Books Monthly Review of Adult Fiction titles

WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11/22/63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . . King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.
With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

WARNING: THIS IS A LONG REVIEW, POSSIBLY THE LONGEST I'VE EVER WRITTEN, SO IF YOU WANT TO SKIP TO THE NEXT REVIEW, CLICK HERE...

It's always a bit of a problem for me, what to read after I've finished a new Stephen King. Bearing in mind that I first read this title six weeks ago, when my privileged proof copy arrived, I had to read it again. There are milestones in King's writing for me, like when I discovered IT accidentally, after finding it in my son's room and being unable to put it down. Like when I bought the original, truncated version of THE STAND to read on my long nightly train journey home from Stevenage to Kings Lynn. Like when I couldn't decide whether or not to let my Mum buy me WIZARD AND GLASS, as I didn't think King would be that good at writing fantasy, and I hadn't read the previous volumes. In the event, I found THE GUNSLINGER, THE WASTELANDS and THE DRAWING OF THE THREE in a second hand bookshop in Dereham and read them first, then read WIZARD, which my Mum did buy for me, the first edition being a trade paperback, I believe. I don't have that copy any longer, but I do of course have it, and it changed my life - I was hooked on THE DARK TOWER series and regarded it as important, if not more so, as IT and THE STAND, which had previously been my benchmarks for great King writing. Next up was BAG OF BONES, and HEARTS IN ATLANTIC and INSOMNIA which became trusted favourites. I can always open a King novel and happily read it a second, third or even a fourth time, but those titles I've highlighted in captials above are the ones that mean the most to me, and I include in that number all seven of the DARK TOWER novels. I loved UNDER THE DOME, of course. Who wouldn't? It had all the elements of a great King novel rather than simply a King novel which would be available to read from my ever-growing library should I run out of things to read. But 11.22.63 is the business. Quite why King chose the assassination of Kennedy as the one thing to go back and interfere with, rather than perhaps to eliminate Hitler, or any of those evil SS bastards who, collectively, were responsible for the second world war, is a matter of personal choice, obviously, and quite irrelevant, because what is important about this stunning novel, is the way King conjures up such a satisfying, compelling and accurate vision of the 1950s. That's it, of course, he writes about the period that is dearest to his heart, when he was a kid, when he was growing up. The inclusion of Beverley Marsh and Richie Tozier from IT is quite inspired - this is the Derry of IT, the small-town America that we know and love so well from IT and DREAMCATCHER, and encapsulates what is so very good about King's writing. The plot is enormous, and the events that King describes, the ones that interfere with Jake's plans, to interfere with the assassination of President Kennedy, are amazingly good, the writer is clearly at the height of his powers, and one has to wonder again if this is a novel he toyed with in those early years, when he was writing IT, and THE STAND, and has only now dusted off to present to us because the time is right. But no, this is King at his very best, and he has been at his very best at various points through his amazing career. With film or miniseries versions of BAG OF BONES and THE STAND on the blocks, and still hope for THE DARK TOWER project, this is a truly exciting time for King fans. They will not be disappointed with 11.22.63 - I can't remember where I was when Kennedy was killed, though I can remember where I was when Robert Kennedy was killed, I was slightly older and I was standing in the corridor at Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, about to have a tea break. I can certainly remember where I was when this amazing book arrived - I was in the kitchen making coffee, and I started to read it (again) as soon as I'd opened the package. I did find something else to read afterwards, but it is always a problem for me. A BERNARD CORNWELL, a STEPHEN KING, and everything else just pales into insignificance. These are my giants, and having just read Cornwell's DEATH OF KINGS followed by STEPHEN KING's 11.22.63, I know I'm in safe hands. 11.22.63 joins IT, THE STAND and THE DARK TOWER series as one of my Stephen King benchmarks. It's a giant novel, by a giant of contemporary English literature. No horror this time, just a thoroughly satisfying, mesmerising plot that will suck you in. Does Jake Epping succeed in his quest to change the course of history? Finding out is one of the joys of this autumn. Amazing, simply amazing.

