Daily Archives: April 9, 2009

Miss Silver detective novels (list)

Grey Mask The Case is Closed Lonesome Road Danger Point (aka In The Balance) The Chinese Shawl Miss Silver Intervenes The Clock Strikes Twelve The Key The Traveller Returns (aka She Came Back) Pilgrim’s Rest (aka Dark Threat) Latter End … Continue reading

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Miss Silver detective novels – Patricia Wentworth

I’ve been re-reading several of these books recently (they’ve been re-issued in rather nice retro covers, all from old advertising archives). I’d been vaguely aware of Wentworth’s mystery novels, featuring her former-governess detective, Miss Maud Silver, but only remembered reading … Continue reading

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The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut is not (as far as I know) primarily known for science fiction. His most famous novel is Slaughterhouse 5, inspired by his experiences of being a prisoner-of-war in Dresden during the bombing of the city in the Second … Continue reading

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S is for Silence – Sue Grafton

This is the latest but one of Sue Grafton’s “Alphabet” crime series (A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.). It’s something of a departure for her, for although her heroine private eye, Kinsey Millhone, has investigated “cold” cases … Continue reading

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Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

The premise of Blink is that human beings are good at making instantaneous and generally quite accurate decisions based on very little information. In some cases, apparently, when we have more information, the accuracy of our decisions does not increase … Continue reading

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The Shadow of the Sun – Ryszard Kapuscinski

This is a book about Africa, in all its variety and puzzling contradictions. For a European, Ryszard Kapuscinski manages to get into the African mindset very easily, and he writes with great compassion and understanding. The book is a series … Continue reading

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