The month began as June ended - with Ian Rankin's Set In Darkness - one of his Rebus series. As always this was a great and engaging read, bringing in many of the usual favourite characters outside of Rebus himself. This is set around the time that Queensberry House was being remodelled to turn it into part of the new Scottish Parliament complex, and indeed that is where a big strand of the story originates, with other strands weaving there way through that as the book goes on. I can remember those works starting back in the late 1990s, it was quite interesting thinking back! This one will be joining the other Rankin novels on the shelf.
A random book find early in the month when I spotted some books sitting on a wall as I walked back to the car after work - Phillip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass. I'm aware that this is the third book of a trilogy and I'm not certain whether I should track down the others to read first, or whether it works as a standalone - if anyone has views I'd be happy to hear them!
On to another author who has rapidly become a bit of a favourite - Leanne Moriarty - with Here One Moment. This one was a cracker, with the main storyline woven around events that occurred on a flight from Hobart to Sydney. Subsequent chapters follow the stories and lives of those involved and how those events affect them, and are as usual from Moriarty well written and extremely readable. Less of a twist in the tail than some of her books, and I’m not even going to HINT at why that is the case because that would definitely be a spoiler and we’re not here for those, but still her signature mix of chick-lit and thriller. A great read and I think I will pass this one on to Mum as I reckon she’ll enjoy it.
With the hot weather ramping up, I felt like something suitably easy on the brain for my next choice and so. a Reacher book was the obvious selection. Lee Child, Never Go Back. Obviously I have read this before - it is going to turn out that we already own it? Perfectly possible, but never fear, if that is the case once finished it will return to the charity shop from where it originally came! As usual I pretty much tore through this - we’ve established that the Reacher books are fairly formulaic, yet none the less readable for that. It isn’t any sort of spoiler to reveal that this one in no way breaks the mould. A good read - it’s obviously now been added to the shelf.
On to an author whose stuff I’ve read in the past although not for a while - Adele Parks. First Wife’s Shadow begins as classic chick-lit then takes a turn. The first part of the book was actually quite an uncomfortable read I found - as it appeared that it was fairly obvious what was happening in the storyline and where it was heading, the lead character Emma is instantly likeable which adds to the discomfort. I didn’t see the twist coming though - and then a further twist towards the later stages of the book adds to the surprise. A really clever, well written tale, I’ll pass this one to Mum as it’s definitely her sort of thing.
Elly Griffiths is another author who is rapidly becoming a favourite - she writes as excellent thriller and The Zig Zag Girl is no exception. Set amongst the variety theatre scene post world war 2, it takes us back to the "end of the pier show" and names up in lights, with a dose of murder and mystery thrown in. Again this one had plot twists along the way - with the murderer being revealed as one would expect in the closing chapters. Entertainingly written with excellent characters and good judgement around who "snuffs it" and who doesn't. I'll set this aside to go to Mum I think - she's doing well this month!
Another "incoming" book when MrEH found a Lee Child we hadn't already got in a charity shop - well done him! That's on the shelf and I may even wait and take it on holiday when we go - we'll see!
Finishing up the month is a Val McDermid I've not read before - The Mermaids Singing is one of her Tony Hills Series, not quite as good as Karen Pirie but there is still a nice strong female character in there so all good. The usual McDermid mix of a great storyline plus enough personal interest created in the characters that you actually care what happens to them too. This is the usual breadcrumb trail of clues left throughout the story, until the twist in the tail arrives and you realise you’d missed something huge. Great reading! Onto the shelf with the others!
It almost feels slightly annoying having to go into a new book on the last couple of days if the month butI will make an exception for a Mark Billingham - not least because I know I will positively romp through it. Good as Dead is a bit of twist - we meet Helen Weeks for the first time, and in quite dramatic circumstances, enter Tom Thorne to save the day…or will he? We’ll know by next month!
Robyn
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