Originally Posted by Jubal
When I read a book I just get it off a recommendation or a newspaper article or Amazon’s machine learning algorithm.
So you’re telling me this is absolute fiction?
I actually thought it was based on fact ha ha . I hadn’t read any of the blurb or anything. Too funny.
Not a new book but one I've recently reread "Flight of the Mew Gull" by Alex Henshaw. It's about his life up to the beginning of WW2 and his record-breaking return trip to Cape Town in 1939. The Cape Town trip was understandably overshadowed by the advent of WW2 and was only broken in 2010.
Alex Henshaw went on to become a rare thing: a bold, old pilot.
I found Berlin Noir a bit derivative. He borrows heavily from the American detective genre (Lady in the Lake, etc).
I quite enjoyed it for all that, but somehow it didn't ring true for Nazi Germany.
I used to love Ed McBains, reading most in my teens.
There's an element of his work in the Bosch series, which I really enjoy.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I've resisted doing this until now, but hopefully the reviews don't lie!
A good few thousand copies sold now across the world, and it has been the Number One seller in a couple of categories. It's also one of the highest rated Holmes books on GoodReads.
Donations from the proceeds are going to a new Scouts and Guides residential centre.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Case-F...6823325&sr=8-1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...-number-1-book
So if you do like a bit of Sherlock, you might hopefully enjoy my book.
So clever my foot fell off.
I'm guessing that the royalties didn't buy the Aston
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I'm guessing that the royalties didn't buy the Aston
No, but the reviews mean a lot more than money!
Here's a nice Five Star one from BC:
I read a number of Holmes' pastiches most years, and they are usually of variable quality. All too often the authors try to do something different with our hero, and it doesn't really work. ACD got it right first time around! This anthology though was completely unexpected. As new Holmes' story collections go, this is in a different league to any I can recall in recent years. The writer starts off with a short and plausible introduction as to why these cases are only surfacing now (none of the "I discovered these in an old chest in my Grandfather's attic" nonsense), before we get off to a gentle (ish) start with the Adventure of the Old Acquaintance in which the writer quickly establishes that he can put together a tight little mystery that works perfectly and that Holmes and Watson are the characters we know and love and exactly as Doyle wrote them. Just a few pages in and you know you are going to enjoy this book! Then it's on to the Case of the Ancient Artefact - completely believable and resonates with history very convincingly. Next up is The Curse of the Purser's Mate, and this one really ramps up the action in spectacular style as Holmes and Watson battle dark forces aboard the Royal Navy's latest battleship. This builds to what I can only describe as a spectacular climax that made me gasp!
The Fountain of Blood is a clever and quirky little case, and gives a little respite before we launch into The Creature In Stone - again, just very clever, feels fully authentic, and so well written.
But it's the final story, The Horrible Case of the Burning Men, that is a truly breathtaking conclusion to this book. I won't spoil anything here by saying this is fabulous stuff. The research and sense of being there is just next level, and the sheer ingenuity of the plot left me stunned.
I really liked the balance between the four "regular" length Holmes stories and the two feature length ones . The whole book just hangs together incredibly well.
So in conclusion, just WOW! I think this is a debut Sherlock Book from Alex Prior, as I can't find any others by the same writer and I really hope it isn't the last, as for us Sherlockians, this is manna from heaven.
As other reviewers here have already said, this is far, far better than pretty much every other new Holmes book for years.
Five Stars without a doubt. Six if I could give them.
Last edited by TheFlyingBanana; 16th July 2021 at 19:04.
So clever my foot fell off.
Twas but a joke Alex, I happen to have a copy which I've yet to read,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I definitely did realise it was a joke!
Read my book man, and then leave a great review!
So clever my foot fell off.
Hahaha stop it now, I'll get round to it, and going on previous reviews - wait and seeI definitely did realise it was a joke!
Read my book man, and then leave a great review!
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
If you haven't read it, I can heartily recommend 'Sigh For a Merlin', the story of Henshaw's war years testing Spitfires and Lancasters (his party trick was barrel-rolling these) at Castle Bromwich. And yes, lived to the ripe old age of 94.
I have read 'Sigh For a Merlin', another great story. He packed a heck of lot into one life.
Have read a couple of George G Gilman’s Edge westerns from the 1970s this weekend. Horrifically violent and loads of fun. Also the graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer which was pretty chilling.
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My Grandmother. Loved those! Didn’t he keep a razor in a little pouch round his neck?
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He did. And he puts it to frequent use!
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I just finished Pat Cadigan’s novelisation of William Gibson’s unfilmed ‘Alien 3’ screenplay. Lots of fun and definitely recommended if you’re an ‘Aliens’ fan as it’s a decent sequel to that movie.
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I'm a big fan of John Lescroart and his San Francisco-based legal thrillers. Just finished Rule of Law and enjoyed it immensely.
