Almost halfway through June…

How did we get here so quickly?

This month has been relatively quiet, compared to last month at least. If you follow me on Instagram (link is at the top of my blog’s home page) you will have seen me posting lots of photographs of big cats, relatives up close and personal.

That’s because at the end of May, partly celebrating our wedding anniversary, partly marking my significant birthday from back in January, we stayed at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent for their overnight experience, which included the opportunity to hand feed big cats. Mr B has a slight hand tremor so didn’t feel able to take part in that activity, so lucky me got to feed a white tiger (twice), a black jaguar and a white lioness. It was awesome, being so close to large, powerful animals who were gently taking food from your hands. So magical.

The Big Cat Sanctuary is an excellent organisation involved in the conservation of big (and small) cats and contributing to international breeding programmes. They have a fabulous Instagram feed of their own; go and check them out.

After that we celebrated Mr B’s birthday which involved presents (books of course) and a very nice Indian meal at a local restaurant, complete with cocktails. I think he enjoyed himself 😀

I’m making great progress on Cathy’s 20 Books of Summer Challenge (see my reading list here); so far I’ve finished three books, reviewed two on the blog and have another review prepping for posting in a day or so.

I’m currently reading two more:

Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford, published in the 1930s; and
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum, all about forensic science during the Jazz Age in New York

A couple more after that and I will have met my target for June, which feels good.

In terms of what I’ve been watching, way back in January (possibly even December) one of the UK channels began showing Major Crimes each weekday starting from the very first episode. Mr B loves this show but I had never watched it, so we decided to build it in to our routine and soon enough I was hooked; only 10 years after everybody else. Last week we came to the very last episode and I am bereft. Currently looking for something else to fill the void.

Temperatures are starting to rise here in my corner of SW London so summer is on its way. I hope you are all well and staying safe!

A Life in Death by Richard Venables

A behind the scenes look at how victims of accidents and natural disasters are identified, from the perspective of a British police officer.

Detective Inspector Richard Venables has helped identify thousands of bodies all over the world, piecing together fragments from tsunamis, transport and other disasters to return victims to their loved ones.

I have a fascination with this subject matter which goes back many years to reading a book about facial reconstruction from skeletal remains, covering historical figures to the last unidentified person from the 1987 King’s Cross fire (finally given his name back in 2004). Of course not only can I not remember the name of the book, I can’t find it on my shelves so you’ll have to take my word for it that it was absolutely worth reading.

Anyway, I regularly pick up books on the subject whenever I see them, and was particularly interested in this one because of its focus on UK disasters as well as, of course, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami which led to the deaths of an estimated 230,000 people.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book for me at least, was the amount of detail Venables goes into in recounting the development of DVI policies and procedures. I don’t know whether it’s because I was a civil servant for thirty years and heavily involved in writing guidance documents myself, but I appreciated his descriptions of how he and colleagues learned from each of the events in which they were involved, trying to make things more efficient and easier for the people involved in the DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) process, as well as the families who had lost loved ones. It wasn’t a perfect system but what is when humans are involved?

Some of the events he talks about hit home to me, especially the London bombings in 2005. One of my friends was on the tube train which exploded at Russell Square, and our office (which was within easy walking distance from that station and Tavistock Square where a double-decker bus exploded) was on lockdown for several hours. My friend was thankfully not physically hurt, and the impact on all of us lasted a very long time.

But the event that obviously had the greatest long-term effect on Venables was the tsunami. He worked in Thailand for many weeks on the difficult task of identifying people who had drowned in the disaster, with the heat and the effects of salt water on the remains adding to the difficulty of the task. His affection for Thailand and its people comes across very clearly.

I found it an informative read but a bit unbalanced, not sure how much of the author’s personal life to include. But I would still recommend it if this is a subject that speaks to you. Or is it just me?

This was my second read for #20booksofsummer20

Relic by Preston & Child

The first in the long-running and possibly still going Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.

The New York Museum of Natural History is built over a subterranean labyrinth of neglected specimen vaults, unmapped drainage tunnels and long-forgotten catacombs.
SOMETHING IS DOWN THERE…..

I remember watching the 1997 film adaptation of this book back in the day but despite having the same title (obviously) I didn’t connect the two, and therefore was able to come to the story relatively fresh. It’s an enjoyable, fast-paced thriller with a reasonable amount of blood and guts and a protagonist who is clearly extremely clever but manages not to be annoying.

Ask me if I still feel that way if and when I get to volume 21.

So the NY Natural History Museum is hosting an exhibition called Superstition with artefacts from many cultures including a relic (hence the name) found during a disastrous expedition to South America where nearly everyone died in various ways while still managing (eventually) to get their finds back to New York. But, did something dangerous come back with them?

Why yes of course it did.

Following the discovery of the mutilated bodies of two young boys in the museum’s basement, our hero, Pendergast himself, arrives from New Orleans to investigate because something similar happened down there. Is there a serial killer, or something more sinister?

If you voted for sinister you would be correct.

Is there a cover-up by arrogant senior museum officials who eventually get their comeuppance? Yes.

Is there a local arrogant and incompetent FBI agent who (a) doesn’t like our hero; (b) won’t listen to advice & (c) also gets what’s coming to him? Yes.

Is there a more than competent young woman researcher going through personal stuff who is dismissed by almost all of the men around her but is key to unravelling the mystery? Yes

Charming but cranky professor in a wheelchair? Check.

Does the mystery get solved by our team? Partially (but worry not, there is an epilogue).

I enjoyed this greatly, despite unfortunately positive mentions of big game hunting, which YUCK, so much so that I seem to have obtained the next five books in the series. What can I say, these things happen.

This was my first completed read for #20BooksofSummer22

My Week – 22 May edition

It has been a very quiet week chez Bride so not that much to report.

Books finished:

Only one this week, Girl 4 by Will Carver, the first of his novels to be published (I think) and definitely the first in his Det. Insp. January David trilogy. Serial killer. Visions. Family drama. Nefarious plan. All good (as you will see later). I love Will Carver’s work and am enjoying delving into his earlier stuff.

Currently reading:

Unmasked by Paul Holes – not made much progress on this but hope to get it finished this week. Not having any difficulties with it, just fictional serial killers are holding my interest more than real life murderers.

The Two by Will Carver – January David #2; more than one serial killer (probably). Even more visions. Wicca. Internecine rivalry within the police. Very good indeed

But mostly I’ve been focussing on my 20 Books of Summer reading list which you can find here.

New books:

The Light of Italy: The Life and Times of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino by Jane Stevenson – 15th century Italy and my favourite of the many city states of the time. Federico has long interested me, and on my last trip to Italy I was lucky enough to make it to Urbino and to see some of the amazing works he collected, including paintings by Pierro della Francesca.
The Surrogate by Tania Carver – the first in her Brennan & Esposito series (he’s a police detective, she’s a psychologist, they have history) sees a horrendous double murder in Colchester.
Parallel Hells by Leon Craig – a debut collection of short stories with gothic and folklore-related subjects. I think I saw this mentioned on Twitter and was intrigued enough to buy; I really must get back into reading short stories, she said wistfully…..

Other stuff:

As I said not much is happening around these parts. I’ve been doing some work in our tiny wee garden; though I’m not very good at gardening, things are taking shape.

Friday nights have become Michael Connelly & pizza night. We are watching Bosch: Legacy and The Lincoln Lawyer TV series and enjoying them both a great deal. The Book God has read the novels (not all of them, I think, because Mr Connelly is very prolific) but I’m just along for the ride, enjoying the small screen adaptations.

Hope you stay safe and have a great reading week!

20 Books of Summer ’22

It’s almost June so that means 20 Books of Summer, hosted every year by Cathy at 746 books, is upon us once more. Despite my failures in previous years, I’m going to have another go but I have Purpose and A Plan this time round.

I have decided to use this pretty relaxed challenge to restart some of the series I have neglected over the past wee while and get back into reading them again, and to read more physical volumes than ebooks.

If you are interested in joining the challenge then the announcement post is here and Cathy’s own list is here.

But what about my list? Well, here we go…….

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry – yes, I know I’m way behind everyone else in getting to this, and I’ve had it for ages (I was gift for Christmas one year. Or my birthday. I forget) but I like to read the book before I watch an adaptation and one T Hiddleston is the male lead in this so what can you do?

Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerritsen – the seventh in the Rizzoli & Isles series; can’t remember when I read number six but we’ve been catching up on the TV series and although is hugely different it made me want to pick up the books again

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch – depending on whether you count the novellas or not (for info, I do) this is either the seventh or eighth in the Rivers of London series (how many times do you think I can type the word ‘series’ in this post, I wonder?).I actually started reading this ages ago, got almost halfway through and then stopped for reasons I can no longer recall. Will start from the beginning once more

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R King – the Mary Russell series hits volume 13. I love her and want to get back into the swing of Holmes-related stories again

Bryant & May: Strange Tide by Christopher Fowler – I have been neglecting Mr Fowler over the past few years and will put this right by starting off with number 13 in a series I have been reading forever. Until I wasn’t.

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear – Maisie Dobbs returns having headed abroad at the end of volume 10; one of my favourite fictional characters, now lurching towards the outbreak of WW2

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo – the first of the standalone reads, this is a reimagining of the life of Jordan baker, one of the characters from The Great Gatsby. Really looking forward to this one, might be reading this near the beginning of the challenge

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I’ve had this one on my TBR pile for ages, and as well as wanting to read it on its own terms, I’m hoping it will also lead me back into David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue. I love rock band stories (the best being, of course, Espedair Street by Iain Banks. I will not argue about this)

Holy Terror: Stories by Cherie Priest – a bit of horror & creepiness in short form. I haven’t been reading a lot of short stories recently and this looks just wonderful.

The Poisoner’s Handbook By Deborah Blum – because it wouldn’t be a reading list of mine without death and destruction in a nonfiction form; pretty sure this will do what it says on the tin

A Life in Death by Richard Venable – nor is it a Bride list without something true crime adjacent; this is the story of Det. Insp. Venables, an expert in Disaster Victim Identification and a member of the UK Police’s Major Disaster Advisory Team

The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones – an hour by hour analysis of the last day of Robespierre’s leadership during the French Revolution. The only proper history book on this list; what have I become 🙂

Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw – the second in the Dr Greta Helsing trilogy, our heroine is in Paris and dealing with vampires. Again.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsin Muir – I loved Gideon the Ninth and don’t know why I’ve waited this long to read the follow-up; whatever the reason, encouragement has been provided by the imminent release of the next volume

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz – the third in the series where Horowitz himself is the sidekick to the detective Hawthorne. I really like this clever series and am especially looking forward to reading this one

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers – the second Wayfarers book, where Lovelace, once a ship’s AI, wakes up in a new body and has to figure a lot of things out…

The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross – the eighth (I think) novel in the Laundry Files universe; another one that I started and set aside for a while but again I’m incentivised by having read one of the shorts in the same series and remembering how much fun these are. Sort of Lovecraft meets the civil service….

Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford – I mentioned this in my most recent weekly round-up. I do love an epistolary novel

The End of the Day by Claire North – I love Claire North’s work but have fallen a little bit behind in reading her books, so this challenge feels the right time to pick her up again. She is such an intelligent and talented writer.

Relic by Preston & Child – I remember seeing the film version of this many moons ago not realising that it was based on this novel, the start of a long and well regarded series featuring FBI Agent Pendergast. Hopefully the first of many.

And that’s it. Not a bad list I think, and we’ll see how I get on – watch this space!

My Week – 15 May edition (just a wee bit late)

Looking back at last week where I managed to both do some reading and get out into the big wide world….

What I finished:

I managed two this week, a bit of entertaining true crime and an engrossing mystery

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: Britain’s First Female Crime Syndicate by Brian McDonald

I was listening to an episode of the Dirty Sexy History podcast hosted by Jessica Cale (well worth a listen if you are interested in stuff that is a bit outside the mainstream history we mostly get taught) when this book was mentioned, and remembered that I had picked up the Kindle edition some time last year. It’s a very entertaining, extremely detailed and fast paced dive into mostly female criminality in south London, with some social history thrown in and lots of dodgy male offenders as well. I really liked it but the title is a bit misleading as we don’t get to Alice until we are quite far into the book, and what we do get was clearly insufficient for some reviewers on Goodreads who expected a full biography of the lady herself.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

I really enjoyed Hallett’s first novel (The Appeal, which I didn’t review but should have because it was just excellent) and if anything this is even better. The narrative device this time is the use of transcriptions of voice recordings made by our protagonist Steven, who is recently out of prison and has become obsessed with trying to solve a mystery from his childhood – the disappearance of his teacher after a school outing where the investigated clues in the works of Edith Twyford, an out-of-fashion children’s author based loosely on Enid Blyton. Almost everything we read comes from Steven’s perspective and we are in potentially unreliable narrator territory here; I won’t say more because watching it all unfold is part of the joy of the book. The clues are all there for the reader to solve, and now that I know how things turn out I am almost certainly going to read it again to find the clues I missed. I really recommend this if you want something a bit different, and am looking forward to what she might do next.

What I’m currently reading:

The Fall of Paris has gone onto my Set Aside for Now stack; I will definitely be going back to it later in the year.

Girl 4 by Will Carver – this is the first novel from Carver who has become one of my favourite authors, largely due to his excellent DS Pace trilogy (which I loved so much and intend to read again). This is the first in a series of novels involving a police detective, January David, who specialises in very violent crimes. This first tale is a serial killer targeting young women (which is what they do) with the first victim hitting very close to home for our protagonist. I’m just over a third of the way in, so shall say no more.

Unmasked by Paul Holes – the cold case investigator whom I first came across via Michelle McNamara’s excellent I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (as mentioned here) and numerous mentions on the My Favorite Murder podcast , as well as his own investigative podcast with Billy Jensen, The Murder Squad. I have only just started this and it looks like a mix of cases he has worked on and the impact his career has had on his family and so far so good.

New books worth mentioning:

In honour of finishing the TV adaptation Slow Horses and the publication of the latest Slough House novel Bad Actors, I treated myself to all of Mick Herron’s series in one fell swoop. Will bereading the fifth entry in the series very shortly.

Last week I mentioned Under the Banner of Heaven which I had just finished, and had an interesting conversation with Kathy at Simple Tricks & Nonsense where she recommended Heaven’s Ditch about the building of the Erie Canal and religious stuff around it; now ordered and awaiting its arrival.

Most of this week’s book spend was focussed on the Book God’s birthday list, so my recommendation will be out of sync for the next wee while.

Other stuff:

So this week I finally got back to Sadler’s Wells, my favourite venue for all things dance, to see the Northern Ballet perform Casanova. I had such a good time; the costumes and sets were gorgeous and a quick glass of prosecco at the interval added to the fun. But oh, so many people on public transport were not wearing masks (I was fully masked the hole time) and that did make me feel uncomfortable, especially on the Tube which on the way home in particular was so crowded. This is how it will from now on I suppose….

Until next time I hope you are all well and have a great reading week!

My Week – 8 May edition

A quick look back at what turned out to be a very quiet week in which nothing much happened but somehow I still needed to sleep a lot…..

What I finished:

Only one book this week but it was totally absorbing. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer came to my attention because I saw that there is a TV adaptation starring Andrew Garfield (I may already have mentioned this somewhere) and I am one of those people who (where possible) likes to read the book before watching the film/TV series.

My only exposure to Mormonism was via a deep and abiding love for The Osmonds (don’t judge!) and the occasional knock on the door from missionaries looking for the Latter Day Saints church (temple?) in my little corner of Paisley.

This book kicks off with a particularly nasty murder of a young woman and her little daughter and goes back and forward between the case and a history of fundamentalist Mormonism, with particular reference to polygamy. The book is around 20 years old so of course excludes the recent stuff about Warren Jeffs (ugh – more about him later). I found it deeply fascinating and disturbing and beautifully written and would recommend if you have an interest in the subject.

What I’m currently reading:

I have almost finished Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants, and am about a third of the way through The Twyford Code, but haven’t made much progress on The Fall of Paris; I mentioned all of these books in my last post and I’m trying very hard not to start anything else until I have finished at least two of these.

What have I bought?

The Queen’s Consort by Steven Veerapen – the fateful second marriage of Mary Queen of Scots as seen from Darnley’s perspective. I’ve always thought he was a bit of a drip but am open to being persuaded otherwise….
The Abbey Close, also by Steven Veerapen – any synopsis which starts out “Paisley, 1542. As the armies of Henry VIII and James V prepare for battle, Catholic exile Simon Danforth must decide his loyalties” is a must read for me.
Love, Sex, Fear, Death by Timothy Wyllie – the Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment states the subtitle, a cult I know very little about but it was mentioned in the afterword to Adam Nevill’s Last Days (which I finished recently – thoughts here) so I thought why not?
When Men Become Gods by Stephen Singular (possibly one of my favourite author names, a bit like Stephen Strange without the chaos magic), this follows on from Under the Banner of Heaven which I reviewed above, and tells the horrendous story of Warren Jeffs and his fundamentalist cult. One to be read in small doses I think.

