Simply Sublime - 5 star

Newly retired detective Tom Kettle is living out his final years in Daleky, an affluent suburb of Dublin overlooking the wild unpredictable Irish sea….”he was quite content just to gaze out. Just to do that. To him this was the whole point of retirement, of existence- to be stationary, happy and useless”... His life takes a rather unexpected turn when he receives an uninvited visit from 2 of his old colleagues, dispatched by former boss Chief Fleming. It is thought that Tom might be of assistance in helping to solve an historic case in which he had direct involvement…..”I’ll send you out to Tom Kettle, good sane clear headed Tom, with a whole citadel, a museum of experience in his head, he’ll set this to rights, give us a heads-up, a way forward, a good steer, a helping hand”.....

What follows is one of the most heart wrenching stories I have ever read, brought to life in such a lyrical and emotional way by the much revered author Sebastian Barry. Tom is a quiet man with a sad past that is slowly revealed to the reader as the novel progresses. This is a book that deals with the legacy of abuse within the church, this is a book about memory and our ability or not to recall events from the past, this is a book that deals with the human desire and need for love, but above all it is an emotional ride as painful thoughts and long forgotten events emerge to disrupt and disturb this quiet man in his final years…..”Things happened to people, and some people were required to lift great weights that crushed you if you faltered just for a moment. It was his job not to falter”...Towards the end of the novel, Tom has cause to notice his neighbour Ronnie McGillicuddy a cellist who could often be heard practicing. Accepting an invite to visit, Tom is at once transported to another dimension by the virtuosos musical skill……what follows made me cry…..”Ronnie McGillicuddy sawed his cello into sweetness, into a thousand sweetnesses, an old Jewish tune being injected into Tom, injected into Ronnie himself - swaying and even muttering , like a lunatic, a poor assailed person, you would think, away with the fairies. They were both away with the fairies and June was alive, she was alive, beautiful and wise, and she would always be there, bursting with life, calm as any old painted Madonna, as long as he did not open his eyes. He lifted both his hands and reached out to hold that longed-for face. To hold it, the soft cheeks, the dark skin, to hold it,to hold it.

Many thanks to the good people at net galley for a copy of this delightful novel in return for an honest review, and that is what I have written. Highly recommended.

Average at best - 1- star

An average thriller with somewhat shallow characters and a predictable outcome. Two invisibles have entered the UK, and they have a target in mind, destruction to be delivered in the form of a curde bomb. M15 Intelligence officer Liz Carlyle together with a motley crew of army officers and super smooth Bruno MaCay, Mi6's finest race against time to stop the predicted carnage. If you enjoy cheap thrills at the expense of character driven stories, then do read, however.....For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!'

A little irrelevant quote for you to enjoy (thank you JL :) which neatly closes a review lamenting the time I have wasted reading this indigestible fodder!

When the story telling and humour are no more - 1 - star

A claw-foot bath dominated one wall, topped by a mildewed shower-curtain. Crusts of dark-orange and brown limescale around the drain. Lid and seat up on the toilet, showing off a whole Formula-One- season of skid marks.” There you have it, the writing style of Stuart MacBride enriched with toilet humour, rude rather than crude remarks, a list of very colourful and dur Scottish characters hidden loosely under crime/noir. Now let me say from the start I have been reading this authors books from the early days of Cold Granite, the first Logan McCrea novel and have always found his style refreshing and indeed at times highly amusing (who could forget DCI Roberta Steel and her testing sense of humour most of it at the expense of Logan who she rather fondly called Laz :)

