A Symphony Of Echoes - another romp through history!

A Symphony Of Echoes, by Jodi Taylor, is the second in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series about a time-travelling group of historians. The action centres around Max (Madeleine Maxwell), who manages to get into all manner of scrapes across the great expanse of history and somehow survive by the skin of her teeth. In this book, she goes in search of Jack The Ripper, witnesses the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral and tries to find the Hanging Gardens of Babylon too. Along the way, she gets caught up in a future St Mary's where their arch enemy has wreaked havoc to the extent that there is a very real chance the research facility will have to close. Of course, you could go back in time and just kill this man who is threatening the very fabric of history - but then that would mean St Mary's might NEVER have existed ... so a good old paradox in time is created! This is a highly enjoyable, fast-paced adventure that is laced with gritty and extremely sarcastic dialogue. In between the adventure we have the on/off/on relationship between Max and Chief Farrell, which, if it continues in this vein, may get a little wearing! I do like Max as a character, but she does seem to cause havoc wherever she goes and one might be left wondering how on earth she is let loose in history ... in fact, something always seems to go wrong on the trips - not sure what kind of Health and Safety Rules they've got there, but there doesn't seem to be much of a pension plan! Great fun, wouldn't want to work there! I read the audio edition, excellently narrated by Zara Ramm.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 340 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.99.
Reading formats available: print; unabridged audio download; MP3-CD; ebook.

The Sisters Brothers - strangely hypnotic

If you think this book is just another Western, think again. Yes, it's set in 1850s America, the Gold Rush has begun and we have two gunmen (Eli and Charlie Sisters) on the trail of the entertainingly named Hermann Kermit Warm. So far, so "Western" - however, the story is really about the struggle that Eli Sister is starting to have with his life, and the seemingly unbreakable bond he has with his brother. The story is narrated by Eli, and no holds are barred in how he describes the way he and his brother live. They work as assassins for the Commodore (who has shades of a mafia boss for me), and are incredibly good at their jobs - if the Commodore sets them on your trail, you haven't got long to live. Eli is the sensible one, who takes pride in his work and seems to be continually trying to keep his savage brother focused on the job at hand, but Charlie cannot help but drink to excess and seek the company of the ladies of the night. Eli is beginning to dream about meeting a nice girl and settling down - maybe running a store. But Charlie doesn't care for this proposition and seems to be more than happy to carry on as they are. Eli is determined that this will be their last job, and tries to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, but the bond with his brother is so strong that when he is threatened, Eli demonstrates just how deadly efficient he can be. These two brothers are psychopaths and the body count soon increases as they travel across the country to hunt down their prey. You know you shouldn't like these characters and yet, it's hard not to have a certain amount of sympathy for them - which just goes to show how excellent the writing is! I found myself really rooting for Eli to find his new life, away from his brother who always seems to drag him back into violence. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt is, despite its subject matter, a funny and easy to read story. Others have compared it to a Coen Brothers film and I can totally see where they are coming from. Quirky. Entertaining. Great witty dialogue. If you can take a bit of blood and gore, you'll thoroughly enjoy this book.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 325 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

The Hanging Tree - good to be back!