Is it just me or are Hilary Mantel books just plain hard to read? I'm a prolific reader so can adapt to most styles of writing. I find my self having to keep tracking back through the narrative to find out who is actually 'talking'. I coped with Bring up the Bodies reasonably well but Mirror and the Light is a pain. I'm seriously considering giving it the elbow.
Just finished the new James elllroy book widespread panic ,very sleazy look at 1950's underground ,I like his unique style ,though many dislike it ,
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Loved the books by Mantel, but like you had to keep checking who was telling the story, particularly which Thomas (More or Cromwell) was being referred to. Haven't read Mirror and the Light yet!
If I decide to give up you can have it/swap for something I can read more easily
I enjoyed My Other Life by Paul Theroux recently, then by coincidence saw that Anne Theroux just published her memoir about their marriage, The Year of the End. Having read the one made the other all the more interesting.
Going forward I might try Sir Vidia's Shadow, then A House for Mr. Biswas and In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul.
Just finished ‘Harlem Shuffle’ by Colson Whitehead which was excellent. Now starting ‘The Man Who Died Twice’ by Richard Osman which is silly fun so far.
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C J Sansom ~ Shardlake series
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Yes they are very good.
Real historical characters and events interwoven around a story.
Enjoyed them immensely.
Cheers,
Neil.
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The man eater of Randraprayag by Jim Corbett
Read these two this week.
Harlem Shuffle is a really good crime novel set in 60s New York - great characters, especially the protagonist. As you’d expect from Colson Whitehead there’s a lot of social commentary too and it’s very well done, never overwhelms the story but makes its points.
Man Who Died Twice is the second Thursday Murder Club book and very similar to the first one - funny and fun but not the best mystery.
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Cheers, definitely going to pick up Harlem Shuffle tomorrow, I was a tiny bit underwhelmed by Thursday Murder Club so I’ll wait for the paperback for the man who died twiceRead these two this week.
Harlem Shuffle is a really good crime novel set in 60s New York - great characters, especially the protagonist. As you’d expect from Colson Whitehead there’s a lot of social commentary too and it’s very well done, never overwhelms the story but makes its points.
Man Who Died Twice is the second Thursday Murder Club book and very similar to the first one - funny and fun but not the best mystery.
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Think it’s not out until 14th Sept - I got an advance copy on NetGalley
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Just curious about NetGalley, do you write book reviews? I’m there too as a public librarian.
Yeah I have a blog where I review crime fiction (CriminOlly.Wordpress.com) and contribute to a site that reviews horror and SF (scifiandscary.com)
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Ha ha ok I won’t give the Waterstones bloke a hard time then!
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That is cool. I will take a look. Thanks!
You must already know about Edelweiss+ then, another site with ARCs.
I prefer print, but some of the digital copies are hard to pass up.
I do, although not signed up there as I have a big enough backlog on NetGalley
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'All the light we cannot see'
A very good read and worth 99p of anybody's money (if you have a kindle). Pulitzer prize winner for fiction in 2015.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G1TOJ...A1G3UP32AZJ14F
Book Description
**Soon to be a major TV drama**
The true story behind the secret of Flight 149 and the most shocking government cover-up of the last thirty years.
I’m not a great reader but this gripped me.
Jim
With your linking, seems demand has crept up. It's £4.99 on Amazon now.
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Must have been their Daily deal for Saturday.
I am really enjoying this. Thanks for the heads-up.
Last Flight to Kuwait was the name of the docu-drama. It was reasonable to watch.
Edit: Free on YouTube
Last edited by Templogin; 4th September 2021 at 15:12. Reason: Addition
Agreed, reading Combed Out is an almost overwhelming experience.
Just finished reading "Chickenhawk" for probably the fourth time. A very powerful account of Vietnam from a helicopter pilot. I've just started his sequel "Chickenhawk - back in the world". On the Vietnam theme "Once a Warrior King" is also a very powerful book that I'll be re-reading again very soon.
Sparhawk - David Eddings
An absolutely amazing series!
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I feel like I need to be reading a book with Hawk in the title
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I very much enjoyed the audiobook Yearbook by Seth Rogen. A short collection of stories and essays, it is not full-on comedy, but at a couple of points I was laughing out loud to the point of tears, which I have not done in a long time. I stream audio through my in-ear hearing aids, so I must have been a bizarre sight.
Just come across an author called Charles Williams who wrote in 50's to 70's. They're kind of thrillers but well written and entertaining. He wrote Dead Calm which was made into Robert de Niro film. Best of all if you have an Amazon Unlimited account they are all free.
Also John McDonald who wrote about same time produced a series about a character called Travis McGee. Have to pay for these though.
Covenant With Death, John Harris.
An extraordinary story of the Somme. Bought it second hand and it was unputdownable.
The McGee books are a lot of fun. I’ve not read Williams but I think I’ll have to check him out!
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