Book #67 In the Galway Silence

In the Galway Silence by Ken Bruen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ken Bruen does it again - number 14 in my favourite series. Jack Taylor, ex guard, no saint, Irish noir that is at times hilarious, written in Bruen's inimitable style with paragraphs that more closely resemble verse than prose. It's original, unusual and continues to entertain as it appears that Jack might have at long last found contentment. Still loves the Jameson and still dabbles in uppers, but he has a new girlfriend, a new apartment with glorious views and little sign of trouble on the horizon...

...don't be daft. This is Jack Taylor, finds himself looking after his girlfriend's spoilt nine-year-old and trouble is heading his way. Wealthy Frenchman Pierre Renaud, a double murder, his ex-wife and an unfurling past.

In the Galway Silence - it's grim, dark, hilarious - it's unique. Love him or hate him - it's Jack Taylor.

I am definitely in the first camp...

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Book #66 Going For a Song

Going for a Song: A Chronicle of the UK Record Shop by Garth Cartwright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Going For a Song. Phew! I started reading this in April - taken me almost eight months to complete! Large pages and small print are daunting to say the least. So, I've read it a few pages at a time. It is truly an in-depth history of the rise, fall and rebirth of the UK's independent record shops. From early 50s and Dobell's Jazz, Blues & Folk shop, Levy's of Whitechapel and Transat Imports for soul 45s. Virgin and Beggars Banquets build empires out of rock shops. Our Price, Rough Trade, Small Wonder and Good Vibrations are all here. And then they are gone...

Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland there remain several hundred record shops and stalls. Among them is my favourite: Resident Music in the North Laine, Brighton. The loss of record shops may appear inconsequential when compared to events currently overwhelming the UK. A good local record shop tends to be proudly provincial. Deprived areas come in all shapes and sizes and when your neighbourhood no longer supports independent retailers, it enters into a decline that may, initially, appear invisible. Independent record shops can attract people to a locale, encourage communication and investigation.

Sadly, there remain far too few....

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Book #65 The Chestnut Man

The Chestnut Man: A Novel by Soren Sveistrup
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

1989. Detective Marius Larsen travels out to Orum's Farm. Animals have broken through the fence, roaming the neighbour's fields. Farmer Orum needs to sort this out. When Larsen arrives at the farm what he is faced with is horrific...

Move forward to present day Copenhagen. Detective Naia Thulin works for the Major Crimes Division. Her boss, Nylander, tasks her with partnering 'the new guy'. A liaison officer named Hess, stationed at Europol's HQ in the Hague, ordered to Copenhagen for some blunder or other. They are faced with a brutal murder. The victim, Laura Kjaer, 37 years old, has been partly dismembered. A chestnut man figure lies nearby. Forensics uncover a fingerprint on its head. The print of Kristine Hartung. The 12-year-old daughter of Rosa Hartung, Minister for Social Affairs. The girl went missing less than a year ago and a few weeks later a young tech nerd was arrested and, given weight of evidence, he confesses to strangling and dismembering the body. No body parts were ever found. When more horrific murders occur the chestnut figures take centre stage. How can they all reveal a fingerprint of Kristine Hartung?

The Chestnut Man is a complex story with well developed characters. It is dark and disturbing with many horrific scenes. Perhaps though a tad too long as I found myself easily distracted. It did not anchor me to the pages and took me considerable time to read because of this.



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Book #64 Once Upon A River

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Set in the 19th century, Once Upon A River, crosses genres: magical, folklore, fairytale with supernatural elements. A whimsical tale set amongst a community on the banks of the River Thames. Where folk sit and relate stories, often embellished as the ale flows. What then are they to make of an event that occurs on the winter solstice when a stranger staggers into the Swan Tavern carrying a child. A young girl who, to all outward appearances, is dead. The local nurse Rita takes the child in her arms and pronounces this to be so. The locals are shocked and dismayed when the child recovers from her apparent death. Who is she? Had she not drowned when the stranger discovered her? Is she the long lost child of the Vaughans or the Armstrongs? This is the meat of the story that follows several characters in their quest to establish the truth.

Enjoyable enough but at times it lost pace, became repetitive and dragged. A pity. It is well written with good character development. I wish I had enjoyed it more.

My thanks to Random House UK, Transworld and NetGalley for my ARC.

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Book #63 The Taking of Annie Thorne

The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Phew! This is Pet Cemetery on steroids! A tragic event in Arnhill leaves a vacancy at the local school. A place that used to support a mining community before the pits closed. It offers an opportunity for Joseph Thorne to flee from serious gambling debts and apply for the teaching post - in the village where he spent his formative years. Where his eight year old sister Annie disappeared for forty-eight hours - and then she came back. But was it Annie, really? Does Joe remember everything that happened twenty-five years ago? Beth Scattergood teaches art at Arnhill. She says on meeting Joe: "Only two types of teacher end up at Arnhill Academy. Those who want to make a difference and those who can't get a job anywhere else. So, which are you?" What was it Joe? That mysterious text you received? 'I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again' A shiver down the spine...

The old gang are still here, well, some of them. Joe's mates from way back. The ones who were there when it happened. The only ones who knew... Sinister events from all those years ago woven into a horror story that is epic and truly frightening. Throw Stephen King, James Herbert and a touch of Edgar Allen Poe into the blender and C.J. Tudor emerges with this delicious tale of a village, a pit, unexplained suicides and hair-raising scary events.

I cannot say more about the plot without spoilers. I can say though, do not read in bed, at night! And if you enjoyed The Chalk Man you will certainly get chills from reading The Taking of Annie Thorne.

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Book #62 Angel In The Shadows

Angel in the Shadows: The Heartland Trilogy, Book Two by Walter Lucius
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A long (464 pages), complex, complicated plot of international intrigue that took me a long time to read. Investigative journalist Farah Hafez is pursuing a story of state corruption involving Russian oligarch, Valentin Lavrov when she is kidnapped and forced at gunpoint to make a video supporting a Chechen terrorist organisation and denouncing the Russian president. Now she is on the run. Her friend and fellow journalist Paul Chapelle manages to aid her escape to Jakarta whilst Dutch detective Radjen Tomasoa is investigating another strand of this confusing tale. Locations are widespread: Amsterdam, Moscow, Kabul, Johannesburg, Jakarta.... with a multitude of villains. I just found it too much to maintain concentration. As this is the 2nd book in The Heartland Trilogy it would no doubt have helped to read Book 1 first.

I was offered this ARC by the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #61 She Lies In Wait

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh dear. This just did not resonate with me. I could not connect with the characters - not enough character development. Like moving through a ballroom at a masked ball. I continually got confused over who was who. And a lacklustre bunch of detectives led by DCI Jonah Sheens investigating a 30-year-old cold case that, for me, never got warm. I figured out half way through who the probable culprit was and still struggled to finish She Lies In Wait.

My thanks to NetGalley for my ARC, sorry that I did not enjoy it more.

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