***** In the East Texas town of Ashland, the Great Depression means times are hard. With money and jobs scarce, anyone with any sense is leaving town. For red-head Eudora Durant, something needs to change and when her violent and whoring husband disappears, townsfolk soon begin making assumptions. But then a stranger comes to town…
Category: Writing
Mr Picky Reader (Critical, Fussy or Just Plain Choosy?)
Alright, alright, I admit it – I’m a picky reader. To be clear, I’m not talking about the term ‘picky reader’ as applied to kids who can be hard to please bookwise or those who really don’t want to open a book in the first place. No. What I mean is the change I’ve noticed…
‘The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer’ by Brian Masters
***** A severed head in the refrigerator, two more in the freezer, skulls and a skeleton in a filing cabinet. These are among the items found in Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment when he was arrested in 1991. But Dahmer didn’t merely kill people – he also used their body parts for sexual gratification and as pieces…
‘Deadly Harm’ by Owen Mullen
***** Five years after being abducted and held captive, Mackenzie Darroch is making a difference in the world. Running a refuge for abused women, things are going well. Then she’s thrown into a bizarre situation when she saves the life of a car-crash victim. But offering the woman a place to stay, has consequences –…
‘Saint Justice’ by Mike Grist
***** When former CIA agent Christopher Wren picks a fight in a biker bar in Utah, the gang beat him up and steal his truck. But Wren likes to help people and having stolen one of the biker’s wallets, he sets off to pump the guy for information—information that will give him a chance to…
‘Midtown Huckster’ by Leopold Borstinski
***** Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for ‘Midtown Huckster’ (Alex Cohen #3) by Leopold Borstinski. Thanks to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for including me. My Review: Working with mobster Lucky Luciano, Jewish gangster Alex Cohen needs to find a new way to make money. But when his boss is nabbed for…
Oh, What a Lovely Murder
Ever since Blackwood’s Magazine published Thomas De Quincey’s satirical essay, ‘On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts’, in 1827, the British (and of course the rest of the world) have been fascinated by the slaughter of our fellow man in all its many permutations and variations. De Quincey’s musings were prompted by the…
‘Flying Start: How To Make Your Own Luck At Work’ by Carol Gillespie
**** When starting out on their careers, many people want to be noticed, supported and promoted. Looking at the six natural behaviours, Carole Gillespie describes what we must do to build confidence and encourage others to feel safe in trusting us. Aimed mainly at the so-called Generation Z (17-24-year-olds), this short book is an easy…
‘Driftnet’ by Lin Anderson
***** A murder in a Glasgow flat sees forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod attending an early-morning crime scene. The shocking killing of a teenage boy brings back memories from MacLeod’s own past as she struggles to come to terms with the disturbing resemblance between herself and the victim. Having given up a baby boy for adoption…
‘The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher’ by Kate Summerscale
***** During a summer night in 1860, a terrible crime is committed. When the Kent family of Road Hill House wake up the next morning, they learn that three-year-old Saville is missing and soon discover he has been brutally murdered. As local police fail to track down the killer, Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard is…
