ALEXANDER BARON - THE HUMAN KIND

Synopsis/blurb……

Spare and unsentimental, this series of episodes in the life of a platoon as it advances across war-torn Europe is among the most chillingly realistic in any novel of the Second World War, coming as it does from the author's first-hand experiences. It has been described as Baron's best work. The Human Kind is poignant, shocking and bleak - but also full of the soldier's humour, for which Baron has an unerring ear.

A bit of a departure from my usual crime reads, but a book well worth the time invested in it. Baron was an author with a reputation as the greatest British novelist of the last war. He died in 1999 and published about 14 novels in total; with his war trilogy drawing extensively from his experiences as a soldier in the Second World War.     

The three war books are From The City, From The Plough – 1948, There’s No Home – 1950 and The Human Kind – 1953.  I have the other two lying around somewhere in addition to a couple of his 60’s books; The Lowlife and King Dido. The former concerns a gambling man and greyhounds and the London underworld in the 60’s; the latter is set in London pre-World War One and also concerns itself with street crime and gangs and police corruption.

The Human Kind is a collection of 25 short pieces which form a longer narrative following Baron and his platoon through their war. In actual fact we pick up with our narrator as a 16 year old and having just acquired his first bicycle. A group trip to the country and a swim in a river, which ends in a drowning and on his return a close brush with death in the form of a London bus. Escorting a young girl home later - “We were happy. We talked about next weekend, and the next summer holidays, a time that seemed infinitely distant. Life was inexhaustible and death was still beyond our ken.”   

In a later story, Baron discusses his reaction to Dickens and David Copperfield. He had withdrawn from the daily hustle and bustle of his training camp and would hide in the coal store to steal some precious moments reading it. “The book worked on me like a religious conversion.” In conclusion and after the book had done the rounds of the whole mess. “As for me, I shall never forget it, not only for what it taught me about the real character of my comrades, but because it showed me what a novel ought to be. It seems to me that if all the novels of the present century were melted into one, they could not equal in achievement a single book by a writer who can induce in multitudes a miraculous belief in his visions, who uses his power to teach, who can reach across time even to the unlettered, and who can bring them into communion with each other and with him.” I’m half tempted to read it myself one day!

Baron’s tales continue through the war. His training, his friendships, his comrades and postings abroad, encounters with other units both British and foreign and crossing paths with various folk, suffering the hardships of living in war-torn countryside. Landings by sea, air-raids, looting, shock, trauma, mental fatigue, towns, countryside, bars, tanks, brothels, beer, brandy, black markets, dogs, desolation, damp, hunger, cold, rain, interminable waiting, fear, loneliness, desertion, racism, duty and decency…… just a few of the elements of The Human Kind.

Hard to do this book justice in truth. It’s an incredibly personal picture of a seismic event in world history - something far beyond the scope of most of our experiences and recounted without bitterness.   

    

5 from 5

Acquired second hand online a few months ago.

Alexander Baron’s fiction has seen a bit of a renaissance with several of his titles coming back into print in the past 5 or 6 years ago. Worth a look in my opinion.

There’s a link to his Guardian obituary – here.  

2 BY BRAD SMITH

A fairly recent discovery is Brad Smith, a Canadian author who has been praised by Dennis Lehane and likened to Elmore Leonard. Smith has written seven novels to date and no I don’t have them all, only most of them!

Intriguing titles always suck me in and Smith has a few belters in addition to the two books highlighted…….All Hat, Shoot the Dog, Big Man Coming Down the Road, Red Means Run, Crow’s Landing and his debut Rises a Moral Man. 

I asked Brad about his debut as information both on his website and the internet in general is a bit scarce....... "Rises A Moral Man had a print run of 1000 and you’re right…it’s hard to find today. It’s about a young guy who discovers that his background is not what he thought. He travels north to an Indian reservation and becomes involved in a land scheme and a murder."

Never one to hide my ignorance under a bushel, I was unaware of native Canadians, Native Americans or Native Indians in Canada - is there a PC umbrella term for the indigenous people of Canada?

Definitely an author to be read later this year, irrespective of whether or not I undertake a Canadian reading challenge. 

He has worked on the railways both in Canada and abroad and has a varied working history, which I would think has given him great life experience and a source for much detail in his writing.  Farmer, signalman, insulator, truck driver, bartender, schoolteacher (certain lies about his post-secondary education were told to acquire that job), maintenance mechanic, roofer, and so on. He became a carpenter and built custom homes in the Dunnville area. He still works as a carpenter when not writing.

