A BOOK with a cover claiming the contents are “eerie, unnerving and buckets of fun” presents a puzzle before a single page is turned. Unnerving and fun? Such an odd mix. Especially for what is also billed as “a thriller”, and involves “one kidnapping, one liar, one chance”. Where are “the buckets of fun” going  to be found amid such ingredients? And will they detract from the promised unnerving thrills? The answer, of course, is to venture forth. To succumb to the lure dangled by the blurbs (“fear, secrets, lies” forewarns the back cover) attached to Black River, the latest… Continue reading

CATCH-up time, trying to reduce the pile of recent reads that have provided a mixed bag of distraction, intrigue, twisting plot-lines and unreliable narrators. Two old favourites and one comparative newbie among a clutch of authors with an unfailing ability to grip and taunt with narratives that leave you guessing to the very end. The Distant Echo by Val McDermid FAR from being a new release, this was recently acquired in response to the cover line declaring this thriller was “introducing Karen Pirie”, a name now long familiar to McDermid devotees. First published in 2003, the tale initially takes us… Continue reading