My Review (5 stars out of 5) A dark erotic thriller drenched in magical realism. Former model Cara O’Grady and German film star Elke Klaus, meet a strange African fortune teller and his two pet crows deep in the Congo Basin. Both women soon find their lives spinning out of control as Nuru’s magic begins…
Category: Crime
‘The Girl in the Window’ by Jake Needham
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Terrorist Abu Suparman leads the fighting for ISIS in Southeast Asia and is likely responsible for recent bombings in Singapore. When police are alerted that Suparman intends meeting his sister in Singapore before she undergoes cancer surgery, Inspector Samuel Tay is instructed to find him. But Tay’s task…
‘Roseanna’ by Sjowall and Wahloo
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Roseanna is the first of the ten books in the Martin Beck detective series written by husband-and-wife team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. When the body of a young woman is discovered in Sweden’s Lake Vattern, the police investigation soon grinds to a halt. After three months, Inspector…
‘Black Dahlia Avenger’ by Steve Hodel
My Review (5 stars out of 5) The murder of Elizabeth Short (known as the Black Dahlia) has remained unsolved for more than fifty years. Now, former LAPD detective Steve Hodel believes he has uncovered the killer. Following a death in his family, Hodel found documents that set him off on a murder hunt, unearthing…
‘A Passion for Poison’ by Carol Ann Lee
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In post-war Britain, teenager Graham Young developed an interest in poisons. Reading and researching everything he could about his soon-to-be obsession, the fourteen-year-old landed himself in court after trying out his experiments on people. Charged with poisoning a schoolfriend and members of his own family, he was diagnosed…
‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ by Stieg Larsson
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) When sixteen-year-old Harriet Vanger disappears from a family gathering, the very fact of her living on an island owned by her family – the powerful Vanger clan – has huge implications for the police investigation. Forty years later, the girl’s body has never been found, but her…
‘Looking Good Dead’ by Peter James
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When the body of a woman is found in a field in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is reminded of the disappearance of his own wife. However, identifying the corpse proves difficult as the dead woman’s head is missing. Meanwhile, on his train journey home, struggling businessman Tom…
‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Striving to avoid his debts, Tom Ripley is given an opportunity when a businessman offers him a free trip to Europe to track down the man’s errant offspring. With money in his pocket and a talent for forgery, Ripley sets out to create a new life for himself…
‘Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street’ Nancy Holder and Margie Deck (Eds)
My Review (5 stars out of 5) This is a compilation of essays, personal reflections and short stories using the general theme of baking as a starting point. As with any anthology, some pieces are more appealing than others but for fans of the detecting duo Holmes and Watson, there’s definitely something for everyone. Several…
‘The Bleak’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When Sam Dyke meets a new client, her strange behaviour suggests he should drop her like a hot doughnut, but something about Margaret’s story intrigues him. Working in a secret research unit, the woman has serious concerns about her boss, whose own behaviour has taken a turn for…
Colin Garrow 