WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Since I last did a WWW Wednesday post, the school term has finished and this teacher is now reading whatever and whenever! I’m now at 70/100 on my Goodreads Challenge.
Continue reading WWW Wednesday: 14th July, 2021I’ve been with Arrowood from the start of the series so I knew just what to expect in this fourth instalment – a fiendish mystery, grimy Victorian London and some great characters. Thanks to Mick Finlay and HQ for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, plus the invitation to join the blog tour.
Regular visitors to The Quick and the Read know that I’m kind of obsessed with crime fiction – specifically, I love pacey, engaging police procedurals. Even better if the lead characters are distinctive or quirky in some way, plus an interesting setting is hugely important to me.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Tattoo Thief’ by Alison BelshamMy review today is on the fabulous ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas, the second in the series of crime novels featuring DS Adam Tyler. Thanks to Jess Barratt at Simon and Schuster for the proof copy in exchange for an honest review – all opinions are entirely my own. This book is out now!
Continue reading Book Review: ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
It has been a shamefully long time since I last did one of these posts! This is all the books I have read since my May Wrap-Up.
Continue reading WWW Wednesday: 16th June, 2021Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Dead Ground’, the fourth novel in the Poe and Bradshaw series of crime novels by M.W. Craven.
Thanks to Beth Wright at Little Brown UK for inviting me onto the tour and for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Dead Ground’ by M. W. CravenThe past few weeks have been so hectic! This wrap-up is so late!
I managed to read 10 books in May – mainly due to having taken on rather a lot of blog tours. Of these, I gave 3 *****, 6 **** and one ***. I’m now on 55/100 of my Goodreads Challenge.
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May Wrap-Up
I started the month with the very exciting and tense ‘The Assistant’ by Kjell Ola Dahl for a blog tour. I thoroughly enjoyed this slice of Nordic Noir which was set in Prohibition-era Norway, a setting I hadn’t experienced before. My review is here.
Another blog tour book followed – ‘A Public Murder’ by Antoinette Moses. This is a lively and engaging police procedural and will be the first in a series to feature DI Pam Gregory. Set between Cambridge and Crete, I loved the classical allusions of the Cretan bull and the labyrinth that are central to the story. My review is here.
David Baddiel’s audiobook, ‘Jews Don’t Count’ was up next. This is a short (it is in the TLS Essays series of hardbacks) but compelling argument that anti-Semitism isn’t recognised as ‘real’ racism. Baddiel argues that Jews are paradoxically considered both low status (discriminated against) and high status (stereotyped as privileged and wealthy) – and so racism against them is somehow discounted or ignored. This was one of my five star reads of the month – it is a real eye-opener and the audiobook is engagingly presented by Baddiel himself.
Then it was back to the blog tour books and ‘Stealing the Spanish Princess’ by Bea Green. This is another new crime series, this time featuring detective Richard Langley of Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities unit. The art dimension (the Spanish Princess of the title refers to a painting) was fascinating and the whole book was tied together with an engaging murder mystery too. My review is here.
This was followed by the charming ‘Mrs Narwhal’s Diary’ by S J Norbury – another blog tour read. This is a funny and relatable book about one middle-aged woman trying to hold everything together – in her case, a crumbling stately home, a husband having a mid-life crisis, children, in-laws and unhappy customers of her husband’s furniture business. My review is here.
Next up was ‘The Distant Dead’ by Lesley Thomson, a crime novel with an unusual detective – cleaner Stella Darnell. This is a clever, dual-narrative story which links a 1940 Blitz murder with events in the present day. My blog tour review is here.
Another five star read (listen) followed with the non-fiction ‘The Glamour Boys’ by Chris Bryant. Although I listened to the audiobook, I also had to buy a copy of the hardback because I needed to see pictures of the key players and re-read bits! This is the story of a group of MPs in the period prior to World War II who first identified that Nazi Germany was a threat that needed addressing – but were ignored, partly because of their queer status. This was an absolutely fascinating slice of history and brilliantly told.
Another five star read followed, this time a buddy read with Hannah’s ‘book club that isn’t a book club’ through The Write Reads – ‘The Five’ by Hallie Rubenhold. I really loved this insight into Victorian women’s lives – specifically the victims of Jack the Ripper. Rubenhold told the women’s backgrounds with clarity and tonnes of interesting details – and (commendably) kept the focus on their lives rather than their deaths.
Then I finished another buddy read (with the Tsundoku Squad), ‘Lace’ by Shirley Conran. I’ll admit that I was aware of the scandalous reputation of this one and wanted to see what the fuss was about. I wasn’t disappointed with the frankly bonkers story of a young woman and the four older women she thinks may be her mother. Bits of this felt dated, but it certainly kept me entertained. Our collective review is here.
I finished the month with another blog tour book, ‘Cut from the Same Cloth?’ edited by Sabeena Akhtar. This is a collection of essays written by Muslim women in Britain and it was an engaging and eye-opening read. My review is here.
June TBR
After May’s excesses on the blog tour front, I only have two for June and I am very much looking forward to ‘Dead Ground’ by M. W. Craven (the fourth book in the Poe and Bradshaw crime series that I’ve heard lots about) and ‘Mary Jane’ by Jessica Anya Blau (a coming-of-age 1970s nostalgia-fest!)
Aside from this, I have a stack of gorgeous proofs and hardbacks that I’m desperate to read! On the shortlist so far is ‘The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle’ by Matt Cain (this sounds like a gorgeous story of finding love later in life), ‘Murder: The Biography’ by Kate Morgan (fascinating non-fiction about the history of murder as a crime), ‘Yours Cheerfully’ by A J Pearce (sequel to the brilliant ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ – historical fiction at its most uplifting) and ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas (super-twisty crime fiction that has had rave reviews).
As usual, see you next month when I will have read precisely nothing of what I planned!
With my usual thanks to all the lovely blog tour hosts, publishers, NetGalley, bookshops and authors who keep me in books. However I come by books, opinions are always entirely my own.
Header photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash.
I’m usually more at home with police procedurals but when I was offered the chance to join the blog tour for Adele Parks’ new domestic thriller, I was keen to sign up. I’d heard great things about Parks’ books and this one sounded absolutely compelling.
The story is about two missing women. One, Leigh Fletcher, has left a husband and two adored stepsons in an average family home – the normal trials and stresses of raising children were present, but Leigh was happy and the family miss her very much. The second woman – Kai Janssen – has vanished from her wealthy Dutch businessman husband and glitzy penthouse apartment. Again, there was no discernible reason for her to leave. Two women, two devastated husbands, two very different lives – and it is down to DC Clements to work out where the women have gone any why.
I started this novel thinking it was a slow burner – the start of the novel gives us a lot of backstory about the two women and their domestic set-ups. However, this book soon had me in its grip and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what had happened. In the process, I think I had pretty much everyone involved pinned as a likely culprit for the abductions – and was pretty much wrong on all counts.
This is definitely a book that will keep you guessing.
On top of the pacey plotting, I also found myself being caught up in the lives of the main characters – I particularly warmed to Leigh who seemed to be making a great job of the difficult role of stepmother to two boys whose mum had died when they were young. My heart actually hurt for the littlest boy who was desperate for news of the only mum he remembered. Much of Leigh’s domestic life seemed relatable and her husband a gentle giant who was lost without her. Kai and Daan (the Dutch husband) seemed much less engaging – but maybe that’s just my jealousy about not living their glamorous lives speaking there!
And that is pretty much all I can say without giving away some major plot elements,
I did enjoy this book a lot and was genuinely taken aback by the ending – again, I can’t say much more, but I really couldn’t see how it was going to end in a way that could tie up all the loose ends and resolve all problems. I do still have some questions and a few reservations – but nothing that detracted from my reading of the novel. I do wish that DC Clements had been a little more instrumental in the whole story – but that might be my love of detective fiction creeping in.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers – it is cleverly plotted, surprising and immersive. The characters are well-developed and interesting, even if a lot of them aren’t nice and certainly don’t play nice!
