinary exploration of a troubled mind. Terrifying, gripping and highly intelligent, for me this has been the standout novel of recent years.

 

Amazing choices – Alison I cannot thank you enough for these gems.

I don’t often get any suggestions from the current decade but I know The Last House on Needless Street will be an extremely popular addition to the collection.

DECADES WILL RETURN

 

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June 23

Decades: Compiling The Ultimate Library With Eve Smith

Welcome back to the Decades Library, my ongoing quest to assemble a collection of the very best reading recommendations.

Back in January 2021 I pondered the question: If I had a brand new library and was faced with empty shelves, which unmissable books should I put into my new Library to ensure only the very best books were available for the readers.  This was far too great a challenge to undertake on my own so I have been inviting guests to join me and asking them to nominate five of their favourite books which they believe should be added to my library shelves. My guests have included authors, publishers, journalists and bloggers – all booklovers and the variety of titles they have suggested has been astonishing.

Why is my Library called the Decades Library? Although I said my guests are asked to nominate five of their favourite books I haven’t quite made it as straightforward as that. I ask my guests to follow two rules when making their selections:

1 – Choose Any Five Books
2 – You Can Only Choose One Book Per Decades From Five Consecutive Decades

The oldest book to feature (so far) was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which was first published in 1865. The most recent release was published in 2022 – Sinead Crowley’s The Belladonna Maze.  There have been many, many titles published in between these two which have also found their way to the Library shelves. I hope to be able to add many more too.

And now that we have been reminded of the rules and the ultimate aim of my Decades Library it is time for me to hand over to my guest: Eve Smith.

 

Eve Smith writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her. She attributes her love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and Edgar Allen Poe double bills.

Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as “an exciting new voice in crime fiction”, Eve’s debut novel, The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was selected as a Guardian Book of the Month. It was followed by Off-Target, about a world where genetic engineering of children is routine. Her latest thriller, One, is set in a near-future Britain ravaged by the climate crisis where a one-child policy is ruthlessly enforced. Eve’s previous job at an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.

You can order One and purchase Eve’s other books from all good retailers or directly from Orenda Books: https://orendabooks.co.uk/product/one www.evesmithauthor.com Twitter @evecsmith Instagram, Facebook and TikTok: evesmithauthor

 

DECADES

The Shining, Stephen King 1977 

 

This has to go down as one of the most frightening books I’ve read. Then I watched the Stanley Kubrick film adaptation which really did (and still does) scare the pants off me. I put it to the test with my daughters last year, and despite all the CGI and technical wizardry they’re accustomed to, they still said it was the most terrifying thing they had ever watched. Now they just need to read the book… 

 

 

 

 

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood 1985 

 

I remember watching the original film of The Handmaid’s Tale with my sister. We’d never seen anything like it. I rushed out and bought the book and then proceeded to read everything by Margaret Atwood that I could get my hands on. I love the way she dramatises important issues in thrilling alternative worlds that feel chillingly plausible. Her work has been a major inspiration to me. 

 

 

 

 

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver 1998 

 

I read The Poisonwood Bible with a local book club. The novel is about a missionary family who settle in the Belgian Congo. I don’t know how many times I cried, but it has to be one of my all-time favourites. Such a powerful story about family and motherhood, and the tragedies we unwittingly let loose on those we love most, despite our best intentions. 

 

 

 

 

 

Under the Skin, Michel Faber 2000  

 

Under the Skin is probably one of the most surprising books I have read. I mustn’t give any spoilers, but it almost changes genres part-way through. A tantalising mystery intrigues from the first page with tight, atmospheric writing and beautiful descriptions of the Scottish countryside. I thought it was brilliant.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 2014 

Station Eleven is a stunning speculative novel that conveys a haunting vision of a post-pandemic world that we never could have imagined might become our reality. Beautifully written, with lyrical prose sweeping across continents, you are drawn into each character’s plight as they attempt to navigate the crisis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five terrific reads to welcome Decades back. Another week where i have not read all five of the books recommended so I add two to my ever growing wishlist. Huge thanks to Eve for bringing back the Decades Library with these top reading recommendations. Don’t miss out on One – Eve’s new book – which releases in July from Orenda Books and can be ordered here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/one/eve-smith/9781914585746 or at your favourite independent bookstore.

 

 

DECADES WILL RETURN

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June 19

The Hotel – Louise Mumford

Four of them went to the hotel

Four students travel to Ravencliffe, an eerie abandoned hotel perched on steep cliffs on the Welsh coast. After a series of unexplained accidents, only three of them leave. The fourth, Leo, disappears, and is never seen again.