One-Eyed Jacks

At 35, Tommy Cochrane is a washed-up boxer who missed out on a shot at the heavy-weight title and has to hang up his gloves for good when he's diagnosed with an aneurysm. His best friend and former sparring partner, T-Bone Pike, isn't in great shape either as the two of them head to Toronto on a quest for the $5,000 Tommy desperately needs to buy back his grandfather's farm.

In the big city, Tommy and T-Bone encounter an intriguing cast of characters operating on the questionable side of the tracks. Fat Ollie runs the weekly poker game on Quenn Street; Buzz Murdoch gives Tommy a job as a doorman at the Bamboo club; Herm Bell is a sharp kid on a run of luck; and Tony Broad is a small-time hood with big-time ambitions and a seedy sidekick named Billy Callahan. There's also Lee Charles, a sharp, cynical, smart-mouthed torch singer, who happens to be Tommy's ex-girlfriend.

The five grand ultimately becomes available to a number of these people in a number of ways - all at great risk to Tommy and T-Bone.  

Busted Flush

Stuck with a wife he doesn't like, a job he hates, and a rapidly crumbling sense of self-worth, Dock Bass could use some good news.

So when he learns that he's inherited an ancient house from a deceased relative he never knew existed, he is ready to make a move. Even better, the old place turns out to be a treasure trove of Civil War memorabilia. But as the onslaught of collectors, history buffs, and media hounds - including an easy-on-the-eyes television reporter - descends, Dock needs every stubborn and independent bone in his body to fight of the hustlers, opportunists, and scam artists.


280 Steps have recently released One-Eyed Jacks as an e-book around now.
(Other publications to come include another screwball  novel from Rob Kitchin at some point.)

CRIME FICTION - VARIATIONS ON A THEME

I don't always want to read about murders and serial killers and the police in my daily dose of crime reading.....grifters, scammers, ex-cons, hitmen, bank robbers, burglars, pickpockets, pimps, strippers, whores, bouncers, bartenders, waitresses, loan sharks, bookies, hustlers, drug addicts, gamblers, delinquents and chancers often provide me with a lot more entertainment. 

A few favourite authors and books below….(ok they probably feature murders and cops, but I know what I mean, even if I can’t articulate it too well.)

Tom Kakonis – Timothy Waverly character – Michigan Roll, Double Down, Criss Cross

Kakonis wrote 3 or 4 novels in the late eighties/early nineties about a college professor-ex-con-professional gambler - Waverly. I know I read and loved the first and at least one more in the series. Unfortunately the problem with older books is that when you hunt for blurbs (inaccurate or otherwise) to try and spread the word and entice fellow readers to give him a try, they’re a bit sparse and thin on the ground.

The best I can come up with is the following for Michigan Roll ………... harsh story about killers and gamblers in a deadly game of chance. Timothy Waverley is a professor turned gambler just out of prison. Helping a woman called Midnight means taking on two sadistic killers called Gleep and Shadow. Doesn’t actually inspire you to rush out and buy a copy does it?

A lot of authors I like aren’t especially well known. Kakonis never attained more than mid-list status with his publisher. After a few books he was dropped and subsequently penned a couple more novels which were released under a pseudonym of Adam Barrow – Flawless and Blind Spot. I have read and enjoyed one of these.  His publisher didn’t promote the books and they bombed, despite receiving some acclaim.

There’s a discussion concerning Kakonis on the RARA-AVIS site. Kakonis himself corresponded with the host and you can feel his disillusionment with writing and publishing…… Anyway (and to wind down this melancholy tale), after that debacle all of my proposals and sample chapter ideas were summarily rejected, as was the fate of a novel written in silence and desperation and completed in the summer of 1997. By then I guess I felt that the game was no longer worth the candle, in the words of the old saw. Of course, when I see a message like yours (forwarded to me by a nephew, by the way) I'm almost tempted to get back into the fray one more time, and I do thank you for the kind words on my earlier novels. I'm particularly pleased that there's at least one other person out there who enjoyed CRISS CROSS, which I believe, on reflection, may be the best work I've done."

Whilst I haven’t yet read everything he’s written and he’s not had a new book out in 15 plus years, I’m still saddened by the fact he’s no longer writing and getting published.

Anthony Bourdain – Celebrity Chef, TV personality and author – Gone Bamboo, Bobby Gold, Bone in the Throat

My first taste of Bourdain was his Bobby Gold series of stories which are loosely connected and form a short novel maybe 130 pages long. I’ve read it a few times and it never fails to impress, entertain and touch me. He doesn’t only have a deft hand in the kitchen. Gone Bamboo is somewhat longer, but just as satisfying.

