My Review (4 stars out of 5) Thought to be a groundbreaking work on its first publication, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is a collection of short stories describing the lives of working-class people in the Midlands during the fifties and sixties (the title story relating the thoughts of a Borstal boy who finds…
Category: Crime
‘Something Wicked’ by Carol Ann Lee
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In 1612, ten people from Pendle were executed as witches. Most of the information known comes from Thomas Potts’ Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches, but now true-crime author Carol Ann Lee takes an in-depth view of the case, exploring the lives of the people involved, their backgrounds and…
‘Unnatural Exposure’ by Patricia Cornwell
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A series of murders committed thousands of miles apart sets Kay Scarpetta on a path to find the connection. But discrepancies with the most recent corpse suggest someone else may be behind the killings. When another body is found, however, the body points to a sinister and deadly…
‘The Detective Gone Gray’ by Jake Needham
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A diplomatic reception at a Bangkok university would normally be pretty tiresome, but when a lone gunman appears, the scene becomes one of mass murder. Former detective Sam Tay – now feeling his age and worrying about the future – is approached by Interpol to help with the…
‘The Cursed Writer’ by Holly Hepburn
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In her basement office within the Baker Street Building Society, Harriet (Harry) White has been given the job of responding to mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes. A telegram asking for the great detective’s help prompts Harry to investigate. A nephew of the author Philip St John is convinced…
‘Mystic River’ by Dennis Lehane
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Three childhood friends – Sean, Dave and Jimmy – are thrown together again when the daughter of one of them is murdered. Now a cop, Sean is part of the investigation and finds himself regurgitating an incident from the past involving Dave, while Jimmy struggles to get his…
‘Bedlam’ by LJ Ross
My Review (5 stars out of 5) While lecturing in the US, forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory is invited to help the New York State Homicide Squad. The wife of a notorious Mafia boss has been admitted to a private psychiatric hospital. The FBI is concerned she won’t be able to follow…
‘You Are Dead’ by Peter James
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A disturbing case sets Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on the trail of a serial killer. Someone is targeting young women who all have similar features. Bizarrely, those bodies that have been recovered have been branded with the words, ‘U R Dead’. Following the abduction of Logan Somerville, Grace…
‘Mary Ann Cotton – Dark Angel’ by Martin Connolly
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In West Auckland, County Durham, in 1872, Mary Ann Cotton was arrested and charged with the murder of her stepson. Married four times and supposedly having borne twelve children, she was found guilty and hanged in Durham Goal. Charting the details of the trials and claims she may…
‘Ripley Under Ground’ by Patricia Highsmith
My Review (3 stars out of 5) A team of art fraudsters at the Buckmaster Gallery in London plan an exhibition of work by Derwatt – a dead artist whose works they’ve been forging. Tom Ripley’s part in the scam requires him to help perpetuate the myth. Travelling to England from his home in France,…
Colin Garrow 