Peter Grant is a London-based police officer who is part of a very special unit - the one that deals with all the "weird" stuff! The weird stuff tends to involve faeries, spirits, river gods and all manner of magical creatures. Most live alongside the non-magical population in harmony, but there are always bad apples in any group, and when they create havoc and mayhem, it's up to the members of The Folly (Peter and his boss, Nightingale) to handle it. A suspicious death during a party at the most expensive apartment block in London wouldn't usually trouble The Folly, but as Lady Ty's daughter was present at the time, she asks Peter to investigate as a favour to her ... and as he owes her big time, he cannot refuse. Needless to say, this doesn't turn out to be a run-of-the-mill case, and Peter is soon plunged into the dangerous world of the arcane. He "bumps" into his old partner, Leslie, who seems to have acquired a new face and new skills - and yet, she doesn't kill him, despite having a golden opportunity to do so. And where Leslie is, that usually means The Faceless Man, Peter's deadliest foe, isn't far behind. As the investigation continues, we come across new characters, and I particularly liked the arrival of an FBI-like magical unit that mostly hindered the operation. The Hanging Tree is the sixth instalment of the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, and as I have come to expect, it's a fast-paced mix of magic and police procedural. The main characters are like old friends - even the baddies - and they are always given some excellent dialogue. Plenty of action sequences are mixed in with some more thoughtful moments - I particularly like how the relationship between Peter and girlfriend Beverley is developing. Entertaining and enjoyable and I'm ready for more - I definitely won't leave it quite as long until I delve into the next book. I always read the audio edition, as narrator Kobna Holbrook-Smith totally brings these stories to life. For me, he IS Peter Grant. I've only got one more thing to say ... when is this going to be made into a TV or film series?

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 400 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

The Silkworm - solid entertainment!

I wrote this review at the end of 2018, but neglected to publish it, so here it is now for your delectation and delight!

In this, the second outing for Cormoran Strike, the action gets going when the wife of author Owen Quine hires him to find her missing husband. Why, you may ask, hasn't she gone to the police? Well, it turns out that the temperamental, publicity-seeking Mr Quine has a history of "disappearing" only to turn up a week later. She believes he is on one of his jaunts and just wants him home to help care for their daughter. The investigation begins, and Cormoran, together with his assistant, Robin, soon start to suspect that all is not what it seems. When Cormoran finds Quine's body, it becomes a murder hunt. But when the police arrest Mrs Quine for the crime, he is convinced that she is innocent, and sets out to find the real killer. This is a solid piece of crime writing from JK Rowling under her pseudonym for this series of books. There are twists and turns, a bit of gore, plenty of suspects and a set of characters from the publishing world that you would hope bears little resemblance to reality! The central character of Cormoran is gruffly compelling, with more of his back story being revealed, including a half brother. I welcomed the increasing use of Robin in the action, which makes for a more rounded book, as she is great foil for the one-legged, ex-army private detective. The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith, is definitely an entertaining read, and is a book I would recommend, unless you are very squeamish. A good way to end the year!

POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 24: A book with a female author who uses a male psuedonym.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 592 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from the library.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

Set In Darkness - murder and politics!

In the eleventh outing for Detective Inspector John Rebus, the action centres around Queensbury House, which is about to become the site of the new Scottish parliament. Our grumpy, single minded hero is assigned as liaison officer to the politicians while the building work continues, a role he doesn't not relish. But things start to get more interesting when a body is found hidden in the fireplace of the old building. It turns out the body has been there for a couple of decades, but when the fresh body of Scottish MP Roddy Grieve turns up in the garden outside, a second investigation begins. Thrown into the mix is the suicide of a homeless man, whose possessions reveal that he has a building society account worth £400,000. Three different teams are working on the three deaths, but Rebus is increasingly convinced that they are linked. Rebus manages to occasionally inspire, but mostly annoy his cast of supporting characters. We have a welcome return for Siobhan Clarke, who is starting to show traits she may well have picked up from her mentor. And new boy Derek Linford, is a highly ambitious, but creepy detective who, needless to say, rubs Rebus up the wrong way. The plot of Set In Darkness is wide ranging and complex, and is sometimes a little hard to keep track of. But it is well worth the effort. Ian Rankin's gritty, clever writing brings the seedy underbelly of both politics and Edinburgh into sharp focus. As usual, there are plenty of twists and turns and red herrings. The return of the notorious criminal Big Ger Rafferty, with whom Rebus has a strangely close relationship, feels like it might be giving us hints of the dangerous territory Rebus might find himself going into in the next book in the series ... but I'll just have to wait and see! As always, a pleasure to read and a most definite page turner.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 496 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.