A festive story of hope and redemption emerging from the depths of Victorian society. 1864, and on a bitter December night in Victorian London, one man longs for a Christmas miracle. The city is preparing for the holidays yet James Wentworth is unable to focus on anything other than the disappearance of his wayward son, Lucien. In desperation, he turns to his old friend Sir Henry Rathbone for help. Rathbone finds assistance in the shape of reformed criminal Squeaky Robinson and the enigmatic Doctor Crow and as the group's investigations take them deeper into the seedy underbelly of the capital they uncover a squalid world of illicit pleasures and a trail that leads them closer to the man they seek. But as they get nearer to their quarry, tales also begin emerge of Lucien's violent tendencies, his consuming obsession with a dangerous young woman and the disturbing Shadow Man. Can they bring Lucien home alive and if so, will it be a grave mistake for all concerned?

A charming little novella from the great Anne Perry. You can read it in an hour or so, but it's great fun and beautifully written.

Young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris to join the King's elite guards, but almost immediately finds he is duelling with some of the very men he has come to swear allegiance to - Porthos, Athos and Aramis, inseparable friends: the Three Musketeers. Soon part of their close band, D'Artagnan's loyalty to his new allies puts him in the deadly path of Cardinal Richlieu's machinations. And when the young hero falls in love with the beautiful but inaccessible Constance, he finds himself in a world of murder, conspiracy and lies, with only the Musketeers to depend on. A stirring nineteenth-century tale of friendship and adventure, The Three Musketeers continues to be one of the most influential and popular pieces of French literature.

One of my all-time favourites - I read an abridged version when I was about eight or nine, and the romance and thrills have stayed with me through countless film adaptations, including one with Oliver Reed and Michael Yorke, and another starring the great Gene Kelly! The story is simple - it's all about a young rustic bloke from the country who wants to join an elite force of guards, but he becomes the butt of jokes at the hands of the three swaggering musketeers until he shows them he's as good as them when it comes to fighting. I think the blurb above has got the timing slightly wrong, it's most definitely not set in the 19th century, but the 17th. It's a classic, and there are any number of editions to be had. This purports to be a film tie-in edition, and it is very readable in terms of print size and quality.

Like all crazy plans, it was plotted out on a cocktail napkin. 1. Steal fabulous jewels 2. Sell for millions 3. Live happily ever after Brilliant and oh so simple... when you're a few Cosmopolitans down. Not quite so easy... if you've never stolen anything before, and you're dating a detective. The three Jewel sisters, Amber, Sapphire and Em, came to New York in search of the perfect life. But do they have to steal their dream? Or can they resist the temptation? A gorgeous, glittering, romantic tale for anyone who has ever dreamed of more sparkle.

It never fails to amaze me how complete British authors' knowledge of overseas towns and cities is when it comes to crime capers such as this one - it's obvious to me that Carmen must have sent some time in Manhattan researching this, but then, it doesn't really matter where it's set, because it's the equivalent of timeless, it's placeless. It's charming, funny, romantic, intriguing, daring, saucy, terrific fun and a brilliant read. Like all her books. I love it. The characters are sensational and the plot, when it comes, is deliciously simple. Brilliant.

May 1915. With thousands of Britons away in the trenches, a severely depleted police force remains behind to keep the Home Front safe and continue the fight against crime, espionage, and military desertion. In London, Scotland Yard is already overstretched when the sinking of the Lusitania sparks an unprecedented wave of anti-German riots and arson attacks across the city. Among the victims are the immigrant tailor Jacob Stein, found dead in his burnt-out shop. Initially Jacob's killing appears to be the tragic excess of wartime hysteria - but when it transpires that Jacob had been stabbed amidst the flames, his safe ransacked, and his daughter Ruth raped, the possibility that these assaults were long-premeditated crimes becomes unavoidable. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and his sergeant Joe Keedy must take on this case of cover-ups and contradictions and track down Jacob's killer and Ruth's assailants. As their hunt carries them from the crime-ridden streets of wartime London across the Channel to the chaos of the Front Line, the horrors of crime and policing at a time of total war are brought vividly to life.