Thanks to Harper Collins, the HQ publicity team and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Distant Dead’ by Lesley Thomson, the latest in the Detective’s Daughter series.
Thanks to the publisher, Head of Zeus, for inviting me on the blog tour and for gifting me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Publisher:
A woman lies dead in a bombed-out house. A tragic casualty of the Blitz? Or something more sinister? Sixty years later, the detective’s daughter unearths the truth… From the number 1 bestselling author of The Detective’s Daughter.
LONDON, 1940
Several neighbours heard the scream of the woman in the bombed-out house. One told the detective she thought the lady had seen a mouse. Another said it wasn’t his business what went on behind closed doors. None of them imagined that a trusting young woman was being strangled by her lover.
TEWKESBURY, 2020
Beneath the vast stone arches of Tewkesbury Abbey, a man lies bleeding, close to death. He is the creator of a true-crime podcast which now will never air. He was investigating the murder of a 1940s police pathologist – had he come closer to the truth than he realised?
Stella Darnell has moved to Tewkesbury to escape from death, not to court it. But when this man dies in her arms, Stella, impelled to root out evil when she finds it, becomes determined to hunt down his killer and to bring the secrets he was searching for into the light…
My Review:
I was drawn to this book by the prospect of a dual narrative – 1940 and 2019 – because I love the idea of the events of the past having their echoes in the present day.
This book begins with the murder of a young woman, Maple Greenhill, in a house abandoned during the Blitz in London during the Second World War. Although her murderer is revealed early on, this crime continues to reverberate down the years as people involved with the original investigation are hiding secrets. When a true crime podcaster is murdered in 2019 in Tewkesbury Abbey, it seems he was about to reveal something about the 1940 murder…
I loved the premise of this book and the balance between 1940 and 2019 is managed well by the writer. As a sucker for historical fiction, I particularly loved the 1940 scenes and some engaging writing about London in the war.
This is the eighth book in the series to feature Stella Darnell who is (from what I gathered) a cleaner and private investigator who has ended up fleeing London and settling in Tewkesbury. However, her new job cleaning Tewkesbury Abbey doesn’t provide her with much escape from her investigative past and it isn’t long before she is at the centre of a new mystery.
I think this book would probably be slightly easier to follow if you have read the previous ones in the series. Although a lot of the back-story is explained, I did find it a bit tricky to remember some of the finer details and get a sense of some of the characters – I guess they would be familiar if you know the series.
That said, I liked Stella as a main character – she seemed strong and clever, resilient and engaging. I didn’t fully understand the situation with Jack, but I liked him too – and the marvellous Lucie.
The novel is really well plotted – it kept me reading as I tried to keep one step ahead of Stella and her investigations. I totally failed, fell for every red herring going and didn’t identify the final solution – hats off to anyone who does because it is very involved and cleverly revealed.
I’d recommend this especially to those who are already familiar with the series and the relationship between Jack and Stella, the cleaning agency and the reasons Stella is in Tewkesbury. For those new to the series, I’d still recommend the writer but perhaps suggest starting with book one. However, this writer clearly has lots to offer so do pick up a copy!
About the Author:
Lesley Thomson is the author of the Detective’s Daughter series of West London-set mysteries featuring private investigators Stella, a cleaner, and Jack, a tube driver. The first novel, The Detective’s Daughter, became an ebook phenomenon in 2013, staying at number 1 in the digital charts for 3 months. Since then, the series has gone on to sell 800,000 copies worldwide. Lesley is an active member of the UK crimewriting community, and appeared at several crime festivals in 2019, including CrimeFest, Harrogate, Morecambe & Vice and Capital Crime. She lives in Lewes with her partner and her dog.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Stealing the Spanish Princess’ by Bea Green, a clever art crime mystery with an eccentric detective.
With thanks to Random Things Tours for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Publisher:
In this captivating and dazzling art crime mystery, eccentric detective Richard Langley hunts for a 16th-century masterpiece by the artist El Greco.
The thief stole the priceless painting from an apartment in Kensington, London, and in the process knifed to death a Russian woman.
