My 10 Favourite Books of 2016

As ever split into fiction and nonfiction. Fiction first. 5. Deception Point by Dan Brown Brown isn't the best writer and some of the characterisation and dialogue is wooden but you can't deny he crafts an easy pageturner and I ploughed through this. 4. Lady Killer by Ed McBain When the detectives get a note …

Book Review: Deception Point by Dan Brown

I've only read one Dan Brown novel before, The Da Vinci Code, and quite enjoyed it. Sure it was largely forgettable but there's no denying that Brown knows how to craft an incredibly effective page turner and for me this book falls into the same territory- not a great book but a gripping read while …

Book Review: The Football Neutral: Season 2013/14 by Jim Smallman

I adored this book, and found myself really wanting to go out and take in a football match (it has been far too long). The book is a collection of blogs that comedian Jim Smallman wrote after deciding that while he was on the rode he may as well enjoy his Saturday afternoon away from …

Book Review: The Heckler by Ed McBain

I'm not going to lie in the early stages I wasn't hooked on this entry in the 87th Precinct series. The writing had the usual McBain flair and there's some good dialogue but unlike several others it doesn't hit with a big crime. But when it does get going it really moves. Detective Meyer is …

Book Review: Too Much Information by Dave Gorman

I'm a big fan of Dave Gorman, who has a witty and rather warm way of looking at the world. His stand up and writing is clever, well structured and, most importantly, very funny. In this book he turns his attention to all the little things that buzz around in modern life and which we …

Book Review: Give the Boys a Great Big Hand by Ed McBain

This is another cracking instalment in the 87th Precinct series and is quite an interesting one. It opens with a patrolman seeing someone leaving a bag at a bus stop, and doing his duty he looks in the bag to find a severed hand. With nothing else to go on, Steve Carella and the other …

Book Review: The Elephant in the Room by Jon Ronson

Finally the US Presidential election is drawing to a close. The process is so long and convoluted that by now everyone just wants it over with. I'm hoping that Hilary Clinton emerges as the victor because despite her flaws the alternative is terrifying. Donald Trump is an irresponsible narcissist who would be too much if …

Book Review: The Big Race by Michael Brick

A cross country motorcycle race featuring a host of odd characters from across the USA. The whole thing set up by a man with a questionable past and dodging allegations of being a con man, but who claims to be doing it to help the Native American community that adopted him.  That all sounds very …

Book Review: She by H. Rider Haggard

This is the second book by Haggard I've read, having quite enjoyed King Solomon's Mines and intrigued by the premise of this book, which sees a journey to find a mysterious, mythical queen known as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. I'd seen a bit of the Ursula Andress movie and it seemed a fun adventure story. Which it is. In places. …

Book Review: Baby Steps by Mara Altman

This is the fourth book I've read by Altmann and like the others it sees her respond to a personal issue by researching the topic and writing about it. In this case, the fact that everyone around her is having babies and that, newly married, she is being asked about her own plans around children. …