Bobby Gold…….Gold is security chief at a mob-run New York nightclub by night, and reluctant bone breaker and enforcer for Eddie - his college roommate and friend - by day. Emerging from an upstate prison with an imposing physique and a reputation for skilled brutalitiy, he is a lonely child in a hulking body.

Gone Bamboo……Henry and his wife, Frances, live an idyllic life as two of the Caribbean's most charming ex-pats (and professional assassins). But when Donnie, a powerful capo, is relocated to the island the scene is set for an Elmore Leonard-style mix of low life and high comedy.

Steven Bochco – Death by Hollywood

Bochco is a Hollywood writer and producer, with notable hits to his name……..Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blues to mention a couple. He has also turned his hand to writing with just one novel penned, which kind of annoys me. It was so good, I wanted more from him.

Death by Hollywood……….One evening, spying on his Hollywood Hills neighbours through his $4,000 electronic telescope, Bobby witnesses a beautiful woman making love to a handsome Latin actor called Ramon. As their pillow talk turns ugly, Bobby watches in horror as the woman appears to bludgeon her lover to death with his own acting trophy. Instead of rushing to the cops, Bobby decides to find out more about the events that led up to the crime, and to use the material for his next movie

screenplay. However, when he sneaks into the actor's apartment, the discovery he makes changes his life forever. Empowered by his secret knowledge, Bobby is able to seduce the beautiful woman, while forging a unique friendship with Detective Dennis Farentino, the cop in charge of the investigation. Before long Bobby has dragged the detective, his wife, his lover, and his agent into a Hollywood fun-house hall of mirrors, where only the most manipulative player will survive.

Norman Green – Sick Like That, Shooting Dr. Jack, Dead Cat Bounce plus others

Can you tag an author as one of your favourites even if you’ve only read 1 book from about 6 that’s he’s written? You can in my world. I read Shooting Dr. Jack maybe 5 or 6 years ago and loved it. Loved it so much I promptly acquired a copy of everything else he’d ever written. (Unsurprisingly!)

So why haven't I read more from him? I'm kind of putting them off, because part of my reading enjoyment, somewhat perversely stems from the anticipation of reading something, almost as much as devouring the prose themselves. I can pick these up and scan the back cover and maybe read the first page or two and then put it back down to be enjoyed at a later date. Once I have cracked the spine and started reading it, the anticipation and surprise element disappears! Well I never said I wasn't a bit weird did I?  

Shooting Dr. Jack…………… It takes considerable skill to craft a gripping novel approaching 300 pages in which nothing much happens during the first 150. Fortunately for the readers of Norman Green's first book, Shooting Dr. Jack, Green's got the knack, in spades. His characters aren't drawn, they're acid-etched. His landscape, seamlessly rendered, is a gray, emotionless void:

Fall through the cracks of a better and kinder world, and you find yourself on Troutman Street. Dreams of a new world die in her sweatshops, cars and trucks die in her chop shops and junkyards, children die in her vacant lots, shooting one another for the right to sell crack on the two or three big intersections, junkies die wherever they happen to be when they shoot up--hallways, alleys, parking lots.

Tommy Rosselli, a.k.a. Fat Tommy, a.k.a. Tommy Bagadonuts, is a relatively brilliant entrepreneur who, while largely operating beyond the law, nonetheless owns a good and honest heart. Stoney, Tommy's brutal partner in a shady Brooklyn junkyard, is a smoldering alcoholic struggling to bring his body, soul, wife, and kids into some approximation of normalcy. And 18-year-old Eddie Tuco, an illiterate "Nuyorican" who works for Tommy and Stoney, faces temptation, redemption, and loss as a result.

Tommy and Stoney need to find out who left two dead teenagers in the junkyard, who killed their accountant, who ambushed Tommy in his apartment, who's been shadowing their employees, and why. Tuco does too, but he's got some demons to wrestle and scores to settle on his own. Rounding out this vision of desperation are the eponymous Dr. Jack--the name of both a drug and its dealer, which affect their users as Dr. Kevorkian affects his patients--and the junkyard's blighted Troutman Street landscape itself.

