P.D.R. Lindsay's Blog, page 8

Reveiw of 'The Abomination by Jonathon Holt

A well written tightly plotted novel set mainly in Venice.As the story proceeds so a conspiracy emerges between the CIA, the Italian government and the Catholic Church.

Villains act like goodies and the main characters are people the reader wants to care about. I am puzzled in that the novel is meant to be thee first of a trilogy and I looked for the second part but according to Goodreads there is only that novel and a non-fiction book available. Pity, as Venice is a great setting will used an...

Reveiw: Force of Nature

Finally I've laid hands on number two in the Australian series by Jane Harper. The library had a long waiting list, now it's my turn.

'The Dry' impressed me although I was hesitant about Aaron Falk as a character, but the Australian setting and the tight writing and clever plot carried me along. I'm pleased to say that Aaron Falk is coming out of his shell in this novel and I feel less inclined to shake him!

Working with his colleague, Carmen, for the financial investigative side of the Federal...

Book Review: The Blackhouse' by Peter May

This is the first of a series set on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Detective inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to the island to investigate a murder. Sounds straightforward, an ordinary police procedural, but the novel is far from that.

Peter May seems, in his novels, to like the theme of Deal With The Past. Unless it is dealt with honestly at the time it will indeed come back to haunt, destroy or radically change people. So the novel is a tightly written, well plotted story with sol...

Book Review: The_Ice_is_Coming by .Patricia_Wrightson

It seems to me we don't have another writer of .Patricia_Wrightson's quality when it comes to absorbing and using the ancient mytholgical heritage of Australia. I think she's much underrated as a truly Australian writer.

I have always been impressed with Patricia Wrightson's ability to write fiction which is so purely Australian and make her work become part of Australian mythology. Some of the Goodreads reviews call her work fantasy. I think she wrote well beyond fantasy. A fantasy simply req...

Review: Revenge in a Cold River by Anne Perry

Another great read from Anne Perry in her William Monk series. This time Monk as the senior officer in the Thames River Police is asked to investigate the drowning of an escaped prisoner. It's tricky because he has to work with the customs officer McNab, who hates him. Monk cannot remember why, it's part of the dramatic time in his life when he lost his memory. McNab is seeking anything he can find to ruin Monk. As the disasters pile up Monk, wife Hester and friend, the lawyer, Oliver Rathbon...

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan

Author, Ruth Hogan, has a special way of viewing the world. It was obvious in her delightful first novel, 'The Keeper of Lost Things' and again in this novel.

Masha's lost her son, Gabriel, and has been unable to recover from his loss. Her friends and family have been tiptoeing round the topic and Masha' sensitivities. As readers we are inside Masha's head and we like her. She has courage but needs a push. She gets one.

This is a story full of hope and laughter. As Masha learns to live again sh...

Book Review: 'The Spare Room' by Helen Garner

Not an easy read, cancer is never an easy topic but Australian author, Helen Garner, does it with style.

A friend, dying of cancer, comes to stay. That's a difficult topic to write about, and when the friend is simply a pushover for any 'alternative' treatments the scene is set for a struggle.

Cry, laugh - yes, laugh - and enjoy this sensitively handled look at death, friends dying, cancer and hope.

Saturday 17th Auckland Book Fair

Goodnessme! I've ben neglecting my blog. I've a heap of reviews to post too.

BUT
 this is a shout to get anyone in Auckland to come to the Great New Zealand Book Fair.

The Book Fair is on. Come and meet a lot of good New Zealand authors and check out their books. Mount Eden War Memorial Hall (a.k.a. the Mount Eden Community Centre) Opens at 10 a.m. closes at 4 p.m.

Review of Treason's Daughter by Antonia Senior

Oh dear. Why do we have to have the wilful daughter - just because it's thought more appealing to the modern reader? The girl running around dressed as a boy etc.? Drives me nuts because 17thC women did have courage but in their own way. The book does deal with the political troubles and war quite well but Ms Henrietta Challoner seemed a modern miss and other character lacked depth.

I did finish it but only because I hate not to to finish a book.
There have been a few good reviews so if you lik...

Review of 'Money in the Morgue' the Carol Duffy write of Ngaio Marsh's unfinished novel.

Being asked to finish another well loved and liked author's book must be a real challenge. I'm sure Stella Duffy intended to do it well, and follow the Marsh pattern, but Stella Duffy is not Ngaio Marsh, and her philosophy and beliefs are far from Marsh's own. In places this shows very clearly and, in places Duffy, not Marsh, came through, it stopped the flow of the story for me. And I don't think Stella Duffy was as fond of her Inspector Alleyn as Marsh was. That shows too. She does know New...