Recommended Reads Blog
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Where Ravens Roost
Where Ravens Roost
(Detective Kjeld Nygaard, Book 1)
Karin Nordin
Coming February 2021
Available to pre-order from Amazon.One of the great priviliges of being a writer, is that you often get sent early copies of yet-to-be-published books, to see what you think.Karin Nordin’s debut thriller is set in Sweden and I am delighted that it is the first outing for the gloriously troubled Detective Kjeld Nygaard. I really do look forward to seeing where she takes him and his side-kick Esme in years to come.
The story centres around the return home of Kjeld Nygaard to the tiny Swedish mining town of Varsund that he escaped years before. His father, Stenar, leaves a rambling, incoherent message on Nygaard’s phone, claiming he’s witnessed a murder. Having not spoken to his father in many years, Nygaard is sufficiently concerned to take advantage of his temporary suspension (imposed after his last case went catastrophically wrong), to drive up north to investigate.
Arriving, he is confronted by a father suffering from Alzheimer’s, still obsessed with the shed-full of ravens he tends to daily, and no evidence that he didn’t imagine the whole episode. With the relationship between the two estranged men hardly improved by Stenar’s confusion, and frequent angry outbursts, Nygaard wants nothing more than to escape back to his life – such as it is – in Gothenburg.
And then he discovers a human tooth in the raven’s barn…
This is classic Scandi-Noir, the story set against the frigid, icy weather, and endless hours of darkness that make such tales so atmospheric. Nygaard is a well-rounded character with many flaws and a complicated relationship with his family. His father’s deteriorating mental condition is dealt with honestly and at times brutally, and the toll on his loved-ones described with sympathy and compassion. The old man’s obsession with his ravens is integral to the story and adds another disturbing layer; there’s something especially creepy about corvids that you just don’t get with a budgie!
The investigation has more than enough intrigue and twists to make it a satisfying and compelling read, and whilst it is fully resolved, leaves enough should the author choose to return to that setting.
As to the future? Well it is the first in a series, and Nordin has carefully built a cast of characters that will work even if Nygaard doesn’t return to Varsund for a couple of books. Throughout the novel, we are treated to hints at what actually happened to earn Nygaard his suspension, and I will be interested to see to what degree that features in later entries in the series. Aside from that, we are introduced to his partner, Esme and even though this isn’t a traditional police procedural as such – given that he is working an investigation for personal reasons, well-outside his jursidiction – we see hints at how they work together.
Although this is the first in the series, it doesn’t feel like it. It could almost be book three or four, and that’s a very clever decision by Nordin. It leaves her options to look both forwards and backwards. I have no insight into the author’s plans, but I look forward to seeing what comes next and I am excited that I was afforded the chance to join in right at the beginning!
Very highly recommended.
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My Sister The Serial Killer
My Sister The Serial Killer
Oyinkan Braithwaite
This was a wonderfully refreshing read. Feted by reviewers and readers alike as ‘a literary sensation’, this really stands out, and is another that I have gifted as a Christmas present (shhh…).Told in the first person, it relates the story of Korede, a nurse whose wayward sister has a rather awkward habit of killing her boyfriends ‘in self defence’. Self-centred, a bit useless and frankly sociopathic, Ayoola’s first thought after each of these mishaps is to call her older sibling to come and clean up her mess. Literally.
The book is fast-paced, gloriously daft, and tremendous fun. I found myself laughing out loud, both at the witty prose and the sheer audaciousness of the characters. It also provides a glimpse into modern, upperclass Nigerian society, which is as obsessed with social class as any episode of Downton Abbey.
The chapters are short, which helps maintain the book’s rapid pace. Braithwaite is a poet, and you can see that influence in her careful attention to word choice. She also peppers the dialogue with Yaruba phrases, skillfully balancing the addition of a language perhaps unfamiliar to many of her readers to add flavour, without making it inaccessible. It is a great example of what the author Leye Adenle refers to as ‘Sunshine Noir’.
As a bonus, there is also a short interview with the writer at the end of the paperback (I’m afraid I can’t comment on whether it is in the electronic version). I don’t know what Braithwaite’s future plans are, but I fully recommend this book and will be keen to see what she produces next!
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Craig Robertson Double Bill
The Photographer & Watch Him Die
Craig Robertson
The Photographer
Buy from Amazon.
Buy a physical copy from Bookshop.org and support independent book sellers.
Watch Him Die
Buy from Amazon.
Buy a physical copy from Bookshop.org and support independent book sellers.Today you are treated to a double-bill!
I’ve known Craig Robertson for a number of years and he is a generous and lovely man. A stalwart of the Scottish crimewriting scene, The Mirror says that “Robertson is doing for Glasgow what Rankin did for Edinburgh”. High praise indeed.
But as always, these two books are listed here as they are damn good reads (which I have bought people for Christmas… shhh), not because Craig is a mate.These are the two latest releases in Robertson’s Glasgow-based DI Rachel Narey series. I like Robertson’s writing as he always brings an original twist. As a writer of police procedurals myself, I know how hard it is to make a book stand out, and both of these distinguish themselves in a crowded field.In The Photographer, a dawn raid by the police leads to the discovery of a chilling collection of photographs hidden under floorboards. The story has a nice balance of surprising twists with a growing sense of impending dread, with readers never sure what will come next.
As always, the book has a strong supporting cast – both series regulars and new characters for this book, and each is written as an individual with their own strengths and foibles, with readers easily becoming invested in their fates.The next in the series Watch Him Die is another high-concept idea. The book opens in Los Angeles, with the apparently non-suspicious death of a man in his own home. However, closer inspection of the residence soon reveals something disturbing…
Back in Glasgow, Robertson’s series regular, Rachel Nary is embroilled in a missing person case – she believes she knows who is responsible, and furthermore believes that he has killed her.
