Lisa Gray - Bad Memory Thomas & Mercer paperback, £8.99. I bought this new. The path from journalist to novelist is a well-worn one, and for good reason - the love of and a confidence in the use of words, the discipline of writing to a deadline and the familiarity of being edited are staples … Continue reading Review: Bad Memory
Category: Bloody Scotland
Feature PS: Bloody Scotland 2019
The 2019 McIlvanney Prize longlist was one of the strongest I've seen in all the years I've been following it, and I say that having read the majority of it before the list was published, and the rest (bar the two debuts, marked *) since. I mean, just feast your eyes on all that crime … Continue reading Feature PS: Bloody Scotland 2019
Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Ambrose Parry - The Way Of All Flesh Published by Canongate Books, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy (of the hardback edition) from the publisher for review purposes. The Way Of All Flesh begins, as so many hackneyed crime novels have done before, with a man standing over the dead body of a … Continue reading Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Review: Breakers
Doug Johnstone - Breakers Published by Orenda, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. Much of Doug Johnstone’s work falls into two camps: action-packed (Smokeheads, Crash Land) or psychologically powerful (Gone Again, The Jump). Last year’s Fault Lines saw him weld these strands together and in Breakers he … Continue reading Review: Breakers
Review: A Treachery Of Spies
Manda Scott - A Treachery Of Spies Edition read: Corgi paperback, £8.99 I bought this new in paperback. We open with violence in Paris in 1942, and a voice: “You may die here in darkness if you so desire, but I have come to offer you a proposition.” Then we move swiftly south to Orléans … Continue reading Review: A Treachery Of Spies
Feature: Bloody Scotland 2019
Welcome to the festival... The torchlight procession The legendary Curly Coo Entertainment aforethought at Bloody Scotland - preview Scotland has so many book festivals readers are spoiled for choice. But for crime fiction fans, the weekend of 20-22 September is particularly special, as Bloody Scotland arrives in Stirling for the eighth time to bring authors … Continue reading Feature: Bloody Scotland 2019
Review: No Man’s Land
Neil Broadfoot - No Man's Land Published by Constable, paperback £8.99. I received a copy of the hardback edition from the author for review purposes. The annual Scotland v England football match at Bloody Scotland, held on the Cowane's Hospital bowling green, is always an entertaining affair, but for one writer it provided a moment … Continue reading Review: No Man’s Land
Feature: Bloody Scotland 2018
Torchlight procession Liam McIlvanney Fun Lovin' Crime Writers Crime writers ready to march on Stirling - Bloody Scotland 2018 preview Though a small nation, Scotland has a giant-sized love of books and storytelling. It's also apparently a bloodthirsty country, as a large number of its many book festivals are dedicated to crime fiction, with new … Continue reading Feature: Bloody Scotland 2018
Review: Bloody Scotland anthology
Various authors - Bloody Scotland Published by Historic Environment Scotland, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy of the hardback edition (HES, £12.99) for review purposes. To celebrate its sixth birthday, the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival produced this anthology in association with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) as part of Scotland’s Year of History, … Continue reading Review: Bloody Scotland anthology
