reviews
I’ve lived a life, several lives. I was the daughter of a violent father, the wife of a violent husband; oppressed by weak men who only knew how to express themselves with their fists. Now, at thirty-two years old, I’m living something close to the life I hoped for. I’ve got a successful … Continue readings
There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a long day’s walk from the source. There were a great many inns along the upper reaches of the Thames at the time of this story … but beyond the usual ale and cider, each one had some … Continue readings
West Camel, first of all what a great name … Now that’s out of my system, Attend, Camel’s debut novel, is yet another fine example of clever publishing by Karen Sullivan’s Orenda Books. Set in Deptford, south London, the book opens with a meeting between Anne, who’s recently returned to the area, and Deborah, … Continue readings
“The fat guy laid his suitcase down and popped the locks, then lifted out two green cylinders from the foam packing. He laid them carefully on the ground and slotted them together before twisting off the end to reveal a red cap. The other man had his suitcase open; he lifted a black … Continue readings
Tags : action thrillers, Alistair MacLean, Connor Montrose, Connor Montrose 3, CWA, Mark Leggatt, Scottish crime writers, The Silk Road
Madras has been his home for twenty years, since 1905 … He was comfortable here. … India had certainly changed since his arrival but, despite rising calls for political independence, Gandhi’s mass civil disobedience campaigns, British India’s obdurate response and his own allegiances being challenged by a growing sympathy for India’s cause, the place … Continue readings
Lily Buckley’s lived through every bride’s ultimate nightmare, as Colleen Coleman’s For Once in My Life opens – being jilted at the alter by a man who not only tells her he doesn’t love her, but professes undying love for someone else. And yet she’s apparently lived to tell the tale. Or not. Three … Continue readings
When Patricia Feinberg Stoner and husband, Patrick, fell in love with a small brown-and-white spaniel, while holidaying at their home in France, little did they envisage the impact it would have on their lives. They spent the next few years living in Morbignan la Crèbe, a small village in Languedoc, encountering all kinds of … Continue readings
‘For everyone, everywhere, who believes in freedom and equality for all’: the dedication to The Word for Freedom, a short story anthology celebrating one hundred years of women’s suffrage, speaks for itself. At the very heart of the collection, edited by Amanda Saint and Rose McGinty, is the fact that ‘we still need words … Continue readings
Tags : abuse, domestic violence, Hestia, hope, inequality, injustice, Retreat West, second sex, slavery, suffrage, suffragettes, the word for freedom, UK says no more, voting matters, women's rights
The second book in Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s excellent Reykjavík Noir Trilogy, Trap opens with Sonja living in the States with her son, Tómas. When ex-husband Adam grabs their son, he forces Sonja to choose between giving up Tómas completely or returning to Iceland and the life she left behind. Enmeshed once again in Iceland’s drug trade, … Continue readings
Tags : Arctic noir, Icelandic noir, Icelandic writers, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Nordic Noir, Orenda Books, Reyjakvik Noir Trilogy, The Literary Lounge Q&A, Trap, women crime fiction writers
It’s November 1915 and Europe is a battle zone. Americans are flocking to the continent, even though the United States has not formerly entered the war. Christopher Marlowe ‘Kit’ Cobb, reporter and part-time spy, is among them, as Robert Olen Butler’s elegant new thriller opens, the Nieuports weaving their patterns in the skies up … Continue readings
‘Palm Beach Finland…’ he began and hadn’t managed to formulate the rest of the question before the woman replied. ‘The name is new, the place is old,’ said Koski and glanced behind her. ‘The new owner painted a few walls, put up a sign and renamed the place. He wants to give it an … Continue readings
ANTHONY BURGESS ONCE COMMENTED THAT ‘ALL NOVELS ARE EXPERIMENTAL’, and while that appears true of such work as A Clockwork Orange and Napoleon Symphony, I think he would be delighted with Adam Roberts’ The Black Prince, based on a 90-page screenplay that Burgess wrote, which was never filmed. Roberts, an academic, great Burgess fan … Continue readings
Tags : 14th century England, Adam Roberts, Anthony Burgess, Dos Passos, Edward III, from screen to novel, historical fiction, medieval European historical fiction, pastiche, The Black Prince, Unbound, war
‘Personal background info. Loud noises make me flinch, and many, many much quieter ones … make me want to punch the wall … Strangers at the door make me nervous. Random conversation in the street makes me suspicious. … Thomas, aforementioned guardian, knows better than anyone how much I hate change in general and … Continue readings
Tags : coming of age, Coming of Age fiction, contemporary fiction, cult fiction, long-listed fiction, Martine McDonagh, Narcissism for Beginners, reading on location, women writers
For some reason, and please don’t ask me why, Queen’s ‘Another one bites the dust’ was going through my head as I read Overkill. On repeat. This was slightly off-putting, but strangely quite fitting given that the opening – probably one of the best, attention-grabbing first scenes of any book I’ve read recently – … Continue readings
Tags : crime fiction, female detective fiction, New Zealand noir, Ngaio Marsh, Ngaio Marsh award, NZ fiction, NZ writers, Orenda, procedural fiction, Queens of detective fiction, Sam Shephard, The Literary Lounge Q&A, Vanda Symon
This is an important year, the centenary of the introduction of the first vote for women in Britain. The vote – the privilege of being able to vote, to step forward and have a voice – is something to be celebrated, especially in these times of politically shifting sands. So, when I first heard … Continue readings