Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars As England’s greatest specialist in criminal detection, Sherlock Holmes is unwavering in his quest to capture the killer responsible for terrifying London’s East End. He hires an “unfortunate” known as Mary Ann Monk, the…
Book Club Chatter #2: ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie
Since January, I’ve managed to miss two book club meetings. I missed the February meeting because I was too busy at work to finish “early” (at 5.15pm…) and go to the meeting. That was a shame, actually, because the book…
Review: ‘The Mangle Street Murders’ by M.R.C. Kasasian
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Gower Street, London, 1882: Sidney Grice, London’s most famous personal detective, is expecting a visitor. He drains his fifth pot of morning tea, and glances outside, where a young, plain woman picks her way…
Review: ‘Storm Front’ by Jim Butcher
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Harry Dresden – Wizard. Lost items found. Paranormal investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates. No love potions, endless purses or other entertainment. Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the…
Review: ‘The Gift of Darkness’ by V. M. Giambanco
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Twenty-five years ago in the woods near the Hoh River in Seattle, three boys were kidnapped. One did not come home. A quarter of a decade later, a family of four is found brutally…
Crime Book Review: ‘The Beekeeper’s Apprentice’ by Laurie R. King
Rating: 4 out of 5 starsSynopsis (Courtesy of GoodReads) In 1915, long since retired from his crime-fighting days, Sherlock Holmes is engaged in a reclusive study of honeybees on the Sussex Downs. Never did the Victorian detective think to meet…
Crime Review: ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ by Agatha Christie
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 starsSynopsis The famous case that launched the career of Hercule Poirot. When a wealthy heiress is murdered, Poirot steps out of retirement to find the killer. As the master detective makes his way through the…
Some random thoughts on ‘The Affinity Bridge’ by George Mann
This was the last book I read in 2011 that has somehow managed to go unreviewed. Since I’ve reviewed every book I’ve read since I started this blog, it’s been bothering me somewhat. The lack of review isn’t because I…
Thoughts on ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes is one of those iconic characters that even people who have never read in their life have heard of. After a couple of positive brushes with detective fiction last year, I decided that it was about time that…