Not a mystery in the truest sense and not a thriller by most standards, Shooting Dr. Jack is both of those things and more. It's intelligent, it grabs like a vice in due course, and its dialogue and narrative resonate with urban grit and truth. --Michael Hudson

Dead Cat Bounce…..Stoney gave up drinking, but it couldn't save his marriage. Leaving the big house in New Jersey to his wife and kids, he's living in the City-still working the profitable, if not 100 percent legal, angles with his partner, "Fat Tommy Bagadonuts." Then, out of the blue, Stoney's teenage daughter shows up with a problem: an unwanted admirer who needs to be cooled down . . . or eliminated.

But the secrets Marisa's been keeping from her father-like her night job as an exotic dancer-can't compare with those being guarded by the mysterious and violent man who's stalking her: a dangerous enigma with no past and a made-up name. He does, however, have lots of money-which makes him a very tempting mark for Stoney, Tommy, and their young streetwise "apprentice," Tuco. But people who look too closely into this guy's history have a habit of turning up dead.

Sick Like That……….PI Marty Stiles was shot and paralyzed and is now in rehab, trying to decide whether to fight to recover. Meanwhile, his agency is being run by two women: the street-smart and savvy Alessandra Martillo, who's the muscle, and Sarah Waters, a naïve, single mom, new to the job but who

This follow-up to The Last Gig features a tough and edgy, one-of-a-kind heroine - an entirely fresh take on the hardboiled women private investigators who dominate so many crime fiction classics.

quickly becomes the brains. Though the two women grew up only a few miles from each other in Brooklyn, it might as well have been worlds apart. Now they're partners, and for all their differences, are committed to their joint venture. When Sarah's deadbeat ex-husband gets into trouble, Al would rather let him suffer, but she agrees to help Sarah figure out where he is and why another man has ended up dead.

A few other favourites in no particular order…….Charlie Stella, Lou Berney, Joseph Koenig, Eugene Izzi, Gerald Petievich

PASCAL GARNIER - THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER

Synopsis/blurb......

Fabien and Sylvie both knew their marriage wasn't working. But when Sylvie is involved in a fatal car accident, Fabien is stunned to discover she had a lover who died with her. Harbouring thoughts of revenge, he tracks down the lover's widow, Martine, and begins stalking her. Fabien is desperate to get Martine on her own. And that won't happen until he deals with her protective best friend, Madeleine...

Another new to me author and one who is sadly no longer with us. French author Garnier died in March 2010. Gallic Books have so far published 5 of Garnier’s short slices of French noir, with a sixth The Islanders due out in November of this year. Thanks to Jose - The Game's Afoot  (The Panda Theory review) and Sarah at Crimepieces (The Front Seat Passenger review) for bringing Garnier to my attention.

There’s a lot to like with this book. It’s short – always a plus in my reading world, dark and a little bit disturbing. I was reminded of a Stephen King book and film at one point when Garnier turned the plot on its head. I won’t name check the book because it may reveal a bit too much about things and I wouldn’t want to go spoiling things for anyone.

We have an interesting main character, Fabien. Someone who I was rooting for without ever actually liking him. He’s a bit too passive and lethargic to actually feel any great sympathy for him. He has a strange, uncomfortable relationship with his father and only one good friend in his life.

We have a couple of strong females, Madeleine and Sylvie. Neither are particularly likeable and warming, though they’re perhaps a lot more interesting because of this. No family with the demise of Sylvie’s husband and only each other, until Fabien unwittingly engineers an introduction.  

Great set-up, great twist, touches of humour and dispassionate violence. Odd characters, with their own secrets and hang-ups and foibles.

Verdict – quirky and unlike anything I have read for a while.   

                        

5 from 5.

Always one to impulsively stockpile books ahead of sampling an author,

How’s the Pain, The A26, Moon in a Dead Eye and The Panda Theory are all waiting for me. I don't think I will be regretting my pre-emptive purchasing!   

   

Grateful thanks to Emily at Gallic for my copy of this. Their website is here. 

2 BY T. JEFFERSON PARKER

I first read Parker back in the late 80's, enjoying his first couple of books Laguna Heat and Little Saigon. I kind of dipped in and out of him over the past 15 years or so, with him falling off my radar for a while. Both these books were kept in the library for a future re-read and I hope I get around to them someday.

He has penned about 10 standalone books, in addition to a series of three featuring Merci Rayborn an Orange County detective (haven't read these ones) and six books so far in the Charlie Hood series.





Parker is a pretty good writer from memory - a fact borne out by a couple of Edgar wins an further nominations for Egdar, Anthony and Macavity Awards, all of them in the best novel category.