First in a new series from Marston, and echoing FOYLE's WAR from the next world war. Detection is still in its infancy, but Marmion is up to the job and makes a pretty good fist of working out what's happened and why. Beautifully written and conjuring up a terrific feel for the period, I hope this is a series that the author will concentrate on and deliver more great titles. Absolutely first-class entertainment.

THE SENSATIONAL NEW THRILLER FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PRINCESS OF BURUNDI. Uppsala, Sweden. Sven-Arne Persson suddenly walks out of a business meeting and disappears, leaving behind his wife - no trace is found of him. Inspector Ann Lindell is investigating the discovery of a dismembered foot washed up on the beach. Ann's boss, Berglund, is delving into a cold case - a man beaten to death - an unsolved mystery that he finds impossible to forget. What connects the three? It will be a challenge for Ann Lindell to unravel the knots and discover what ties bind the cases together. Kjell Eriksson is the winner of two Crime Novel awards in Sweden and one of Scandinavia's top selling authors. Translated by Let the Right One In's Ebba Segerberg.

Whilst this could be any British thriller in terms of the plot, there's something about Scandinavian crime novels that sets them apart and on a different, colder, grimmer level. Chilling, full of detail and brilliant characters. Snow, freezing temperatures and interminable dark days of winter play their part, too. Critics that suggest this is three different stories woven into one are missing the point. All murder mysteries involve several different people, all of whom have their own stories going on in the background. It's the author's job to pull them together to the denouement, when it becomes apparent why they are connected, and Eriksson does this perfectly.

Eriksson's US debut opens a week before Christmas when a Swedish town is rocked by the brutal murder of John Jonsson, a local family man. Detectives, led by a very pregnant Inspector Ann Lindell, at first suspect a psychotic, and they may be right. But if they are not right, that leaves a cunning and vicious murderer on the loose in their town.

Not as good as THE HAND THAT TREMBLES - too many diverse characters in the police department working on the murder, and no one definitive to focus upon. You can feel the freezing temperatures and the crunch of the snow, though. Not up to the standard of Wallander, but a good effort, and fans of Swedish crime fiction will not be disappointed too much.

Treachery and double-cross are the hallmarks of the mercenary soldier. Can you ever know who the real enemy is? Is it the man in the cross-hairs, or the friend alongside you? Or is it the man who pays your wages? Martin Palmer must fight his war in the grim certainty that a potentially fatal bullet could come from any direction. And yet he must fight, because fighting is all he knows. It is a deadly challenge that will test him to the limits of his endurance and beyond. Because, in a world where change is possible, there will always be another paymaster with high aspirations, and enough money to pursue them. And money, of course, is the mercenary soldier's creed. Gripping thriller - being an ex-soldier himself, Johns knows how they think and act, and his superior knowledge shows in this excellent tale.

KIM NEWMAN: MORIARTY - THE HOUND OF THE D'URBERVILLES

Titan Books PB

Imagine the twisted evil twins of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson and you have the dangerous duo of Professor James Moriarty - wily, snake-like, fiercely intelligent, terrifyingly unpredictable - and Colonel Sebastian Basher Moran - violent, politically incorrect, debauched. Together they run London crime, owning police and criminals alike. When a certain Irene Adler turns up on their doorstep with a proposition, neither man is able to resist. An entertaining and wickedly humorous crime adventure from the bestselling writer of Anno Dracula.

Newman manages to include as many characters from late 19th/early 20th century crime fiction as possible - Fu Manchu, Raffles, the Maltese Falcon, in this engaging set of adventures told from the point of view of Moriarty's deputy, the equivalent of Holmes's Watson, Colonel Sebastian Moran. Irene Adler (To Moriarty, she was always that bitch) makes an appearance - it's the Moriartian equivalent of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and well worth a visit.

ABE DANCER: THREE TRAILS

Black Horse Western HB

From the moment their trails first met, Joe Striker, Will Fawcett and Emer Sparrow face danger and trouble. To avoid gun fights and corruption they decide to head east and cross the border into Arizona. But there's no safe haven, and with prices on their heads, they turn south to Mexico. When bounty hunters and Arizona Rangers eventually draw close, they decide to head separate ways. But Ralph Finn, the crooked sheriff of Muletown is made of dogged stuff and has a family score to settle. When the chase finally ends, it's not only their lives that are at stake. Dancer is an experienced writer and has an extraordinary talent for creating the right atmosphere - you really believe you're in Arizona, and the charaterisation and dialogue are perfect. Adult western which is totally believable.