Stay safe and I’ll see you in my next post!

Finishing out April

My reading dwindled towards the end of the month but I met my goal of a minimum of 6 books read, and I’m happy with that.

To the stats…..

Books read in April = 6

Pages read in April = 2043

Progress on Goodreads challenge = 28 books completed, 7 ahead of schedule = 43%

What I’m currently reading:

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer – true crime + fundamentalist Mormonism = disturbing and fascinating read
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett – an excellent crime puzzle thriller thing, enjoying the hecl out of it but the Mormons (see above) are holding sway at the moment
The Fall of Paris – see my thoughts on this in a previous post
Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants – as above

What I’ve bought since my last book haul:

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh – it’s a thriller where tragic accident -> fresh start -> promise of a happy future -> past catching up -> devastating consequences
Unmasked by Paul Holes – a true crime hero dishes the dirt on his career; cannot resist…
The Void Ascendant by Premee Mohamed – The mindblowing, cosmic conclusion to the breakout Beneath the Rising trilogy. SURVIVAL HAS CONSEQUENCES. I must get going with this series…
The Harvest of Lies by Mark Henwick – an Sthanate novel of 19th century Saigon, and an offshoot from his mail Athanate series; I understand you don’t have to read those before picking this one up (which is probably just as well….)
Devil House by John Darnielle – true crime writer moves into murder house with, presumably, results
The Reyes Incident by Briana Morgan – chilling horror, urban legend but they had me at killer mermaids
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead – missing aviatrix and actress about to play her 50 years later; nominated for heaps of awards including the Booker but somehow I managed to miss it at the time.

What will be arriving in May

The Legacy of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson – I just love this series
Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire – a sequel (if such a thing is possible) to Middlegame which I adored

Honourable book-to-TV adaptation goes to Slow Horses on Apple – Mick Herron’s series of modern spy novels brought to life with an excellent cast and an approach that stays true to the books; the best kind of adaptation in my view.

How was April for you? What are you looking forward to in May?

It’s time for another book haul

I’m trying quite hard to cut back on buying new books. Long-term readers will be aware that I rarely buy physical books now because there is no more shelf/floor/window sill space chez Bride, but it’s just so easy to click that order button when browsing Kindle editions, so I need to work on that even though it goes against every fibre of my being 😀

These are the things that have made it onto my virtual (with one exception)stack so far in April:

My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A short story by Ms Atwood is not to be missed.

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

This was a pre-order. I’ve read several (but not all, and not in order of publication) of Jennifer Egan’s books starting with Goon Squad and I understand that this new book builds on that earlier work & might even be a sequel.

Watch Me by James Carol

I mentioned in my last post that I had read and quite enjoyed the first Jefferson Winter serial killer thriller Broken Dolls and thought I would give the second one a go to see if its a series with which I want to continue

Jane’s Country Year by Malcolm Saville

Mr B and I sadly attended the funeral of a friend and former colleague a few weeks ago, and on of her interests was the work of Malcolm Saville, a children’s author from the mid-twentieth century who was completely new to me, so I thought I would pick one to try out, and this tale spoke to me the most. Originally published in 1946.

Business as Usual by Jane Oliver

I can’t resist a story constructed from letters, so when I cam across this novel from 1933 I thought I should give it a try, especially as it concerns a young woman from Scotland trying to make her way in London by working in what is clearly meant to be Selfridges.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility is a novel that investigates the idea of parallel worlds and possibilities, that plays with the very line along which time should run.

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

The ninth entry in the Rivers of London series; I am so far behind in reading these but I know I’ll get to them eventually. Plus this is one of the few authors I read in hardback and I have a lovely matching set, which counts for a lot in my world.

Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul

Gwen John is one of my favourite artists and I thought this book, by the artist Celia Paul would be interesting, though I understand that its likely to be more about Celia than Gwen…

Hide by Nell Pattison

I can’t remember where I saw this mentioned (another blogger? a newsletter? a website recommendation?) but it involves hiking, a group trying to rekindle the friendship and a murder. Known as Nowhere to Hide outside the UK I think, looks like fun.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot by Mark Aldridge

From Agatha Christie’s earliest conceptions and publication history, to forays on the stage and screen, the story of Poirot is as fascinating as it is enduring. Mark Aldridge tells this story decade-by-decade, exploring and analyzing Poirot’s many and often wildly different appearances, following the detective to present day when he is enjoying a worldwide renaissance.

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

I have already started reading this, having bought it because of a reference in the afterword to Adam Nevill’s Last Days and seeing information about the soon-to-be-released TV adaptation starring the wonderful Andrew Garfield. Murderous fundamentalist Mormons are fascinating it seems. To me at least.

Have you read any of these? Are they already on your TBR list? Or is this the first time you’ve heard of these titles? Let me know in the comments.

Stay safe everyone!

April so far…..

How did we get halfway through April without me posting anything (yes, I know my posting “schedule” is always erratic at the best of times)?

I’ll tell you why – coming down with the dreaded lurgy, that’s why.

Saying that, I should make it clear that I am not talking about Covid, just your common or garden spring head cold with added allergies (tree pollen is going mad at the moment) but it’s the first cold I’ve had since long before the pandemic and I was wholly unprepared, though in a (misguided) generous impulse as I recovered I gave it to my husband.

So I basically spent the last seven days or so slumped on the sofa. The good news was that I didn’t have any headaches so I was able to read…

A few thoughts on the books I finished:

Broken Dolls by James Carol – I am unable to resist a hunter of serial killers and this is the first in the Jefferson Winter series. I enjoyed it enough to buy the sequel, but this is clearly the introduction to a new character and suffered a tiny bit from that, but like I said, intriguing enough for me to want to read more.

Mimic by Daniel Cole – talking about serial killers, Mimic is the latest novel from Cole, who wrote the Ragdoll trilogy which I liked very much (but don’t ask me about the TV adaptation unless you really want a bit of a rant). This is a standalone novel, set initially in 1989 then jumping ahead to 1996. So no mobile phones or any other whizz bang technology, just good old fashioned police work. I liked it.

Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan – possibly my favourite author name in recent years; I can’t remember on whose recommendation I got this, but it’s a very atmospheric novella set on a prison planet where Bee, a telepath, is being held for crimes she can’t remember. It’s a strange book but was quite moving and beautifully written.

Suspects by David Thomson – better known for his non-fiction work on the history of the movies, this is the first of Thomson’s novels that I’ve read and I found it really intriguing. It’s basically a biographical dictionary of about a hundred (I didn’t count) characters from film noir, giving them backstories and often details of their probable future taking place outside the films in which they appear. I can see that a lot of people wouldn’t like this because there isn’t really an easily discernible narrative but I found it fascinating, though I definitely got more out of the characters whose films I had seen.

Currently reading:

The Cabinet by Un-su Kim – a literary work from South Korea, I’m not sure if it’s a novel or a set of linked short stories but it is definitely interesting and I just need to remember to pick it up…
Unquiet Spirits by Bonnie MacBird – the second in her Sherlock Holmes series, all about ghosts, murder and of course whisky; I’m struggling with this a bit because I’m just not in a Holmesian mood at the moment, so will probably set it aside and come back to it later….
Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants by Brian McDonald – as much about general London lawlessness as it is about this all woman shoplifting syndicate, I’m not quite a fifth of the way in and haven’t yet met Alice….
The Fall of Paris by Alistair Horne – the Franco-Prussian War, the siege of Paris, the fall of Louis Napoleon and the Commune; if you’re at all interested in French history, especially where it intersects with war then you should definitely read Horne’s work
Last Days by Adam Nevill – independent filmmaker is hired to make a documentary about a cult focussing less on the disastrous ending of the group and more on the potential supernatural elements; definitely not going to end well and I probably shouldn’t have started reading it at bedtime….

What I’ve been watching:

No films this month(so far), but I really enjoyed working my way through:

Peaky Blinders S6: the last outing, on TV at least, I had never watched this series before though the Mr B has been encouraging me to do so. The presence of Diana Mitford as a key character got me interested and I was hooked. Will be going back to the very beginning to watch the whole thing
The Ipcress File: I remember watching the sixties movie starring Michael Caine which in some respects can’t be beaten, though this was a very stylish and well acted version of the story; I hope they adapt the remaining Harry Palmer books

Hope you are all staying safe. How is your April going so far?