***** (Audiobook) Beneath London lies a different kind of city – one filled with monsters and angels, villains and rat-talkers. When businessman Richard Mayhew finds a young woman hurt and bleeding on the streets, he takes her back to his flat and soon discovers she is not all she seems. But if he is to…
Category: Characters
‘Lazarus Remembered’ by EJ Harper
***** Learning that his mother Lydia is dying, Peter Mackenzie’s life erupts as work demands, arguments with his partner and the urgency to return to Australia all converge in a flurry of pressure and anxiety. Having left his home as a teenager, Peter has plenty of reasons for not going back, but if he doesn’t,…
‘Rivers of London’ by Ben Aaronovitch
***** Probationary cop Peter Grant longs for an interesting transfer in the Metropolitan Police Service, but after a strange encounter with Nicholas Wallpenny (who happens to be a ghost), what he gets is something unexpected. Learning that his new inspector is also a bit of a wizard, Grant finds himself talking to dead people, casting…
‘The Lost Sentinel’ by Suzanne Rogerson
**** NB This post first appeared on the Blog Tour for ‘’The Lost Sentinel’ via Rachel’s Random Resources. My Review (Audiobook) Forced to hide her magical powers from the ruling Assembly of Kalaya, Tei and her father are warned that they must flee to stay safe. Embarking on a journey to seek out other exiles,…
‘The Man Who Died’ by Antti Tuomainen
***** Mushroom entrepreneur Jaakko is only thirty-seven years of age, so when a doctor reveals that he’s been poisoned and will soon die, Jaakko is determined to find out who is responsible. But that isn’t his only problem – the new mushroom company across the street are trying to steal his customers, one of his…
‘White Nights’ by Ann Cleeves
***** During an art event in the small community of Biddista, Shetland cop Jimmy Perez encounters an Englishman who appears to have lost his memory. When the man is later found dead in a fisherman’s hut, it looks like suicide, but further examination reveals he’s been murdered. Forced to bring in experts and another detective…
‘Ghost Story’ by Peter Straub
***** The elderly members of The Chowder Society meet regularly to tell each other stories, but after one of their number dies, the stories become more ghoulish in nature. More disturbingly, each of the remaining members begins to experience similar, nightmarish, dreams. Contacting the nephew of their dead friend, they find he also has something…
‘Sabine’ by AJ Griffiths-Jones
***** New Year’s Eve finds Max Mallery and his team celebrating, but the festivities are destined to come to a swift end the following day when a body is discovered at the Saint Margaux Vineyard. Unfortunately, Therese Bisset’s is not the only suspicious death – the apparent suicide of an engineer begins to look like…
‘Potholes and Magic Carpets’ by Joy Mutter
***** (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…
‘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…
Colin Garrow 