IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

New Year 2006!

Have a great new year to everyone who is reading this!

2006 is full of good things, I'm sure - good crime fiction reading and great life!

Have a good one!  Enjoy it all and above all, make the most of it!

The latter is up to each and everyone of us; we make our own worlds.

I'll be back later in Jan, 2006, with my thoughts on my 2005 reading.

Until then, have a good celebration for the new year and have a good time!

(I'm still trying to read "The Falls" by Ian Rankin in advance of the TV screening of the 3rd of Jan 2006.  Oh boy, it's a long book!  But I am so thoroughly enjoying it.  And a friend of mine seems to be so "Rebus"...  But when I finish it, he may not be so,  I doubt that, however.)

Have a good new year, all!

All the best,

the crimeficreader

Festive Season...

I will not likely be back until after the last juicy muscle has been scraped from the turkey.  That's Boxing Day, in case you're wondering.  We buy small, here.  But I am still in charge of cooking/the kitchen/the chef's preference, as long as mother allows.  (My chef's preference is chestnut stuffing, btw.)

But I will be back with a vengeance in 2006, if not before.

I intend to bring the highlights of my reading in 2005.  A "Best Of" for 2005 seemed so dated, so I thought that a considered opinion of highlights, and after the fact, was more appropriate. 

A good friend has promised to bring his thoughts about authors and publishers "not letting on" to the fore.  He hates the fact that it's so difficult to ascertain when an author is due to bring out the next book, in a series or otherwise...  No black mark for him, we all hanker after the next book, after all, series or not.  It's always nice to know.  In my case, just so I don't miss it.

In the run up to Rebus on screen, as we are promised for early January 2006, I am desperately trying to read "The Falls".  I cannot mix reading the books and seeing on screen, you see.  For me, screen first, halts reading.  Stott is so perfect for Rebus.  But I wait to see it.  There are so many variables, including a good script.  Rumour has it, that I will be disappointed.  Heard the rumour about your best friend who has spots?  Yes, me too, doesn't mean it's true!

Have a good Christmas everyone, and the all the very best for 2006,

from the reader who tries to let you know of more and better....

Oops. But whatever, please keep reading, it's not only me in the future. Others will post here.

Have a very, very good Christmas.  All the best,

crimeficreader

Book Buying on the Net

We all know that Amazon is out there and we'd have to admit it serves us well, even if the odd hiccup is present...

I have a link on the side to Macavity's, a specialist UK net based bookseller.  I'd previously enjoyed reading their site, as it's very informative, but I'd never ordered from them before.  My first order was placed last Wednesday, 14 December.  I was thrilled to have discovered they offered the best price (£15.99) on "Now You See Me" by Margaret Murphy.  I specifically wanted to buy it as a Christmas present for my father, who was so impressed with The Dispossessed that he put it to one side for me to pick up when I next visited my parents.  (He has never done that before.)

The book arrived well packaged, missing only some weather protection.  I know from bitter experience that those who make the deliveries are often happy to leave the package outside and exposed.  They've done the deed, package delivered to the address on the label! 

When it rains, or not, as this case may be, (but there's also always theft to consider, which I have experienced too), that package is sometimes left to the mercy of the acute observation and helpful actions of neighbours.  Previous neighbours of mine were galactic stars in this predicament.  These days, I use my parents' address for delivery of most packages.  One, at least, is always at home and they live close.

So, my corrugated cardboard protection unit surrounding the hardback of "Now You See Me" hit the surface of rest on the piano stool very quickly, awaiting my attention.  But, if it had been addressed to my home, would all have gone so smoothly?  I hate to think.

That's my only (small) gripe with Macavity's.  They need some polythene/plastic covering to the book(s) to account for the weather possibilities, and alas, the shortcomings of today's delivery standards. 

But, processing of order and delivery cycle?  Super efficient.

Price? Extremely good; best I could determine in the case of what I ordered.

On line payment protection?  Yes, they use Protx, which is secured.

I recently corresponded with Macavity's and they said that they were busy in the run up to Christmas.  But their "resources to match orders" statistic is impressive.  I'm still waiting on Amazon and for longer.  I'm happy, but don't let on please, that my first order outstanding with Amazon is about to be two out of three CDs, with Handel's Messiah up for a 4-6 week delivery period.  My mother was disappointed.  She'd planned to play it over Christmas.  Now she's planning to play at Easter.  I am planning to escape with a book behind closed doors...  Not that I hate it.  I've even sung along, once and in public.  Yes, really. 

