A Happy Crime Writer's New Year

Good afternoon Bookaholics and welcome to the first blog of 2015. I trust you all had a great Christmas and New Year and that you got lots of lovely books for Christmas. I was fortunate to get a few so watch this space.

So what has this Crime Writer and reader been up to over Christmas and new year? Firstly I am sporting one of my Christmas presents. I love this T-Shirt and the perfect present for me. In case you can't read it from the picture it says "You are Dangerously Close to Becoming a Body in my Next Novel." You do not know how true this is. As a crime writer I am always one step away from planning the next murder. Seriously, never upset a crime writer. They can bump you off in ways that are too horrible for the human mind to imagine. Unless it's a crime writer's mind that is.

So what of 2014. The most exciting part of this had to be the launch of the first book in the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Shona is keen, eager and ready to prove to the world what she can do. So far she hasn't disappointed with the book being warmly received. The book launch at Waterstones Bookstore was so much fun and very well attended. Definitely a great way to launch my career as a published author.

Unfortunately I haven't had huge amounts of time to read recently as I have been knee deep in all things Christmas and New Year related. Much like the rest of the world. I am waiting for my family to arrive so we can have our New Years Day Dinner together. That brings me neatly to the end of my post as I have a steak pie to carve up, er. sorry cut up and serve. See you all back here very soon my bookaholic friends. My wish for you over the coming year is that you will have everything you need. See you all soon. 

Murder on my Mind

Bookaholics is currently on holiday in the beautiful historic city of York. With all this Roman history around my thoughts automatically turn to murder. What do you mean, I always think of murder wherever I go? Ok. I'll give you that. Still murder is around every street corner as well as ghosts and Roman soldiers. The atmosphere, and the streets, are ripe for murder. I am filling up my notebook with possible plots at every turn of a corner.

Of course, as well as murder my thoughts are usually on books. I am the Bookaholic after all. My surroundings this week remind me of the excellent Monastery Murder series by Donna Fletcher Crow. If you haven't read any of these books then rush out and buy one. They are more than well worth reading. I've linked to her kindle page if you want to take a look and start reading.

The picture below is me standing in the Roman Baths underneath the aptly named Roman Baths pub. Today, I am off to York Minster. I am really looking forward to this. Have a great day my Bookaholic friends. See you all back here very soon.

Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters

I realise that I have been somewhat remiss in the blog department recently. This has been because I have been so busy with different things that I haven't had much time to read. Yes, I realise that this is a difficult concept to grasp, but it is none-the-less true. Today I have remedied that and spent much of the day reading. 

Todays book takes us back to Egypt in 1903, with another cracking Amelia Peabody Murder Mystery.  Previously on the blog I have reviewed another of Elizabeth Peters books, The Last Camel Died at Noon in which there was a plethora of rather recalcitrant camels. In contrast, this book is riddled with cats. Now, please don't get the impression that this is a book about cats, as it is not, but they do feature rather heavily. For lovers of these books I have to forewarn you that the cat Bastet has been escorted by Styx to the other side. Never fear, there is a replacement who is just as full of character.

So preliminaries over, what about the book. Amelia Peabody is an aristocratic Englishwoman who is married to an archeologist. She herself is not only an archeologist, but an amateur sleuth. Wherever, she goes she always manages to trip over a dead body. In this book she, her husband, and a large cast of family members discover a new tomb. Funnily enough there is a body inside. This leads to another jolly good jape, full of murder, intrigue and mysterious characters. All the characters are well represented and, of course, given the time and place, exotic. I could picture them perfectly. In many ways the characters are caricatures and larger than life, yet somehow realistic. A difficult trick to pull of but Elizabeth Peter's manages it.

The plot is excellent with a number of red herrings and side turns. This kept me reading, and turning just one more page. The sign of a good murder mystery. This is top notch book which I can highly recommend. 

       

That's us for another day on bookaholic. I have another book waiting in the wings to read. This is a bit nearer home as it is set in Dundee but I am looking forward to reading it. I will see you all soon with another review. Until then. Keep reading. 

Blood Rites by S.J. Rozan

As I have been knee deep in murder and mystery in my writing life, I am continuing the theme with todays book review. This book is full of enough thrills and chills to keep the most ardent of crime and thriller reader happy.

The book takes place in Hong Kong, which as everyone knows is now part of China.  Having lived in Hong Kong for 2 years I was excited to read this book. I have not read anything by this author before but I am now definitely going to have to change that. Rozan brings Hong Kong and the way of life to vividid reality. I could picture every scent, sound and smell. This is not just because I know the area, but because Rozan has an evocative style of writing which paints a very realistic picture.

The characters are superb, particularly the main ones. Bill Smith and Lydia Chin resonated with me as characters and I finished the book wanting to know more about them. This read is  a whistle stop ride and I found that I wanted to keep on reading? The twists and turns are numerous and occasionally a little perplexing but this really added to the tension. The writer is deft at bringing all the strands together. At the end I found myself thinking where can I buy another book by this author. The suspense had me feeling like I was on a knife edge.

       

Buy this, it is worth every penny of the cover price. I can assure you that you want regret it.