Only three of them came back

A decade on, the friends have lost contact. Oscar is fame-hungry, making public appearances and selling his story. Richard sank into alcoholism and is only just recovering. Bex just wants to forget – until one last opportunity to go back offers the chance to find out what really happened to Leo.

Ten years later, they return one last time

But as soon as they get to the hotel things start going wrong again. Objects mysteriously disappear and reappear. Accidents happen. And Bex realises that her former friends know far more than they are letting on about the true events at Ravencliffe that night…

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

It’s publication week for The Hotel as I sit to write my review. I will cut straight to the chase on this – I really, really enjoyed this thriller/chiller by Louise Mumford and I’m recommending you seek it out. Seriously entertaining. My kind of book which gave me feels of a Dean Koontz tale. Shades of horror, a thumping good mystery and plenty of cryptic suggestions as to what may have ocurred in an old (possibly haunted) buiding which four teenagers felt compelled to visit one dark evening – lives were changed forever.

Ten years ago four friends made a trip to Ravencliffe. High on the rocks above the Welsh coast sat an old hotel, long since abandoned, but fabled to be haunted with stories of a murder on site and strange stories of former residents.  The friends (Bex, Richard, Oscar and Leo) took a video camera with them. As horror fans they planned to record their trip and make a feature from it. Little could they know their film would become a cult horror classic – one of their number (Leo) never returned from the expedition and the three surviging friends could not explain much of what occurred that fateful evening.

Ten years on we meet Bex, living in the bustle of London where the crowds give her a degree of anonymity. Oscar is boucing between public appearances at various “cons” where fans of their film regularly gather to discuss the film which told the story of that night at Ravencliffe. Having one of the friends there is a big deal for the fans but Oscar, for reasons which become clear, isn’t the draw which Bex or Richard would be.  Richard has battled his own demons over the last Decade – at the time the film was recorded he and Bex were an item but that created a degree of friction within the group.

The defining image of the movie, which had been watched in the minutest detail by an army of fans was that of Leo vanishing from the sheer cliff steps in a flurry of blurred pictures, shouts of panic from Bex and then nothing. What happened to Leo? He hasn’t been seen since that fateful evening and no body was ever found either. It’s had fans speculating for ten years, theories on what happened to Leo, could Bex have treated him better? Did Richard have a problem with Leo? All incredibly difficult for Bex to cope with as Leo had been her oldest friend. She dreads the tenth anniversary of Leo’s disappearance and suspects someone may try to make something of the event.

Bex’s instincts are correct – the film company want to bring the three friends together, back at the Ravencliffe, to make a follow up feature which will revisit their adventure and address some of the speculation. Bex is reluctant until something arrives at her house. Something only one of the four friends could have known about and something which hasn’t been seen for ten years. Steeling all her resolve Bex agrees to participate in the reunion fiming and we go back to the Hotel with a new film crew in tow.

Through a narrative set in present day and also in flashback the reader will hear more about what the four friends faced on their first visit. We also experience shocks and unexplained incidents in the present day. It’s a really effective use of a dual timeline and Louise Mumford makes this a terrific read as you just want to keep reading so you can get to the bottom of what actually ocurred.

As I said at the top of this review – The Hotel comes highly recommended. Not a full on horror tale but a chilling thriller that I gobbled up in quick time.

 

The Hotel is published on 22 June 2023 and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BXGPL8GJ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 

 

 

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June 13

Twenty Books For Summer 1 of 20 – Elevation (Stephen King)

Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That’s why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition: he’s losing weight, without getting thinner, and the scales register the same when he is in his clothes or out of them, however heavy they are.

Scott also has new neighbours, who have opened a ‘fine dining experience’ in town, although it’s an experience being shunned by the locals; Deidre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don’t exactly fit in with the community’s expectations. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be friendly, but Deidre is cold as ice.

As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12k run, Scott starts to understand the prejudices his neighbours face and he tries to help. Unlikely alliances form and the mystery of Scott’s affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

 

 

I am taking part in the Twenty Books For Summer reading challenge (explained here) and the first review I get to write is for Elevation by Stephen King. It is a book I have had in my TBR for over 12 months and I picked up my copy at a charity bookshop, it was pristine condition and is a gorgeous wee hardback book.

Elevation was not the first book I started from my 20 planned summer reads, it just so happened I could not find the Lawrence Block book I was reading so I grabbed Elevation from the top of the stack. On a beautiful Scottish summer evening I sat in my garden as the sun went down and the heat of the day left us and I devoured this story in a single sitting. Not that this meant I had a lot of content to read, Elevation is only around 140 pages long and the whole book took me just 90 mins to complete.

