A very difficult read - 2 star

You will either love or loathe Reservoir 13 from Costa Book Award winner Jon McGregor. It is to me an odd book and tells the story of the disappearance of Rebecca Shaw, a young girl on holiday at a village in the peak district in the early years of this century. If you are expecting a crime novel than think again, the reader is instead assailed with images of village life the day to day mundane existence, the finite detail of the residents as they stumble from one event to the next, from one year to the next, from one decade to the next, and written in a prose devoid of any punctuation. The actual murder (or disappearance) is rarely mentioned and I failed miserably to understand its poignancy if the author's intention was merely to highlight the drabness of village life…..and drab it is. The writing style is very compact, very hard to assimilate, each sentence seeming to introduce a new event or happening, and over a period of years this becomes somewhat laborious. I have read some brilliant books by the author namely; So many ways to begin, and his astounding new novel; Lean, Fall Stand, but unfortunately Reservoir 13 is not amongst them.

A thing of beauty - 4 star

A novel of intrigue, mystery, and style set from the end of the 1st WW to the 1930’s. Filled with images of struggle examining the meaning of love and survival in Europe at the start of the rise of facism and the world wide destruction that would inevitably follow. My first Sebastian Faulks read was Birdsong and have been an admirer of his writing style ever since. Recommended.

Death in the Peak District - 5 star

A beautifully crafted police procedural within a highly entertaining cast of characters. Val McDermid can not only hold the reader's attention with an edge of the seat thriller but expertly disguises the real human story behind the killing of Alison Carter until the closing chapters. Her writing style is nothing short of brilliant showing once again why she has few equal to her as a crime writer.

Complex but rewarding - 5 star

Troubled Blood is certainly a wordy novel and indeed it could be argued that a careful editing of the book might have reduced it to a more manageable and reader friendly experience. However Troubled Blood is a great example of what the author excels at; a multi character driven reading experience encompassing what is best described as a complex plot. I am a great admirer of character driven stories and enjoy nothing better than delving into the lives of both main and secondary players. I believe this adds greatly to the reading experience and allows the author numerous opportunities to confuse, excite and often delight budding amateur sleuths.Cormoran Strike has been instructed to revisit the historic case of Margot Bamborough who vanished some 40 years ago without trace, the whereabouts of her body never discovered. Suspicion has always rested with Dennis   Creed, a serial killer active at the time but now incarcerated within the hallowed and imposing Victorian mental institution known as Broadmoor. I found the 927 page count the perfect platform for the author to explore the many and varied characters she introduces, possibly in an attempt to create a smoke screen, discussing and shielding the eventual identity of the real killer.

Added to this is the relationship (or not) between Strike and his estranged rockstar dad Jonny Rokeby, the relationship (or not) between Strike and his ex wife Charlotte, the relationship (or not) between Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott. In addition to the main plot the detective agency has grown to accommodate an expanding case load and the two partners have a difficult task of managing effectively and solving all such briefs.This is a book that needs to be read with a sense of urgency, putting to the back of his/her mind the ultimate goal, the unmasking of a killer. Rather the sheer enjoyment of Troubled Blood is the unpredictability of what will happen next, what delights and multiple characters appearing and disappearing with equal regularity. The fifth book in the Strike series again proves what a master storyteller Robert Galbraith is, her painstaking meticulous approach a delight from start to finish.

Brilliant, unputdownable!

Many years ago I read my first Grisham, A time to kill and followed that with The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber and The Runaway Jury. I began to feel that later novels were losing the impact that those earlier thrillers so brilliantly portrayed. A Painted House proved somewhat of a disappointment and so my reading journey into the legal mind of John Grisham came to a close…...until now. By pure luck I picked up “The Reckoning” in a charity shop, liked the synopsis on the back cover and started reading, and could not stop! The Reckoning is nothing short of brilliant; it combines the qualities of a thriller with vivid courtroom scenes that Grisham is renowned for.

Pete Banning returns home to Clanton Mississippi, a war hero, a man respected and loved dearly in his community. One morning in October 1946 he rises early, drives into town, attends the local Methodist Church and shoots dead the popular Reverend Dexter Bell. He refuses to speak or comment on the killing and seems content to have a trial that will surely find him guilty and death by electrocution. The first part of the book deals with the murder followed by the trial and then the author tells the back story of Pete Manning his heroic war record, his capture, escape, and fight back against the  Japanese. In the final part we are observers to the repercussions that the murder has on Manning’s family; the children Joel and Stella and his wife Liza confined to a mental hospital. The writing is taut, the story brilliantly executed and I found it impossible to put down until completed, until the final question was answered….What happened on that October day that caused Pete Manning to act in the way he did and by doing so altered the lives and futures of so many. Welcome back Mr Grisham what a fantastic read...highly highly recommended.

Harry delivers the goods! - 4 star

This is the 10th outing for Nesbo’s brilliant yet somewhat troubled maverick detective Harry Hole. The plot is interesting, police officers are being murdered at the site of crimes they failed to solve in the distant past and Oslo’s finest are frankly clueless as to how to approach the case, never mind solve it. Harry, banished to the academic world of lecturing, has his own troubles in the form of a fanatical student Silje Gravseng stalking our hero, and fighting his own demons in the form of alcohol. I enjoy the writing style of Jo Nesbo, a true exponent of scandi noir, but the problem I have with this book is our hero does not actually enter the story until 200 pages in. Up to this point a twisted brutal killer is leading the local Oslo police on a merry dance! But very soon the good citizens of Oslo can once again rest easy as within a very short time Harry is putting the pieces of the jigsaw together and they know with confidence that the perpetrator of these evil acts will soon be held accountable. The troubled relationship between Harry and Rakel reaches an unexpected but pleasing conclusion. I love Jo Nesbo’s writing and even if our antihero is not present for the first 3rd of the novel “Police” is still an excellent read and a great addition to the series.

The world according to Irving - 5 star

To read John Irving is to surround yourself in his world and enjoy his amazing story telling ability. There are a number of themes throughout his books; his interest in wrestling, his love of the underdog, his battle to glorify small suppressed individuals in society, and help them gain recognition and a right to have their voice heard. The virtues of women, the strive for equality amongst transgenders, and the condemnation of misogynists who choose to vilify rather than praise. 

TS Carp, the illegitimate son of a WW pilot and a mother Jenny Fields who was to devote her life to the wellbeing of women in a world that seems increasingly hostile. From struggling author to devoted father Garp faces many challenges throughout his life devoted to his much admired mother Jenny fields and wife Helen. The writing of Irving is colourful,  attentive to detail, never boring with rich characters in abundance. Highly recommended.