What can I say - I simply enjoy reading these!! They are so darkly funny for me. Spy stories with the twist being Slough House generally and Jackson LWhat can I say - I simply enjoy reading these!! They are so darkly funny for me. Spy stories with the twist being Slough House generally and Jackson Lamb in particular. Lamb is so far off the politically uncorrect scale that it could be embarrassing. However the writing here simply makes him a rounded character (in more than one sense!). More widely Herron's writing is actually very good indeed. The devices he uses at the start of these books and widely in this and other ones show a very high standard and provide a great foil for the rest of the narrative. I'll go on reading these definitely....more
In brief - Powerful understated story with very good characters - thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5/5
In full I found this started well in small town Canada 1In brief - Powerful understated story with very good characters - thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5/5
In full I found this started well in small town Canada 1972. Clara is at home looking out of the window waiting for her sister Rose to come back. A stranger arrives at the next door house where Clara has been feeding the cat while the neighbour was in hospital. Nothing dramatic but nicely set up and it got my interest.
In fact this really is a story that focusses on just three main characters. Clara who feeds the neighbour's cat, waits for her sister's return and puzzles over the newcomer. Liam who is the newcomer - why is he here. Elizabeth the cat owner from next door. What are the links between these three and who else do they have in their lives? The story reveals the past and tells of the present quite steadily. Long kept secrets emerge too. There are truths, lies and loves in this moving and powerful story about families and lives.
I found each of the main characters interesting and convincing in their own way. I sometimes get some way through a book and wonder "who is this person?" - that never happened in this book. While you could argue that with only 3 characters that is not surprising that would not be fair to the rest of the cast here. There are the people in the town, those who are in the past and those that we never really meet but who are part of this story. Even Moses - just the cat - has his part to play and is well written. Almost all of them have stayed with me and - like the town, Solace - are quite clear in my mind.
The more I read of this the easier I found it to keep reading rather than to put it down. Does anything much happen during the course of this story? Well I guess you need to define "much" and in some senses things do happen and secrets are revealed. This story is emotional sometimes and warm with humanity and humour at others. At times this is a "gentle" book but equally the truth can be hard to bear. What I did find it was enormously satisfying and it has a beauty in the story telling. Before I even finished it I had bought an earlier book of Mary Lawson's and I certainly want to read more by this author. I think this is one of those stories that will stay with me for quite some time.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
In brief - Disturbingly powerful and very hard to put down. 4.5/5 and rounded up.
In full Kill or be killed - the Host will pick the Players for a gameIn brief - Disturbingly powerful and very hard to put down. 4.5/5 and rounded up.
In full Kill or be killed - the Host will pick the Players for a game and this will be their choice to make - no other outcome is possible. Karen Holt - a DI - enters the book when she is visiting her therapist after being suspended pending an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Because she is suspended she cannot work on this case but it very quickly gets to her. Can she really avoid getting involved and what will the outcome of that be?
The book follows Karen and her police partner, Howard, in their attempts to catch and stop the Host from playing future games. With Karen suspended this is not easy on a professional basis. Equally Karen's wife is not too happy about the risks either. There are twists and turns here and few things are easy. The town's citizens have growing concerns too.
From the start I found this a tense and edgy read. And it got darker as time went by! I'm not sure that the characters - Karen excepted - were the strongest part of this story. However they played their parts well enough for the tale. I guess the writing really made up for any other shortcomings there though for me. The start was promising and the more I read the harder it was to put this down. There was a feel of the early Arlidge/DI Grace books and I was drawn in completely. There was a growing sense of dread and discomfort about what was happening and what might happen. The ending... I guess it was a bit obvious in some senses but definitely not in others - certainly it wasn't bad.
I could argue that this is slightly cliched. There is a trouble cop who is suspended who is the key to solving these attacks. That is true and some may see it like that. However most crime stories have some elements in that rationally would not be easy to believe. This one actually works on more than one level as the underlying story is about people's morality. If anything that made this tale even more disconcerting for me. In the end though I simply found this a well paced, tense and troubling read - very good indeed and my 4.5/5 is happily rounded up.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
In full The author was recruited by the New York Times to write about cybersecurity. SheBriefly - Highly readable - scarily fascinating. Probably 4.5/5
In full The author was recruited by the New York Times to write about cybersecurity. She knew little about the subject however that was 10 years ago. In that time she has learnt a lot and this book gives some insight into her learning journey. While her knowledge might not have been great, in the early days, the issues she was finding out about were quite primitive too. By the end of this period - 2020 - both the sophistication of attacks and the players involved had changed a lot.
The book opens with a prologue addressing what the book is about in part and about fairly current tensions in eastern Europe with Russian hackers and the impact of that. It then goes back in time to look at the topic of the original leaked documents that came out via Edward Snowdon - reviewing these was an early part of Nicole's work on this general subject. As these documents reveal, security agencies were using zero-day access to gather information. This is a major topic for this book and is well introduced/explained here.
When reading review books I keep notes as I read. With a book like this the notes are extensive. I will simply offer some thoughts on one or two particular aspects of this book that I found particularly interesting. The rest I would recommend you find out about for yourself.
Early on the book Nicole tells the story of iDEFENCE. This was a software security company which early in current century was going bankrupt. A colourful entrepreneur took it on and realised that a change of direction was needed. The Internet was growing and so were flaws in software. Rather than treating hackers as an annoyance they took the view that they should be paid for revealing flaws in major software. The business became very successful. It allows the author to expand on the topic of hacking and the changing approaches of the big players in the software market such as Microsoft.
The book also reaches back in time to look at the early days of interception of information by electronic and quasi electronic means in the period after the 2nd World War. This leads on to an insight into early attempts to put back doors into software code. Gosler, known as the father of cyberwarfare, was able to introduce bugs in code that no one could find and worked for some time for the National Security Agency. I found this background fascinating.
There was a major change in 2009 when Google (and other major companies/institutions) found they were being hacked. The investigations into this were another part of the book I found very interesting. Ultimately it turned out to have been state sponsored rather than something done by isolated individuals. The intention was to steal commercial Intellectual Property. This changed the approach to both offense and defence. The zero-day market is under scrutiny for much of the book and it is definitely a "market". The payments for usable exploits rises astronomically.
The book comes up to date with the 2020 USA presidential election and other recent issues. After that there is a good round up of the situation generally together with the rationale for her book. Finally there is sensible advice for all us readers.
In the end I found this a very readable insight into a dark corner of modern life. The idea of escalating warfare is something we are quite familiar with in this, and recent past, eras. Our experience has generally been of news about visible military style action. However this unseen escalation of threat to all our lives gives some pause for thought to say the least.
The author does seem to have had access to some very useful sources. Few of them are very openly acknowledged but that is simply a facet of this subject. She also faced other difficulties researching this. Some was simply based on gender - the industry is very male dominated. However inherent secrecy and the code of revealing nothing made her work on this very challenging. Equally her research did not make her popular at times.
We all know about viruses, computers and online security don't we... Read this and think again! It lifts the lid on the subject and peers into a murky underworld that has threats for all of us.
Highly readable - scarily fascinating
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
Briefly - So lyrical and poetic but it normalises violence and drugs...
In full Fiction or non-fiction this is Snoopz's story. This is the name that GaBriefly - So lyrical and poetic but it normalises violence and drugs...
In full Fiction or non-fiction this is Snoopz's story. This is the name that Gabriel uses in his life on the streets and in the gangs in London. That life consists of crime, drugs, friends, girls and, slightly surprisingly, his time at uni doing his English degree. It's violent and at times unpleasant - knives are normal, guns sometimes. The police, courts and prison make appearances. It is not a "pretty" story, it's visceral and edgy.
As an old person it took me a little while to get into the language being used here. There were a lot of words I didn't know (or in some cases didn't make sense in the way they were used). "Food" means something very different to me than it does to Snoopz and the gangs culture of South Kilburn! This is so far from the world that is usual to me... If you do find you can get the language you are in for an interesting journey.
I guess I'm conflicted here. This story effectively glorifies violence, crime and drugs - "things" are simply something to be taken from others whatever it costs. It certainly shows young men seeing women as objects. So far so bad... However the writing and the power of the stories are remarkable. The tension between rivals - gangs or people - is tangible and quite scary. The sheer drive to rob, use women, get possessions and in this case to get an English degree come over so strongly. Living - and the obvious but usually ignored possibility of dying - makes for something that is very vivid.
