The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler 1939 * * * *

Who cannot love Chandler's way of writing and creating unforgettable characters. The film of the same name with Bogart and Bacall is one of my favourite film noirs and so reading this was important to me.
Philip Marlowe's drawling wisecracks and constant whisky drinking as he sets on the trail of a rich and detached family who hold many more dark secrets than they let on is captivating. Even if you hadn't seen the film the characters would naturally jump out on you from the page, one of the only times I have felt like I am living the life of the main protagonist as opposed to simply reading the book.
Amazing story and now a desperate need to read all the rest of Chandler's work.

Started 25th June
Finished 28th June

Peril at End House - Agatha Christie 1932 * * * *

I thought that after the amazing ending in 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' Christie's other books would just be fairly mediocre. Actually this story as another amazing page-turner and I hurried through it desperate to read the ending. And when I did, I uttered the now all-too common words ' It was so obvious but I didn't see it' which really proves what a fantastic genius of a writer Christie is. I have loads more of her books stacked up ready to read and if I read a 3rd one to the same amazement and enjoyment than I will think nothing of seriously working my way through all her books. I also love the creation of Poirot - I think he is superb, and he is usually so calm even when he knows the truth that it spurs me on faster and faster to finish and find out his discovery. As I have only read 2 Christie's I cannot comment on his actions throughout other books, but if the Poirot TV show is anything to go by, he is about as much of a genius as Christie is - maybe she based his character on herself...

Started 18th June

Finished 24th June

Secret Smile - Nicci French 2005* * * *

This is the second Nicci French novel I have gobbled up and to be honest I would say its nearly as good if not as good as the last one ( What to do when someone dies). The thing about these 2 writers is that they have an ability to draw you in so well that you find yourself tripping over to read more and more. This really is one of those books where the case of 'just one more page' takes effect. Even when I know I have to get up for work I am still desperate to read more even if it means propping my eyelids up with matchsticks!
This is the second book I have read regarding the subject of stalking and as I read more and more I find out how complex and terrifying the act of stalking really is.
Brilliant writing.

Started 6th June
Finished 9th June

Footsteps in the Dark - Georgette Heyer 1932* * * *

I have heard a great deal about Heyer's Regency novels and was delighted to see that she had done a series of classics mystery novels that combined a good story with some dry humour which sounded ideal!
The story was a good one, although honestly I felt in some places it lagged. I liked the typically English stiff upper lipped attitude where no one says how they are really feeling and throw sarcasm around at each other every other sentence. The end was surprising, but I did sort of guess the culprit, not however having any idea about the motive. Worth a read. Will try some of her others.

Started 27th May
Finished 5th June

The Adventures of Sally - P.G. Wodehouse 1922 - * * * *

One of the better Wodehouse's, I sped through this barely stopping to take a breath except when I wanted to laugh! Sally's travels around Europe and back to America make for very funny reading and I was sad to come to the end of this one although I know I have to so that I can start new Wodehouses. The thing I liked most about this was that I didn't get mixed up with the characters like I do in many of his books and managed to stay focused the entire novel. Brilliant.

Started 25th May
Finished 26th May

Stalked - Kate Brennan 2009 * * * *

This is the kind of book that would make a good horror film, the scary part would be that it is actually a true story. One of the few books that genuinely scared me and made me go around locking all the doors before bed last night this kind of book really gets under your skin. The scary thing about it is that this woman is stalked by someone she knows better than anyone who proclaimed to love her when they were together and also threw daily insults and put downs in her face ( one such occurance happens when he pats her arm patronizingly and tells her that it's such a shame that he isn't sexually attracted to her anymore and he really wishes he was but it's just not going to happen.) How insulting and demeaning, as if this man has a right to act this way and then get angry when she mentions she can't stand it anymore. Her stalker Paul sounds like a very frightening character and the fact that he is still at large after all this time means Kate has to constantly up and move house for fear of him finding her. That is no way to live your life constantly looking over your shoulder, but unfortunately it is a reality that Kate must now live with.
A riveting read.

Started 23rd May
Finished 24th May

Something Fresh - P.G.Wodehouse 1915 * * *

After a mix up at his friend's house, Lord Emsworth absent-mindedly pockets a valuable scarab and takes it back to his home Blandings, to add to his collection. Things go from bad to worse when his friend hires someone to steal the scarab back for him, which would be fine if the man he hired wasn't also up against a beautiful and secretive woman who coincidentally lives in the same block of flats as him and has been invited to Blandings as a cook ( she secretly wants the scarab). The trouble is neither knows about each other... let the chaos begin!!
Funny and easy to read, Wodehouse is not capable of writing a dud!!