But this year, I want to relax.  And I have something else on my mind, Una Mattina by Ludovico Einaudi, as it happens.

But, again, back to the purpose of this post, Macavity's is an on line book store well worth looking up.  I'm impressed.

Why did it change?

To satisfy the curiosity of anyone who emailed me, (which thankfully alerted my attention and prompted me to investigate), there was maintenance taking place on Friday, hence the appearance of lost posts...   A back up copy was loaded, being that of 7 December.

Maintenance is now over and the posts have reappeared.

I guess that everything in life needs some technical maintenance, even internet hosted facilities.

But really, I'd rather have a hiccup here than have one with the drains outside.

Crime fiction genre makes it into the Richard & Judy Book Club for 2006

Following the groundbreaking footsteps of Andrew Taylor and his novel The American Boy (An Unpardonable Crime in the US), one book in the shortlist of ten for the Richard & Judy Book Club in 2006 represents the crime fiction genre.

This time it's Michael Connelly and The Lincoln Lawyer.  The novel appears last on the list, so it may be out in the UK in paperback by then, which can only help sales.

Many may scoff, do the ROFL bit, throw up their hands in horror or perform a defeated shrug of the shoulders with an accompanying downturn of the mouth, perhaps poke their tongues out, but really, being on that shortlist does increase readership. 

The special promotions that accompanied previous R&J Book Club considerations were hard to avoid in stores, including supermarkets.  It was possible to trip over a display stand, but luckily, at my height, the top of it was just above waist height.  I turned a corner and got overly intimate with one once, finally walking away, relieved that I had collected no bruising from the altercation and thanking my lucky stars that the stand was made of corrugated cardboard.  I also noted that it was essentially empty of book stocks.

That's just the store activity to accompany the TV programme.  The TV show is timed to attract a certain group of viewers and Richard & Judy have a big following and fan base from when they presented a morning slot.  (GMTV I think.  I can't be sure as I was working full time then...) 

Many will become aware of the book who had not heard of the book or the author before, that's for certain.  Connelly is already a big name.  But if a bigger awareness of this book, his work to date and the genre itself are highlighted through this popular TV show, then I'm all for it.

In smaller more roundabout ways, word of mouth can also make a book great.  Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong started out that way.  I bought that when it had made the end of aisle promotional areas in W H Smith and I was at Heathrow, running for a flight and needing something to read.  I wasn't sorry either.  My copy has been lent out, more than once, and my enthusiasm passed on, more than once.

I've attended a clinic where the receptionist left  her "current read" on the desk for all to see.  On my first visit it was Mark Billingham's Lifeless and on my second it was the latest from Martina Cole.  Both were in hardback.  That's an enthusiast for you!  It's also a bit of word of mouth in another form.

I have a major gripe today, though.  I used my hard earned and treasured lunch hour to search for a book I wanted to buy, only to find that it was not stocked in two major stores and was "order only" in one of them.  (I didn't bother asking about stock and ordering in the second as they are not so specialist when it comes to books.)

This is a book that is is currently in hard back format only.  A trade paperback is also out there, but the timing of delivery could not be confirmed by the seller.  The author is not a big name yet but I reckon the odds are in the author's favour, if only the general public is more aware of the author and the books, especially the latest.  But for that, this author needs more publicity and also, and more importantly, this author needs books on shelves.

We now live in a world, post net book agreement, where the RRP is also a fiction of sorts.  If I order the book from Amazon, I can get it, but at full RRP only.  It's the same with an order through the UK's major bookseller.

Some new authors get a whacking great promotion.  Others don't.  In this case the author is not new.  But I firmly believe the author is worth a lot more than the publisher offers right now.  And that author is not the only one.

I could go on and start to talk about the HMV/Waterstone's proposal to acquire Ottakar's, but I won't.  That's just too academic and not for now, for me.  I will say one thing though; I do not support it happening and I'm pleased it's been referred onwards.  As a reader, I want choice as well as price. What is price, if I only have a handful of titles to choose from?

So, back to my gripe.  An author can sell if the books are available in the normal stores.  In this case not.  In this case the publisher needs to rethink the chain of events that brings the product to the market.  I want to buy a specific book as soon as possible, but I can't.  I can order it, at full RRP from Amazon, and wait 2-5 days for delivery, but who are you kidding in the world out there?

