Tag: 2018

Short Notes on Five Mysteries

Snow by John Banville (2020) The castrated body of a Catholic priest is found in the home of a Protestant landowner. This is the 1950s in Ireland and one can well imagine the scandal that will ensue. The all-powerful Catholic Church is keen to cover up the case but Detective Inspector St. John Strafford (people … Continue reading Short Notes on Five Mysteries →

SSW: A Very Murderous Christmas (ed) by Cecily Gayford (2018)

This book contains 10 stories set around the festive season. The anthology begins with Margery Allingham's The Man with the Sack. Albert Campion is invited to a Christmas party which includes the mandatory nouveau-riche vulgar person. Soon there is a robbery. There is nothing new in this story of the clash of the classes. The … Continue reading SSW: A Very Murderous Christmas (ed) by Cecily Gayford (2018) →

#WIT: The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Bjorg AEgisdottir (2018) & Two More Modern Mysteries

After working with the CID in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital, Police Detective Elma returns to her hometown of Akranes, as her relationship of nine years comes to an end. Elma becomes part of the police team of Akranes but feels stifled because there is hardly any crime in this small town of around seven thousand inhabitants … Continue reading #WIT: The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Bjorg AEgisdottir (2018) & Two More Modern Mysteries →

Favourite Pastime: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (2018)

A.J. Finn's debut novel follows the trajectory of a lot of modern novels. A woman (or middle-aged 'girl') suffering from some sort of trauma, alienated from family and friends, turning into an alcoholic, popping in a lot of pills, passes time by involving herself in the lives of others: snooping on them, stalking them, gathering … Continue reading Favourite Pastime: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (2018) →

Locked-In: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

She wouldn’t mind escaping into a book. Her own life is far from perfect. What happens when the entire country is locked-down and you are locked-in with your husband 24/7? Well you read a book where people are locked-in a lodge in which one man might have murdered his wife and another would like to … Continue reading Locked-In: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena →