The "I am currently reading" thread

[wearysmith]

Drifts into Jasper Fjorde territory, but still enjoyable. Fantastic imagery.

“The tide had risen and each time the water thundered into the base of the sea wall, spray flared up like a series of Jack-in-the-Box ghosts.”

 

I particularly enjoyed one scene where an elderly Spanish ventriloquist is beaten to death by yobs. Way after the old man had breathed his last, the dummy kept pleading for his partner’s life.

I love s**t like this!

 

[Rockers rule]

Ugly Bus

Mike Thomas.

 

Not so much as a follow-on from 'Pocket notebook', but more of the same stuff.

Wayward coppers & a new fast-forwarded Sergeant with little experience, a local derby and the weekends busy nightlife to deal with.

What could possibly go wrong ❓

 

Little darker than the first book.

Well written.

 

 

Dolly's War (1987)

Peter Tinniswood.

 

Head mistress Dolly takes her staff and the '****'s' (pupils) away from bomb ridden England.

What could go wrong?

Wolfpacks mid Atlantic for a start off.

 

Story wise probably one of Tinniswood's better books (IMO).

No spoiler, but I think there's a hint of Tom Sharpe in the book.   

(As in none of the characters are safe).

 

The racism (dressed as 'comedy') as seen in other of Tinniswood's works is rife and, something the book could have done without.

 

I've said it before, you could put me in a hole in the ground and I'd find a book.

(As proven, after having toured the copper mines on top of the 'Great Orm' to find two rooms of 2nd hand books for sale, on't way out 🤣).

 

Went for some sand and cement at our local Wicks earlier.

One of those charity bookshelf things in't doorway has just supplied me with enough reading material to last me into the New Year  

 

Keep safe out there & read well  .

 

 

 

[metalman]

The usual mixture of old and new crime with an occasional something else for me.

 

Dell Shannon - Case pending. The very first Lt. Luis Mendoza police procedural from way back in 1961. Slightly different from the others in that it concentrated on one crime rather than several and some of the recurring cast haven't been introduced yet. Still good though.

Peter Shaffer - The woman in the wardrobe.  An early detective story by playwright Shaffer, now reprinted by the British Library. Not bad, but maybe not quite as good as I thought it was going to be.

J. C. Squire - Tricks of the trade. A book of parodies from 1917. Amusing even though some of the authors being parodied have been largely forgotten.

Douglas Clark - Table d'Hote. Another exceptionally ingenious Clark trademark poisoning murder, with Supt. Master and Inspector Green to solve it.

Christine Campbell Thomson, Editor - At dead of night. The other horror anthology series from the 1920s and 30s, which used quite a lot of stories from Weird Tales magazine. Good though almost impossible to find a copy now.

Matt Haig - How to stop time. An undemanding mainstream read about a man who ages very slowly. Quite enjoyed it, though I must admit that Nicholson Baker's The Fermata was a more, er, interesting treatment of the title activity.

Fredric Brown - The murderers. A man and his mistress plan to murder her husband but after a Highsmith-like plot twist (yes, that one), it doesn't go according to plan. Good.

James Anderson - The affair of the bloodstained egg cosy/The affair of the mutilated mink/The affair of the thirty-nine cufflinks. Omnibus edition of Anderson's three homages to the Golden Age detective story. The first two are excellently convoluted, and the third one is still good even though the murderer is too easy to spot. 

Anthony Abbot - The murder of the circus queen. Trapeze artist is murdered in mid-act. New York police commissioner Thatcher Colt is on the case, accompanied by his scribe Abbot. I've liked all the Abbot books I've read, it's a real shame they've all been out of print for decades.

 

Now reading: Michael Rosen - Alphabetical. A book about the letters of the alphabet; very interesting so far though I'm only on B as yet.

 

[feargal]

Finished David Baldacci "King & maxwell " which was a very generic phoned-in detective thriller, but passed an enjoyable evening.  A neighbour has given me a carrier bag of Anita Shreeve books, so they'll be added to the TBR tower.

[wearysmith]

[Rockers rule]

Final cut     SJ Watson. 2020.

Read 'Before I go to sleep'  by the same author some time ago (also a film)

All in all, quite a good read. Young film maker with memory's from her past missing, returns to a costal village she remembers from her child hood, but keeps it quite, hopes no one recognises her.

 

Spoiler

She's conveniently had facial surgery previously 🤣 

 

I'd sussed the twist early on and some of the writing is a little disjointed but other than that, worth reading.

 

Bikers Life   Henry Cole  2018

I have an illogical dislike for Mr Cole but picked this up at a charity shop 3 for a £1.

So did reading this change my mind ❓

Despite all the motorcycles, reminiscing and adventures the simple answer 'No'.

 Worth reading though.

 

Bread  the story of Greggs   Ian Gregg 2013 

50p of't car-boot well worth the money 

Probably not as good as similar 'rags to riches' books but an excellent insight into the inner workings of what is now the main stay of many high streets.

The book becomes a little political at the end but that apart, a very good read.

With the book ending in unsettled times (2013) it must be time for an update.

 

Love this picture

 

 

Look at all them lovely thrupenny bits  😍 

 

 

[wearysmith]

'Tis the season.....so what else would you be reading?

 

 

(also....an early Christmas present from a mate)

 

[cressida]

'A Short walk to Harrods'           (I wish)

 

Dirk Bogarde

 



Edited December 26, 2022 by cressida

[metalman]

More crime and a bit of teratology for me this month:

 

R. A. J. Walling - Dust in the vault. While searching for a hoard of treasure in an old house, amateur detective Philip Tolefree and his friends discover instead a man crushed by a stone slab. Walling's style is a bit irritating but it was competent enough.

Elly Griffiths - A dying fall. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway goes up North to investigate the death of an old friend. I found this a much better effort than the last one.

Francis Beeding - The Norwich victims. Middle-aged woman schoolteacher wins a large amount of money on the French lottery. Unscrupulous crooks waylay her on her way to Paris, murder her, and collect the money instead. Inspector Martin struggles his way to the solution. Excellent.

Peter Robinson - Gallows View. In the Yorkshire town of Eastvale, a peeping tom, a spate of burglaries and a murder all tax the resources of Inspector Banks. Robinson died recently so I thought I'd make a start on reading this series (this was the first). Not bad.

W. F. Harvey - The arm of Mrs Egan. Short stories of the criminal and uncanny, the first dozen of which all involve nurses. Harvey wrote the famous short story The Beast with Five Fingers (which isn't in this volume) but these were all really good too.

W.F. Harvey - The mysterious Mr. Badman. While looking after a bookshop for an afternoon, Mr Digby is approached by three people all wanting the same obscure book by John Bunyan, and then by a small boy with a copy for sale. An obscure but interesting mystery recently reprinted by the British Library.

Robert Macfarlane - The old ways. Essays on paths, walking, and so on. If you can get over Macfarlane's pretentiousness and desire to display his erudition every few lines, this is actually really good.

Robert B. Parker - Stranger in Paradise. An old enemy turns up in the town of Paradise, causing police chief Jesse Stone plenty of trouble. The usual snappy dialogue and fast moving action.

Jan Bondeson - The pig-faced lady of Manchester Square. Essays on early examples of hirsute people, conjoined twins, tall people and other medical curiosities. Excellent.

 

Now reading - The book of the year 2017. This is a round up of the strange news items of the year done by the people behind the No Such Thing as a Fish podcast. Mildly amusing, but could have been shorter if they'd left out the rather pointless cross-referencing.

[Thug Life]

I'm reading Glynn Rhodes book. It's called Beyond Good And Evil and its very good.