Some new authors and new books seem to deserve a massive promotion.  Some damn good authors are left in the gutter, within the scheme of things.  Promotion is not just about a "current opportunity" it's also about a more long haul opportunity.  Some publishers are way too complacent and afraid to take a risk.  Readers are more open than that.

Readers want the next thrill and entertainment.  Readers want the next NEW book/author, if good.

This reader wanted a recent release in the hand and to take away ASAP and failed.

I have one message here:  Remember the market.  When doing so, take a risk and do not think of the crime genre as a side kick or an exclusion. The book needs to be on the shelves to be bought.  Basics, eh?

And good luck to the R&J Book Club.  I reckon that The Lincoln Lawyer will impress greatly.

One last thing - it's a shame that the R&J Book Club cannot do more to celebrate UK authors of the crime fiction genre, but time will tell on that...

The Dispossessed by Margaret Murphy

Discovering a new author can be a great excitement and one with a backlist, more so. This year, my Christmas came early and my only disappointment is that I wish I’d picked up a book by Margaret Murphy before now.

The Dispossessed marks the start of the “Rickman” series, set in Liverpool, with Detective Inspector Jeff Rickman as the main character, perfectly complemented by Detective Sergeant Lee Foster and Detective Constable Naomi Hart.

Like Ian Rankin’s Fleshmarket Close (Fleshmarket Alley in the US), this novel takes us into the world of immigrants and asylum seekers; but here we get much closer to the grim reality of everyday life, the hardships now suffered and those constantly remembered from a previous life, the threats and exploitation that exist around every corner and behind every closed door. The plot itself brings us an insight more alive than any documentary media format could achieve. (Something that can also be said of Mark Billingham’s Lifeless, in respect of those living on the streets.)

The plot is also a page turner and the book itself, a tour de force, if you ask me. I’ve avoided doing a “Best” list in the run up to Christmas as there are already so many out there and they get tediously boring after a while; the same top five for crime fiction, more or less. But I will say this. The Dispossessed was my best read of 2005.

Now, for the “why” bit.

1 The Dispossessed has the best first chapter I’ve read in a long time, possibly ever. It’s a great hook and not what it seems and you get a wonderful insight into two of the main characters. So, loving them already, I began to turn the pages…

2 A body falls out of a wheelie bin when refuse is collected. Murphy gives just enough information and knows how to the drawn the line in two ways: the full gruesome impact is left to your own imagination and questions remain unanswered. (A skill replayed later, to much effect.) So I continued to turn the pages…

3 Personal lives are in the minds of those we meet, especially those involved in the investigation. But that’s life as we know it, yes? Rickman is no exception, where he is forced to encounter his long estranged brother. A very interesting side-plot which leads to more page turning…

4 The cast of characters is so well drawn that emotional investment runs deep. This leads to one scene towards the end of the book, which is both gut wrenching and heart breaking. It’s also the most powerful piece of writing I think I’ve ever read.

5 Who did it? Well, I think it’s very definite here, that the reader needs to read on to the bitter end to find out.

I loved the characters. I enjoyed following the plot. I appreciated the insight into life, both in Liverpool, in general, and as an asylum seeker. Finishing the book, more than ever, I felt empathy to asylum seekers. The more you know, the more you can understand. Murphy does us all a service here. She tells us how life really is and makes immigration far much more than a mere statistic batted about between political parties in the Commons.

We read and we see something we could not achieve through other media. We get involved and we start to understand; we get to want something better. This time not just for us, but also for those who legitimately seek refuge on our shores. We repel the criminals and welcome the victims. The problem that abounds and one which Murphy uses in her plot is this: who is really a victim and who is really a criminal? I have not felt so involved in a book in a long while. I have not felt new characters to be so real, so quickly, in a long time. I don’t think I‘ve ever felt so punched in the gut as I did with one scene in this book. That was one scene which marked both some terrific writing in situ, and also some very excellent writing in bringing the reader up to that point.

The Dispossessed is a remarkable read. It’s the best crime fiction novel I read in 2005, even though 2005 is not quite finished yet and the competition was tough, from a handful only, but what a good handful!

