***** When Belgian paramour Raoul Vernet is found with his head bashed in on the night of a particularly dense fog, suspicion naturally falls on members of the house he was visiting at the time. While no-one appears to have been in the immediate vicinity when Vernet was killed, Inspector Charlesworth is certain someone in…
Category: Classic
‘Blade Runner’ by Philip K Dick
***** (Audiobook) Classic sci-fi novel originally published as ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ Set in 2021, after World War Terminus has killed millions, living creatures are coveted by everyone. While most individuals can only afford fake animals, the few remaining real ones go for very high prices. As well as animals, a range of…
‘The Exorcist’ by William Peter Blatty
The Exorcist It begins with noises in the attic, strange odours, a sickly child. Then the bed starts jumping around, furniture moves by itself and a man is found dead with his head turned completely around. Movie actor Chris MacNeil is concerned for her daughter…
‘The Boys from Brazil’ by Ira Levin
The Boys from Brazil Classic thriller focussing on an imaginary conspiracy, where Dr Josef Mengele plots to create a new version of the Third Reich. Emerging from his hideout in South America, Mengele initiates a series of murders, assembling a band of former soldiers to set his scheme in motion. Meanwhile, Nazi hunter Yakov Lieberman…
‘Doctor Zhivago’ by Boris Pasternak
Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak’s epic novel of love and war throws physician and poet Yuri Zhivago into the lives of two women. Epic is certainly the word, here, and knowing I’d never attempt this in book form, the audio version seemed like a good option. Although it’s basically a decent story, if somewhat improbable (all…
Amateur Sleuth, Animals, Audiobook, Book Reviews, Children's Books, Classic, Crime, detective, Indie Authors, murder, mystery, Psychological
Best Reads of 2019
Over the course of the last twelve months, I’ve read 97 books. This includes paperbacks, eBooks, hardbacks and a few audiobooks, but doesn’t include those where I gave up after the first couple of chapters. What follows is a list of some of the more memorable reads, though isn’t intended to be definitive or in…
‘The Card’ by Arnold Bennett
The Card (Audiobook) In this comic tale by Arnold Bennett, Edward Henry (Denry) Machin, gravitates from lowly clerk to the exalted position of Mayor of Bursley, via a series of surprising events. Cleverly adding his name to the guest list at an exclusive ball, Denry succeeds in being the first man to dance with the…
‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath (Audiobook) John Steinbeck’s controversial novel tells the story of the migration of an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family as they journey to California in search of work. Dogged by bad luck and dashed hopes, the Joad’s are forced to accept ever-decreasing wages as they move from place to place, struggling to keep…
‘The Moving Target’ by Ross MacDonald
The Moving Target When millionaire Ralph Sampson goes missing, PI Lew Archer is called in to hunt him down before something really bad happens. The trail leads Archer all over Southern California, from sun-bleached canyons and sea-side beach houses to dodgy bars and even dodgier women. But is this case about money, sex or just…
‘The Little Sister’ by Raymond Chandler
The Little Sister Orfamay Quest lands in the office of PI Philip Marlowe with twenty dollars and a request that he finds her brother. Marlowe takes the case, but when first one then a second corpse turns up, things get complicated and the private eye’s search leads him into a circle of gangsters, Hollywood actors…
