Tag archives for Crime
SS-GB [review] BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton’s SS-GB
I watched the BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton's SS-GB last night. I read the book a long time ago, it was probably one of the first alternative histories that I ever read. I've also enjoyed Young Lions by Andrew Mackay which is also set post-German Invasion of Britain. SS-GB Review The bombed-out ruins of Buckingham Palace as depicted in SS-GB. Image © Sid Gentle Films Ltd. SS-GB has a lot of elements that I enjoy. It's an alternative history, it's a police procedural, it has espionage/intelligence aspects and it's set during WW2. It also has another element that fascinates me. When do you remain loyal and when should you change sides? I was always going to watch this programme. The story is set in 1941, fourteen months after a successful German Invasion of Britain. In the opening shots we are…
Time Heals No Wounds by Hendrik Falkenberg [Book Review]
Time Heals No Wounds by Hendrik Falkenberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed reading this. A new author for me, and although I read the odd bit of crime fiction I don't read it as often as I read other things. Time Heals No Wounds The story is mainly told through the point of view of Hannes, an elite sportsman who is also a police officer. Bored with routine police work he requests a transfer. Time Heals No Wounds is his first assignment as a detective. There are interludes with unspecified other characters. Some tortured dream sequences, and also from Merle, a woman being held captive. These hang together very well, and provide clues that I only recognised when I'd read all the way to the end. The story is internally consistent. There are plenty of hooks to keep…
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith [Book Review]
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read Strangers on a Train because it was a book club choice in the office. The synopsis gives an intriguing premise, and I sometimes read crime stories (I've just downloaded the first four Cadfael stories, and I enjoyed the Ian Rankin novels I've read). Strangers on a Train was a contemporary crime novel when it was fit published in 1950. So I thought I'd give it a go. Strangers on a Train The premise is of two strangers on a train who get talking and eventually agree to murder someone for the other person. The idea is that because they aren't linked to the murder victim then they'll get away with the crime. It's set about 1950, so forensic science doesn't come into the equation. Strangers…
Author Interview – Greg Smith
Greg Smith, author & graphic designer This interview is with Greg Smith, a graphic designer turned novelist who has written two quite different novels in different genres. Greg is an Australian who has spent most of his life living in the US, but not quite enough to stop him signing off G'Day. Here are Greg Smith's answers to my questions. How long have you been writing for and what made you start writing? I’ve been writing seriously for several years now albeit sporadically, but it’s been something in the back of my mind to try way long before that. And to answer your question as to what, or in my case who, made me start writing ... I can thank my wife for that. One day I mentioned an idea for a story and she quipped, “That would make a…
Book Review – Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch My rating: 5 of 5 stars A change in direction for the Peter Grant series. Peter's out of London and without his mentor Nightingale. As well as this the story is one of two missing children, which adds an urgency to the pace of events. As you'd expect there is a strong supernatural element to the story, with an interesting twist in it. Only Peter and Beverley Brook really feature through the story, Nightingale bookends it and there is minor contact with Dr Walid at one point. All the rest of the characters are locals from West Mercia. Out on his own Peter develops as a character. He's a lot more self-reliant and capable, he doesn't have any magical backup so deals with what he finds himself. The background is also expanded a bit, Peter…