I haven’t been quite so impressed with a book since I returned to the UK in the summer of 1993 and read Minette Walters’s The Scold’s Bridle. That led me to a two book backlist and first edition hard back buying thereafter. The same will happen now, I tell you. I only hope that Jeff Rickman and his team are in for a long series. Personally, I think that, ultimately, this series could, indeed should, make it to our screens. But do read the books. The Dispossessed is a class act. Margaret Murphy’s writing is a class act. And, as I have already said, The Dispossessed is most definitely the best read I experienced in 2005.

To find out more about the series, other books and the author, go here.

Call the Dying - Andrew Taylor, another in the Lydmouth series...

After my last read, I sought some respite from a dark, dark world, so I hit the latest in the Lydmouth series from Andrew Taylor - Call the Dying. Can a novel with at least one murder ever really be a “cosy” though? Oh yes, it can. It’s almost always foggy in Lydmouth in Call the Dying; it’s that time of year. So, if you’d like to be reminded of your fortune, i.e. that you live in the present and have a crime free life, I’d suggest you curl up with this book.

This series is set in the 1950s, in and around the Anglo-Welsh borders town of the fictional Lydmouth. (Which is surely based very closely on Lydney?) The 1950s can so often be overlooked given the immediate post war years and the swinging sixties that followed; so it is really good to have a series that brings that period to life. Taylor makes it more so, due to the fact that his main characters are both outsiders to the area and we see that closed community through their eyes.

The main character is the married Richard Thornhill; dedicated copper by working hours, dedicated and loving father outside those working hours. The secondary character is journalist Jill Francis, who investigates a local story so very close to the police investigation and provides Thornhill with an ever increasing element of temptation.

I finished Call the Dying, faster than I'd anticipated, within just over a day. We have a cast of characters, a society experiencing turbulence for many reasons, and a series of personal and business problems that all draw the reader in. Indeed, it takes until over 100 pages before we actually have a body, but a body is delivered within the grand scheme of things; there are many crimes to be investigated here. This is Lydmouth facing a crisis, or so the “other newspaper”, The Post wants to tell us.

Jill has been absent from Lydmouth for a few years, having returned to London to pursue her career, where it seemed to matter most. The proprietor of The Gazette, the local rag, is taken ill and Jill returns to help out in very stressing circumstances. Richard, who is now the father of three had suspended all contact with her when she left, thus, when they meet again, bitterness fights with old passions, some not entirely spent.

This is a classic murder mystery whodunit. Andrew Taylor again delivers the goods. He always keeps me guessing to the very end, where one twist is never enough for him. Call the Dying has less twists than usual but it kept me guessing again, until the very end.

Call the Dying is a very satisfying read, even if I think that the final resolution was not the usual standard from Andrew Taylor. But then, he has previously set the goal posts so very, very high, that I am quite happy to suspend some disbelief here.

Call the Dying ends on a note that makes me want the next in the series PDQ. I am pleased to say that I read on his website that he is currently working on it. See here for more, in his words, on Call the Dying and the other books in, what is in my thoughts, a very excellent series: http://www.lydmouth.demon.co.uk/frames4.htm

Once under the skin of the characters, it is easy to be enthralled by this series, wherever you start. I recommend the whole series and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Note 1: To date, there are seven books in this series. Each individual novel is worth a big bite, and after it, I’m sure you’ll be reaching for the whole pie. I did not read them in order and that is not a loss to the series.

Note 2: Andrew Taylor’s “The American Boy”, (“An Unpardonable Crime” in the US), was featured in the “Richard & Judy” TV show book club in the UK, and was also short listed for more than one award in the UK as well as the US.

Note 3: I love the Lydmouth series and friends of mine have also loved the Roth trilogy.

The Third Person by Steve Mosby

This is the first time, since I have posted my thoughts on books here, that I have a mixed response to a novel. This all due to personal preference and not the writing, therefore I’d urge you, if reading this post, to stick with it, until the end.

As part of the Orion New Blood book promotion, The Third Person was described by Orion as “A dark, uneasy and brilliant debut crime novel”.

Amy Sinclair walked out on her boyfriend Jason Klein leaving a note that said “This isn't some kind of 'dear John’ letter. I'm coming back again.” But, Amy did not come back again. Initially, Jason respected her need for space, but as time elapsed that respect turned to worry and fear, so he followed her trail, starting on the internet, where he discovered she had a secret life and was in contact with the most horrific people.

Jason works out that one of those individuals took Amy and, at risk of losing his job, he spends time in a chat room baiting the man until he can set a trap.

