Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Susi Holliday

Imagine being tasked with starting a brand new library. You don’t have any books yet but know you want to fill the shelves of your new library with the very best books so that visitors know each title they select has been loved and recommended. Where would you start? Which books would you pick?

That was the challenge I set myself back in January. But I knew there was no way I could undertake this task alone so each week I invite a new guest to join me and I ask them to nominate five books they would want to see on the shelves of my Decades Library. I have had recommendations from authors, publishers, bloggers, journalists – all booklovers. Eleven months later there are around 200 books in my Library but the challenge continues.

Why is it a Decades Library? Well each guest has two simple rules to follow when choosing their books:

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

This week it is my absolute pleasure to welcome Susi Holliday back to Grab This Book. Regular readers will know I am a big fan of Susi’s books so I had a pretty good idea which authors I would see appearing in her selections – but I was totally wrong! That said there are new authors making their debut in my Library who I am astonished have not been mentioned thus far. I will let Susi take it from here:

Susi (SJI) Holliday is a Scottish writer of dark fiction. She cut her teeth on flash fiction and short stories, and was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham Prize in 2014. She is the UK bestselling author of the creepy and claustrophobic Banktoun trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly), the festive serial killer thriller The Deaths of December, the supernatural mystery The Lingering, a psychological thriller set on the Trans-Siberian Express (Violet) and a horror novella (Mr Sandman). Her latest two novels (The Last Resort and Substitute) contain a speculative science edge. Her short stories have been published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies. By day, she works as a clinical research statistician. Susi divides her time between London and Edinburgh. She loves travelling, long walks, and scaring herself with horror movies.

DECADES

1970s – Flowers in the Attic – Viginia Andrews

I think I actually read this in the 80s, but I was definitely very young and definitely slightly confused (and wrongly titillated, I suspect) by the subject matter. Given that this was one of my early reads when I was probably about 12 years old, it’s really no wonder I have so far only managed to write very dark stories. With sex bits.

1980s – Stephen King and Jackie Collins – Lucky

I know, I am cheating here by picking authors from the same decade, but they were both hugely influential at the time, for very different reasons (no details required). OK, OK – if I have to pick one book and one author, I’m going with Jackie Collins’s Lucky – for pure escapist filth and glamour. No wait, I’m choosing Stephen King’s Christine – for its underrated horror. I mean, who could be scared of a possessed car?! (Answer: me!) Also, I’m starting to see a strong pattern emerging here through the decades, where sex and horror are combined… Virginia Andrews, Stephen King, Jackie Collins… and moving on to…

1990s – Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

This is one of those books that is just the perfect example of right story, right decade. I was at the age where all of Bridget’s concerns with the world were my concerns with the world – such as, have I smoked/drank too much – should I really have slept with him – am I ever going to make a success of my life… it was laugh out loud funny and so relatable to my generation. I remember a friend of mine rushing home from the pub one night after being sure she’d pulled, so she could shave her legs before the bloke made it back to her flat. I think I was very much anti-Bridget when I told her that I doubt her fella would care too much about her hairy legs. Anyway, there have been many contenders since then, but no one could create a character like Bridget like Helen Fielding did. Legend. Can I just point out that this is the decade where I became a Goth so the earlier decade influences followed by Bridget’s sweetness must’ve tipped me over the edge.

2000s – The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

Spurious link: Could this be described as a modern gothic novel? All that religion and secrets and whatever? This may be one of the first books where I vividly remember being sucked in by ‘the hype’ and I absolutely devoured it. This would not normally have been my type of book at all, but the marketing spin/rumours about how much of it was true was what swung it. Wildly entertaining, and of course, complete baloney – but I loved it at the time but don’t think I would re-read it now. Dan Brown gets a bad press sometimes, but honestly, writing something that gets the whole world talking is hardly to be sniffed at!

2010s – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman

One of the big things that draws me into a book is the character’s voice, and this is where Eleanor absolutely grabbed me. Like a miserable version of Bridget, there was something relatable and compelling about her story that had me unable to put the book down… and then of course it has a very clever unpeeling of the onion that makes it 100% worthy of all the massive acclaim. Again, many have tried since to replicate this, and failed. There are some characters that can only be written once, and both Eleanor and Bridget are those for me. I also think Eleanor perfectly encapsulates my light/dark elements that have clearly been signposted heavily throughout this piece. Thanks, Gordon – I may have reached the path to enlightenment!

Huge thanks to Susi for these brilliant selections. I cannot believe it has taken 11 months of Decades before Bridgit Jones made her debut in the Decades Library and as for Flowers in the Attic – wasnt’t there a rule every house had to have a copy of this in the early 1980s? Flowers takes its place on my library shelves too.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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December 7

My Top Ten Reads 2021

It’s December and another reading year draws to a close. This means I get to look back and select the ten books which I enjoyed most over the last twelve months. These are my personal favourites from the ones I read. They may not be to your liking and you may feel I have missed something outstanding (maybe I didn’t read it) but I hope you will seek out some or all of my selections and enjoy them as much as I have.

