My Review (5 stars out of 5) When new patient Randle McMurphy arrives on her ward, dictatorial Nurse Ratched is not about to let him disrupt her daily routine, or that of the other patients. But McMurphy aims to have fun and soon begins to persuade his fellow inmates to challenge the nurse and her…
Category: Classic
‘Laidlaw’ by William McIlvanney
My Review (5 stars out of 5) The murder of a young woman in Kelvingrove Park brings rebel detective Jack Laidlaw onto the streets of Glasgow. Laidlaw’s unconventional approach unsettles his new sidekick but the pair gradually being to track the killer down. Trouble is, the cops aren’t the only ones looking for justice… This…
‘Malice Aforethought’ by Francis Iles
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In the garden of Doctor and Mrs Bickleigh during the inter-war years, a tennis party brings together friends and neighbours. But socialising is not on the henpecked doctor’s mind. Instead, he has his sights on the young Gwynyfryd Rattery whose charms he hopes to surmount under the guise…
‘Carrie’ by Stephen King
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Unpopular teenager Carrie White is no ordinary girl and when a traumatic event unnerves her, she begins to harness the power inside her mind – telekinesis. When one of the girls who tormented her feels guilty, she persuades her boyfriend to ask Carrie out to the high school…
‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Striving to avoid his debts, Tom Ripley is given an opportunity when a businessman offers him a free trip to Europe to track down the man’s errant offspring. With money in his pocket and a talent for forgery, Ripley sets out to create a new life for himself…
‘Rosemary’s Baby’ by Ira Levin
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Rosemary and actor-husband, Guy, are desperate to move out of their one-room bachelor pad when they hear about an apartment in the Bramford. The old New York City building might have a worrying reputation and a tenant list that seems only to include ‘mature’ residents, but the couple…
‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In pre-war Brighton, a gang war propels seventeen-year-old Pinkie to lead his clan in a bid to take over from rival gangster Colleoni. Having killed a man for betraying the gang, Pinkie is unaware his victim had already made contact with Ida, a bright and bubbly woman, who,…
‘Shane’ by Jack Schaefer
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A stranger known only as Shane rides into the lives of the Starrett family – homesteaders struggling to keep their small farm from being taken over by rancher Fletcher. Told from the point of view of the Starrett’s son, we see how Shane’s influence changes the lives of…
‘The Chinese Keyhole’ by Richard Himmel
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Following the murder of his pal, Tom, lawyer Johnny Maguire decides to check out a Chinatown strip joint. With not much to go on, he ingratiates himself with one of the club’s ‘stars’ in the hope she might let slip information about the place being used as a…
‘Strangers on a Train’ by Patricia Highsmith
**** On a train journey to meet up with his flirtatious wife in the hope of her agreeing to a divorce, Guy Haines falls into conversation with another passenger, Charles Bruno. Bruno is an odd man whose interest in Guy unearths deep-seated uneasiness about the task Guy hopes to accomplish. Bruno, however, has an idea…
Colin Garrow 