GUY ADAMS: SHERLOCK HOLMES - THE BREATH OF GOD

Titan Books PB

A body is found crushed to death in the London snow. There are no footprints anywhere near. It is almost as if the man was killed by the air itself. This is the first in a series of attacks that sees a handful of London s most prominent occultists murdered. While pursuing the case, Holmes and Watson have to travel to Scotland to meet with the one person they have been told can help: Aleister Crowley.

I started off thinking that the timing was out - that Crowley would have been far too young to have met Holmes, but of course Adams has got it just right, Crowley was born 1875. This is the kind of locked-room mystery that came later, after Holmes, but Holmes laps it up and solves it with consummate ease. Excellent.

JOE REVILL: A CASE OF WITCHCRAFT - A NOVEL OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

MX Publishing PB

A tale of witchcraft in the Northern Isles, in which some long-concealed secrets are revealed - concerning not only the Dark Arts but also the Great Detective himself.

Aleister Crowley and Holmes again! This time in Scotland, and it's a superior offering. Revill's imagery and characterisation are superb, and capture Holmes as Conan Doyle had him, which is good, although the sexual connotations were, I thought, unnecessary, and left alone by Doyle for good reason. Whilst retaining the 19th century flavour of Holmes, Revill attempts to engage some 21st century philosophy which is the only downside for me. An excellent pastiche.

CHARLOTTE ANNE WALTERS: BAREFOOT ON BAKER STREET

MX Publishing PB

Barefoot on Baker Street is set in late Victorian London where a life of crime is the only way to escape poverty and servitude for one bright young workhouse orphan. The narrative follows Red on her incredible life-journey as it twists and turns through poverty, riches, infatuation, loss and love. A dramatic escape from the workhouse at thirteen propels Red into a world of slum housing, street gangs, prostitution and petty crime as the rapidly expanding city groans under the weight of the industrial revolution. A chance meeting with the mysterious and eccentric Sherlock Holmes prompts an infatuation which cuts through her street-wise bravado. Red's blossoming criminal career also brings her to the attention of Professor James Moriarty. An autistic savant riddled with obsessive compulsions, Moriarty is a dangerous criminal who draws Red into his life and onto a collision course with Holmes.

I think Sherlock Holmes follow-on novels work slightly better when the central character is someone other than Holmes or Watson (or Moriarty) and this one is terrific. Red is a brilliant character, and encapsulates everything that was desperately bad about late Victorian England. Well researched and very well written. A joy to read.

KATE WORKMAN: RENDEZVOUS AT THE POPULAIRE

MX Publishing PB

Sherlock Holmes has retired. After a cruel accident during a fruitless chase for Moriarty, Holmes is maimed badly enough that he declares he will no longer solve the crimes of the London streets. But then a letter comes. A letter imploring him to investigate the Opera Populaire's ghost. The spectre everyone has heard rumours of, but only one has seen.

My only beef with this excellent romp is that the author chooses to disable Holmes. I'm not sure she has the right to do that. Otherwise a satisfying read.

DAN ADRIACCO: NO POLICE LIKE HOLMES

MX Publishing PB

The Investigating Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes Colloquium and donation of the third largest private collection of Sherlockiana in the world were supposed to produce a weekend of great publicity for tiny St. Benignus college in Erin, Ohio. But when theft and murder come to campus, college public relations director Jeff Cody finds himself knee-deep in Sherlockian suspects, besieged by an aggressive reporter he loves but no longer dates, and competing with his eccentric brother-in-law, Sebastian McCabe, to solve the crimes first. The mess worsens when Jeff and his ex-girlfriend, Lynda Teal, themselves fall under suspicion of murder - and with good reason, for they have something to hide. This satirical romp takes Sherlock Holmes seriously, but not Holmesians. A witty and engaging spoof sure to delight not only the deerstalker set but mystery fans in general.

