Search
Search results
Toni M (6 KP) rated A Dark and Twisted Tide (Lacey Flint #4) in Books
Aug 22, 2018
I loved this one! The previous Lacey Flint novels have kept me guessing, and I'm always wrong. So this time, I thought outside the box and was sure I had it figured out. Wrong! I love that Bolton keeps me on my toes!
In spite of the fact that Joesbury is largely absent from this book, the Mark/Lacey storyline features more prominently than it did in Lost (or Like This, For Ever, depending which edition you read). I was really missing it in the last book so I was happy to see more of it this time around.
Finally, Thessa's character is well-written and beautifully portrayed. I fell in love with her straight away.
I've got Here Be Dragons next on my reading list and I have high hopes for it. Still, I can't wait for the next full-length novel in this series!
In spite of the fact that Joesbury is largely absent from this book, the Mark/Lacey storyline features more prominently than it did in Lost (or Like This, For Ever, depending which edition you read). I was really missing it in the last book so I was happy to see more of it this time around.
Finally, Thessa's character is well-written and beautifully portrayed. I fell in love with her straight away.
I've got Here Be Dragons next on my reading list and I have high hopes for it. Still, I can't wait for the next full-length novel in this series!
ClareR (5996 KP) rated The Dark Lake in Books
Sep 5, 2018
One to watch for.
A debut thriller that really kept me on the edge of my seat. Rosalind Ryan, a local Drama and English teacher, is found dead in the lake at a local nature reserve. Gemma Woodstock, a local Detective Sergeant, is put on the case. Except Gemma has a history with Rosalind, and she has a lot of other personal baggage.
I enjoyed this. They're all very human characters with lots of faults, sometimes unpleasant ones: but I liked that. I liked that the murderer wasn't at all obvious (to me, anyway!) and had me guessing right up to the end, and the whole reason for the murder was a shock, and at the same time, understandable.
I will keep an eye out for future novels by this author, particularly in this series. I really do think that she'll be one to watch out for in the future.
I enjoyed this. They're all very human characters with lots of faults, sometimes unpleasant ones: but I liked that. I liked that the murderer wasn't at all obvious (to me, anyway!) and had me guessing right up to the end, and the whole reason for the murder was a shock, and at the same time, understandable.
I will keep an eye out for future novels by this author, particularly in this series. I really do think that she'll be one to watch out for in the future.
David McK (3623 KP) rated Northlight in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I think I read one of these Adam Hall (Elleston Trevor's pen name) Quiller books years ago and wasn't really that impressed, but things (and tastes) change. When this one was recommended to me as being 'better than Ian Fleming' I thought I would give it a second chance. Unfortunately, I now remember why - generally speaking - I don't really read spy novels.
Written and set during the mid 80s, this is the time of the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain was still up and when the Iron lady (Margaret Thatcher) was still in power. In this, Quiller has to go undercover into Soviet Russia to investigate the sinking of a US submarine. Told in first person as Quiller remembering the mission, I found this hard to get into, slow moving and - unfortunately - not really that exciting.
Doubt I'll read any more anytime soon.
Written and set during the mid 80s, this is the time of the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain was still up and when the Iron lady (Margaret Thatcher) was still in power. In this, Quiller has to go undercover into Soviet Russia to investigate the sinking of a US submarine. Told in first person as Quiller remembering the mission, I found this hard to get into, slow moving and - unfortunately - not really that exciting.
Doubt I'll read any more anytime soon.
David McK (3623 KP) rated Shieldwall in Books
Jan 30, 2019
This was actually one of those novels that came up under the 'frequently bought with...' sections in Amazon, although at the time I did not purchase it there. Rather, I picked it up a short while later in my local Bargain Books, for something like £2. I was hoping to enjoy it, as I (generally) do like this type of fiction and as some of the critics quotations on the back of the book were good, but I have to say: I think that they (and, in particular, Kate Saunders from The Times who calls it 'exciting, gripping and imaginative') must have been reading a different novel from me - I found this, truth be told, to actually be a bit of a chore to read.
