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Apr 13, 20201 min read
765. Mick Herron - Joe Country
Was trying to find a different book, which I think I read from the library so not on my Kindle, it appears. So re-read this instead. I...
Apr 4, 20201 min read
763. Mick Herron - Spook Street
I have read this before, but found it absolutely brilliant 2nd time round. The Slough House characters (and indeed the house itself) are...
Feb 10, 20201 min read
750. Mick Herron - The Catch
Am writing this on 20 February and can’t honestly remember anything about this book. These are a bit of a cheat. It is part of a series...
Jan 14, 20201 min read
744. Mick Herron - The List
The prequel, I think to 743, and I have read this one before. Structurally quite similar- another elderly German ex MI5 agent dies, a...
Jan 13, 20201 min read
743. Mick Herron - The Drop
Interesting to read this just after Le Carre, as this treads the same territory 30(?) years later and features ancient, superannuated...
Jan 12, 20201 min read
742. John Le Carré - Smiley's People
This I think is the 3rd book in a trilogy which ends with Smiley trapping Karla’s daughter who has been smuggled into Europe...
Aug 30, 20191 min read
706. Mick Herron - Joe Country
I may not have been in the right mood, but thought this was one of his weaker books. Weak and slowly developed plot line and just not a...
Aug 21, 20191 min read
704. CJ Sansom - Winter In Madrid
I enjoyed this, although it was long and hard work! Annoyingly, it succumbed to various clichés attaching to this type of novel; about 3...
May 22, 20191 min read
685. Luke Jennings - Codename Villanelle
This is the book or novella around which Killing Eve is based. It is pretty much complete junk (although does provide a bit of background...
May 11, 20191 min read
681. Ian McEwan - Sweet Tooth
The only one we had in the house; I had read before but had no memory of it, perhaps a bad omen. I felt quite cheated by this; an...
Mar 11, 20191 min read
666. Simon Mawer - Tightrope
Well, close on the title. Very much the successor to 663 (which I think you would have to have read first) but, for me, less compelling....
Mar 7, 20191 min read
665. Simon Mawer - The Girl Who Fell From The Sky
I loved this – book of the year so far. It began with her parachute drop into France in 1942 or 3, and then bounced back into her...
Feb 15, 20191 min read
659. Michael Ondaatje - Warlight
I struggled with the first half of this book which seemed almost Dickensian in its slow development. 2 kids are abandoned by their...
Nov 14, 20181 min read
640. Mick Herron - This Is What Happened
(I think I have got the title right). Quite a slight (although not cheap) book about two sisters and a madman who cons the less...
Sep 19, 20181 min read
625. Kate Atkinson - Transcription
3rd purchase from Smith’s at Gatwick, her new book which Paddy devoured before I did! Not as good as many of her books, a bit...
Jun 25, 20181 min read
607. Mick Herron - The List
Short novella, featuring some of the Slough House characters. Brilliant, as ever. Get this on Amazon
Feb 10, 20181 min read
571. Mick Herron - Slow Horses
This is the 3rd time I have read this (463 & 517), having recommended him to a friend and wanting to remind myself/confirm (!) that they...
Dec 9, 20171 min read
556. Graham Greene - The Human Factor
This is the book I meant to read, a domestic spy story, but very good. Maurice Castle is a minor functionary in the security services in...
Dec 7, 20171 min read
555. Graham Greene - The Honorary Consul
Reading this for bizarrely incorrect reason. Meant to read The Human Factor after enjoying 554 above, but both it and The Honorary...
Oct 7, 20171 min read
537. Mick Herron - Down Cemetery Road
The first in the private eye Zoe Boehm series, although until near the end she appears as a minor character in this book. Completely...