Almost Agatha Christie-like, and with overtones of Inspector Morse - excellent, engaging fun, not about Holmes this time, but about Holmes fans and aficionados. A great read for a cold winter night, plenty of caricature characters straight out of early 20th century crime fiction. Terrific.

GERRY O'HARA: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE AFFAIR IN TRANSYLVANIA

MX Publishing PB

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson are returning to London from Bucharest after the great detective has interceded in a delicate matter relating to the Rumanian Royal House. As they depart from Bucharest they receive their mail forwarded from London. Doctor Watson opens a distressing letter from his niece, Mina, now living in Budapest with her young husband, Janos, a newly qualified lawyer. It seems that the young man has not returned from a business assignment in Transylvania. Holmes advises that he and Watson should postpone their return to Baker Street. Watson wires ahead and they are met at the station by Mina and her friend, Lucy Westenra. Holmes is duly intrigued by their stay overnight at the home of Dr Westenra in the grounds of the asylum of which Dr Westenra is the Administrator. Holmes suspects that letters from the young lawyer may have been forged, or written under duress. Next day they set off for Castle Dracula.

Interesting crossover between Holmes and Dracula in which it turns out that Mina Harker is the niece of Dr Watson. My personal feeling is that Dracula was set a few years prior to the era of Sherlock Holmes so on that level it shouldn't work, but it does. The book is elegant, well-written and charming. No huge surprises, and a cast of characters that should be familiar to all.

CHARLIE ROXBURGH: THE CASE OF THE RUSSIAN CHESSBOARD - A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY ONLY NOW REVEALED

MX Publishing PB

“Mr Holmes, save my sister from whatever nameless horror has just driven this friend of ours to her death!” It is late on a foggy November afternoon and a desperate young woman arrives at Baker Street, imploring Sherlock Holmes to help her. She is terrified about what may be going on inside a secretive London refuge for Russian exiles, where her sister works. And so begins a frightening case which deeply strains both Holmes and Watson because of dreadful consequences of failure and the mystifying nature of the forces against them. The case leads into strange territory. Into the circles of Victorian London’s radicals and idealists, where early feminists and socialists rub shoulders with exiled foreign revolutionaries. To a utopian anarchist commune in Essex wilderness, which imitates Tolstoy’s farm communes in Russia. Into the dark political world from which London’s Russian exiles have fled. The trail leads on - to one shocking discovery after another, as Holmes unravels a conspiracy as evil and twisted as a labyrinth in hell. Lengthwise, ‘The Case of the Russian Chessboard’ totals three original Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Narrated by Dr Watson, the tale respects Sherlock Holmes traditions and 1890s historical facts. Mingling mystery with gaslight, it offers a gripping, atmospheric and thought-provoking read.

Russian politics at the time were always dark and mysterious, and so it turns out, is this book. Not a great deal of detection to be done, and it's more of an adventure than a case, but solid enough, and full of engaging characters, including Holmes and Watson, of course, who are portrayed faithfully to the originals.

GARDNER DOZOIS: MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW SCIENCE FIC|TION No. 24

Constable Robinson PB

In this the twenty-fourth edition of his celebrated annual Mammoth Book of Best New SF (its 28th as The Year's Best SF in the United States), award-winning editor Gardner Dozois presents 33 of 2010's most outstanding pieces of short science fiction, along with his typically informative notes on each author. Many are the work of award-winning writers, but there are also some surprising newcomers. The collection is prefaced, as ever, by Dozois's Summation of 2010 in SF, a review of the year's highlights in publishing and film - including non-fiction, media and awards - obituaries and an insightful look at emerging trends.

Cracking selection of top-rate SciFi stories, too long to read in one hit because of all the other titles I have to get through, but it will stay by my bedside till I've finished it! Thirty-three top-flight SF yarns - what a collection!

