The Retired Cop My third (and last) fictional detective of the week is not exactly a 'classic', but he has been around for a few years now. John Rebus, creation of Scottish crime novelist Ian Rankin, was born in 1947 (we are told on Rankin's website). However, he did not make his appearance on the …
Author: Andrew G Lockhart
My name is Andrew Lockhart and I grew up in Coatbridge, Scotland. I studied at Glasgow University. After spending three decades in planning, statistics and international sales and marketing, I am now an author, family historian and owner of Magda Green Books. Apart from writing (and reading great books) and blogging, my other interests are science, music of all sorts, and traveling the world.
Getting Away With Murder (2)
The War Hero If I were into hard rock and heavy metal bands - which I'm not - I would have known that Career of Evil is the title of a track by the group Blue Öyster Cult. It is also the title of the latest crime novel by Robert Galbraith, a.k.a. JK Rowling. I …
Getting Away With Murder (1)
The Classic American As promised, I'm going to write this week about detective stories. The fictional detective and the typical fictional crime have changed a lot since back in the days ( I won't say how long ago) when at the age of about eleven I read my first Agatha Christie novel. Throughout my teens …
Happy New Year!
I do hope you all had a pleasant Christmas holiday! I haven't been thinking too much about blogging over the past few days, being pretty much occupied with launching my new book, It's a Fantasy World!, which is out on Amazon now. ** However, I have been reading some detective stories (three in all in …
Christmas with Mr Selfridge
A Story (In 1918, nine years after opening his famous London Oxford Street department store, Harry Gordon Selfridge commissioned an architect to design a spectacular tower to sit on top of the building ..... ) ^^^ ‘I don’t want to, Jake!’ Kylie’s lower lip trembled as she looked up her brother. Standing on the bottom …
In the Land of the Pharaohs
The Egyptian by Mika Waltari 'A woman who combines malice with intelligence and beauty is dangerous indeed - more dangerous still when she can add to this the power of a royal consort.' The Egyptian is a classic historical novel by Finnish writer Waltari and set in the Egypt of the 14th century BCE. The …
Only a Matter of Time
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov The possibility that we might visit our planet's history - and maybe influence it - is the most tantalising of all fantasies. Perhaps, instead, we might travel into the future and, as observers, discover whether our descendants are still reading books, or watching films. What new mythologies can …
Siberian Adventure
The Forbidden Territory by Dennis Wheatley I wrote a few months ago that I was planning to re-read some of Dennis Wheatley's novels. The first three of my choices were reviewed at the time: https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/the-devil-rides-out-again/ https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/the-satanist/ https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/nightmares-and-zombies/ The Forbidden Territory is my fourth choice. It is Wheatley's first novel, published in 1933, and introduces the …
Another Tale of Love and Death
Continuing the German theme of a day or two ago, I decided to feature another work that I like - literally a tale of love and death, or to give it its proper title, The Song of the Love and Death of Standard Bearer Christoph Rilke - Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets …
A Tale of Love and Death
Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué November is German Literature Month apparently - see the hosting site : https://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/announcing-german-literature-month-v/ so I thought I might read (re-read as it happens) one of my favourite classical German works. Despite the rather French-sounding name, Fouqué was German and wrote his 1810/11 novella in that language. English readers …
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