If you follow me on Twitter (@grabthisbook) then you will not be surprised at my selection for my favourite book of 2021 – I have been singing its praises since I read it back in February. The exciting news is I am able to share a fabulous discount offer which will grab you 25% off the purchase price if you buy my favourite read through the publisher’s website – details are below.

So to the books. Ten. Because choosing more makes it easy and I start to ask myself why I am leaving out good books if I have made an exception for an eleventh book or a twelfth or thirteenth – before you know it you have a top 25 and that’s too many to be “Top”.

10: The Murder Box – Olivia Kiernan

This was my introduction to the Frankie Sheehan books by Olivia Kiernan and I immediately regretted missing the first books in the series.

A murder mystery wrapped in a puzzle for Sheehan who is too distracted by the disappearance of a local celebrity to give the Murder Box she has recieved the attention it deserved.

It’s great to discover a new series and I will be catching up on Frankie Sheehan in the new year.

You can buy The Murder Box here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-murder-box/olivia-kiernan/9781529401141

9: Blood Summer – Steven Dunne

It had been too long since I had last read a Steven Dunne thriller so when Blood Summer released earlier this year I grabbed it at the first opportunity. Boy am I glad I did!

Steven Dunne is brilliant at spinning his magic on dark and disturbing murder stories. Blood Summer shows that he can even bring chills to summertime in the South of France. This story has a global span but is centred around a small French village and a brutal double murder in a luxury villa.

French police and a former American agent who now works on security and protection are both interested in the victims but for very different reasons. Trust me when I say you should not miss out on this book.

You can buy Blood Summer here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09B12NDXS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

8: The Family Tree – Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry

Debut release for the writing partnership of Mullin and Mabry. It’s a serial killer story and I always enjoy reading those. But the nice switch-up, which made this book shine for me, was that the killer abducts his victims and keeps them alive for months before finally dumping their bodies. He also takes two victims at a time. We know this as the authors tell of each abduction through the eyes of the victims, each new abduction reveals a little more of what happens to the girls who are taken.

In present day Liz Catalano takes a DNA test to trace her family tree, she is shocked to discover she is actually adopted but her DNA flags on the FBI watchlist as Liz is related to a serial killer who has been escaping justice for many years.

You can buy The Family Tree here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-family-tree/steph-mullin/nicole-mabry/9780008461249

7: Fragile – Sarah Hilary

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Hilary’s Marnie Rome books for a good few years but Fragile is her first stand alone novel. As I know Sarah is one of the few authors who will really put her recurring characters into very dark places I was keen to see what would happen when she was given a blank canvas with no requirement to keep anyone alive at the end of the book.

What we get is a beautiful gothic story with a tight cast of characters who are all so wonderfully realised that the spring from the pages as the story unfolds around them.

You can buy Fragile here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/fragile/sarah-hilary/9781529029444

6: True Crime Story – Joseph Knox

True Crime Story is one of the books I enjoyed as I read it but then found myself still thinking about some elements of the story long after I had put it down. That’s the sign of a good story and that’s why TCS has been included in my selections. It also makes me go against my policy of not recommending books with characters I really didn’t like (but I wasn’t meant to like the character in question so I guess it’s Kudos to Mr Knox here).

In 2011 a girl went missing, years later a journalist tries to put together the story of that missing girl. She speaks with friends of the girl and they recount what they can remember but time can play tricks on your memory, particularly if the person you were as a student is not the person you are today. Clever, clever writing and a cracking story teased out for readers.

You can buy True Crime Story here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/true-crime-story/joseph-knox/9780857527707

5: 56 Days – Catherine Ryan Howard

In 2021 as we are almost two years into a global pandemic but there have been very few books which actually acknowledge said pandemic. Step forward Catherine Ryan Howard who not only references the pandemic but builds a very slick murder story around Covid. In spring 2020 as the world inched its way into the very first lockdown Ciara and Oliver are in the early stages of a relationship. They think. So when lockdown looms they agree to couple up and move in together. Nobody else knows. Fifty six days later one of them is dead and the police have no idea why.

56 Days was my top audiobook listen in 2021 and it very much gets included in this top ten too.

You can buy 56 Days here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/56-days/catherine-ryan-howard/9781838951627

4: Black Reed Bay – Rod Reynolds

Introducing Detective Casey Wray this is another American based thriller from Rod Reynolds. A young woman has disappeared, last seen in an exclusive waterside residential estate. She called for help as she ran through the streets and some of the residents saw her but nobody knows what happened next.

Casey Wray is investigating but there are distractions in her precinct and loyalties will be put to test.

I got completely caught up in this book, everything else was put to one side until I found out how the story in Black Reed Bay was going to be resolved. From the moment I inhaled that last page and set down the book there was never a doubt it woudl be included here in my end of year favourites.

You can buy Black Reed Bay here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/black-reed-bay/rod-reynolds/9781913193676

3 – The Quiet People – Paul Cleave

This is a story to put you through the wringer. A troubled 7 year old child, his parents barely coping, disappears from his bedroom in the night. The previous day the boy had publically clashed with his father at a local fair. Witnesses will come forward to tell of their shock at how the father coped with his son’s behaviour.