For me the star aspect of this is the writing. Once you get into it (if you can) it is stunning for me. Most of it has a real lyricism. Parts of it are wonderfully poetic. I found myself wishing I had thought of some of the lines in it. It makes for a convincing but troubling read. I'm left with the feeling that Gabriel was probably a good boy - Snoopz is definitely not. However, good or bad, it comes over as something very real indeed. I certainly have no regrets about reading this.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
In brief - Fascinating, horrifying, compelling and dark. 4.5/5
In full Ian Urbina is a journalist. This book contains a series of his reports about the In brief - Fascinating, horrifying, compelling and dark. 4.5/5
In full Ian Urbina is a journalist. This book contains a series of his reports about the Oceans and the law (or rather lack of it). He has spent several years investigating these topics and compiling this wide ranging book. The oceans are dangerous places and Ian himself has faced dangers while making these reports. Frequently there is no real authority fin these remote places and equally no one to police them even if any authority was clear. While the oceans are dangerous much of the danger here comes from those who work on it. Frequently they exploit both it and fellow humans.
I enjoyed so much of this book. It would be tempting to go through it chapter by chapter. However that would simply spoil the book for other readers. For this review I will simply mention two or three of the chapters that I found particularly interesting.
The book starts and ends with stories about the environmental action group Sea Shepherd. In the first one two Sea Shepherd boats are chasing a "wanted" fishing boat starting in the Antarctic and then going where the fishing boat runs too. Frankly it read quite like a thriller and was an excellent start. The second looks at their activities in 2016 trying to stop the Japanese whaling fleet despite there being an injunction against them - again an excellent story. However in these stories and the others in the book the author uses the context of the story to look at the more global issues as well as the specifics. He also generally manages to maintain a fairly even stance too although that is simply not possible in some cases. Few aspects of this are simply black or white - Ian draws this out very well in my opinion.
An intriguing story in this book is about Women on Waves. The organisation has a small boat. They land in largely Catholic countries, collect women who want an abortion and sail until they are outside the 12 mile limit. This means that they are in international waters and so assisting women in having a medical abortion is not illegal. The boat has an Austrian flag and so that also allows activity that would potentially be illegal otherwise. This report allows the author to continue exploring the nature of "flags" of vessels including flags of convenience and the nature of maritime laws - a constant theme here. Broadening this out means the author considers the effect this behaviour - providing abortions - may have on the countries concerned by stimulating dialogue.
I find it so hard to simply find one more interesting story in this collection. There are so many things covered by this book that I think I'll just make a few points of interest. • There are a number of stories about the sheer cruelty with which crew are treated. There are bizarre approaches to legality of what is done commercially and what is "allowed" by countries or turned a blind eye to. • The "good guys" can be very hard to identify sometimes. If we still continue to kill whales what should we do about whales who have learnt to strip long line catches as fishermen reel them in - the costs are significant. • What are the "economics" of stowaways - the costs to vessels can be high and that can lead to some troubling practices. How about the transporting of people arrested by boat rather than by plane - what might happen during extended sea voyages that could not happen any other way. • There is time with the "repo" men who try and get ships back for people who are owed money - fascinating.
While maybe more than I intended to say when I started this review these points are simply a window into a fascinating book. There was not a single chapter that did not hold my attention.
"It also felt like time travel as I witnessed things - piracy, whaling, slavery, privateers - that I had previously assumed were safely locked in the past". In many ways this quote sums up this book for me.
This book should certainly make us think. It would be all too easy to say that this is not our problem. However it is our actions that lead to the abuse of both oceans and the people who work or are forced to work on them. One of the points that the author makes very vividly is the fact that we cannot expect to buy cheap tins of "responsibly sourced" tuna fish without someone paying a high price. If the idea of this book interests you do read it - it is worthwhile.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
In brief - Best of the series so far - 4.5/5 rounded - nuff said :)
In full It was good to be back with Poe and Tilly again for a third time. In this nIn brief - Best of the series so far - 4.5/5 rounded - nuff said :)
In full It was good to be back with Poe and Tilly again for a third time. In this new case pairs of fingers are found at three different crime scenes. If that wasn’t strange enough there is also a note with a hashtag left with them too. The hashtag - #BSC6 - proves hard to get a handle on - even with Tilly’s help. Is this something fundamental to the case? Maybe halfway through you get to the point where you think you know what is going on - you don’t! After that the tale gets deeper and darker. Poe get a call from an FBI agent. Law enforcement in the USA do not believe her but she tells Poe a strange story. The sheer deviousness of this tale takes some beating.
Once again Poe himself is an investigator par excellence. He manages to look in places that others don’t. Tilly and her partnership with Poe are aspects of these books that I really enjoy too. We also have Estelle Doyle - Poe’s ”go to” pathologist from the last book - back. She is a very rich and colourful character in her very particular way. Estelle gives Poe some chilling advice that he should maybe pay attention to...
As with the previous books in this series there is a fairly slow pace for the early part of the book. However after that the book is very hard to put down. These stories about Poe and Tilly are deceptively simple. At first sight that is - then they hit you with a brick between the eyes. Indeed Poe says that "the difference between a thing and a weapon is intent". The author does seem to have a fairly twisted mind (!!) which means that the cases are very twisted too - it all adds an extra something for me.
I thought that the first book in this series was good. The second book was very good. This book is to me the best of the series so far. I was strongly suggest that anyone coming to this series fresh should consider reading them in order. The development of the characters is part of the enjoyment. It is a series that has steadily got under my skin and become one of my favourite UK based police reads. They are good tense stories and highly entertaining too. I certainly hope that this author can sustain and develop these for some time to come.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
In brief - Back on form again thank goodness. Pacey, tense and a good story. Book 8 was disappointing to me - this one definitely isn't! 4.5/5.
In fulIn brief - Back on form again thank goodness. Pacey, tense and a good story. Book 8 was disappointing to me - this one definitely isn't! 4.5/5.
In full You get a phone call saying that you have one hour to live but that can’t be true can it? Or is someone watching and planning to murder you? And if so why? This is the puzzle set for DI Helen Grace at the start of this 9th book in the series. The book follows the investigation of Helen and her team as this tale twists and turns. As the case progresses the search is for links between victims. If there is one can it have a bearing on current events?
Helen and Charlie are back working on another “edge of the seat” case. They do make a good team and their relationship is an aspect of these books I enjoy. Emilia - the local reporter - is also around although whether that is a good or a bad thing only time will tell. The guy who was the new DS in the last book - Joseph Hudson - is back again too. There are the usual blind alleys and the like however this holds together well as a story for me.
Helen Grace has long been one of my favourite UK police characters. She is edgy and vivid. She manages to be thoughtful as well as very much an action person. As I’ve come to expect from this author we have a tense and pacey tale once again. He does manage the writing of stories extremely well.
I confess I was a little disappointed by the author’s last two books (one in the Helen Grace series). That said even an indifferent Arlidge book is far better than some of the run of the mill ones. This one is definitely a return to form for me. The tension and uncertainty about the outcome is well sustained. The end when I got to it was good enough and a surprise! Ultimately it looks like I can look forward to another Helen Grace story next year which does please me! I would always suggest that this series should be read in order. The first books are very good indeed and the way the characters build and develop is good too. Fans should love this one I think.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review...more
Briefly - One of the best books I’ve read recently. It really feels like a crime non-fiction read but you know there is a serial killer reading it witBriefly - One of the best books I’ve read recently. It really feels like a crime non-fiction read but you know there is a serial killer reading it with you... 4.5/5 and happily rounded.
In full This offers itself as a book within a book. Eve Black is the survivor of an attack which left both her parents dead as well as her younger sister. After many years she has started to come to terms with this and writes this “true crime” memoir about her experiences partly as a cathartic process. Jim Doyle, now a security guard comes across the book when it is published. He is compelled to read it. Some years previously he was “The Nothing Man” - the killer of Eve’s family. He acquired the name when the police admitted that they had nothing on this serial killer.
The book consists of “Eve’s story” about the murders and her subsequent life. It takes some time before she decides/is encouraged to write about her experiences. This leads to her investigate all the crimes that seem to have been committed by the Nothing Man and then publishing her results. The other side of the book is the narrative that concerns Jim’s reading of the book. This is signposted simply and effectively by changing the font size so we know who we are with.
I found that this really had a feel of a true crime non-fiction story. I’ve read a few of them and there were times when I simply forgot that this was fiction. You are then reminded that the serial killer is reading along with you…! I found this eerily convincing in the end. Eve was every bit a survivor and victim. Early on Jim was coldly disinterested. This changes as he reads more.
