Pick of the month: December 2012

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I’ve moaned before that I get more time to read when I’m not on holiday (commuting’s not all bad), so books have been a bit thin on the ground recently. However, I’ve had no complaints about quality. Cambridge Blue by … Continue reading →

Father Brown: The Hammer of God

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Last year I got very excited about the forthcoming BBC adaptation of G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown stories, which is due appear on British TV this month. I ran a short series of story reviews, picking the ones I felt … Continue reading →

Peter O’Donnell: Cobra Trap

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Cobra Trap Peter O’Donnell First published in the UK 1996, Souvenir Press This edition 2011, Souvenir Press ISBN: 9780285637665 267 pages Score 5/5 This is my third Modesty Blaise book (see also Modesty Blaise and A Taste for Death). It’s a … Continue reading →

Peter O’Donnell: Modesty Blaise

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Modesty Blaise Peter O’Donnell First published in the UK 1965, Souvenir Press This edition 2012, Souvenir Press ISBN: 9780285637283 224 pages Score 4/5 I recently reviewed A Taste for Death, the fourth Modesty Blaise title by cartoonist-turned-novelist Peter O’Donnell, and … Continue reading →

John le Carré: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John le Carré First published in the UK by Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1963 This edition Penguin Classics, 2010 ISBN: 9780141194523 258 pages Score 4/5 ‘What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They’re … Continue reading →

Just the facts: The Newgate Calendar

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The Ordinary of Newgate was the clergyman responsible for taking the final confessions of condemned criminals at Newgate prison on London. Prisoners were held at Newgate before being publicly hanged at Tyburn (at the site of what is now Marble … Continue reading →

Susan Moody: Penny Black

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Penny Black Susan Moody First published in the UK 1984, Macmillan ISBN: 0333365321 224 pages Score 3/5 Penny strode across the shiny expanse of vinyl at the airport near Monterey. Heads turned as she passed. Was she really naked under … Continue reading →

Pick of the month: November 2012

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This post is related to Kerrie’s meme at Mysteries in Paradise This month I read my first e-book, courtesy of Bello Books: The Department of Dead Ends. These stories by Roy Vickers represent a milestone in the development of the ‘inverted … Continue reading →