Reviews and Commentary


IT’S obviously far too late now but at least one of  Britain’s top crime solvers needs a name change. Having two of crime fiction’s best with the same surname gives readers one puzzle too many. Is it Helen or Roy who is expected to respond when someone yells “Grace”? Nor is there any easing of the confusion to have them operating within a few miles of each other. Both are on England’s south coast. Roy’s patch is Brighton and its Sussex  hinterland. Helen’s manor fans out from Southampton. Less than seventy miles between them.   About ninety minutes along the A47… Continue reading

Receive my ‘Read. Write. Run. Repeat.’ newsletter

Regular updates of my reviews and commentary direct to your inbox.

WITH Covid and staff shortages becoming the default excuse for poor service and faulty products it is sad to see the malaise spreading to the world of publishing. Errors there are so visible and so irritating to readers. For publishers they are so difficult and costly  to correct.  In specialist areas, editing shortfalls can bring onerous penalties and litigation. Not all that long ago even the merest typo was a rarity. Now, at least a couple or so such errors can be expected in the average bookshop-bought volume. Regardless of how well-established and accepted is the publisher. And all bets… Continue reading