This book grabbed me from the start. For me it seems like a genuinely original piece of fiction. It was tense and convincing. One of the best books I've read in quite some time and I'd be fairly sure it will be one of my books of the year. I’d suggest that anyone who enjoys a decent crime read might like to take a look at this one.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review...more
Outstanding real life crime read. If you want to know what it is actually like to look for a serial killer this is worth a read. I was in Waterstones Outstanding real life crime read. If you want to know what it is actually like to look for a serial killer this is worth a read. I was in Waterstones maybe 3/4 years ago chatting to a sales person there. I mentioned "non-fiction" - he mentioned this and I listened. Not easily available new I think but worth picking up a copy of if the idea interests you.
Confusingly this serial killer has a number of names - EAR, ONS etc etc. Once you have got your head around that just enjoy it. This is about obsessions in part - the author's - she died before the book was finished - but also about the itch among some involved in law enforcement who wanted to solve this. That there is no solution by the end of the book is no deal breaker for me - the quest is fascinating. The fact that the crimes were committed pre DNA simply makes it more interesting and beware of DNA "matches". If this kind of thing appeals this is well worth the read....more
In brief - What a roller coaster - extremely powerful at times too. 4.5/5.
In full
Something about this book appealed to me. The blurb says that thingsIn brief - What a roller coaster - extremely powerful at times too. 4.5/5.
In full
Something about this book appealed to me. The blurb says that things go off course for a group of strangers at a London cafe one morning - it sounded interesting and I intentionally read no more. So the book opens with random strangers at or around the Tuckbox in Balham. From the start we know that Neil is one of them. He and his dog Buddy are on the streets but someone has kindly dropped some money in his tin mug. Some time with a hot drink in a warm cafe seems like a good idea...
More characters are introduced at or around the Tuckbox as the early chapters go by. In some cases it is obvious who they are but not in every case. Welcome aboard the roller coaster!
This was a book I kept returning to whenever I could. The individual stories, as they emerge, are good. I thought that the characters as a whole were very good and well written. They engaged me and convinced me. In particular both Neil's story and Mutesi's worked very well indeed for me - powerfully moving at times. Ultimately Sam's story was outstanding.
I found the first third of this highly readable and well paced. It grabbed me early on and didn't let go. If I am totally honest the mid section felt a little slow. However I'm guessing that that would reflect the situation quite well in real life. It's rare but the ending here really did work for me. I think it was an excellent piece of writing.
I'd not read any of Charity Norman's books before but I'll certainly look at her previous books. I'd happily recommend this to anyone after a genuinely good read.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review ...more
Helluva read - just for a change from AA Dhand :). Is it credible - of course not. Sadly the sadly is not INcredible. Fast moving, tense, powerful andHelluva read - just for a change from AA Dhand :). Is it credible - of course not. Sadly the sadly is not INcredible. Fast moving, tense, powerful and Harry very much in action even if it isn;t quite clear exactly what is going on. I became a fan of Harry Virdee when I read the first book - I remain a fan after reading this and look foward to the next one....more
What a fascinating read. I'll try and be objective about this initially. This is a book that is written in a fairly scientific way. Despite that it is What a fascinating read. I'll try and be objective about this initially. This is a book that is written in a fairly scientific way. Despite that it is highly readable. The author - a biologist - starts by looking at the diseases that plagued mankind over a century ago. Diphtheria, polio and the like were successfully eradicated and that allowed a far longer lifespan for people in general. After that came the new "conditions" that we live with now. Diabetes, autoimmune issues, autism and other problems that started becoming prominent around the middle of the 20th century. This book takes us through these issues and looks at the current/recent interest in our microbiota. The microbes/bacteria and the like that live on us and in us are what makes us just 10% on our own. I know far more about them than I did!
I found the scientific analysis fascinating and highly readable. While I have read one or two books loosely about this field I found the general approach here quite compelling. I guess I find our ignorance of such things unsurprising but a great pity - hopefully this will continue to change. This book will affect the way I live in the future and I do really feel it is a worthwhile read - I don't tend to be this evangelical in reviews but I guess I feel I should be with this one :).
The author having maintained a fairly scientific approach for the majority of this book offers an excellent "coda" towards the end. In a sense it is a summary of what she has said so far and some signposting to the way she feels things should be. The final chapter sees her leave the scientific fence to a greater degree and become personal and evangelical herself - I happy with that and would like to thank her for this excellent read.
To anyone reading this I would say that if you have an interest in the subject matter this book is well worth a look. If you have any issues with modern day "conditions" such as the ones I've mention and more or concerns about antibiotics then I would say you should definitely consider reading this....more
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