Words, writers and writing


IT is probably tempting fate when less than two months of the twelve have passed to declare “This is my book of the year”. But that’s the way things have been since I turned the final page of Should We Stay or Should We Go and fell into several moments of deep reflection. By then, all earlier irritation at the title’s missing question mark had long passed; author Lionel Shriver could do no wrong. And there was so much to think about. Definitely my book of the year; and the most memorable in many a long while. One I can see… Continue reading

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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