Caroline

I struggled with this book at first, and almost left it to start something else. I'm so glad I stuck with it as, despite the slow start, it soon became a very good read.
The heroine is a wildlife vet with a scarred face and a huge chip on her shoulder. Throw in a village nursing a deadly brew, a pentecostal priest, snakes and murder and you have the makings of a tense, athmospheric read.

“In Search of the Craic” is a witty, interesting account of the author's tour around Ireland, the various people he met, and more importantly, the music he listened to. He pays homage to the greats of Irish traditional/folk music. The Bothy Band, De Dannan, Clannad, The Pogues, Sinead O Connor, Christy Moore, all the above and many more are paid tribute to.
A very informative, amusing read. It must be....this is my fourth re-read.

I've always enjoyed watching Philip Serrell when he's been on Antiques Roadtrip as he has great sense of humour, and when it comes to buying items for auction, he sees potential where others see scrap.
This book is humorous collection of anecdotes from his life as an auctioneer. It provided many much needed laughs.

Another hilarious romp with bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her sidekick Lula. This one sees the welcome return of the hunky Diesel, who turns Stephanie's already chaotic world even more so.

Although not as good as the first volume, there are some gems in this second collection of short stories by Peter James. “Dream Holiday” and “The Stamp of a Criminal” are two of my favourites, the latter being Roy Grace's first case as a Detective Constable. An enjoyable read.

A nice little collection of short stories centred around, yes you've guessed it, flying. If you weren't afraid of flying before reading this, you may have a change of heart after. I've never been on a plane, ever. I may just keep it that way.

Brilliant novella telling the story of three women with revenge in their minds and murder in their hearts.

Billy Wells does it again. Here we have another great collection of short horror stories featuring vampires, a murderous magician and a modern day Dr. Frankenstein, to name just a few. Very enjoyable.

More madcap antics from Stephanie and Lula. Just when you think life can't get any crazier for Stephanie, she finds herself in another situation where everything goes horribly wrong. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments in this hilarious book.

Indidason delivers a gripping tale which sees a crime committed during World War 2, come to light 60 years later. Will the mystery be solved? You'll have to read the book to find out. If you're a can of Icelandic Noir, you'll love this.

Book 2 in the Skelf series and every bit as good, if not better, than book 1. The Skelf women are here to stay.

“Tales From the Dead of Night” is a collection of 13 ghost stories. Authors included in the collection are M.R James, Rudyard Kipling, Saki and Ruth Rendall, to name but a few. The tales are atmospheric and enjoyable. Among my favorites are “The Haunted Doll's House” by M.R James, “The Haunting of Shawley Rectory” by Ruth Rendall and “The Toll House” by W.W. Jacobs. This is the perfect book to read whilst curled up by the fire on a dark winter's night.

The Rabbit Hunter is the sixth book in the brilliant Joona Linda series. It is a dark tale of murderous revenge for a crime committed before the killer was born. Scandi noir at it's best.

The best autobiography I've read this year. Hugh Bonneville shares memories from his childhood and charts his progress from the National Youth Theatre to our TV screens and the big screen. A must read for fans of Downton Abbey and Paddington.

My first, and last, foray into the writings of Tom Lowe. Although the story synopsis caught my interest, what could have been a good take was ruined by bad grammar, incorrect spellings, unnecessary use of commas and too much repetition. It took me 4 days to read. The only reason I stuck with it was to find out whodunit.

Quite a good thriller, though the identity of the terrorist took me by surprise. I like surprised though, and I liked this book.

I found this a tad long, and a bit long winded. Did I really need to know every single question, along with the answers, that was asked in every quiz show Shaun Wallace took part in?
The Book ended rather abruptly with no mention of The Chase or how he came to be a chaser.
Despite these minor complaints, it was an interesting read.

An hilarious account of how a family sold their home, bought a houseboat and lived on it. There were tears and tantrums, and calamitous moments. I laughed with them, I cried with them and all the while I cheered them on.

Cursed is the second book in the Cambridge Murder Mysteries series. Once again Professor Elizabeth Green helps the police to solve the murder of a college porter, with the assistance of her grandson Goddy.
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, or TV series like Grantchester, then this is the series for you.

An interesting and thorough account of the phenomenon that is Queen, pieced together from interviews with the band members and those in its inner circle. A must read for fans of Queen.

More Icelandic noir to whet my appetite. This book was set in Reykjavik in 1940, which made it an interesting read. I hope there will be more books set in this time period.

The Forest Lake Mystery is a classic crime thriller, originally printed in Danish in the early 1900's. I thoroughly enjoyed this Danish mystery, a perfect example of early Scandi Noir.

Loved this seasonal novella which is a prequel to The Cambridge Murder Mysteries series. We meet Professor Green's husband, Sir Gerald.
The novella has many twists and turns. A nice little festive read.

Once again I decided to take a break from crime and try something different. The Fascination was recommended by a friend and I decided to give it a go. Boy am I glad I did.
The theme of the book is the Victorians fascination with oddities and freak shows. Equal parts dark and poignant, The Fascination has many interesting characters, alongside many loathsome ones.
If you only read one more book this year, make sure it's this one. You won't be disappointed.

This is an immensely enjoyable anthology of short stories by some great writers such as John Connolly and Jefferey Deaver. Spanning different decades, the one thing all these tales have in common is books. That's right, books; books that are used as murder weapons, rare books that people will kill to get their hands on and, my personal favourite, first edition manuscripts whose characters come to life.
I loved this anthology, it is a bookworm's dream.