Book review: Birdman by Mo Hayder

Birdman by Mo Hayder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has been my favourite book of the year so far and it's hard to explain why. You jump, feet first, into the murder. It's almost like going underwater, you have to take a deep breath, and it's not until you've finished that you can breathe again. Mo Hayder has a brilliant, if rather gruesome imagination, and reading the detailed descriptions of the bodies and the acts taking place, can at times make you feel physically sick. For me, that's part of the reason why I loved it. To get such a strong reaction from a book is fantastic.
This book took me no time at all to read. At the time, I was travelling across the country and spent the whole time glued to the pages. At times it made me gasp and pull faces. I'm sure I got plenty of strange looks from other train passengers.
In the end, the person I hated most was Veronica, I won't give my reasons on here. But I cannot wait to read the next Jack Caffery book!

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Book review: A Roomful of Bones by Elly Griffiths

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Elly Griffiths! I read her books in days, even hours if I have a free weekend! The characters of Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson keep me coming back time and time again, more than the murders do!
The way it's written is excellent. Because it's in the present tense, everything feels so current, like the events are happening somewhere in the world at the exact moment you're reading them. As always, the characters jump off the page. I love Cathbad. He always manages to keep Ruth's world on the right side of crazy.
My only downside for this book, was that the murder wasn't really a murder after all. I also missed Nelson. I won't spoil it for anyone, but Ruth and Nelson's relationship is half of the reason why I come back each time!
Now I can't wait for the next one! I just wish I didn't have to wait for so long!

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Book review: Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was the most recent book club book, and I went into it with an open mind. It wasn't the normal thing we'd normally read.
For a start, it had the pull. I kept thinking one more chapter until I finally finished it, although the ending was disappointing. I was waiting for there to be a big reveal and a confrontation, but obviously the author is setting up a sequel.
The main think that annoyed me about this book was how unrealistic it all was. I understand that it isn't going to be that truthful, but it was so far out there it was ridiculous. The main character was a bit thick initially. I found myself shouting at him inside my head to stop being so stupid. Who would touch a bloody knife? Why didn't he draw out a load of money at the beginning and then gone into hiding? Anyway, after I got over my frustration, I found it quite enjoyable.
In the end, an alright book, but I won't be in any hurry to read the sequel.

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Book review: The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

I read this after catching half of Inspector Montalbano on the BBC. Having read a few foreign novels (translated into English mind!) I had some idea of what to expect.
For a start, I would've thought it was written in English, you cannot tell at all that it is translated from Italian. But there were some problems with the plot. Although I felt it was well written, I didn't particularly care about the characters and what happened to them. I also felt that Camilleri left far too much open. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I couldn't tell you who killed the victim and why.
On the other hand, I loved Montalbano himself, and Fazio and am looking forward to reading more about them. This wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't all that bad and I flew through it pretty quickly.

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Book review: Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison by M.C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison by M.C.Beaton

I haven't read an Agatha Raisin book in a long time, and starting this one felt like slipping on a comfy cardigan. I love Agatha, she's grumpy, is obsessed with men and always ends up getting herself in trouble. But she's a brilliant detective, which is why we love her.
The plot of this one, wasn't as tight as I'd have liked it to be. The person who committed the murders didn't really have a reason for it, and now thinking back, not all of the ends were tied up. But you can't help but be engrossed in Agatha's personal life, her dinner dates with Gorgeous George Selby and the goings on of her friends.
All in all, a welcome return home for me and it's about time someone made this into a TV series! With it's eclectic characters and beyond believable plot lines it would show Midsomer Murders a thing or two!

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Book review: Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carrie by Stephen King

I've always thought King was my favourite author, and this book was just another to cement that fact. I didn't realise Carrie was his first book. If that had been the case I would have tried to read it first.
King has never, at any point in his life, been a teenage girl, so it comes as a surprise to find a believable story about a troubled teenager who just happens to have the power of telekinesis.
Before I started reading, I was unaware of the way the story was told, which I thought was very clever. Telling Carrie from different points of view, from different texts and books was genius!
The fact that it only took me two days, also shows how much pull this story had. Normally, although I'm a fast reader, it takes me a while to read Stephen Kind, I tend to savour it. But with this, I just had to find out what happened.

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Book review: Last Seen Wearing/Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter

Last Seen Wearing / Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Last Seen Wearing/Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter

The first, really annoying thing about this book was that it was printed the wrong way round. Last Bus to Woodstock, the first ever Morse book, was the second book, so I started halfway through, and finished halfway through by the time I'd read Last Seen Wearing. I've watched a few episodes of Morse on the TV, therefore John Thaw and Kevin Whately were stuck in my head and Morse and Lewis, but I don't consider this a bad thing. Now having read Morse, I think they were perfectly cast, although I still can't get my head around Morse ever falling in love with someone.
Both novels were excellent, and although I worked it out in Last Bus to Woodstock, I hadn't in Last Seen Wearing. What I love most about these books is the fact that Morse spends most of the novel, barking up the wrong tree! He came up with endless theories and many of them turned out to be incorrect. So often detectives are perfect, and there's a light bulb moment when everything clicks into place. This isn't so with Morse. Colin Dexter also manages to create a simmering 'pull'. You never rush to turn the page, but your brain keeps telling you to read one more chapter. Before you know it, it's two in the morning.

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