LA Outlaws is the first and The Jaguar is the fifth in the series. Obviously books 2,3 and 4 are around somewhere. For those kindred spirits and impulsive souls the full series is as follows:

Charlie Hood
1. L.A. Outlaws (2008)
2. The Renegades (2009)
3. Iron River (2009)
4. The Border Lords (2011)
5. The Jaguar (2012)
6. The Famous and the Dead (2013)

Rush out and buy now!

LA Outlaws

Los Angeles is gripped by the exploding celebrity of Allison Murietta, her real identity unknown, a modern-day Jesse James with the compulsion to steal beautiful things, the vanity to invite the media along, and the conscience to donate much of her bounty to charity. Nobody ever gets hurt--until a job ends with ten gangsters lying dead and a half- million dollars worth of glittering diamonds missing.


Rookie Deputy Charlie Hood discovers the bodies, and he prevents an eyewitness--a schoolteacher named Suzanne Jones--from leaving the scene in her Corvette. Drawn to a mysterious charisma that has him off-balance from the beginning, Hood begins an intense affair with Suzanne. As the media frenzy surrounding Allison's exploits swells to a fever pitch and the Southland's most notorious killer sets out after her, a glimmer of recognition blooms in Hood, forcing him to choose between a deeply held sense of honor and a passion that threatens to consume him completely. With a stone-cold killer locked in relentless pursuit, Suzanne and Hood continue their desperate dance around the secrets that brought them together, unsure whether each new dawn may signal the day their lies catch up with them.


The Jaguar

Erin McKenna, a beautiful songwriter married to a crooked Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, is kidnapped by Benjamin Armenta, the ruthless leader of the powerful Gulf Cartel. But his demands turn out to be as unusual as the crumbling castle in which Erin is kept. She is ordered to compose a unique narcocoriddo, a modern-day folk ballad of the kind that have recorded the exploits of the drug dealers, gunrunners, and outlaws who have highlighted Mexican history for generations. Under threat of death, Armenta orders Erin to tell his life story - in music - and write 'the greatest narcocorrido of all time.' Allowed to wander the dark hallways of the castle retreat with only a guitar and a mysterious old priest to keep her company, Erin must produce the most beautiful song that these men have ever heard. As the mesmerizing music and lyrics of Erin's song cascade from the jungle hideout, they serve as a siren song to the two men who love Erin: her outlaw husband, Bradley Smith, and the lawman Charlie Hood - two men who together have the power to rescue her. Here, amid the ancient beauty and haunted landscape of the Yucatecan lowlands, the long-simmering rivalry between these men will be brought closer to its explosive finale. T. Jefferson Parker, who is widely hailed as his generation's most accomplished and talented crime novelist, delivers a crime thriller that dramatically redefines the landscape of the cartel wars as an epic clash of good and evil.

APRIL ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY.........SOME OF AT LEAST

I don't think I have been so bad this month regarding acquisitions though it has been a month that has seen more in than read and out - so the library continues to grow.

Getting boring now and everyone has heard it all before, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to cease adding come May!

All new to me authors with the exception of having previously read Mike Resnick's first Eli Paxton mystery a month or two ago - this is his 3rd. I have read a couple of Todd Robinson's short stories before on-line at Thug-Lit.  The Bingham is the second in the series, the first is unread.

Favourite covers - Volt and Beams Falling and Old School - they kind of give off a Reservoir Dogs vibe.

Least interesting - probably Spying on Strange Men, though it does set you a hook.

Some of what came in......

Charity shop buy 

From publisher.

Blogged about by Mr Brazill

Treat from my wife for being a good boy!

Short stories from American South

Reviewed by Prashant.

Treat from wife

Aussie Crime

Aussie crime

Intriguing title

Aussie female crime

Aussie female crime

From publisher

Debut from editor of Thug-Lit

APRIL 2014 READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

April as far as reading numbers has gone has been dire - 6 books in total!  I haven't had a month in the the past 3 years plus, when I started re-recording things with as skinny a figure as that. Factor in DeLee's book being 55 pages only and I'm definitely struggling with my reading.

This year I have completed 32 books with a page count of 7584 
January     8 (2045)
February   9 (1769
March       9 (2424)
April         6 (1346)

This time last year - the figures were somewhat better - 58 books - 15914 pages.
January    15 (4433)
February  13 (3994)
March      16 (3940)
April         14 (3547)

Some bugger has nicked my bloody mojo and I want it back! Now please! 

Looking at the reading stat.s for the year though, they made off with it whilst I was seeing in the New Year! Any hints for getting back on track anyone?