That's us for another day on Bookaholic. I look forward to seeing you all again soon and bringing you another fabulous book. Until then, keep reading.

There's Been a Murder

   

Over the last few days Bookaholic has been immersed in murder and mayhem. Yes, even more than usual. What do you mean that is not possible. I can assure you it most certainly is as I have been to the Cromarty Crime and Thriller Festival. For such a picturesque wee town they seem to do Murder particularly well.

  

It just goes to show you can't judge a town by its beauty. The weekend kicked off with A murder mystery dinner. This was side splittingly funny with a cast of characters, each more eccentric than the last. Here is a taster and you will get the gist.

Ian Rankin had a guest role as the dead body and that is his chalk outline above. In case you were wondering it was done by Charlotte, the meek and mild librarian. Our table was the only one that got it right. Yeah. Go us. Just goes to show you should never trust a smiling librarian.

Saturday was a tad more serious with a full day at a Crime writers workshop. This was superb and much of what wa done May appear in future DI Shona McKenzie books. Watch this space. An excellent Scottish night, with Scottish all girl bands, Shine and the Shee helped us to recover from a full on day. Girl power Scottish style. 

Sunday was a chance to hear some of my favourite authors talk about crime writing and their books. I am sure you will a agree that Ian Rankin, Anne Cleeves, Lin Anderson, Alex Gray and Stuart MacBride form a formidable bunch. I wouldn't want to be in a room with all of them at once. Oh wait, I was, and I'm still here to tell the tale. Phew.  This was a fairly informal festival so we were able to chat to the writers over lunch etc. I can assure you, as well as being great crime writers, all of the above are genuinely nice people. 

    

       

I am sure you will agree that this weekend was a bookaholics paradise. The next event is The Bloody Scotland Crime Festival in Stirling in September. I am looking forward to it already. 

               

 

       

Just a selection of books from the authors who were at the weekend. As I say, all fabulous crime writers and well worth getting their books. That brings us to the end of another bookaholic post. I look forward to seeing you all back here soon. Have a great week and keep reading. 

The Death of Pie by Tamar Myers

Today on Bookaholic I bring you a laugh out loud mystery.

I love Tamar Myers Books and was looking forward to reading this one. In this book Magdalena Yoder is currently on the hunt for the killer of a visiting author of a tell all book. It would appear that everyone in the town could have a motive for bumping off the victim. Magdalena, being the richest person it town, and pretty much owning the towns police force (1 officer), commandeers the police car and sets off on a madcap ride to find the killer. The book has a good storyline, with a well written plot. In many places it is laugh out loud funny.

The characters are all eccentric, each one being more crazy than the others. I could picture them perfectly. Tamar Myers has a gift for description which brings the setting to life. I almost felt like I was there. The one thing which spoiled the book a bit for me is that I felt that sometimes everything was a bit over the top. By the end of the book I felt I had had a surfeit of it. This is not to say it is not an excellent book, which it is. It was just a bit too much for me as a reader. Other readers may find this romp through detection right up their street. Would I recommend the book. Definitely. However, readers may want to take a look inside before they buy just to make sure that they are happy with the style. I am sure many bookaholic readers will love this book.

       

Please note this book is only available in hardback at present. It is not available in the US until 01 April but is available for pre order.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based on my reading of the book and my own personal feelings, having done so.

The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries (A Victorian Murder Mystery) by Emily Brightwell

Today on bookaholic I bring you a quirky Victorian Murder Mystery which I loved. How can you resist a book which has this on the first page. 

"Dr Bartholomew Slocum was definitely dead. ... Aware of the two pairs of eyes staring at his back Inspector Witherspoon leaned forward and examined the dead man. It was not a chore he relished. The fact was, he was rather squeamish about dead people , but as corpses went this was rather a nice one."

Now doesn't that just make you want to read more. I can assure you the rest of the book is just as good. 

At first glance this is a police procedural but it is really a cozy mystery, or it could be a mixture of the two. To be honest it doesn't matter if it isn't categorised as this book defies Categorisation. Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard is investigating the death of a seemingly upright Doctor. The Inspector does' know it but it is really his housekeeper, Mrs Jeffries who is the solving the murder. She is helped by a diverse crew, compromising the remainder of the household servants. This will give you an idea of how different this book is. The characterisation is spot on with Mrs Jeffries being a particular shining star. The Inspector, although somewhat puzzled by the whole thing, is endearing and I found myself wanting to look after him. There are several even more eccentric characters and those all take their place, no matter how minor their roles.

The book is just one of a whole slew of Victorian Murder Mysteries all starring Mrs Jeffries. I am sure that you are already realising that Mrs Jeffries is the real star of the books. This is the first one I have read and I cannot wait to read another. I haven't a clue where this fits into the series but it really doesn't matter. Back story is integrated well to support the plot. Another one I would highly recommend to all my bookaholic friends.

We are in the middle of piping rain and storms here in the UK so I'm off to grab a book and curl up, safe and sound, in the warm. As I write, the weather all over the world is in turmoil, with extreme weather conditions battering the UK, US, France and Portugal. Stay safe Bookaholic's and I will see you all safely back here soon.