EMLYN REES: HUNTED - TIME TO RUN

Robinson PB

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY? HOW FAST WOULD YOU RUN TO SAVE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU LOVE? Danny Shanklin wakes up slumped across a table in a London hotel room he's never seen before. He's got a high-powered rifle strapped to his hands. He hears sirens and stumbles to the window to see a burning limousine and bodies all over the street. The police are closing in. He's been set up. They're coming for him... With only his tech support friend, the Kid, for backup, Danny sets out on a nail-biting odyssey though the panicked city streets, in a desperate bid to escape, protect the people he loves, and track down the terrorists who set him up. But with 500,000 CCTV cameras, 33,000 cops, 9 intelligence agencies, and dozens of TV news channels all hot on his tail, just how long will THIS one innocent man be able to survive? 'Hunted gives new meaning to the phrase "fast-paced." Filled with clever twists, stylishly written and populated with characters who are as real as our friends and family (and enemies!), this thriller moves at breakneck pace from first page to last. Bravo!' Jeffery Deaver 'Fast and furious from the very start, Hunted is a shot of pure adrenalin.' Sam Bourne

Stylish thriller and takes off from the first page and never lets up! High-octane entertainment with some stereotypical characters but nevertheless you'll be on the edge of your seat for this roller-coaster ride, particularly the high speed chase around London in the first few pages. It's been done before, by other writers with bigger followings, but this one's terrific and should earn Rees a lot of brownie points and get him noticed. Brilliant.

M C BEATON: THE SKELETON IN THE CLOSET

Robinson PB

Ignorance is bliss... especially when it comes to murder! Ever since the death of his father, Fellworth Dolphin has slaved away as a waiter to support his miserly, cold-hearted mother. So when she suddenly dies Fellworth is shocked to discover she has left him a fortune. Somewhat confused, Fell teams up with a girl from work, Maggie, to investigate the source of the riches. But what they find instead is a closet full of skeletons... Is it really possible Fell's father was involved in a decades-old train robbery? And who is the mysterious woman in the portrait hidden in his mother's wardrobe? As Fell and Maggie poke around the village for answers they find themselves on a surprise-filled path to danger and adventure - but all this good fortune could come to a sudden end if they don't stay one step ahead of a cunning killer...

All the elements of a Regency Romance come together in a brilliant mystery that's perfect for fans of Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth (also by Beaton under different pen-names, of course). Fellworth Dolphin is obviously a carefully-chosen name for her hero, but it's the one low point in this otherwise excellent mystery - the name sort of puts me off slightly. Fellworth, yes. Fellworth Dolphin - not sure.

DALE BROWN: ROGUE FORCES

Robinson HB

Newly inaugurated president Joseph Gardner has followed through on his pledge to pull American forces out of Iraq. But the region has quickly re-emerged as a hot zone, as Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq.

Intense action and believable characters put Dale Brown firmly on the road to recovery after some poor recent titles. The conflict is handled brilliantly.

ADIRAN MAGSON: DEATH ON THE RIVE NORD

Allison and Busby HB

Picardie, 1963. A truck drops a group of illegal workers by a deserted stretch of canal in the dead of night near Poissons-les-Marais, desperate travellers in a pipeline, searching for a better life. Days later, one of them surfaces, stabbed to death. For Inspector Lucas Rocco, finding the victim's fellow travellers presents problems. Most Algerian immigrants are welcome, but trawling for any who aren't is a sensitive issue loaded with threats of civil unrest - something which terrifies his bosses in the Ministry. And when Rocco is ordered to stay away from one factory where he suspects illegals are employed, it goes against everything he knows. However, his difficulties have barely begun. One of the illegals is a young woman with a small child, on the run from her brutal husband, Samir Farek, an Algerian gangster who has threatened to kill them both. But Farek has another, bigger agenda: to take over as gang lord in Paris. With a history of disposing of anyone who crosses him - a fate he is happy to mete out even to a senior policeman who gets in his way - the potential consequences are frightening. Caught between his instinct to protect a vulnerable woman and her child, of obeying bosses interested only in preserving the status quo, and facing the threat of a dangerous gangster who recognises no boundaries in the murderous pursuit of his plans, Rocco begins to wonder how long he can survive.

Ah, Lucas Rocco is back at last! The atmosphere in Magson's 1960s France is heavy with Gauloises and cheap perfume. The Algerian connections are paramount in this excellent murder mystery, and once again Rocco is up against the petty bureaucracy and jealousy of his superior and fellow officers. Truly rivals the great Simenon's Maigret for style and content. Breathtakingly good...

