***** (Audiobook) Following the lives of four couples in Kent and London, Potholes and Magic Carpets appears to be a collection of short stories, but in fact interweaves and links each one as the author explores the actions and consequences of a group of very different people. From the detestable to the naïve, we see…
Author: colingarrow
‘The Big Nowhere’ by James Ellroy
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy ***** Los Angeles, 1950. Communist witch hunts and a spate of violent killings throw three men into a complex and dangerous web of lies, deceit and murder. (Audiobook/paperback) This is Ellroy’s second novel in the LA Quartet series. Though there are a few nods to the first book, The…
‘Crime and Justice’ by Martin Bodenham
***** NB This post first appeared as part of a Damppebbles Blog Tour. When the son of a hard-hearted Seattle mayor is accused of rape, it throws his mother’s candidacy for state governor into jeopardy. Meanwhile, crime-lab worker Clark is in trouble—with mounting debts and a threat to his wife’s career, the possibility of smoothing…
‘The Skeptics Guide to the Universe’ by Steven Novella
**** Based on the popular podcast, Steven Novella’s book aims to explain the principles of sceptical ideas around myths, conspiracy theories, flying saucers, Intelligent Design and ghosts, as well as tons of other so-called truths. Exploring thinking skills, memory and perception, it tries to give readers a grounding in presenting arguments and ideas that challenge…
‘A Fine Day for a Hanging’ by Carol Ann Lee
***** When 28-year-old Ruth Ellis shot her lover, David Blakely, in 1955, she set in motion a trial that rocked the country. Found guilty, she was sentenced to death and became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. With many theories about what really happened, this account attempts to lay out the facts, rather…
‘The Demonologist’ by Gerald Brittle
*** Thought by some to be experts on demonology and exorcism, Ed and Lorraine Warren have many thousands of investigations to their credit. With several movies (such as The Conjuring) based on the Warrens’ experiences, this should be a fascinating book. However. It’s certainly true to say there are some chilling stories in The Demonologist,…
‘Still You Sleep’ by Kate Vane
***** In her own place and with her family and a support worker nearby, Vikki Smith seems happy – until she is found dead by a burglar. With a video and Vikki’s name trending on social media, the trolls come out of the woodwork. But could one of them be responsible for her death, or…
‘Pietr the Latvian’ by Georges Simenon
**** Georges Simenon’s first outing with his Parisian detective follows the pipe-smoking investigator round the seamier side of the city, as he attempts to track down master criminal, Pietr the Latvian. My first impressions of this book were that either Simeonon was a really crap writer, or that the translation is at fault, my reasoning…
‘The Hard Swim’ by Keith Dixon
***** During World War Two, a group of SAS soldiers are captured, shot and buried in a forest in the heart of France. Seventy years on, a young woman is targeted by a team of experienced killers who attempt to abduct her following a meeting at Edinburgh Zoo. Fortunately, PI Sam Dyke observes the would-be…
‘The Moving Toyshop’ by Edmund Crispin
**** Poet Richard Cadogan sets off for a much-needed holiday to Oxford. Arriving late one night, he becomes intrigued to find the door of a toyshop unlocked. Snooping around, he discovers the dead body of an elderly woman. Before he can do anything else, someone bops him on the head. Informing the police, Cadogan is…
Colin Garrow 