The Grapes of Wrath (Audiobook) John Steinbeck’s controversial novel tells the story of the migration of an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family as they journey to California in search of work. Dogged by bad luck and dashed hopes, the Joad’s are forced to accept ever-decreasing wages as they move from place to place, struggling to keep…
Author: colingarrow
‘Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates’ by Kerry Greenwood
Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates Fed up socialite Phryne Fisher solves a mini mystery at a London party, but the life of the itinerant partygoer has lost its charm, so when another guest asks her to track down his daughter in Melbourne, Phryne jumps at the chance. Meeting up with a host of colourful characters, Miss…
‘Born a Crime’ by Trevor Noah
Born a Crime Trevor Noah’s childhood began with a crime – born of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father, the young lad risked being taken away by the Government simply for being the wrong colour. Growing up in South Africa in the latter days of apartheid and the unrestrained freedom that followed…
‘Heavenfield’ by LJ Ross
Heavenfield When DCI Ryan receives a text message urging him to the isolated church of Heavenfield, he finds himself in the spotlight as a possible murder suspect. Suspended from CID, Ryan not only has to clear his name, but work out who is pulling the strings in the mysterious ‘Circle’ before anyone else is murdered.…
‘Business for Authors’ by Joanna Penn
Business for Authors Like many indie authors, I soon discovered Joanna Penn. Her podcasts, books, videos and courses are packed with useful advice and tips and this book is no different. Using her own experiences of good and not-so-good choices on the path to author success, Ms Penn not only has a lot of essential…
‘There Was a Country’ by Chinua Achebe
There Was a Country From the author of ‘Things Fall Apart’, ‘There Was a Country’ is Chinua Achebe’s long-awaited account of the significant experiences of his life, most notably during the Nigerian Civil War (or Biafran War). Charting one of the last century’s greatest humanitarian disasters, successful novelist Achebe recalls his observations as a spectator…
‘The Kraken Wakes’ by John Wyndham
The Kraken Wakes After a series of fireballs rain down from the sky, crash into the oceans of the world and ships begin sinking mysteriously, two journalists, who experience the strange phenomenon from aboard ship, relate the story of the alien ‘invasion’ and humankind’s struggle to survive. Though I’m a big fan of John Wyndham,…
‘The Invention of Murder’ by Judith Flanders
The Invention of Murder With its subtitle – ‘How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime’, this book traces the British public’s interest in murder as a sort of national entertainment. Though the book’s title clearly suggests we’re talking about the Victorian period (1837-1901), Ms Flanders begins her romp through the…
‘The Moving Target’ by Ross MacDonald
The Moving Target When millionaire Ralph Sampson goes missing, PI Lew Archer is called in to hunt him down before something really bad happens. The trail leads Archer all over Southern California, from sun-bleached canyons and sea-side beach houses to dodgy bars and even dodgier women. But is this case about money, sex or just…
Killer Pottery
Without the benefits of 20th-century technology, the faces of Victorian villains couldn’t be plastered all over the media, so how were their images and stories relayed to the general public? These days when a murder is discovered, the news hits the media in text, photos and on film, not to mention Facebook and Twitter. However,…
Colin Garrow 