Doubt I'll be picking up the sequels (this is, apparently, the first in a planned trilogy), even for £2!
Doubt I'll be picking up the sequels (this is, apparently, the first in a planned trilogy), even for £2!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Small Gods in Books
Nov 6, 2019
Your usual good Discworld story
I love the Discworld novels however if I’m being honest, I prefer the non-standalone series such as the City Guard, Death or the Moist Von Lipwig. Small Gods is one of the few standalone stories in the Discworld catalogue and whilst a Discworld novel is always good, this isn’t one of my favourites.
Brutha is a likeable main character but not lovable. Not because he’s a little bit dim but just because there’s not much to him. Om as the tortoise is rather funny, and the rest of the characters in this are good but not particularly memorable. The story itself is obviously a tongue in cheek take on religion and is funny in parts, although sadly considering when it was written maybe isn’t quite as relevant as it could be today. Overall it’s just a well written entertaining Discworld story.
Brutha is a likeable main character but not lovable. Not because he’s a little bit dim but just because there’s not much to him. Om as the tortoise is rather funny, and the rest of the characters in this are good but not particularly memorable. The story itself is obviously a tongue in cheek take on religion and is funny in parts, although sadly considering when it was written maybe isn’t quite as relevant as it could be today. Overall it’s just a well written entertaining Discworld story.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Long Kill in Books
Nov 20, 2019
As a big fan of Reginald Hill I was interested in reading this, one of the books he published under a pseudonym at the same time as he was experiencing success with his other novels.
The set up is intriguing and the main character interesting but the plot doesn't quite seem to gel; I don't know exactly what wasn't right but it didn't have the Hill magic. Everything seems to be fairly conventional, if not a bit cliched and some of the plot points came across as contrived or plain unlikely. The writing too wasn't up to par, almost as if Hill had lost enthusiasm for the project before it was completed. Perhaps that was why he published it under a different name.
That said, it's workman like enough to pass as a casual read. It's just not in the same league as Hill's other work.
The set up is intriguing and the main character interesting but the plot doesn't quite seem to gel; I don't know exactly what wasn't right but it didn't have the Hill magic. Everything seems to be fairly conventional, if not a bit cliched and some of the plot points came across as contrived or plain unlikely. The writing too wasn't up to par, almost as if Hill had lost enthusiasm for the project before it was completed. Perhaps that was why he published it under a different name.
That said, it's workman like enough to pass as a casual read. It's just not in the same league as Hill's other work.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Regulators in Books
Aug 7, 2019
Good but bonkers
I haven't yet read Desperation, so fortunately could judge this solely on it's own merits and it's definitely one of King's better books.
It reads a lot like his other epic novels like The Stand, Needful Things etc but in a much smaller size, and it's all the better for it. The plot is interesting and your typical King story, although being based around kid's tv shows makes it a little bit bonkers. It also means that some of the book can feel a little childish at times and some times it can get a bit irritating. But that said, as always with King it's well written with some interesting and developed characters, with lots of horror and gore and just about the right length of book to fit the story. This would make a hell of a good tv show.
It reads a lot like his other epic novels like The Stand, Needful Things etc but in a much smaller size, and it's all the better for it. The plot is interesting and your typical King story, although being based around kid's tv shows makes it a little bit bonkers. It also means that some of the book can feel a little childish at times and some times it can get a bit irritating. But that said, as always with King it's well written with some interesting and developed characters, with lots of horror and gore and just about the right length of book to fit the story. This would make a hell of a good tv show.
The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War
Book
Rich in evocative detail--from Paris cafes to Austrian chateaus, from the streets of Pamplona to the...
Last Words
William Burroughs and James Grauerholz
Book
'Where are the snows of yesteryear. And the speedballs I useta know? Well, I guess it's time for my...
Mistress of Udolpho: Life of Ann Radcliffe
Book
This is the biography of the Gothic novelist, Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), author of "The Mysteries of...