The parents are both crime authors and have a fair degree of celebrity. For years they have written books where murders have been committed and bodies hidden. Now they are in the spotlight for all the worst reasons and the strain on their relationship is making them appear to be acting in a guilty manner. An increasing number of people are thinking the worst of them and while they are under suspicion their son remains missing. Utterly gripping.

You can buy The Quiet People here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-quiet-people/paul-cleave/9781913193942

2: Dead Man’s Grave – Neil Lancaster

Bringing the action thriller to Scotland with the brilliant Dead Man’s Grave. In a remote Highland graveyard the head of a powerful crime family is murdered, his body hidden beside an old grave. Max Cragie is a former Met police officer now working with Police Scotland and he is caught up in the aftermath of this killing. A powerful family want revenge for their father’s death but it seems the motive lies in the past and a long-forgotten family feud is suddently resurrected.

Craigie must act to keep some innocent people safe from the gangsters but when he discovers the criminals have some members of Police Scotland on the payroll his task gets much more complicated.

A terrific action thriller and the first book in a new series – get caught up on Craigie immediately.

You can buy Dead Man’s Grave here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/dead-mans-grave/neil-lancaster/9780008517120

1: Phosphate Rocks – Fiona Erskine

I may be running out of superlatives for Phosphate Rocks. I adored it.

A body in an old chemical works in Leith. It’s been there for years. Beside the body is a table with ten objects, each has a story and former site foreman John Gibson is going to tell those stories. His audience is DI Rose Irvine of Police Scotland and she will hear all about life in a chemical plant at a time when the world delivered valuable resources to Edinburgh and a crew of working men would oversee the production of these chemicals from their raw state.

Fiona Erskine combines a crime story with some fascinating science lessons and gives it heart and soul by making each character feel real. As the book does seem to contain a number of anecdotal tales (with Fiona herself making a cameo) you cannot help but feel each character and incident actually was real.

It’s a story like no other I have read this year and I urge you to seek it out.

You can buy Phosphate Rocks here: https://sandstonepress.com/books/phosphate-rocks and if you use the code below you will get 25% discount on the cover price (if you buy before 31st December 2021). Order before 14 December to get delivery in time for Christmas.

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December 5

My Five Favourite Audiobooks of 2021

It has been a great year for audiobooks so, after being dropped from the blog for the last couple of years, I am going to resurrect an end of year “Favourite Audiobooks” list for 2021.

This selection of books was brought to you in association with Odin.

No not the craggy, one-eyed Norse deity but a soon-to-be two-year old cockerpoo who needs a couple of good walks each day. My daily dog walking gives me the time and opportunity I need to get lots of listening done and this year I have enjoyed a couple of dozen full books while chucking sticks around a park and trudging up and down woodland paths. So thanks to Odin for bringing back the listening.

I have selected five of my favourites and although they are not in any specific order I will finish with the story I enjoyed the most. These five books are included because of a number of factors, a great narrator, an engaging story or subject matter, a tale I couldn’t stop thinking about or just beacuse I thought it was terrific. These are the five which I considered the best purchases I made through my Audible account.

Far From The Tree – Rob Parker

Brendan Foley has worked to balance the responsibilities of a demanding job and a troublesome family. He’s managed to keep these two worlds separate, until the discovery of a mass grave sends them into a headlong collision….

The juggle for Brendan Foley in this book is brilliantly handled by Rob Parker. Foley’s family have dubious criminal connections as his father is one of the North West’s biggest gangsters. So when Brendan’s nephew is found dead in a mass grave, family loyalty is not high on Brendan’s list of priorities. He is a man under huge pressure and there are a lot of corpses who deserve justice – can Brendan Foley step up for them?

Billy Summers – Stephen King

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit….

How could I not include Billy Summers in my selections? King is the master storyteller and Billy Summers is one of his very best. A hitman with the chance to make enough cash from the next job that he could retire. But there are too many things Billy doesn’t like about the assignment and fate isn’t going to make it easy for him.

This was a book which had me making longer detours on my walks just so I could hear another ten minutes of story. When it was finished I wasn’t – I wanted more.

The Reacher Guy – Heather Martin

The Reacher Guy is a compelling and authoritative portrait of the artist as a young man, refracted through the life of his fictional avatar, Jack Reacher….

I don’t read non-fiction and I certainly don’t read biographies. Well that was true until I listened to Heather Martin’s excellent biography of Lee Child, author of the tremendous Jack Reacher novels.

I thought I knew Reacher well (I’d been reading his story for over 20 years). I knew Lee Child was an alias but that was all I knew. Heather Martin showed me how little I actually knew. She tells the story of three men and she shows how my favourite fiction was shaped by history and experiences and tells the reader about the stubborn determination of a man called James Grant.

This book opened my eyes and gave me an enjoyment of non-fiction which I had not previously experienced. Since reading The Reacher Guy I am now picking up more non-fiction titles and feel I am gaining from each one I read. This is a detailed and fascinating listen.

Chasing The Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar

In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumour begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman – and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.