DEBORAH COOKE: FLYING BLIND

Allison and Busby PB

I will shift shape and I will cast dreams and I will be everything that I am forecast to be. I am the Wyvern. And I will claim my birthright, right here and now. Zoe Sorensson is a perfectly normal teenage girl. That's the problem. She's always been told she's destined for great things - she is a dragon shape shifter, a Pyr, and the only female one of her kind. But Zoe's powers are AWOL, so she's sent to Pyr boot camp. Zoe quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday, because the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line -unless Zoe and her friends can work together and save their own kind.

Starts off good and progresses to brilliant! A YA novel with a hint of terrifying darkness that will appeal to a wider audience than just YAs. Zoe yearns to be a normal teenager waiting for a young man to ask her on a date and hoping her bust will suddenly transform into something that needs support, whilst at the same time waiting to change into a dragon so that she can save her kind from extinction. The dark passages are really dark, and move this into something more than just YA dragon romance. Really, really good.

JACQUELINE WINSPEAR: THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH

Allison and Busby PB

The Mapping of Love and Death opens in August 1914 in the Santa Ynez Valley in California. Michael Clifton—youngest son of an Englishman who had emigrated to America when he was in his late teens, in search of his fortune—has just purchased a tract of land which he believes is rich with one of the state's most valuable resources—oil. A cartographer and surveyor, Michael is sure of his quest, and anticipates his father's pride in his acquisition. Fate steps in when the young Bostonian begins his journey home, and learns that Britain is going to war in Europe, so in a moment of loyalty to his father's homeland, he decides to travel to England to enlist for service. Michael is listed as "missing" in 1916. In the spring of 1932, after Michael's remains are discovered in France, along with other members of his cartography unit. His wealthy parents hire Maisie Dobbs to find the woman who wrote a series of love letters discovered among Michael's belongings. The lover identifies herself only as "The English Nurse." While tracking down the elusive woman in an investigation that ventures from London's most exclusive drawing rooms to its most downtrodden neighborhoods, Maisie must also wrestle with memories of serving as a nurse in the Great War—memories that she has tried so hard to conquer—and of the passionate wartime romance that ended in tragedy. But as she delves more deeply into what she discovers to be a long-hidden crime, the investigator realizes that unearthing buried secrets can lead to present-day danger—just as events from the past send her own life in a surprising and not unpleasant direction.

You really don't need to read the earlier Maisie Dobbs novels to get a feel for our heroine - plucky, determined, attractive - this book will transport you immediately back to the 1930s, the era of Bertie Wooster and Miss Marple; the sparring between Dobbs and Caldwell is intimate, funny, and inevitable. Some signposts early on regarding the murderer, but hey, it's all good clean fun and far removed from the clinical body fests we read today. Relaxing and charming...

RACHEL MOORE: SUMMER OF LOVE

Allison and Busby PB

As Will saw her smile he hugged her closer, and then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her as if his life depended on it, and all her nerve ends were alive again and she was kissing him back - Jessie is the only daughter of the vicar of Abbot's Cove, an idyllic, sleepy village on the Cornish coast. At seventeen, she struggles to be recognised as an adult by her parents, who have wrapped her in cotton wool since her brother's death during the Second World War. In the three years since the war ended, Thomas and Ellen Penwarden have tried to shield Jessie from all of life's dangers, including heartbreak. But a teenage girl is bound to fall in love and needs to find her own way through the pitfalls of a new relationship. Luckily for Jessie, her best friend Rita Levant is more than happy to guide her along the way, and when the girls meet some boys from Penzance at a summer dance, Jessie falls in love for the first time - Dating Will Tremayne, and riding on the back of his motorbike as he roars into the quiet village, seems incredibly glamorous and exciting to Jessie, although she daren't tell her strict father that she is falling in love with a biker boy - she knows only too well what he would say. Meanwhile, Rita's reckless nature leads her into trouble, and the Penwarden family soon has greater things to worry about than Jessie's blossoming romance.

I've just started to read this - check back in a few days for my review...

