Latest book you've read

I’ve just finished “Tales from the Folly” by Ben Aaronovitch, a book of short stories set in the world of the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series. I’ve read all but one of the novels in the series and enjoyed them. The first half of this book is stories about Peter Grant, which I also enjoyed. The second half is stories about other characters, which I found a bit of a mixed bag. Some I liked, and some were too vague and esoteric for my taste. I read in bed when I’m tired, and I don’t want to have to guess or imagine what’s going on; I just want somebody to tell me a good story!

4 Likes

I just finished reading Prodigal son, by Gregg Hurwitz. It’s (currently) the latest installment in the Orphan X series.

I’ve read all other Orphan X books so far and really enjoyed them, mostly because they’re so over-the-top and unbelievable, but still enjoyable regardless.

In this book Orphan X has yet another mission to do against some very powerful people, but during the way he gets to be more in tough with his human side, which was well written into the plot. It made for a nice book and gave it more depth then the previous books.

4 Likes

I’ve just finished “Fever of the Bone” by Val McDermid, by coincidence the book immediately following the one I reported back in post 138. Mainly featuring the same major incident team, there’s a serial killer and a new boss to impress.

3 Likes

I’ve just finished “A Dangerous Man” by Robert Crais. Ex-Special Forces bloke Joe Pike rescues a girl from being abducted and decides to figure out why, and how to stop it happening again.

1 Like

I’ve recently read a self-help book named The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck*, it’s a really good read that allows you to reflect on various aspects of your perception of life and meaning as a whole.

2 Likes

Hello,
The latest book I have read recently was “Water for Elephants”. The book is written by Sara
Gruen. This book is one of my favorite ones too. It’s happy and sad and disturbing. I will also
recommend this book to you all.

2 Likes

I’ve just finished Tell Nobody by Patricia Gibney. This is the 5th installment of the D.I. Lottie Parker series.

The subject of this book was rather heavy since multiple children die in it, but that was written well, and the pressure was felt throughout the book. The plot itself was well thought out.

I like the writing style, quite easy to read but not so easy it’s boring. The main story about Lottie Parker that runs through all the books is rather thin in this one, but may promise to become interesting in further books.

Certainly would recommend this book, though it’s probably best to start with the first book in the series, The missing ones.

3 Likes

I’ve just finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. Despite the title, it’s a novel. It’s about a family from Ukraine who settled in England after WW2. The book is well written. It won the Bollinger Everyman Prize for comic fiction. I’m usually disappointed by prize-winning books, but not this time.

2 Likes

I’ve just finished “Typhoon Fury” by Clive Cussler. One of his “Oregon” series, this features a long-lost super-drug and some stolen paintings, the team must recover one and destroy the other. Sometimes his stuff is a bit formulaic, but I still enjoy them. This author is one of the first I remember reading when I graduated to proper adult fiction, along with Wilbur Smith, because they’re books that my Dad had on the shelf.

2 Likes

I’ve just finished “Parting Breath”, by Catherine Aird, first published in 1977. It’s the eighth book in the “Calleshire Chronicles” series of detective stories, featuring Inspector Sloan and Constable Crosby. I’m reading - or, in some cases rereading - the series in order, although with other things in between.

I had read this one before, at least twenty years ago, and enjoyed it both times. I remembered just enough to be sure I had read it previously, but not enough to recall the plot or the denouement. It has the same dry wit and gentle humour as the other books in the series, which is one of the reasons I enjoy them. In this one, a student is found dying on a university campus, while a sit-in demonstration is taking place in another part of the campus. Is there a connection? And then there’s a second murder …

3 Likes

Clive is one of my favorites writers. I have read some novels of Clive’s and I love his unique style of writing. I will also read Typhoon Fury soon.

I like most of his stuff, but I’ve never got on with the “Isaac Bell” series because I don’t like stuff set in that period of time. I have read a couple of them and they were OK, but not really to my taste.

I’ve just finished “A song for the dark times” by Ian Rankin, featuring (now former) Inspector John Rebus looking into a private family-related mystery, and his previous colleagues looking into a separate but slightly-linked murder. An enjoyable read, as I find most of his are.

1 Like

I’ve just read “Pirate” by Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell. A decent tale involving the Fargos, a couple of rich treasure hunters trying to, er, find some treasure before a baddie gets to it. I usually enjoy his stuff and this is no exception, but I find myself a bit annoyed at the lack of proof-reading - little details such as characters who are supposed to be British using terms like “fire department” and “parking lot”, one character changing surname at the end for no apparent reason, and the comical way that they get away with carrying concealed firearms in the UK when challenged by the police. But apart from that, it’s a good book.

I have read it before - it’s a hardback that I bought a few years back, put on my “to read” pile, forgot it was there and bought a cheap paperback. Oh well, not the first time I’ve done that and it won’t be the last.

1 Like

That’s one of my pet peeves in novels. One I was reading recently had several such errors, and a supposedly-British character called Ethan Benedict Wright II. rolleyes

1 Like

It’s particularly annoying because this is a big author, via a big publishing company (Penguin), and there’s no excuse for not proofing it properly. I’d have an excuse, if I knocked out a novel and self-published it. It’s almost as bad as Tom Clancy telling us how his crack “Rainbow Six” team landed at RAF Northolt (in Middlesex, just west of London), travelled south and still found their way to Hereford, despite that being quite a long way north.

Oh, and another word from “Pirate” used by someone in a crowd in London was “blighters”. And not in the historical part at the beginning of the book when he’s setting the scene. No, this was supposed to be in modern-day London.

But, I’ll still buy the next one.

2 Likes

I just read that book too, based on your review and because it only cost one euro :slightly_smiling_face: (and yes I know you can get it for free, but I like the kobo extras of progress indication when you buy from them).

I liked it. Especially the use of “old” English with nice long proper sentences and spellings like to-morrow.

The insight given into the times where the roles of men and women were quite different than today, combined with the thoughts of the protagonist (a woman) and how she navigates that and pretty much bends things to her will is awesomely done in this book.

The plot itself was well thought out, but could not happen anymore today because of CCTV everywhere. The guessing of who was where at what time wouldn’t happen anymore. That doesn’t make it less likable however, it made me like it more.

The pace is rather different than modern books and I don’t think I would be able to read multiple books from that era in a row, but I’ll probably read one every now and then :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

PHP Master: Write Cutting Edge Code By: Davey Shafik

1 Like

I’ve just finished Time is Running Out by Michael Wood. It’s the 7th installment of the Mathilda Darke series. And I have to let it simmer for a bit, but I think it might be the last one I read, even though I quite liked the first 6 installments.

This one is dark. And I really mean dark. I won’t go into detail and spoil the plot, but there are lots of moments I really didn’t like what happened. The book itself was really suspenseful from front to back, but I just felt it was too much.

I’d still recommend the first 6 books in the series, but this one has a huge asterisk next to it and I don’t think I could recommend it.

1 Like

While Justice Sleeps. It is a Novel and published 11/05/2021. It is a awesome book. Once you should also try to read .