This is indeed a visit to the dark side, a very dark side. I read the book only having read the blurb on the cover and I did not read any reviews until I had finished it. I discovered that The Third Person has a couple of themes in the plot that are not to my taste. So why did I read on then? Well, because above all else, this a mystery I wanted to see resolved; a good mystery, at that.

I became a tad confused someway into the novel and finished it wanting some confirmation. Therefore, I think it’s helpful if you know in advance of reading, that this is not just a novel with a contemporary theme, it is also set at some point in the future, a time period which is not disclosed in the novel. I’d estimate that this may be up to 50 years hence, and if it is, or if the time gap is even smaller, then God help us. This is set at a time when the police force is now back in public ownership having been privatised at some earlier point. Eek!

A purely personal preference here, but I don’t like my reading set in the future. The main reason is that, for me, like science fiction, and unlike a pure contemporary crime fiction novel, gaps can be closed in any way the writer chooses, it’s all up to his/her imagination. I like, prefer and devour the finite world in which we currently live, or have lived.

The crime of rape entered the plot, which is also something I prefer not to read. Rape is always very difficult to deal with and in my reading experience is very frequently handled without the sensitivity and respect the victims deserve. Having said that, Mosby, who was 26 when his book entered the market place, does bring immense sensitivity and respect to the subject matter; amazingly so. But, there is also more than one rape in this story. I found this a dark side that I really didn’t want to spend any length of time within. Perhaps that explains why I read the book so quickly.

So, two themes that put me off my stride, but I did carry on reading. Again, I’d emphasise: there is a mystery here and I wanted to find out exactly what had happened and why.

Mosby is very, very good with prose. He can turn up the velocity, on times, with a pace akin to professionals on a skating rink. Within that, there are excellent passages of probing prose which can sometimes be lost in the general text and the temptation is to skim over them, when really, the temptation should be to read, savour and enjoy, at length and at will.

I also thought that knowledge of Amy’s ultimate fate came way too soon. Thereafter it becomes a prologue before we hit the section entitled “prologue”.

So yes, when I finished it, I concluded this book was not for me. It had a mystery and it had a great pace, but the bases of the story and the plot were not for me. But I may not be alone, I’m sure. Many would like the futuristic element of this book. Many can and could read the sort of story I normally shy away from.

Mosby, as a new writer on the block, has exceptional skill. It just wasn’t a story I’d like to read or enjoy reading.

Seeing that the follow up, The Cutting Crew is also set in the future, but that The Damage Door on which he is currently working appears not, I contacted Mosby, asking him if all his books are set in the future and I wonderfully received the following within his response:

“In all honesty, I never thought of them as being futuristic books in that sense - they're more alternate worlds than anything else. With The Third Person, I exaggerated certain details, like the advertising and the privatisation of the police force (although that might be predictive, God help us). And it just happened that the world I wanted to write about had that quirky feature where writing takes the places that video and film fill in our current culture. It requires a suspension of disbelief, I know, and The Cutting Crew even more so. Cutting Crew isn’t remotely futuristic, but involves a full-on leap into fantasy/horror three-quarters of the way through. It’s not sci-fi though. They’re both just set in locations that I totally made up, that operate under slightly skewed laws of physics.”

And Mosby raised a very key point within this answer, for his use of writing as a replacement to the way film and video are currently used in our culture creates a highly original concept in The Third Person.

He then went on to suggest, given my sensitivities, that I ditch any suggestion of reading The Cutting Crew and pick up on his third book, The Damage Door, which is not set in the future.

I read The Third Person experiencing page turning efficiency, even though I‘d have preferred not to have dived into that unknown given the resulting plot. I also experienced many passages of excellent and thought provoking prose that made stop and wonder.

For Mosby, this was a damn good debut and evidence of an author with a lot to bring to the world to crime writing. I am looking forward to picking up on book three, The Damage Door, which is neither “futuristic nor strange”. His words. On the evidence of The Third Person, Mosby is an author leading up to the pinnacle of extremely good quality. He is very certainly worthy of an Orion New Blood promotion and he has already brought a second book to the market place. This is good thought provoking stuff from someone so young. Mosby is someone to watch out for, even if I almost hated his debut. “Almost” being the key word here. I almost loved his debut too; but I very definitely hated and hid from the plot themes. That was simply not to my taste. I have to admit he goes where I would prefer not to go in The Third Person. But perhaps that is now my awakening? I’m now old enough to remember “the good old days” and Mosby has just put me on high alert at what might come in the future. Pass the Prozac please…

No, seriously, if you don’t mind a crime novel set in the future and you don’t mind reading about the impact of the most heinous crimes, then I think you’ll find The Third Person a very good read.

And considering I hated the subject matter, The Damage Door is definitely on my “to read” list when it comes out. Mosby is a good writer, bringing excellent characterisation, pace and plotting, and exploring the world we may find ourselves in at some point in the near future.

For more about Steve Mosby and his books, see here.

For some inspiration on what it takes to get into print and get onto the shelves at your local or internet book seller, see here.

Well it's a risk but I'll take it, for a laugh...

There’s an award in the “literary” sector in the UK that has given me much pleasure over recent years, by way of a good laugh and nothing else, I have to tell you. Horrible to say, I know, but it’s a celebratory shaming of what can be so bad and/or be done so badly in one solitary hemisphere. Crime fiction authors have not featured, if at all; but then, we all know they prefer the “best left to the imagination” ellipsis, in form or in words…

Well, here we go, the award I refer to is the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award. The most esteemed and liberal Guardian newspaper, as always, can provide us with the detailed long list for 2005 here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,1652812,00.html

The excruciating prize was delivered to one Giles Coren on December 1st, 2005, at the “In and Out Club” in London, I kid you not.

Giles Coren, if you look him up (and his novel “Winkler”) on Amazon is noted for writing “opinion columns and restaurant reviews for The Times and was named Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the 2005 British Press Awards. Under the pseudonym of ‘Professor Gideon Garter’ he writes the ‘Intellectual’s Guide to Fashion’ in The Sunday Times and in 1997 he ghost-wrote Against the Odds, the bestselling autobiography of James Dyson. He has also been a columnist on the Independent on Sunday, Tatler, GQ, Mail on Sunday and Match of the Day Magazine. Winkler is his first novel.”

Oh boy, knowing he is “Professor Gideon Garter” explains a lot of things to me. The Sunday Times Style magazine has left me floundering for quite some time now. Anyway, Giles Coren can also be seen at present on UK TV in Gordon Ramsay’s “The F Word” where he appears as the chatty persona that he is and the restaurant critic that he also is. On investigating horse’s milk, and when observing the milking in Belgium he flapped his arms about his about his head, like a five year old and exclaimed “Ooh, that’s really minging”, before diving in and having a go. He is just so brilliantly naïve in his delivery. So is that what grabbed the award for him?

He was up against Marlon Brando, no less. I kid you not, yet again. Salman Rushdie made another appearance on the shortlist; surely not the Salman Rushdie that we all see as a literary wiz, with a younger and most beautiful partner in tow? (Now there’s an argument for…, if ever I saw one. How could the man possibly write such stuff?) John Updike compared one woman to another as “less of a sauce, more of a glaze”, but that’s the least of it. Ben Elton was in there too; with a nurse who erupted to “… Oooh-la-jolly well-la!” Oooh-la-jolly-well 1950s, I think! If indeed, it was ever said thus. Cringe.

But the winner, Coren, truly did the “so bad and/or be done so badly” with just two sentences. The first took up 138 words and the second sentence concluded at 2 – “Like Zorro.” Like who, again? Reading it, I am amazed at what was achieved by the man considering he “blacked out” so early on in the proceedings described. As for the “…leaping around like a shower dropped in an empty bath…”, surely he meant freestanding showerhead?

I won’t ask, I assure you, I won’t ask. 140 words spread out in that way and indiscriminately over two sentences is a worthy winner surely?

I think so, just like the judges. My gob stopped anyway, and then I continued laughing…

And “Oooh-la-jolly well-la!”, in “The F Word” Coren has covered horses’ milk, human male sperm count, eating squirrel, the origins of a kebab and detox. I look forward to seeing and hearing more of his investigations on that programme.

He has a broad ranging span does Giles Coren, a broad ranging span. His arms about the head in nursery style are just the beginning. He’s a great laugh; mainly about food, but now something else too.

If you want to capture his novelistic work, which is said to be “…the perfect Christmas present for the chap who wants everything. Don't miss it! “, from an Amazon reviewer, then find it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0224074997/qid=1133563416/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/202-0864035-9920649

Enjoy, if it deems…laugh, if you cannot hold it in any longer…Giles Coren, this year’s proud winner of the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Chuckle at least. The author is worth it.