These two seemingly unrelated cases, thousands of miles apart, become linked when the detectives in California discover a live internet feed broadcasting the slow and painful death of another victim…
I love this book. The marrying together of these two disparate cases is both chilling and plausible, and the blending of the familiar world of DI Nary with the radically different culture of US law enforcement is handled skilfully.
In ‘race against time’ books, it can be difficult to engender a true sense of danger for the victims. We want our heroes to succeed, and we know that the writer is also rooting for them. Here, Robertson genuinely has you wondering ‘will they or won’t they’? From the outset, there is no foregone conclusion, and it really is a ‘page-turner’.I heartily recommend both of these books, and others by Craig Robertson. He deserves the respect that he receives from reviewers, readers and his peers. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever he releases next.
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The Last Resort
The Last Resort
Susi Holliday
I raced through The Last Resort in just three sittings, it was that good!
I’ve known Susi for a few years, and we both had short stories in the CWA Mystery Tour Anthology, but this is the first time I’ve read a full-length novel of hers.
It seems that I’ve been missing out! I will be sure to read her other books, including those penned under SJI Holliday. As always though, the book is a recommended read because I really enjoyed it, not because I know the author.The book is a great blending of a modern, hi-tech thriller with some futuristic technology, and a traditional ‘strangers trapped on an island together’ mystery.
The basic premise is that seven people agree to travel to a ‘luxury resort’. They’ve all been summonsed individually, and aside from one couple, are unknown to one another. The way that the whole thing has been organised is sketchy from the outset, but as is common with these stories, the protagonists all have their own reasons for accepting the invite. You, the reader, are already shouting “run away, you fools, it’s a trap”… I love that sort of set-up.It gives nothing away to tell you that each of the guests have their own hidden pasts, and the pleasure is trying to guess what secret each person harbours that they would rather nobody else knew. As the book progresses, things start to go horribly wrong…
The book is told in short chapters, and although it is 3rd person narration, each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the seven characters. This allows the reader a privileged glimpse into the mind of that chapter’s subject, even as they strive to maintain their own facade. It’s a technique that works really well, avoiding the need for extensive exposition from an omniscient narrator.
Interspersed between the chapters is a shocking event that happened long ago in the summer of 2000. Which character is hiding this secret and how will it feed into the modern day narrative?
As I said at the start, I raced through this in three sittings, and it was only heavy eyes that stopped me from reading ‘just one more chapter’ in bed. Definitely a page-turner, and definitely a recommended read.
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The Sentinel
The Sentinel – Jack Reacher #25
Lee Child & Andrew Child
First off, a confession. I am a huge Lee Child fan.
So it is only fitting that the latest Jack Reacher is my first entry in this newly-christened #RecommendedReads blog.Ever since I first picked up a Jack Reacher in Manchester Central Library, circa 2003, I have read everything he’s written. Being on a limited budget, I initially followed my rule of only buying second-hand paperbacks of novels I had previously borrowed. However, by the time I had read the half-dozen or so books already published, I was too impatient to wait for his latest book to hit the library, and certainly couldn’t hang around for the paperback to arrive, and so Lee Child became one of the few authors that I would splash out for the hardback, no questions asked.
I introduced the novels to both my father and selected work colleagues, and I figure that Lee probably owes me at least a pint and a chip supper for my contribution to his impressive sales figures.In terms of the writer behind the words, Lee is one of my favourite authors to watch talk and I have also been fortunate enough to chat with him on a couple of occassions. He is still one of the few writers where I actually get a little tongue-tied when I speak to him, even though he is never anything less than gracious and kind. He even willingly trolled my heavily-pregnant, Coventry City-supporting sister, via our family WhatsApp group, by wishing her all the best and hoping that my soon-to-be-born nephew would grow up to be an Aston Villa fan!
So I was both surprised and saddened when he announced that he would be hanging up his pen (or unplugging his keyboard) and gradually handing over the reins to his younger brother, Andrew (himself an accomplished thriller writer under his real name, Andrew Grant). The plan was to re-invigorate Reacher slightly, bringing him kicking and screaming into the twentieth-century, including introducing him to such exciting innovations as mobile phones!
The Sentinel is the first such collaboration before Andrew takes over completely, and I approached the book with both excitement and trepidation, having watched a couple of online interviews. Andrew claims to be the ‘first ever Reacher fan’, having read the very first draft of Killing Floor all those years ago, but would it be as good as what went before? Would it ‘feel’ the same?
Well I was pleased with this first outing, and from the evidence presented here, Reacher is in safe hands. Stylistically, the writing is very similar, with short, punchy sentences, skilfull pacing and Reacher’s introspection and inner monologue are handled nicely. As promised, Reacher is taken out of his comfort zone, in a hi-tech thriller that still gives him the opportunity to do what he does best – smart detective work accompanied by carefully choreographed violence when needed.
I’m not going to give away any more of the plot than can be found in interviews or on the jacket blurb, suffice to say that the town that Reacher finds himself in is currently being held ransom by a cyber attack and the somewhat hapless IT tech, Rusty Rutherford, really needs his help…
What I would say is that it is incredibly timely; I don’t know how far in advance the book was written, but the themes running through it are very prescient (not Covid though, you’ll be relieved to hear).I heartily recommend this for both Reacher fans and those new to the character, and I’ll be buying next year’s book as soon as I can!
