The Murder Pit by Mick Finlay. A murder mystery, set in Victorian south London - the murders themselves taking place in a rural village called Catford...
Amusing and shocking, it is a good evocation of the squalor of parts of London at that time along with a decent plot involving a kind of anti-Sherlock Holmes character called Arrowood. A lower-middle class private detective who is in the shadow of Holmes and also rarely gets the credit for his work, a situation he finds it all very unfair.
It is the second and to date last book in the Arrowood series, I shall be seeking out the first.
will be reading .. 2 books found on a supermarket charity shelf this a.m. .. Bob Dylan (The Middle Years) and Rocks Off (The Stones Story in 50 Songs) .. Dylan book published 15 years ago, super condition, the Stones book 5 years old, also super condition .. paid a fiver for the pair .. money goes to MacMillan
Just picked up 'North Korea Journal' by Michael Palin .. like the TV series, diary format and lots of nice pics .. I'll be reading this on the train to Bristol/Birmingham .. one for @SoundAsa£
The Sleeping Doll, by Jeffrey Deaver. Cracking good detective thriller, for anyone who knows Deaver's work it is the first one featuring Katherine Dance. Twisty turny plot and a psychopathic villain who you can really hate. Good place to start if you have never read any of his.
Today South London, Tomorrow South London by The Deserter team. Absolutely lived up to the hype. A brilliant read for anyone, but if you are from south London and enjoy a tincture or two, it's a must.
Only criticism is the lack of any reference to the Addicks...
Today South London, Tomorrow South London by The Deserter team. Absolutely lived up to the hype. A brilliant read for anyone, but if you are from south London and enjoy a tincture or two, it's a must.
Only criticism is the lack of any reference to the Addicks...
I’ve just finished an interesting book by Trevor Noah - Born a Crime of his account growing up in SA during apartheid being a coloured child with a black mother and a white father.
Just read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and halfway through the second book of the trilogy.
Great set of books @LawrieAbrahams , I have also read the 4th one by David Lagercrantz, which is a good effort in keeping the style of the original three.
Just finished Trick of the Dark, by Val McDermid. Compelling as always, though a little heavy on characters who are wearers of comfortable shoes. That said, the dynamic between characters probably would not work if they were "straight".
I guessed the culprit about 80 pages before the end, but that didn't detract from a great story.
'Chaos' .. Tom O'Neill .. an interesting reassessment of the Manson murders and the whole drug/sex/crime infested scene in 60s and 70s California. Some startling revelations including the CIA and its use of guinea pigs in testing LSD as well as the peripheral involvement of Hollywood film stars and rock musicians as well as the police and wealthy drug dealers .. chaos indeed .. IF all true of course
Just finished Demian by Hermann Hesse, now onto Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively which is excellent so far.
Santana's superb album 'Abraxas' is named after a quote in Demian .. I read all of Hesse's works about 45years ago .. I wonder should I re-read them ? .. 'Steppenwolf' and 'The Glass Bead Game' affected me deeply as a young man as did all of his semi-mystic writing
That's the only Ken Follet I have read @Eynsfordaddick, I quite enjoyed it - so if that's one of his poorer efforts I must seek out some of his others. Cheers.
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre. Was drawn to this book by the 88% 5/5 marking on Amazon.
It is the true story of MI6's greatest ever asset Oleg Gordievsky a KGB agent working on the inside. This book sheds light on the man from his childhood onwards. It is a compelling read, one described by John Le Carre as the best ever true life spy story he'd ever read. If you are fascinated by what drives these people, intrigued by their world and excited by the risks taken, then this is the book for you.
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre. Was drawn to this book by the 88% 5/5 marking on Amazon.
It is the true story of MI6's greatest ever asset Oleg Gordievsky a KGB agent working on the inside. This book sheds light on the man from his childhood onwards. It is a compelling read, one described by John Le Carre as the best ever true life spy story he'd ever read. If you are fascinated by what drives these people, intrigued by their world and excited by the risks taken, then this is the book for you.