Although my copy only cost me £2 I suspect I may have had second thoughts about picking up the book on initial release when it was a slim hardback retaling at £14.99.  I am a King fan but this seems a little steep for a read so brief. The Kindle version can now be claimed for £5 with the paperback retailing at £7 – that’s more manageable. Particularly as there is a lot to like in this story from a familiar King setting – we’re back in Castle Rock.

While the key thread to the story is fantastical there’s a healthy dose of King turning his attention to intolerances and prejudice as he gives a strong supporting cast the opportunity to shine. There are direct barbs to the Trumpian intolerances which are seeping back into American dialogue and I applauded how King tackled and called out those discriminatory elements.

Our lead character is Scott Carey. Scott is seeking the advice of the town’s retired doctor as Scott is losing weight. But his weight loss is not showing – on the outside he looks the same, sturdy (chunky) and people would likely say he could stand to lose a few pounds. But Scott IS losing a few pounds, one every couple of days it seems. Yet he can also fill his pockets with heavy coins or tools and they will have no impact upon the weight shown on his scales, it almost seems Scott can hold something and it will instantly become weightless. We follow Scott’s story as his weight drops and, like Scott, we will wonder what happens when he reaches zero.

My initial thought was that Elevation sounded like King’s earlier novel Thinner. A lead character in that stoty who is shedding weight after being cursed – the two tales are very different and other than the declining weight of the lead character they have little in common. Elevation stands well on its own and it gave me several cheering moments as Scott navigates the changes which are happening to his body but also to the town of Castle Rock.

A good start to my reading challenge – I never regret reading a Stephen King story.

 

Elevation can be ordered in digital, paperback and audiobook format: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DNFC1C9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i34

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June 9

Bloody Scotland 2023

BLOODY SCOTLAND REVEALS STAR LINE UP FOR PROGRAMME LAUNCH TAKING PLACE AT NOON IN STIRLING ON 22 JUNE 2023
The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival returns to the historic city of Stirling on 22 June with local celebrity, BBC Radio Scotland presenter, Nicola Meighan interviewing Ambrose Parry aka bestselling crime writer Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist turned medical historian turned ‘powerful new voice in crime fiction’ Marisa Haetzman live on stage in The Golden Lion Ballroom. They will be launching their new historical crime novel, Voices of the Dead, which will be published by Canongate later this month.

Stirling Council Leader, Chris Kane, will say a few words then Festival Director, Bob McDevitt, will reveal the 2023 programme at The Golden Lion Hotel at noon on 22 June immediately prior to the Ambrose Parry event. Tickets are deliberately priced at only £5 to encourage a local audience who might normally not attend the festival to give it a go. Anyone unemployed or on a low income can attend for free.

Other guests at the programme launch will be the shortlisted authors for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the longlisters for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Fiction who will be revealed live on BBC Radio Scotland Afternoon Show on 15 June.

Following questions regarding the prize criteria last year the rules and judging process have been amended to encourage as much diversity as possible. The biggest change has been the rule regarding how Scottish you have to be with authors no longer being required to be resident in Scotland for 7 years before being allowed to enter the prize and authors who can prove a long and enduring connection with Scotland (for example parents) automatically allowed to enter.

In previous years the longlist has been determined by a panel of readers. This year the reader scores have been referred to an academy led by crime reviewer Ayo Onatade, Waterstones category manager for crime fiction Gaby Lee and journalist and author, Craig Sisterson. Their team includes crime reviewers / influencers Gordon McGhie, Zoe Venditozzi, Mary Picken and Suze Clarke-Morris; librarians Jonathan Kaney (Stirling), Steven Gough (Orkney) and Pearl Morrison (Aberdeenshire), booksellers Steve Poulter (Waterstones Bluewater), Marjorie Marshall (The Bookmark, Grantown), Cecile (Portoboello Bookshop), Sarah (The Book Nook Stewarton), Ewan Wilson (Waterstones Glasgow) and the winner of last year’s Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, Tariq Ashkanani.

The shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize will be revealed on 15 Juneand the shortlist for the McIlvanney Prize for Crime Fiction will be revealed at the end of August.

The opening reception which offers an opportunity to rub shoulders with famous crime writers will be at 6.30 – 7.45pm in the Church of the Holy Rude. Authors shortlisted for each of the prizes will lead the torchlit procession from Stirling Castle to the Albert Halls where the winners will be revealed and interviewed on stage.

