Val McDermid - Still Life Published by Sphere, paperback £8.99. My review is of the Little Brown hardback edition (£20), which I bought new. Still Life is the sixth Karen Pirie novel and Val McDermid's 34th novel, and who knows what number crime novel I've read, but opening the covers I know that I will face … Continue reading Review: Still Life
Category: Edinburgh
Review: What Will Burn
James Oswald - What Will Burn (Blog Tour) James reading from Bury Them Deep on his launch tour for the book in 2020 Published by Wildfire Books, hardback £16.99. I received a proof copy of the novel from the publisher for review purposes. Many thanks to Antonia Whitton at Headline for inviting me to join the … Continue reading Review: What Will Burn
Feature: Books of the year, 2020
My favourite reads of this <very special> year... I think we all need a wee dram to celebrate making it through 2020... It has been something of a year, hasn't it? Thank goodness for the armchair travel and general escapism of books! 2020 was also the year that I finally got this blog up and running … Continue reading Feature: Books of the year, 2020
Review: The Big Chill
Doug Johnstone - The Big Chill Published by Orenda Books, paperback £8.99. I received a proof copy of the novel for review purposes. Six months on from the events of A Dark Matter - which saw the Skelf women deal with death and betrayal, alongside running a funeral directors and a private investigation business after … Continue reading Review: The Big Chill
Review: A Dark Matter
Doug Johnstone - A Dark Matter Published by Orenda Books, paperback £8.99. I received a proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. I've long been a fan of Doug Johnstone's exquisitely crafted novels, whether on the breathlessly tumbling plot-heavy side such as Hit And Run or Crash Land, or the heartbreaking character work of … Continue reading Review: A Dark Matter
Review: Bury Them Deep
James Oswald - Bury Them Deep James Oswald on his book tour in February Published by Wildfire Books hardback £16.99. Paperback (due out 3 September) £7.99. I was loaned a proof copy by a friend. James Oswald celebrated the launch of this tenth Tony McLean novel with a mini tour of Scotland in February when … Continue reading Review: Bury Them Deep
Feature: Noir At The Bar
From a darkened room to Zoom... I always think of myself as an introvert, and happy in my own company, but during lockdown I've come to realise I also need the company of like-minded people at least now and again. So I have been very grateful for the online events that have popped up to … Continue reading Feature: Noir At The Bar
Review: Perfect Crime
Helen Fields - Perfect Crime Published by Avon Books, paperback £7.99. I bought this book new. For her previous book, Perfect Silence, Helen Fields did a pop-up signing at Bloody Scotland in Stirling. I snaffled a copy - new-to-me-author? yes please! - and while I felt the plot pushed the boundaries hard in terms of … Continue reading Review: Perfect Crime
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
The Girl With All The Crime Books 