The release of this post was delayed 24 hours as I still had 45 minutes of Chasing The Boogeyman to listen to. Even before I had finished the audiobook I knew it was going to be included in my list of five favourites. It’s a story from the late 80’s when for six months a killer attacked a number of teenage girls and held a terror over a small town. The story is told by Richard Chizmar himself, a resident of the town in question, and he plays an integral part of the story even fearing he may become a suspect at one point. It is chilling ficton but presented as a true crime investigation – there is even a PDF of pictures of the characters to accompany the audiobook to allow listeners to see snapshots of the key figures in the story and locations important to the plot. It’s a really clever addition to a brilliant audiobook.

56 Days – Catherine Ryan Howard

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead….

It is December 2021 and Covid and lockdown have been present in our lives for over 20 months yet this isn’t being reflected in the fiction I am reading. Who is writing the lockdown stories? Well Catherine Ryan Howard is – 56 Days takes all the anxiety, claustrophobia, tension and paranoia of 2020 and weaves it wonderfully into this murder story.

This is the audiobook I enjoyed most in 2021. The narration was wonderful, the shift in narrative across the 56 days which cover the novel kept the teases and reveals flowing through the story – it isn’t a linear narrative so you realise some characters know more than they are letting on at certain parts of the story and that just throws up more question around why they are behaving why they are. The story hangs on the characters and their actions and Catherine Ryan Howard has crafted a wonderful cast to make this story absolutely shine.

So there you have it five wonderful and unmissable audiobooks. Some non-fiction which includes a lot of fictional references, a serial killer thriller, a police investigation with gangland links, a hitman story which is so much more and a clever murder tale hidden from the world during a pandemic lockdown.

I limped over the finishing line with a busted pair of headphones so until I get back to the shops and replace my £10 headphones with a new pair of similar value no new audiobooks will be started. I can be confident, therefore, that no new audiobook will be listened to over the last three weeks of 2021 and that this five really are the best five audiobooks I listened to this year. Now all that remains is for you to seek them out too and see for yourself why I loved them so much.

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December 3

Decades: Compiling The Ultimate Library with Carol Wyer

It’s my absolute delight to welcome Carol Wyer to my Decades Library and to pass custody of the Decades Curator Hat into her capable hands.

Carol faces the same challenge which I set all my guests. I asked her to nominate five books which she would want to see added to my Ultimate Library – the definitive collection of wonderful reading matter. Every week I ask booklovers (authors, publishers, journalists, bloggers) to help me build up a new library of amazing books. I started this challenge back in January with zero books and now here we are in December with almost 200 books added to the shelves of my Decades Library.

THE RULES: Each guest is asked to nominate any five books but they can only select one book per decade from five consecutive decades.

Carol has elected to begin her selections in the 1960s with her final nomination being published in 2003, five decades later. I am also delighted to report Carol has not cheated or “flexed the rules” in making her choices – regular visitors will know this is rare!

Enough from me, the rest of this week’s Decades Challenge is all about Carol Wyer…

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer’s crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

In 2021, An Eye For An Eye, the first in the DI Kate Young series, was chosen as a Kindle First Reads. It became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Australia. The third, A Life For A Life, is due out March 15th, 2022, but is available to preorder.

Carol has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and written for the Huffington Post. She’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows and on BBC Breakfast television.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy who is very, very grumpy.

When not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter @carolewyer

LINKS
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-E-Wyer/221149241263847

TWITTER https://twitter.com/carolewyer

BLOG https://carolwyer.com

WEBSITE https://www.carolwyer.co.uk

PINTEREST http://www.pinterest.com/carolewyer/

LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wyer-407b1032/

GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer

DECADES

I have enjoyed writing about my choices and it made me realise how many great books I have read over the last few decades. It was a tough choice to whittle them down, but I went with an eclectic choice and nothing heavy.

1960-1970 (1961) The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

My mother, who was an avid reader, loaned me her copy of this book to read when I was bedbound (thanks to major spinal surgery), and had run out of library books to keep me entertained. She was very interested in Italy and art and assured me I would love the book. Being a grumpy teenager at the time, and determined that anything she liked, especially a book from the 1960s, I would hate, I begrudgingly took it. I was wrong. The book spoke to me, piqued my own interest in art and went some way to cultivate my love for foreign languages and different cultures. My mother always wanted to travel to Florence to take in Michelangelo’s sculptures and artwork but never went. When I finally made the pilgrimage to Florence and saw the statue of David, a year after my mother’s death, I shed a tear she couldn’t share the moment with me and silently thanked her for encouraging me to read this wonderful biography of Michelangelo’s life.

1970-1980 (1979) Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I was studying English and French at university at the time the television series came out. It was hugely popular among those living at my hall of residence and most of the students would crowd into the television room each week to watch it. I however, had missed that boat and, wondering what all the hype was about, read the book instead of the Shakespeare play I was meant to be studying that week, in order to catch up on the Hitchhiker craze. I’ve always loved comedy and Douglas Adam’s wit appealed instantly to me. I went on to read the entire collection and motivated by Adams and other writers like him, began my own journey as an author by writing comedy.

1980-1990 (1987) Misery by Stephen King

Every writer should read this book! Ill health struck me down again in my twenties when, following another spinal procedure, I found myself paralysed for a few months. Stephen King became my ‘go to’ author. I’ve since read every book Stephen King has written, but this and The Shining are the two that scare me the most. You’d think, after reading them, I wouldn’t have chosen this career path!