 

Follow @bloodyscotland#BloodyScotland for continued updates

 
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June 2

To Die in June – Alan Parks

A woman enters a Glasgow police station to report her son missing, but no record can be found of the boy. When Detective Harry McCoy, seconded from the cop shop across town, discovers the family is part of the cultish Church of Christ’s Suffering, he suspects there is more to Michael’s disappearance than meets the eye.

Meanwhile reports arrive of a string of poisonings of down-and-outs across the city. The dead are men who few barely notice, let alone care about – but, as McCoy is painfully aware, among this desperate community is his own father.

Even as McCoy searches for the missing boy, he must conceal from his colleagues the real reason for his presence – to investigate corruption in the station. Some folk pray for justice. Detective Harry McCoy hasn’t got time to wait

 

I received a review copy from the publishers and was invited to join the blog tour by Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours.

 

It is time for my annual trip back to 1970’s Glasgow to reunite with Harry McCoy, Wattie, Stevie Cooper (McCoy’s oldest friend and one of Glasgow’s biggest gangsters) and Jumbo – Cooper’s garden-loving dogsbody. There are other characters I can expect to pop up as I dip back into the world Alan Parks has created (albeit that world is Glasgow of yester-year) but I always know these familiar faces will command my full attention until I reach the last page of the book. I seldom know when a new book is due out but I am always looking out for the next book by Alan Parks and I’ve never been disappointed with the stories he spins.

To Die in June is the sixth McCoy thriller and events are set during the heat of the 1975 summer. It begins with a missing child. A young boy is not in the family home when his mother comes down the stairs in the morning. She rushes to the police station, hysterical and demanding help. McCoy initiates an immediate search of the area but when he visits the family home to speak with the woman’s husband he is told there is no missing child. The search is called off and McCoy’s standing with his new colleagues at Possil police station dips even further than he could have anticipated.

Possil is McCoy and Wattie’s new home. There are changes taking place – Glasgow Police is becoming Strathclyde Police and while the transitions for the force are phasing in McCoy and the increasingly capable Wattie have been relocated. Their relationship with their new colleauges is fractious but for McCoy there is an opportunity to align himself with the other officers stationed at Possil but to do so will mean turning a blind eye to some of their activities and even applying a strong arm, when necessary, to get the outcomes needed. There will be a share of any spoils if he does and with his chaotic personal life seeming to take a turn for the better – McCoy is now in an unexpected relationship with one of Scotland’s leading actors and even McCoy is realising he needs to smarten up a little to be seen with her. This burgeoning relationship leads to some wonderful cameos, particularly early in the story when McCoy finds himself at a swanky Scottish Awards dinner.

But To Die in June isn’t all about sipping wine at posh functions. Out on the streets of Glasgow it looks like someone is giving the rough sleepers a toxic concoction to drink. At least that’s what McCoy believes. His colleagues are quick to point out that it is not unusual for the less fortunate citizens to start drinking anything they can get their hands on and early deaths are not uncommon given the toxins they regularly pour down their throats. Regular readers will know McCoy’s own father is one of the homeless souls and McCoy’s sensitivity to the plight of the homeless is not somthing his colleagues are quite so quick to give time to. But McCoy is concerned when his father’s drinking friends are telling him some of their number are dying after drinking a particularly toxic mixture. Wattie trys to convince McCoy he is reading too much into a few random deaths but McCoy isn’t so quickly convinced and the time he spends looking for a link between these deaths is putting a strain on his relationship with Wattie who is trying to cover the official investigations which the pair should be concentrating on.

As we have come to expect from Alan Parks there are critical events bubbling away and their importance may not always be apparent to the reader. Until suddently that subtle bubbling explodes into a very big deal and McCoy has a huge problem on his hands. That’s when you realise how smoothly Parks has sneaked some really important clues into the story, the very best sleight of hand, and McCoy’s life is in turmoil again. Alan Parks just keeps getting better and better – every new book feels more assured and that’s from a point where he was already setting a very high bar.

Glasgow never felt more unpredictable and it’s the dirty, rough city of old. There’s rival gangs buslting for superiority, gangsters trying to establish “legitimate” business interests, a religious group to be investigated (forcing McCoy to quash his natural distrust of all things faith-related), unhelpful and unethical police officers working to their own agenda. McCoy walks a dangerous path between these factions and he remains one of the very best protagonists in crime fiction at this time.

To Die In June is a five star read. The Harry McCoy series should be required reading for anyone calling themself a fan of Crime Fiction.

 

To Die in June is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-die-in-june/alan-parks/9781805300786

 

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