Started 20th May
Finished 23rd May

The Throwback - Tom Sharpe 1978* * * *

The first Tom Sharpe I have ever read has had me in hysterics since the beginning. I finished it last night and towards the end I had to stop for a breather because my gasping and snorts of amusement was making it hard to breathe. Sharpe is effectively Wodehouse with all the rude bits thrown in. However just because he's rude doesn't mean he is vulgar and though critics have mentioned that they find him over the top he still has a jolly good sense of humour and isn't afraid to talk about anything. Don't read this on public transport as I doubt you would last the trip (the taxidermy incident nearly made me fall off my bed I was laughing so much) and besides, this type of humour should be savoured and appreciated at it's fullest sense. But that didn't stop me from finishing it all in 2 days!


Started 17th May
Finished 18th May ( late!!!)

What to Do When Someone Dies - Nicci French 2009* * * * 1/2

This is my first Nicci French novel and is certainly not going to be the last. The story is a compulsive page-turner ( I read it in just over a day) and the layout of the story is very believable. If you found out that your husband had died in a car with another women how would you feel? Hurt, angry, betrayed or not convinced? That is how Ellie feels after learning that her husband met his death in a car with a glamourous yet unknown woman. And she won't rest until she finds out the truth.
All I can say is if all the Nicci French books are this good I'll be hoicking them to the top of my TBR pile!

Started 16th May
Finished 17th May

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie 1926 * * * * *

I'd heard high aclaim for this book but seldom is praise this justified. Christie's first novel surroundingthe mysterious murder of Roger Ackroyd is a compelling and thrilling read. The ending is well known for making you go, ' I don't believe it but I knew it all along!' and I felt exactly the same after finishing. This book has really made me want to explore more of her work and I am already building up quite a collection of her books!

Started 13th May

Finished 16th May

The Girl on the Boat - P.G. Wodehouse 1922 - * * *

Wodehouse has done it yet again, this time aboard a cruise ship where cousins meet ex-fiances and new fiances meet old acquaintances who aren't always what or whom they seem ( are they ever in his books???). This book is funny, silly, and more to the point exactly what we want from Mr W. You can never feel sad when finishing any of his books, except of course for the fact that it's over. He transports us to a world where men are genteel and wear smoker's jackets and women are pretty, silly little things who need to be protected but seem to have strong opinions. You can count on the men acting like idiots and mucking up in front of the women in an attempt to show off, but with Wodehouse you are 100% sure that the women will always forgive them; that's the kind of world I'd love to live in.


Started 9th May
Finished 12th May

Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller 2003* * * *

Having seen the film I was immediatly making judgements about this book before I'd even started it. However the film and the book don't always cover the same ground and certainly end very differently (I prefered the ending of the film) but there were many parts that were similar. I think the idea for this story is very good and rather daring for a book, dealing with underage affairs between pupils and teachers and the consequences for all those around.
Barbara is a lonely mid-sixties spinster who spots pretty new pottery teacher Sheba at her first day in the elementary school. Recognising ( in her own head) a kindred spirit, Barbara and Sheba become very close ( Barbara records everything in her diary) and it is only when Sheba confides the news of an affair between herself and a 15 year old boy from the school that Barbara's world threatens to come crashing down.
Brilliantly addictive. The kind of book you stay up late to read even when you can barely keep your eyes open.

Started 7th May
Finished 9th May

Laughing Gas - P.G. Wodehouse 1936 - * * * *

I blasted my way so fast through this book that the first thing I did this morning when I woke up (at 4 am!) was to finish it! This is extremely funny about a newly appointed Earl - Reggie Havershot who, after being sent to America to track down his newly alcoholic cousin Eggy happens to go to the dentist's at the same time as a young child star named Joey Cooley and subsequently they are given laughing gas. When they awake... you've guessed it, they have switched bodies but still have the same minds, leading to some hilarious and typically Wodehouse situations. His books just keep getting funnier.

Started 6th May
Finished 8th May

Pig Island - Mo Hayder 2006* * * *

This book holds a certain meaning to me, for a few years ago I was on the train to London and once I'd reached the tube station I noticed an advert for this book on the wall. The image never left me and although I forgot ( many times) the title of the book I swore to myself that I would read it someday. And now I have. Mo Hayder has a brilliant way of enticing the reader into the story and keeping you there as a prisoner until you are too weak or tired to read anymore. This book barely took me any time at all and I was terrified, excited, entranced and amazed by the subject matter. I really enjoyed this.

Started 4th May
Finished 6th May

Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P.G. Wodehouse 1939* * *

Like all his books, Wodehouse manages to incorporate unique and funny language with ( most of the time) bizarre and hilarious plots! This time we are treated with a trip to Blandings' Castle, where the prized pig 'The Empress' gets embroiled into a kidnapping plot including a couple of the members of the Castle! Confused? You will be, but it's all in good fun really and another light and frothy read from the Master.

Started 26th April

Finished 3rd May

The Beach - Alex Garland 1996* * *

Without meaning to I spent most of this book comparing it to the film even though I knew that the film had changed things around and missed things out!