1990-2000 (1991) John Grisham The Firm.

The second in a long line of best-selling legal thrillers by John Grisham and to my mind, still the best. I was lucky enough to stay at the White House on Grand Cayman where some of the filming for the film took place but alas, Tom Cruise wasn’t there at the time. The strength in Grisham’s books lies in his excellent knowledge of the justice system along with a gripping plot that had me hooked from the off.

2000-2010 (2003) Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

My husband bought me this book at the airport while we waited to board a plane to France. I was so gripped, I spent most of the holiday inside reading rather than sightseeing. I still haven’t watched the film version! I loved the intrigue, the fast pace, the breathless scenes where the characters hunt for clues, and Dan Brown clearly did substantial background research, something I didn’t fully appreciate until I actually wrote my first crime thriller and found out how little I knew about my subject. Since then, I have studied hard and have a network of experts to guide me. It certainly makes me appreciate how much effort goes into every author’s book.

I know the versions of the books Carol picked would have had different covers than those shown above but…there’s a lot of red going on there! I am delighted to see The Firm make its debut in my Library, it was my first Grisham which I remember picking up at launch – how I wish I still had my original copy.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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December 1

Fancy A Quickie (twice)? It’s My Bedtime Reading

This latest round of reviews is brought to you under the heading “Fancy A Quickie.” I am not reviewing erotica I am grabbing an opportune moment to get down and dirty and rip back the covers to expose two books and tell you about the time we spent together in bed.

Yup, these are books I read in bed during nights I struggled to find sleep. Part of the reason I struggled to sleep was down to the fact I was enjoying these stories. But when I finish a book in bed I don’t review it there and then and all too often the review remains unwritten. Until now. Two quick reviews follow.

First up the second book in M.W. Craven’s excellent Washington Poe series: Black Summer.

After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming …

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath … He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time? And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

Black Summer brings back the most readable duo in crime fiction: Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. The pair met in The Puppet Show and I was very keen to see what may lie in store for them next – particularly as The Puppet Show was a dark, gritty page turner.

The good news is that Black Summer is another absolute gem. Poe finds himself not just facing a perplexing mystery which links to a former case he was involved in but also a mystery which drags him very much into the firing line in the present day. But when Poe is in trouble he has an advantage over his opponents which will always give him the edge to endure…Tilly Bradshaw.

Jared Keaton is the villain of the piece and he very much enjoys the limelight which he gets within the story and is a dominating figure that Craven uses to great effect. There is a palpable power-struggle in Black Summer which has Poe and Bradshaw on one side with Keaton using all the resources of the law to undermine the postition of the police officer he is trying to bring down.

Although this is the second book in the series it was the third I had read. After each book I have the same mantra – you need to be reading this series. Terrific fun.

Get your copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/black-summer/m-w-craven/9781472127495

Next up is Neil Spring’s The Haunted Shore

When Lizzy moves to a desolate shore to escape her past, she hopes to find sanctuary. But a mysterious stranger is waiting for her, her father’s carer, and when darkness falls, something roams this wild stretch of beach, urging Lizzy to investigate its past. The longer she stays, the more the shore’s secrets begin to stir. Secrets of a sea that burned, of bodies washed ashore — and a family’s buried past reaching into the present.

And when Lizzy begins to suspect that her father’s carer is a dangerous imposter with sinister motives, a new darkness rises. What happens next is everyone’s living nightmare . . .

Neil Spring always tells unsettling stories and The Haunted Shore was no exception. Though one element I found particularly unsettling was not from a supernatural thread (which is what I had anticipated) but from Lizzy’s self-destruction at the start of the story.

I won’t share what forces Lizzy to leave the city and move out to the wilds where she will be with her father but suffice to say it was a dilemma which the author depicted well and made me anxious and frustrated for Lizzy. I was annoyed with her character, then I was sympathetic and then I was rooting for her to overcome the situation. So before things really begin to kick-off I was already invested in this story.

Lizzy is alarmed to discover her father is in ailing health. He relies heavily upon a carer and the pair have a relationship which Lizzy is struggling to accept and to fit around. The more time Lizzy spends in the company of this stranger who is keeping her family functioning the greater her suspicion and distrust grows. The tension grows chapter by chapter.

As Lizzy adjusts to life in the remote countryside and to get away from the toxic atmosphere in the house she spends time walking the deserted shorelines. It is there she meets a neighbour who has warnings for her, caution is advised but clearly all is not as it may seem. The first inklings of troubles to come are seeded.

Neil Spring always delivers the chills and The Haunted Shore builds up nicely to the point things start to become disconcerting. It kept me guessing where the story was heading and with a chiller that’s always a totally open ended range of possibilites. I’ve read all of Neil Spring’s books and they never fail to deliver.

You can get a copy of The Haunted Shore here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-haunted-shore/neil-spring/9781787470101

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November 27

Let That Be A Lesson – Ryan Wilson

The malodorous horrors of Sports Day.
Bracing yourself for Parents’ Evening.
Refereeing teenage relationship dramas.

This is not what you see in the adverts.