DCI Richard Langley from Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Unit joins colleagues from Homicide as they pursue a trail that leads them to St Petersburg and then to Madrid.
Following closely in their footsteps is a maverick private investigator hired by the painting’s owner. Knowing how hard it is to sell on stolen artworks of that calibre, Richard wonders what the motive behind its theft might be.
The answer, when it comes, takes everyone by surprise.
My Review:
As someone who loves crime novels, I’ve always kind of wondered what kind of detective I’d make. However, my squeamishness would inevitably exclude me from anything too nasty or gritty or potentially unpleasant – so I’d kind of considered a place on the police art fraud team about my only option!
It turns out DCI Richard Langley – the focus of this novel – got my job.
In this book, DCI Richard Langley of Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Unit joins forces with the Homicide team to solve the mystery of a missing painting and a dead woman. The painting’s Russian owner is keen to reclaim his painting – apparently verified as being by famed artist El Greco – and perhaps less concerned about the demise of his girlfriend, left bleeding in the bedroom where the painting was cut from its frame. Langley and his colleagues follow a trail that takes them across Europe and which leads to some interesting revelations…
I’ll admit that this book hooked me in from the start – a scene in which Langley is scrutinising a mummified foot and pondering the nature of looted antiquities. I found the art crime bits really interesting – I found out a lot about how paintings are verified, restored, copied and stolen.
Although DCI Langley seems to be a department of one (I guess there isn’t too much funding for his line of work when more pressing policing matters need attention), the addition of the Homicide team is welcome here. CI Abdul Hazim is an interesting partner to give DCI Langley on this case, but it is DI Eilidh Simmons who steals the show – she is my favourite character of the three and (I hope) a possible love interest for Richard if this book becomes a series. Please let this book become a series!
Richard himself is a likeable lead, although I wanted to know him a little better – I did have questions as he is a bit of an enigma in some regards. He comes across as an academic trapped in Scotland Yard and surrounded by people who neither understand nor care about his passion for art. The fact his office is deep in the basement and forgotten about is telling for the reader (but appreciated by Richard!) In my head, he’s like a sexy Indiana Jones of the art world…definitely a figure I can get behind!
Another really appealing aspect of this novel is the setting. Although the story starts in London, we also travel (with Richard Langley) to Madrid and St Petersburg – the latter instantly recognisable from my own travels there and I longed to wander the Hermitage Museum a little longer with my art expert.
I also loved that the missing painting was so much more than just an expensive stolen canvas. In the hands of the writer, this became a vivid portrait with a back-story and historical significance. I really wanted to see the picture so it was interesting to read in Bea Green’s biography (below) about the inspiration for the novel.
I’d heartily recommend this to those crime fiction fans who like a story told with intelligence, wit and verve. This isn’t your standard police procedural as the investigation is multi-layered, Europe-wide and not always totally above board (thanks to maverick private investigator Mike Telford). It is a fascinating and lively novel and I hope there will be more to come from this writer.
About the Author:
Bea Green has had a somewhat roving life as the daughter of a British diplomat. Her mother is Spanish and growing up Bea spent every summer at her grandfather’s olive tree farm in Andalusia. This olive tree farm was the inspiration for her contemporary romance book, La Finca.
Bea studied Art throughout school and then did Art History for two of her four years at St Andrews University, where she met her husband. She graduated with an MA in English Literature.
Her interest in art was fostered by her father and her Spanish grandmother. Her Spanish grandmother accompanied her to many of Madrid’s art galleries and several of El Prado’s paintings are fondly remembered in Bea’s art crime book, Stealing the Spanish Princess.
‘Stealing the Spanish Princess’ was inspired by a Spanish painting, Lady in a Fur Wrap, at Pollok House, Glasgow. When Bea wrote ‘Stealing the Spanish Princess’ there was a huge debate among art experts about the painting, with some claiming it was painted by El Greco. Some experts thought the painting was of Princess Catalina Micaela, daughter of the Spanish King, Philip II.
Bea Green has lived in Edinburgh since leaving St Andrews University, with her Glaswegian husband and two daughters. She also maintains close links with her family in Spain.