In “The dead of Winter '' two officers DC Reekie and his boss DI Victoria (Bigtoria) Montgomery-Porter are delivering a dying prisoner Mark Bishop to the remote Scottish village of Glenfarach to live his remaining short years in a more open environment. There are 200 other offenders incarcerated here, having committed many crimes of a sexual nature, murder, and embezzlement. The weather is closing in and the officers wish to return asap to Aberdeen before threatened blizzards make an appearance. Unfortunately this will not happen as a murder in the style of an execution has occurred and with 200 (now 199!) suspects Reekie and Porter will need to be resolute and strong before the perpetrator strikes again. There is very little hope of any outside help arriving as Glenfarach quickly becomes snowbound. I am afraid what I once found exciting and new in the author’s writing I now find laborious and tedious. What once was crisp and humorous has now become lewd and tired. The crime and noir has been replaced by a slapdash style as our 2 headless chickens investigate in a way reminiscent of the Marx Bros. Thank you to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in return for an honest review and that is what I have written.

In one word, brilliant! - 5 star

This lady is known as the Queen of Crime for no other reason than her books and writing are outstanding. Broken Ground is meticulously researched, a brilliant crime story presented in a very readable form, and concluding in a most satisfactory manner.

Karen is head of the Historic Crimes Unit (HCU) and is researching the rape and murder of some working girls from 1984. As always she is assisted by Jason “Mint” Murray where respect has to be earned and Jason needs to prove his importance to the team. There is some wonderful interplay between Karen and Jason, praise given but just as soon taken…”He was, she thought, a decent if limited man”. Running alongside this historic case a body is unearthed in the remote depths of the highlands preserved by the rich peat in which it had lain for many years. Both cases will test the resolve of our intrepid two and call into question Karen’s professional judgment. Her new manager ACC Ann Markie is also intent on destroying the career of DCI Pirie, a personal vendetta is brewing and a final confrontation will take us to the very heart of the Scottish parliament and in particular the 1st minister.

Karen Pirie is a wonderful believable police officer, we feel her pain, a woman committed to uncovering the truth whatever the personal cost. An intricate plot, a killer hidden in plain sight for many years and a possible love interest makes Broken Ground one of the best crime stories I have ever read. Highly, highly recommended.

Erotic, remarkable, recommended - 5 - star

A remarkable study about everyday sexual habits under a liberal Weimar republic in comparison to the later tainted hypocritical attitude of the so called pure in mind and body Aryan german race overseen by the Nazi party. The writing is engrossing and at times erotic openly destroying the propaganda orchestrated by Joseph Goebbels. Hitler and his circle of evil would have us believe that their form of facism promoted good clean living backed up by strong bodies toned and shaped to perfection. The truth is more sombre, a diary of torture and loose sexual habits hidden behind a litany of lies. It is somewhat ironic that Goebbels preached abstinence and perfection when he himself presented as a small man, with a large head, crippled foot, and fragile body. He wanted to be accepted as a family man with a devoted wife Magda and six adoring children. He openly had numerous affairs, in particular Lida Baarova, an aspiring actress whose career was ruined and nearly ended with her being put to death at the end of world war 2. Hitler in his early political career had a strange relationship with his niece Geli Raubal, he was 19 years older. He was obsessed with her to the point of banishing friends and suitors from her side, keeping her alone and solely for his pleasure. There is evidence to suggest a sexual side to this relationship indeed rumour of gros kinky acts with Hitler insisting that his niece urinate on him. There is much reference made to the deplorable treatment of women during this time, so many violated and raped by advancing armies and attractive internees in concentration camps being offered the life of a prostitute as an alternative to death..” We learned we would be offered as prostitutes to the German forces, and those Latvian members of the German military, in one of their brothels. The idea filled me with dread in an instant. I was 17 years old and had never experienced sexual intercourse at that point in my life. I was scared of what was going to happen to me. I was the youngest of the seven of us and the other women who were in their twenties tried to offer some comfort to me, but they could do nothing else”.

This is a remarkable book compiled mostly from endless research and interviews with eyewitnesses and victims who lived through the horror of that time. It is not always an easy read and the sexual element, often described in great detail, is in my opinion an important part of the text if we are to fully understand the evil perpetrated by many on a defenceless few. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. Recommended.