From the age of eight, Ryan Wilson dreamt of being a teacher. This is the inside story of his time at the chalkface, from fresh-faced trainee with grand ideals to exhausted assistant head battling ever-changing government demands. It is a tribute to the colleagues who befriended him and to the chaotic, brilliant, maddening students who inspired and enraged him. From Sean, the wannabe gangster with a soft heart, to David, the king of innuendo, and terrifyingly clever Amelia. And, above all, it’s about the lessons they taught him: how to be patient and resilient, how to live authentically and how to value every day.

I received a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley

As Christmas approaches I like to look beyond the crime/thriller and horror books I normally read and I enjoy some new voices, different subject matter and I like to share my thoughts on books which I feel would make great gifts.

Let That Be A Lesson by Ryan Wilson is a fun look at what a new teacher goes through as they first venture into schools and find themselves face to face with a room full of hormomal teenagers who just do not care what you have to say to them. Ryan was that teacher and this is his telling of how he found his place in the classrooms, the teachers he would lean upon for guidance and, of course, the kids under his care.

Having been in Ryan’s position (a trainee teacher hoping to get his students to engage) I was fascinated to see if Ryan’s experiences were anything like my own. Hat’s off to him – Ryan is clearly a far better teacher than I ever was and I really enjoyed watching his confidence grow through the book.

Let That Be A Lesson would be a great read for someone considering taking on teaching in the future as there will be more covered in this book than you could possibly hope to learn in any teacher training classroom. Trust me when I say every lesson discussed there goes smoothly! But Ryan Wilson will help readers understand that nothing ever goes quite to plan as kids are unpredictable and even more so when in a crowd.

But there are lessons to plan, meetings to attend, trips to supervise and colleagues to bond with. The staffroom doors are thrown open in this book and it does make for interesting reading. The book is written in an easy companiable style and mixes up some of Ryan’s own life with those of his school and colleagues. It wasn’t the compilation of funny anecdotes in the style of “Kids Do The Funniest Things” which had been sort of what I had originally been expecting. However, the depth of issues which are touched upon makes for a more interesting narrative than a collection of funnies.’

Let That Be A Lesson is published by Vintage and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/let-that-be-a-lesson/ryan-wilson/9781784744014

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November 27

The Lost – Simon Beckett

Ten years ago, the disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley’s young son almost destroyed him.

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY

A plea for help from an old friend leads Jonah to Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies. Brutally attacked and left for dead, he is the only survivor.

A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

Under suspicion himself, he uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people he thought he knew – forcing him to question what really happened all those years ago…

I received a review copy of The Lost from Orion and was delighted to be invited to join the blog tour by Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers

I have been enjoying Simon Beckett’s books for several years after picking up The Chemistry of Death not long after it first came out. Beckett’s books always keep me hooked and I am not ashamed to admit he hoodwinks me every time with his clever plotting. Needless to say I had been looking forward to starting The Lost.

Read in just two sittings it’s safe to say I loved this book. It had the feel of a race-against-time thriller where the protagonist only has 24 hours to avert a disaster. But it’s not that type of plot, I believe the “up against a deadline” feeling I got from The Lost may actually be a reflection on how events are spiralling out of control for Jonah Colley.

It begins when a friend from the past reaches out to Colley asking for help and for Colley to meet him late at night by the docks. Colley is confused to receive the message. Both he and the sender are police but his old friend is no longer a friend, the two fell out many years ago during the aftermath of Colley’s son Theo disappearing while Colley was meant to be watching him.

Colley attends the meet to find out why, after all this time, his former friend feels he needs Colley’s help. But he walks into a horror show. His friend lies dead, three more victims are on the scene too wrapped in plastic having suffered before Colley’s arrival. Colley tries to escape buy is attacked by the killer and has to fight for his own survival. He manages to call the police for support but gets badly injured before they arrive.

Waking up in hospital two days later, knee rebuilt in surgery, Colley struggles to understand what has happened. To make things worse it seems he is a prime suspect in the murder of his friend.

The Lost is Colley’s story, trying to clear his name but there is also growing evidence the man suspected of abducting Colley’s son may be involved in the murder of Colley’s friend, the murder police suspect Colley committed.

Why, after ten years, is one man hell bent on ruining Colley’s life? He means to find out but there will be more deaths and innocent lives will be at risk before Colley begins to understand what’s happening around him.

I don’t think I have the words to tell you how much I enjoyed The Lost. It delivered everything I want from a thriller. It kept the pace up throughout the book and the action was coming thick and fast; at no point did I want to pause my reading. Terrific book, you should not miss out on this one.

The Lost is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B095RQFNN9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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November 26

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Bert (AKA Alex Call)

Welcome to the last Decades selection in November 2021. This post goes live on the biggest shopping Friday of the year (y0u know the one) and I very much want to ask everyone to #ShopIndie today and also over the next few weeks as we rush towards the Holiday Season.

Through December you may well find yourself looking to purchase a book whether it is for Christmas, a birthday (don’t forget people with a December birthday) or maybe even for Jolabokaflod. It just so happens my guest this week owns a bookshop and would like nothing more than to help match you and your loved ones with new books.

