The Magic of Terry Pratchett by Marc Burrows

Many thanks, as always, go to NetGalley and to the publisher, White Owl, for kindly allowing me to read an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Those of you who know me personally will probably know by now that I love Terry Pratchett's books. Having read every one of his books, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this biography of Sir Pterry. 

I will state now that this is not an official biography, but Marc Burrows is a fan who has done his research very thoroughly. Interviewing people who knew the great man, he brings us closer to knowing what Terry was like as a person, as well as talking about the success of each book individually. The book also has some fantastic photographs throughout and is, in my opinion, a great tribute to a writer who always makes me smile, even when I'm not feeling at my best. 

This clearly read as a fan biography, but you can feel the writer's love for Terry Pratchett on every page of this fascinating book. In my opinion, it's one for people who are already fans, but if you have always wondered what the life of a writer is like, this could be for you as well. It's the first biography about Pratchett, and certainly not the last. 

Star rating: 5/5

This book will be published on 30th July 2020

Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr

Huge thanks as always go to NetGalley and to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for granting me access to an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first classic crime novel I've read in a long time, Castle Skull is written by one of the greats of the golden age, John Dickson Carr, the king of locked room mysteries. The setting for this book is the Rhineland in Germany, between the two world wars, and has a really international feel to it.

"That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.

And so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris. Entreated by the Belgian financier D'Aunay to investigate the gruesome and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schädel, in which a small group of suspects are still assembled.

As thunder rolls in the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the maze-like passages and towers of the keep." (Blurb from the book)

This book had me hooked from page one! The detective, Bencolin, is smart but also a humanitarian, trying to understand the killer as well as trying to solve the mystery. Marle is like his Watson...someone to help him solve the case but not to confide all the details in until the reveal. A second detective was also involved in this book, in competition with Bencolin when it comes to who can solve the case the quickest, and their interactions with the suspects are very much like chalk and cheese. I was kept guessing about the murderer all the way to the end, and the reveal, when it came, had me shocked!

There is also a short Bencolin story included in this volume and it was also really intriguing. It gave me more of an understanding of the detective involved and I would definitely like to read more books in this short series.

Star Rating: 5/5

This book is available now

Bryant & May - Oranges and Lemons

This review may contain spoilers

Many thanks to NetGalley, and to Random House UK for sending me an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome back to my blog, everyone. I'm sorry for not reviewing anything in the last 17 months or so, but I have had several major changes in my life and, unfortunately, I couldn't find the time or opportunity really to get back to it...until now! I hope that I will be able to be a lot more regular with my reviews these days, especially while the world is still in lockdown.

So, to restart my blog, we have a return of some very old friends...

Bryant & May - Oranges and Lemons

One Sunday morning, the outspoken Speaker of the House of Commons steps out of his front door only to be crushed under a mountain of citrus fruit. Bizarre accident or something more sinister? The government needs to know because here's a man whose knowledge of parliament’s biggest secret could put the future of the government at stake?

It should be the perfect case for Bryant & May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit, but unfortunately one detective is in hospital, the other is missing and the staff have all been dismissed. It seems the PCU is no more. But events escalate: a series of brutal crimes seemingly linked to an old English folk-song threatens the very foundation of London society and suddenly the PCU is offered a reprieve and are back in (temporary) business!

And if the two elderly detectives, ‘old men in a woke world’, do manage to set aside their differences and discover why some of London’s most influential figures are under life-threatening attack, they might not just save the unit but also prevent the entire city from descending into chaos . . .(blurb from the book!)

This was a typical Bryant & May book. Firstly, they are recovering from the events in the previous book in the series, when May had been shot and Bryant seemed to lose trust in him. However, events brought back the whole PCU which had been closed down by the Home Office. The plot was quite easy to follow, as with all of this series, but it was clear to me that the main suspect probably wasn't the killer from the very beginning. Fowler lead me on a merry chase across London to it's churches featured in the Oranges and Lemons nursery rhyme and they atmosphere of each area was distinctly different, yet still true to real life.

The two new characters introduced were mysterious and clearly both had something to surprise. Both of their surprises were unexpected, however, and that made for an extra puzzle throughout the book.

Over all, this book is excellent. I would have liked more suspects to be involved, but that didn't distract me from an enjoyable read.

Star rating: 4.5/5

This book will be published on 23rd July 2020