Brilliant. I’ve said it before but I’ve been lucky with the number of good books I’ve read lately and this one definitely gets added to the list. It’s a great first novel that draws the reader into the life of a young boy who wants to please. There’s nothing forced, nothing unbelievable and always enough happening to make you want to read more.

Belinda Bauer’s Blacklands centres around Steven Lamb, a twelve year old growing up with his younger brother, mum and nan in Exmoor. Family life is constantly over shadowed by the dark memory of his uncle’s childhood murder. The body was never found and Steven believes finding it will bring closure to his nan’s suffering. The story revolves around his attempts to discover the whereabouts by contacting the imprisoned killer.

I’ve already said it but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In the author’s note Belinda explains how the idea for the book came about and the thought process behind the story. She makes it sound incredibly simple so I’m hoping she’ll deliver many more original story lines with the same apparent ease and excellence! Read the rest of this entry »

When Cussler first hit the high street book stores I loved reading his work. It was action packed, fast paced, tongue in cheek, balls to the wall fun. Perhaps it still is but I can’t see it.

I stopped reading his work for a long time but picked up one his books, Artic Drift, a while ago to see if I could recapture some of the original thrill and, not surprisingly, I did. The reason was the retirement of the familiar lead Dirk Pitt and the introduction (to me at least) of his practically identical replacement, Kurt Austin. It wasn’t that the premise of the book was different it was that the fresh faces injected a much needed change for me and I loved it.

It was with some eagerness then that I picked up Medusa. Unfortunately, the same feeling of ‘been there, done that’ quickly caught up with me and I couldn’t help but feel there was nothing original about the story and nothing to excite me. It’s a real shame but I can’t help feel that Cussler’s publications are no longer anything to do with entertaining the reader but all about lining his pockets. Read the rest of this entry »

I loved this book. I guess it helps that I’m a Londoner and that’s where it’s set but, putting that aside, I thought William Boyd’s Ordinary Thunderstorms was a terrific read.

The main character is an every day chap who’s easy to relate to and who’s going through an experience that’s believable and exciting. Boyd’s made it tremendously easy to put yourself in the characters shoes.

I’ve had an unusually good run of books recently with Jeff Abbott’s Adrenaline and Chris Ryan’s Who Dares Wins both being good reads but I think I enjoyed this most. The ending might leave a little to be desired but not without reason and it didn’t detract from a thoroughly enjoyable, non-put-downable, page turning experience. Read the rest of this entry »