Every week I invite a booklover to nominate five new books to be added to my Decades Library. When this challenge began back in January there were no books in my Library but week on week authors, publishers, journalists and bloggers have added new books to the Decades Library and their marvellous choices have had people discovering and buying the titles my guests recommend.

My guests don’t just get to pick five books as that would be too easy! They may only pick one book per decade from five consecutive decades – a fifty year publication span to select from.

This week I am delighted to welcome Bert from Bert’s Books to the blog. Bert (who, as you will see, isn’t) is making his five selections and also has details of a fantastic discount on his subscription service which you must not miss!

DECADES

Bert is my alter ego – to some I am known as Alex Call, previously the Head of Books Marketing at WHSmith and subsequently founder of Bert’s Books. Bert’s Books began in 2019 when – finding myself at a loose end – I wanted to find a way of getting all the brilliant books I was reading out into the hands of readers.

The dream is to one day own and run my own bookshop – and maybe to find the time to write my own book!

All of the books listed below and hundreds more are available to order on bertsbooks.co.uk. All the titles on the website are there because I loved them – or one of my customers did, so you’re guaranteed to find an amazing read.

I also offer monthly subscriptions full of new releases that I’ve loved – so if you like the books that I’ve picked then we probably have similar tastes! Visit bertsbooks.co.uk/build – and get 20% off your first month using code WELCOME20

Delivery in the UK is completely FREE

Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)

As a child, every Saturday morning, my mum, sister and I would take the short walk from our house to my grandparents, stopping by the library on the way. I would leave with a huge pile of books – and invariably over the years, there were some books that accompanied me on more than one occasion.

Special shout outs to Mercedes Ice and Scribble Boy both by Philip Ridley, but it was Matilda who became the defining book of my childhood. This young girl who found magic in books resonated with me – I by no means had a neglectful family, in fact it was probably I who neglected them in favour of books!

Night of the Living Dummy by RL Stine (1993)

For a certain generation, to ask for a major book from the 90s is to be told about Harry Potter. However, I didn’t want to be predictable, so I thought about other books that had a major influence on me – and the Goosebumps series (along with the Point Horror series, and in a bizarre contrast the Sweet Valley High series) were those books.

Night of the Living Dummy is one of the few still available which is why I’ve named it, but it is the series as a whole that I want to acknowledge. These were the first books I can remember buying, proudly displaying my collection on a bookshelf and scouring my latest WHSmith for new releases.

If Matilda sparked my love of reading, then the Goosebumps series sparked my love of bookshops. Recently, I was able to share my entire (complete!) collection with my godson, who I’m proud to say loved them every bit as much as I did!

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)

By the early noughties, I was that most horrible of things – a teenage boy. I’d more or less left reading behind as I struggled to bridge the gap between children’s books and adult books. Aged 16, I got a job in my local WHSmith (the very same one of Goosebumps fame) and soon found my home in the book department.

I was helping a customer find a third book in the 3 for 2 offer, and during the discussion, they recommended the Time Traveller’s Wife to me. I decided to take advantage of the same offer and that night went home with the Niffenegger, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

These three books marked by entry into the world of reading ‘adult’ books – but it was the simple complexity of the Niffenegger’s time travel plot that spoke me to the most. To take what was a complicated time-jumping narrative and make it so accessible was inspiring to me.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (2015)

This was my starting point for picking books for this piece. I’ve been reading all my life and I was quite some way into my bookselling career before I encountered A Little Life – but it is the first book I’ve had such a visceral reaction to.

It alerted me to the true power of storytelling that I’d heard others talk of. There have been many books before and after this one that I loved (a couple from this decade, that I’m heartbroken not to be able to include!)

The characters of Jude, Willem, JB and Malcolm broke my heart, moved in and rebuilt the pieces around themselves.

Still Life by Sarah Winman (2021)

I’m cheating a bit here. Still Life by Sarah Winman is a remarkable book that dragged me into its world and made me want to inhabit it completely. Winman herself admits it’s a novel where nothing happens – but the way in which nothing happens is where the magic lies.

It is however, Winman herself that I’d like to choose, specifically her 2017 novel Tin Man. After a particularly tough week I received a proof copy of Tin Man, and in the space of one evening I was able to switch off from the world around me and lose myself in the world Ellis, Annie and Michael.

Ever since then, Winman and her novels have been a huge inspiration and escape for me – to the point that publication of Still Life became THE event of 2021 for me. If I could be just a fraction of the writer Winman is, I will die a very happy man indeed.

Terrific selections from Alex – thank you! His inclusion of Still Life displaces We Begin At The End as the “newest” book (most recently published) in the Library.

All the books above can, of course, be ordered from Bert’s Books here: https://bertsbooks.co.uk/

DECADES WILL RETURN

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November 22

No Way To Die – Tony Kent

A deadly threat. A ghost from the past. And time is running out…

When traces of a radioactive material are found alongside a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the crime scene. This is not just an isolated murder: a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees.

The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the terrorists’ bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past.

Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the blog tour for No Way To Die.

I am loathe to start a review with a seasonal reference, however, if you’re looking for an action thriller to gift a booklover this Christmas/Holiday season then stop reading now and just buy them a copy of No Way To Die.

