I made a trip on the way home from work today; a trip a little out of my way, but I simply had to get my hands on "The Devil's Feather", the latest from Minette Walters. There are few authors for me where everything domestic is dropped for the latest book, but MW is one of them and I've just finished "Lifeless" by the grand Mr B (more on that one on the weekend as well as the prior book "The Burning Girl").
I'm new to this blog lark, so please excuse me if I prepare a nice little something in Word and paste it in, only to loose the formatting, get it almost quite corrupted and have to type the damn thing all over again, from scratch in the "post body" box on here. (Somehow "post body" seems the right label for the purpose of this blog...)
Anyway, when I got home, a neighbour noticed my lights on and promptly re-delivered a package of books from my book club that had been left outside their door. (Note: I was not in when it arrived, but they don't leave the package outside my door, but outside next door - that's a good one and first for me!) So now I have another few books to look forward to after I've finished TDF - "A Fatal Reunion" from Penelope Evans; "Winter House" from Carol O'Connell (a "very looking forward to" read for me) and finally, "Black Fly Season" from Giles Blunt.
I have many others in the "to read" pile, but the "pile" does not necessarily reside with me, so I'm not quite sure where some of my "must read soon" tomes are at the moment. (It doesn't help that I am still unpacking from a house move.) They may be with my father, who reads them all before me these days (he's retired for God's sake, he can do it), but he also has only three categories of "critique" when it comes to giving me the "nod" - thumbs up, indifferent and thumbs down. He often doesn't elaborate on his critique either. Well, to be honest, if he ever does elaborate on it, he deserves a month's supply of his favourite chocs. As a man of so few words, thank God he's not a newspaper reviewer, then! Sometimes he gives me the "thumbs down" and I end up loving the book. But generally, we have similar taste. (As I'm his "supplier" there's little room for option there, is there?)
So, back to my main point, when I have have finished TDF, I will move on to Penelope Evans's "A Fatal Reunion". It's been years since her last, it seems to me. I read "Freezing" and loved it, at the time. I also remember reading an article she wrote for a supplement in the Sunday Telegraph, no doubt as a result of her research for the book. She spent some time with the late Iain West, the then London-based forensic pathologist, and let the reader know all the details. My appetite for forensic stuff was already stimulated by Cornwell (yes, it was that many years ago), and after reading the article, I went on to buy Chester Stern's "Dr Iain West's Casebook" and loved the stories of real life drama in the world of forensics. It was a real eye opener for me and I simply loved the detail.
As I read and finish, I will let you know what I think of the books. Before I embark on Mr B's last two, I really do have to tell you about another British author, though. He's/his protagonist is a favourite of mine and he gets into the category of "everything stops for..." I read the latest earlier this year and indeed, "everything stopped for" this book. I so enjoyed it. I've now managed to persuade friends to read it too, on the basis that "If you love Robert Wilson and Falcon, I think you'd like this." One is now into the series (and loving it) and the other is now embarking on her first.
But again, for the weekend, as I did the prep on Word and I know not why I mess it up when I post, but it takes longer than writing it here, straight up, and even I fail to retain the formatting... Please be patient said "the girl who is not in" (TGWINI for the future, and I know it will come up again).
Thanks for your comment Natsuo!
Posted by: crimeficreader | 17 September 2005 at 23:07
Hey! I am certainly looking forward to it.
Posted by: Natsuo | 16 September 2005 at 16:35