I won't say this is a great book by any standards, but it was certainly captivating and I really couldn't wait for lunch break every day to get back stuck into it ( it's been my work only reading book!). I thought the first half of the book was very well written with amazing descriptions of Thailand and surrounding scenery but later on into the novel my interest lagged a bit, and near the end I was just desperate to see what happened. The ending was a big disappointment to me, a) because the events surrounding it were just a blur to me and b) nothing was explained or justified. Yet again I was comparing the end to the ending in The Beach and it was nothing like it (dare I say that the film ending was a lot better and much more fullfilling..) Of course I am not going to dislike a book simply because the ending doesn't work out the way I want it to as sometimes that can be even more refreshing, but I'm not impressed when authors spend ages enticing you with gorgeous prose until about 3 pages before the end then suddenly decide that's enough and you are plunged out the other side! Worth a read, but I'm afraid to say the film IS better.

Started 22nd April

Finished 28th April

Cocktail Time - P.G. Wodehouse 1958 * * * *

As I had hoped, Wodehouse is getting funnier with each read (although so far I am only on my second out of nearly 100!) and I sped through this book in 2 days. Wodehouse has a lovely easy way or writing and drawing you in that means you literally cannot put the book down ( it was taken into every room of the house, held whilst cooking and read whilst walking to put the rubbish out to the bin!) and that is what I love about him. The premise of this novel is effectively a story about a story. We are introduced to Lord Ickenham who, one day after feeling particulary naughty, takes a catapult and shoots his in-law Beefy in the head with a Brazil Nut. Unaware of who the culprit is, Beefy publishes an annonymous and scandelous novel about the events and then, because he is afraid that exposure may ruin his chances in politics he lets his dreadful cousin Cosmo take all the credit, and the royalties! Mayhem ensues of course! Hilarious!

Started 20th April

Finished 21st April

Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman E.W. Hornung 1890 *

Try as I did to like this I just couldn't. It was dull, tedious and most importantly unfunny! I liked the idea of a cracksman who is also a keen cricketer but it was poorly executed and the characters were so boring and unlikeable!

Within the first page it is almost as though we have been thrown headfirst into a story that is already in the middle of happening and therefore we are given the impression that we have missed a lot including Raffles and Bunny getting to know each other and planning their ideas meticulously (although they never work properly!)

It was a chore to finish this book and that is not what a good novel is about; this author will never be a Sherlock Holmes or have his extreme dry humour and simply genius ideas, nor should he even try.

Started 12th April

Finished 18th April

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova 2005 * * * *

Having finally finished this book yesterday I breathed a huge sigh of relief. This was an amazing book, not simply because of the story but because of the intricate detail that Kostova put into researching the folklore of Dracula, and his surrounding homeland. There are literally pages and pages of descriptive beauty as the story shifts from present to past and the hero/heroine comes across sumptuous countries and traditions.

Not everyone will like this book, purely because the legend of Dracula is a tricky subject, and also because some people feel that this is author is trying to overtake Bram Stoker's wonderful book.

She is doing no such thing and if anything is bringing the Dracula myth to the surface, alive and kicking. I am astounded at some of the folklore that Kostova shares with us, and also how she intergrates it into the story. I think she really deserves praise for the book and for her dedicated research, added to which the story itself was really gripping with some solid and heartfelt characters.

The one thing I wasn't keen on was how the story shifted immediatly from past to present without much of a warning, which gave me the impresssion that sometimes I was reading the account of the wrong person. The whole account is a story inside a story so to speak which can make you loose track sometimes, but overall that didn't stop me loving the idea of the story, and spending ages thinking afterwards 'as Vlad Tepes (Dracula) was a real person, who's to say this folklore couldn't be true and that he may not be alive today in some shape or form?..'

Started 1st March ( I was only reading this at work so it has taken longer!)

Finished 20th April

Sweeney Todd : The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Peter Haining 1993* * * *

I've gone back to being fascinated by the legend of Sweeney Todd after recently re-watching the newest film with Johnny Depp and so was pretty excited to find that this book had been written, trying to prove that his story was more than just a myth, but actually a reality. Although in my rather grotesque mind I had hoped that it was based on truth I didn't really start to believe it until I read this book, where the author has painstakingly laid out all the evidence from first-hand accounts to newspaper articles and proven (in my opinion) that Todd was a real life person. I think one of the reasons that the public have got it into their head that Todd was a character of fiction is because there were many plays performed of his story fifty years or so after the events were supposed to have happened.I also think that people could not believe that something this gruesome could have occured in our society and decided to denounce it as ever having happened,(which is where the writer makes excellent references to Sawney Bean, who, along with his lover, allegedly killed and decapitated hundreds of people in 16th Century Scotland, pickling their body parts ready to be eaten. This gastly event is well documented and thoroughly believed by all so why can't the same be said for Sweeney Todd?).
The book is brilliantly written and very well researched and is a welcome breath of air to all books that base themselves purely on Sweeney's Todd's "legendary" existance.


Started 10th April
Finished 12th April