RACHEL CAINE: WORKING STIFF

Allison and Busby PB

It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it - dead or alive. Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment - until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele. Now Bryn faces being terminated...literally. Bryn is given the chance to take down the bigger problem, pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast before she becomes a zombie slave. A real working stiff.

A complete change of direction for Ms Caine, and the chances are if you're a fan of hers already, you may not take to this new series readily. It's more SF/Zombie than urban thriller - Bryn is dead, and the opportunities for her to have some really cool adventures is not that great. This is a really dark story with little in the way of romance, which is what you normally expect to find in Rachel's stories. Some interesting characters, but some annoying ones too. Totally different to the Morganville Vampires and the Weather Watchers series...

LAURIE R KING: PIRATE KING

Allison and Busby HB

The latest adventure for the intrepid Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes takes readers into the frenetic world of silent films, where the pirates are real and the shooting isn't all done with cameras. In England's young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate the criminal activities that surround Fflytte's popular movie studio. So Russell is travelling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for movie-making for a generation or sink a boatload of careers. Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the thirteen blonde-haired, blue-eyed actresses Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance - and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader, La Rocha. Plus, there's a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

Unlike the original BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE, Laurie King follows her own trend in this latest Mary Russell title of keeping Holmes and Mary apart for most of the book - and for me it doesn't quite work. I still firmly believe that the Holmes/Russell partnership is quite the best non-Conan Doyle Holmes to be had, but it really works best when they are together and working in partnership to solve the crimes they are faced with. Large parts of the book read like a young English lady's diary, and fascinating though the character is, it lacks the verve and excitement of the original book. Disappointing but still a brilliant read, if that makes sense...

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

BBC Books PB

The hit BBC series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective. In this new edition of Conan Doyle's first collection of short stories, Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss explains how these gripping tales inspired and influenced the new series. Sherlock: The Adventures contains twelve short stories first published in The Strand magazine between 1891 and 1892 and then published as a collection in October 1892. It includes some of Conan Doyle's best tales of murder and mystery, such as 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band', in which the strange last words of a dying woman 'It was the band, the speckled band!' and a inexplicable whistling in the night are the only clues Sherlock Holmes has to prevent another murder; and 'The Five Orange Pips', in which an untimely death and the discovery of the letter containing five orange pips lead to a cross-Atlantic conspiracy.

I can remember the day I bought my first Holmes book, and it was this one, back in 1958. My grandmother had just died, and it was decided that I would spend the day with my elder sister in Cheltenham rather than attend the funeral. I was just eleven years old, and although I knew I wasn't going to see my Gran any more, my parents decided it would be too grim for me. So off I went with Jean, and some money to spend - some small consolation, I guess. At lunchtime I wandered off to W H Smiths and returned with a copy of HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD TOM DOOLEY by the Kingston Trio, and a paperback of THE ADVENTURED OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. From that day on, I was lost in the Victorian world of the great detective, the greatest ever detective. I don't remember the edition I bought, it was possibly by Penguin. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that not only is Holmes still very much alive and packing in audiences through the movies and the TV series - the books are still to be found in a huge variety of editions. And now, the BBC, cashing in on the massive popularity of their excellent reworking, have followed up their recent A STUDY IN SCARLET with this terrific new edition of ADVENTURES, again showing a posed scene from the series. It's a sheer pleasure to hold any new Holmes edition in your hands, and this is a handsome volume, to be sure. The wonderful intro by series creator Mark Gatiss is most welcome. A brilliant Christmas gift, to be sure.

PETER ROBINSON: COLD IS THE GRAVE

Macmillan PB

"A writer at the very height of his powers." (IAN RANKIN). Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks has reached a turning point. With his wife now living with another man in London and his career in the doldrums thanks to Chief Constable Riddle, it is time to ring the changes. Perhaps a move to the National Crime Squad? Perhaps a second chance with Sandra? But then late one night he is summoned to Riddle's house - and his plans take a surprising new turn. For the Chief Constable's sixteen-year-old daughter Emily has run away and for once Riddle wants Banks to use his unorthodox methods to find her without fuss.

Just arrived - check back for my review shortly...