Factors which have effected my reading  - trees and football definitely.

Trees - we had a 40 foot section of tree from a neighbour's garden come down in a storm and flatten my garden shed, wiping out some of my tools as well. I had arguments - ok discussions then, with his and my insurance company and the upshot was. It was my problem and my policy didn't cover me for removal. I got a quote for removal and the figure given had me thinking that the guy possibly was looking to retire a day or two after doing the job. I think the Dick Turpin fancy dress costume he was wearing when he showed up to quote the job, should have perhaps tipped me off as to what was coming.

Anyway, I have with the assistance of the rest of the Keane team managed to remove it, gradually slowly and painstakingly from the fence and shed. Which then left me the task of cutting it up into bite-sized chunks to enable me to get it around the front of our property for disposal over the next 6 months via the council and my green bin. Whilst I wasn't really in the mood for this, I have subsequently spent a few weekends judiciously pruning other trees, this time - my trees in my garden. My shed was covered plus the tools, but despite agreeing a figure before Easter I still haven't received anything yet.

I'm still narked that the insurers have basically told me to jog-on and someone's else's tree coming down hits me in my wallet and eats up most of my recent free time. I ought to let it go, but this one is gonna bug me for a good while yet!  (Never let it be said that I'm one to hold onto a grudge, but I've only just gotten over the fact that one of my sisters cried when she was told she had a baby brother - namely ME - all those years ago. Apparently she was after a rabbit.)

Football - whilst I stopped going a few years ago, apart from the odd match with my youngest daughter, it still retains an importance in my life. I did a post regarding the joys and pitfalls of being a Luton fan. But as we approached the climax of the season and an impending promotion back to the football league, I kind of found myself distracted whenever Luton or one of our close rivals played.....working out various permutations and scenarios. At least we got the job done in the month and I can enjoy some reading without the distraction of anxiously looking out for each match and staring monotonously at a laptop screen following game scores on a football website.

Lifestyle, age and tiredness - possibly. 

Face it I'm an old git and my eyes aren't as great as they used to be. They reckon as you get older, apparently you need less sleep. Never one to go with the flow, I have obviously bucked the trend and decided I need more not less. If I'm not tucked up in bed by about 10.15 latest, I'm a proper grump. Conversely though I do rise early - before 5am most mornings and not an awful lot later at weekends.

I have been out walking 2 to 3 miles distance, 3 or 4 times a week, with the odd time doing it as a run. Since my working role has evolved to sitting at a desk on a PC, eating donuts and drinking coffee, I'm far less active than I ever was previously. Hence my weight has crept upwards in the past 10 years or so to an all time high. An old joke, but early February I had more Chins than a Chinese phone book.

Efforts are being taken to address this - successfully so far, with over a stone and a half off in the past two months. If the consequences of addressing this means I have 3 or 4 less hours a week reading-time, so be it. If I'm lighter and a bit more active in general then at some point I should see an increase in my energy levels, which will then translate back to needing less sleep and having more reading time - so WIN/WIN eventually.

Anyway to those who have read thus far and stuck with me - back to those books!

From a quality perspective the standard was great with 3 x 5 stars competing for my book of the month.
Steinhauer got April off to a flyer with The Cairo Effect, which I didn't think would be bettered. Freedman's Doheny book almost equalled it, but still merited a top score. Then McKinty comes along and nails me with one that ripped off the pages.

Book of the month - McKinty I reckon just pinches it. Partly swayed, by the fact that he once sent me a couple of his books, so he's a nice bloke,  plus he's Irish and the other fellah isn't. (Irish that is.)

April's pick of the month - The Cold Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty  


Extra analysis, which shouldn't take long - no Scottish reads, no American State reads, 1 Espionage, nothing Vintage, nothing off the TBR pile, 1 female - cheers Moira for setting that one up, nothing Australian or New Zealand.

Female tally is 6 from 32, so just below my 20% target, which should be easily rectified.

3 of the authors were new to me.

1 book disappointed, 1 book was okay - enjoyable but not really my thing - Araminta Hall's Dot and the short DeLee book was good/great in parts.

April's reads below in detail.

Olen Steinhauer - The Cairo Affair (5)

David Delee - Cop Shot (4)

Araminta Hall - Dot (3)

J.F. Freedman - Turn Left at Doheny (5)

A.J. Riccio -  Only the Strong Survive (2)

Adrian McKinty - The Cold Cold Ground (5)


Looking forward to May - it can only get better!