Death Watch – Mark Billingham. Reasonable thriller.
Operation Certain Death – Damien Lewis. I didn’t buy this but found it in the back of a truck I was travelling in. The tale of a hostage situation in Sierra Leone in 2000, the book describes the rescue mission by the SAS/Paras. Good story, but definitely needed stronger editing.
Spirit Gate – Kate Elliot I loved the writing and the characters, but got lost at times as there’s so much happening and you keep cutting between different groups. It’s not until the end of the book that they come together and you understand what they have to add to the story. Another free book from Tor.
The 39 Steps – John Buchan. This was a birthday present from the group playing the Penguin We Tell Stories ARG. The first story from that campaign was a retelling by Charles Cumming of this book, which was originally published in 1915. My initial reaction was how small the book was, just over 100 pages only. But the story is good, definitely the ‘shocker’ that Buchan intended to write. Really enjoyable.
The Dark Tide, Andrew Gross – another thriller, based on the story of a man who took advantage of a bomb to disappear. Enjoyed this one, good characterisation
Chasing Harry Winston,Lauren Weisberger – from the author who brought us The Devil Wears Prada, this was OK but never as good as the first book. I cared about the hero and her journey (which was far better than the film) but here, the girls who try and sort out their relationship with men are OK, but ultimately shallow and I never really saw them grow.
The Shadow Isle, Katherine Kerr – the penultimate book in the long Deverry Series, it was an inbetweener that still read well. Just need to wait how she ends it all.
The Sanctury – Raymond Khoury. A thriller that I never really got into, getting all confused. It’s one of those in the ‘historical mystery’ mold, but nothing lifts it up.
June Books