Still here? Okay you can still buy it once you’ve finished reading my review. This one is an absolute corker.

All the “initialed” agencies in the US are on high alert when a tip off lands them at a quiet jetty in Key West. An incident at the waterside leaves the dead body of a security guard and lots of traces of chemicals. When the agents on scene watch video footage and see their killer they recognise him as a significant threat to national security who now has means to make a chemical device which, if exploded, could kill and critically injure thousands of innocent people.

The chase is on and returning hero Joe Dempsey is pulled from his planned trip home to assist. Don’t worry if you haven’t met Dempsey before as the author includes details of any key elements you may need to know from the previous books. In fact there are teasers there which will likely make you want to go back to catch up on those earlier books.

Dempsey and his colleagues on the hastily assembled task force will track their chief suspects across country as he flees in a van with his chemical contraband. This task is made easier as he is leaving a series of dead bodies in his wake.

For the reader we don’t just get Dempsey’s view of events we also travel with the terrorists and spending time with this right wing fanatic gives an insight into a side of American attitudes, personally, found discomforting. It’s very well written though.

We also get taken inside a high security prison where the worst of societies criminals are held. What links these captives, the ones who pose a danger to countries rather than individuals, to events unfolding in Key West? To find out I had to keep reading, long into the night as I felt I just had to keep going…the “one more chapter” mantra was strong here.

In short, this is a hugely enjoyable action thriller. Emphasis is firmly on entertainment from Tony Kent and the short, punchy chapters and snappy (often humerous) interchanges between characters keeps events zipping along. You are reading a high stakes, brutal and enthralling adventure story which has the feel of a blockbuster movie.

Make time to read No Way To Die.

No Way To Die is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/no-way-to-die/tony-kent/9781783966059

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November 21

The Guide – Peter Heller

The best-selling author of The River returns with a heart-racing thriller about a young man escaping his own grief and an elite fishing lodge in Colorado hiding a plot of shocking menace

Kingfisher Lodge: a boutique resort surrounded by a mile and a half of the most pristine river water on the planet.

Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher offers a respite for wealthy clients – and a return to normality for fishing guide Jack, battling the demons of a recent, devastating loss.

But when a human scream pierces the night, Jack soon realises that the idyllic retreat may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation.

My thanks to Ellen Turner at Orion for my review copy and also for the opportunity to join the blog tour for The Guide.

Jack is starting a new job an an exclusive retreat in Colorado. He is to act as a guide to the elite clientele who pay tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to spend a week in the beautiful scenic mountains and fish in the rivers. Jack is to help them fish, teaching them techniques or finding the best spots on the river where their chances of success will be greatest.

It’s clear Jack isn’t taking this new post simply because he wants a new job. As we read The Guide we learn more about Jack and the issues in his past which he appears to be trying to escape, this role is to get away from something or to give him space to clear his head. However, when we first meet him he does appear an amiable character but one who does not warm to the chief Guide who is showing him the ropes. Something appears slightly “off” about this luxury resort and he isn’t accepting it is because the clients want peace and undisturbed quiet.

Maybe it is the neighbouring estates which are making Jack uneasy? As he is being shown the river and the boundaries of the retreat Jack is warned not to go too far upstream as that neighbour is a crazy old fellah who will take pot-shots at anyone who crosses past the warning signs he has posted by the river banks. Seemingly he took a shot at a guest earlier that season and only narrowly missed them. DO NOT GO UPSTREAM is the clear message. Likewise downstream past the end of the estate is also a no go area – that neighbour has dogs that will attack anyone who may stray into their territory. There is plenty of space in the area of his employers estate and copious fish to pursue, no need to stray.

The accommodation is of the highest luxury, though not so much for a staff member, and as well as a bar and restaurant for all guests to relax in and enjoy there are also spa treatment spaces to allow guests to unwind.

There is an unspecified virus loose in the world so precautions are taken on site and daily screening undertaken to keep guests safe. Masks are worn and safe spaces are mentioned. It’s a set of rules we are all familiar with now and one the characters are comfortable to accept but at the retreat it is all about escaping from the world outside.

Jack gets an afternoon to familiarise himself with his new surroundings and to fish – something he clearly loves and an opportunity to lose himself in the activity. I’m no fisher but Peter Heller makes this sound the most relaxing and enjoyable way to pass an afternoon in the sun and great outdoors. For Jack there is an intrusion into his peaceful escape when he spots a security camera watching spots on the river, a safety feature but one which he feels takes away from his solitude.

By the time Jack is introduced to the guest he will be accompanying for the duration of her visit he is comfortable with the river and keen to avoid mingling too much with the elite guests and other staff. Fortunately his guest is also happy with Jack’s company and the two form an easy friendship.

It will turn out Jack’s suspicsions are correct. Something is very wrong at this idylic resort and the more mysterious things Jack sees which he can’t understand the more he will dig for answers. Digging for answers will, in turn, attract unwanted attention towards Jack. When you’re miles from safety and hopelessly outnumbered by powerful, rich people who want their secrets to remain secret your chances of surviving are not high.

The Guide was a deeply satisfying story which layered its secrets cleverly and didn’t show its hand too soon. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Guide is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-guide/peter-heller/9781474623889

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