I thoroughly recommend.
Agreed. Gordievsky was very important to us ... and the Americans ... and arguably helped prevent a nuclear war.
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre. Was drawn to this book by the 88% 5/5 marking on Amazon.
It is the true story of MI6's greatest ever asset Oleg Gordievsky a KGB agent working on the inside. This book sheds light on the man from his childhood onwards. It is a compelling read, one described by John Le Carre as the best ever true life spy story he'd ever read. If you are fascinated by what drives these people, intrigued by their world and excited by the risks taken, then this is the book for you.
I thoroughly recommend.
I really enjoy his books. The first book I read of his is The Spy among friends. A must read about Kim Philby. Agent Zig Zag was also good. There was prog on him this year.
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre. Was drawn to this book by the 88% 5/5 marking on Amazon.
It is the true story of MI6's greatest ever asset Oleg Gordievsky a KGB agent working on the inside. This book sheds light on the man from his childhood onwards. It is a compelling read, one described by John Le Carre as the best ever true life spy story he'd ever read. If you are fascinated by what drives these people, intrigued by their world and excited by the risks taken, then this is the book for you.
I thoroughly recommend.
If you'd like a fictional version of this I'd recommend the the trilogy Red Sparrow, Palace of Treason and the Kremlins Candidate by Jason Matthews, who I think worked for the CIA. Reads very authentic.
Joe Country by Mick Herron., Superbly plotted MI5 thriller about a dept of misfits (Slow Horses) . Just laugh out loud. Alas you have to read series in order to fully get characterisations. Starts with Slow Horses.
Joe Country by Mick Herron., Superbly plotted MI5 thriller about a dept of misfits (Slow Horses) . Just laugh out loud. Alas you have to read series in order to fully get characterisations. Starts with Slow Horses.
Lee Child mentioned Mick Herron in the latest Reacher. Praise indeed.
Herron has also been mentioned by John Stanford
Actually I may have been mistaken, I read books by both recently. Fuckin' Flowers!
Also well written books with plenty of humour try Colin Bateman, Murphy's Law was televised, and Kerr's Bernie Gunter has clever 1st person stuff.
you're the first person I have come across who's read Stanford .. to my mind THE best contemporary American (or indeed British) crime/whodunnit author .. if you like Fukin Flowers, you'll love the 'Prey' series and the protagonist, Lucas Davenport .. the series goes back to the early 90s
Comments
Amusing and shocking, it is a good evocation of the squalor of parts of London at that time along with a decent plot involving a kind of anti-Sherlock Holmes character called Arrowood. A lower-middle class private detective who is in the shadow of Holmes and also rarely gets the credit for his work, a situation he finds it all very unfair.
It is the second and to date last book in the Arrowood series, I shall be seeking out the first.
Only criticism is the lack of any reference to the Addicks...
Just finished Trick of the Dark, by Val McDermid. Compelling as always, though a little heavy on characters who are wearers of comfortable shoes. That said, the dynamic between characters probably would not work if they were "straight".
I guessed the culprit about 80 pages before the end, but that didn't detract from a great story.
Some startling revelations including the CIA and its use of guinea pigs in testing LSD as well as the peripheral involvement of Hollywood film stars and rock musicians as well as the police and wealthy drug dealers .. chaos indeed .. IF all true of course
Bit boring sadly.
It is the true story of MI6's greatest ever asset Oleg Gordievsky a KGB agent working on the inside. This book sheds light on the man from his childhood onwards. It is a compelling read, one described by John Le Carre as the best ever true life spy story he'd ever read. If you are fascinated by what drives these people, intrigued by their world and excited by the risks taken, then this is the book for you.
I thoroughly recommend.
i normally only read for 30-45 mins at night before drifting off
Also well written books with plenty of humour try Colin Bateman, Murphy's Law was televised, and Kerr's Bernie Gunter has clever 1st person stuff.