Tag Archives: crime

REVIEW: Bitterblue – Kristin Cashore

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Ela

(Published in 2013 by Gollancz) Bitterblue is now Queen of Monsea, after her awful, terrible father, King Leck, was deposed and killed eight years previously. She’s now only just eighteen, and at the start of the novel is still being … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fantasy, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

REVIEW: The Tiger in the Smoke – Margery Allingham

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Ela

(Penguin 1975, originally published 1952) Meg Elginbrodde, recently engaged to Geoffrey Levett, has been a war widow for five years after her husband Martin was killed in France. Recently, however, photographs have been turning up, both in illustrated papers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Fiction, Re-read, Reviews, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

DISCUSSION: Impersonation stories

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Ela

The theme of an heir returning from the dead (or long-missing) is one which is occasionally used by writers – particularly thriller or crime writers – often to enable a bit of chicanery and double bluffing – is he or … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Discussion, Fiction, Re-read, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Wild places, or, reading and not blogging

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Ela

I’ve fallen into a blogging hole again, and it’s not because I haven’t been reading. Oh no. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been reading too much, and it’s seemed like much more fun to go pick up another book than to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 New Reads, Crime fiction, Not A Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Reading in 2012

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Ela

Well, despite what might be implied by my complete failure to post any reviews during 2012, I was still reading. Good news was that I retrieved most of my books from storage at the end of 2012 (after almost six … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Humour, Journalism, Lists, Meta-review, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Neuromancer – William Gibson

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Ela

(e-book, originally published 1984) Gibson’s first novel was written, so the author has said, in a state of “blind animal terror.” It doesn’t show. It’s an accomplished piece of work, conveying a dystopian future of mega-corporations and polluted cities with … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Atonement – Ian McEwan

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Ela

(Vintage 2002) I came to this book after having seen the film adaptation with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, and am rather glad I did so. It’s actually a very faithful adaptation, except for a few minor details, and except … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010 New Reads, Fiction, Filmed adaptations, Historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime – Misha Glenny

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Ela

Glenny is known as a journalist and foreign correspondent, particularly for eastern Europe, and has previously written about the Balkans and the fall of Yugoslavia. McMafia is a fascinating study of the way organised crime has spread throughout the world, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010 New Reads, Journalism, Non-fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Discussion – books by Dornford Yates

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Ela

I’ve often tried to reason out why I enjoy Dornford Yates’s books so much, since there are things about them which I really don’t approve (Germanophobia, anti-Semitism, appalling attitudes towards the working classes, and so on) – “the school of … Continue reading →

Posted in Discussion, Fiction, Humour, Meta-review, Reviews, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Mask of Dimitrios – Eric Ambler

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Ela

I’d heard of Eric Ambler before, seen his books in second-hand shops, known him as a writer of thrillers, but never read any of his novels. The Mask of Dimitrios begins prosaically by introducing Charles Latimer, the novel’s protagonist, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment