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A young woman is murdered in a park in Minneapolis. When detectives Gino and Magozzi discover a playing card near the body, they recognise the work of a serial killer who has already struck the city once before.

But it's worse than they imagined. The card is the four of spades; the last victim's was the ace: it seems they're already two murders behind.

Once again working with Grace MacBride and her team of analysts, they discover a web of evidence stretching back into the past. And there is little time to untangle it: this killer has a taste for blood, and he's intent on playing out the deck . . .

Having read all the previous 7 Monkeewrench and with a feeling that they were starting to get a bit less enjoyable, I felt that I had to give this one a go. All the main characters are there (although, if you haven't read the previous books in the series, they may well just appear as ciphers to you), but I felt that the story was a bit too 'all-over-the-place'. Good enough, but not - in my opinion - nearly as good as the early books.

George Taylor
This book is in the Library

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London: Slough House is the MI5 branch where disgraced operatives are reassigned after they've messed up too badly to be trusted with real intelligence work. The "Slow Horses," as the failed spies of Slough House are called, are doomed to spend the rest of their careers pushing paper, but they all want back in on the action.

When one of their own is kidnapped and held for ransom, the agents of Slough House must defeat the odds, overturning all expectations of their competence, to breach the top-notch security of MI5's intelligence headquarters, Regent's Park, and steal valuable intel in exchange for their comrade's safety. The kidnapping is only the tip of the iceberg, however--the agents uncover a larger web of intrigue that involves not only a group of private mercenaries but the highest authorities in the Secret Service. After years spent as the lowest on the totem pole, the Slow Horses suddenly find themselves caught in the midst of a conspiracy that threatens not only the future of Slough House, but of MI5 itself.

This is the third book in this series 'starring' Jackson Lamb and I felt that it was the best so far. There are many twists and turns before the finale and you really start to feel for the denizens of Slough House. Lamb is still the gross, unkempt, and apparently unfeeling figure of the past books, but there is no denying his deviousness and ability to mould events to his advantage.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.
George Taylor

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Robert B. Parker's 'The Devil Wins' by Reed Farrel Coleman

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Robert B. Parker's 'The Devil Wins' by Reed Farrel Coleman

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In the wake of a huge storm, three bodies are discovered in the rubble of an abandoned factory building in an industrial part of Paradise known as The Swap. One body, a man’s, wrapped in a blue tarp, is only hours old. But found within feet of that body are the skeletal remains of two teenage girls who had gone missing during a Fourth of July celebration twenty-five years earlier. Not only does that crime predate Jesse Stone’s arrival in Paradise, but the dead girls were close friends of Jesse’s right hand, Officer Molly Crane. And things become even more complicated when one of the dead girls’ mothers returns to Paradise to bury her daughter and is promptly murdered. It’s up to Police Chief Jesse Stone to pull away the veil of the past to see how all the murders are connected.

With this book, Reed Farrel Coleman seems to finally claim Jesse Stone as his own: it's a much more satisfying and confident effort than 'Blind Spot'. Jesse is a much more 'rounded' character and hidden secrets and and intrigues of the small town of Paradise are well handled. Definitely worth a read.
George Taylor

This book is in the Library

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Robert B. Parkers 'Blind Spot' by Reed Farrel Coleman

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Robert B. Parkers 'Blind Spot' by Reed Farrel Coleman

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It’s been a long time since Jesse Stone left L.A., and still longer since the tragic injury that ruined his chances for a major league baseball career. When Jesse is invited to a reunion of his old Triple-A team at a hip New York city hotel, he is forced to grapple with his memories and regrets over what might have been.

What follows includes kidnapping, murder and extortion centred around the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts where Jesse is the Chief of Police.

Jesse Stone is a creation of the author Robert B. Parker - who is one of my favourite authors - and, since his death, his estate has allowed  selected writers to continue Jesse's story. This book is enjoyable enough but takes a little getting used to if you've read the previous Jesse Stone novels written by Parker himself.  I had a feeling that Coleman was really just getting to grips with Jesse as a character and his style of writing is far from that of Parker. Despite that, I still feel that it's worth a read.
George Taylor

This book is in the Library

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‘Dead Lions’ is the follow up to ‘Slow Horses’ and both books centre around Slough House, a ‘dumping ground’  for the incompetents, failures, has-beens and misfits from British Secret Service MI5 and which Jackson Lamb runs as his personal fiefdom.

In ‘Dead Lions’, Jackson gets wind of the death of an old, ex-agent in what he considers to be suspicious circumstances and decides he needs to follow it up. What follows is a tangled tale of Cold War secrets, lies, death and revenge with Jackson’s rejects to the fore.

This is an excellent thriller, more reminiscent of the worlds of George Smiley and Harry Palmer than that of James Bond. Jackson Lamb might be obese, unkempt and rude but he again proves that he is very, very sharp.

Winner of the 2013 CWA Gold Dagger Award

George Taylor

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

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Joyous and life affirming. Challenges how we view the world. I have read it several times and wholeheartedly recommend it.
Lynne Smith

This book is in the Library

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Amazon says about this book;

'Winter in Three Pines, and the sleepy village is carpeted in snow. It's a time of peace and goodwill - until a scream pierces the biting air. A spectator at the annual Boxing Day curling match has been fatally electrocuted. Despite the large crowd, there are no witnesses and - apparently - no clues.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache discovers a history of secrets and enemies in the dead woman's past. But he has enemies of his own, and as he is frozen out of decision-making in the Surete du Quebec, he has to decide who he can trust...'

I've not read anything by Louise Penny before and it took me quite a long time to get into this book - but it slowly drew me in and, in the end, I enjoyed the company of Gamache and his team.

I shall read more of this series!

George Taylor
This book is in the Library