by Ian Rankin A Review Like Witch Hunt, which I reviewed two days ago, Tooth and Nail is a Rankin novel from the early 1990s. This one features Inspector John Rebus, but in an unusual setting. Rebus is called to London by the Met to assist in catching the Wolfman, a serial killer responsible for …
Category: detective stories
Witch Hunt
by Ian Rankin A Review 'No spies any more. Now there were only the technicians.' Witch Hunt is an early Rankin novel which features none of his now well-known characters. Published in 1993 under Rankin's pseudonym Jack Harvey, it is not exactly a spy thriller in the sense that heroes and villains are engaged in …
Space Detectives
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov 'And at the very moment he felt Daneel's hand clamping down upon his shoulders ..... But surely a robot would not dare use violence on a man. That thought was dominant. Daneel could not prevent him forcibly, and yet Baley felt the robot's hands forcing him down.' Written sixty …
In Wine Is Truth
The Critic by Peter May A Review I had previously read two of this author's books, one a detective story set on a Hebridean Island, the other a mystery coming of age story set in Glasgow and London. I enjoyed both. 'With great apprehension she leaned over to smell the fermenting juice and felt her …
Curtain
by Agatha Christie How do you end a successful run? At some stage, an author tires of her characters, runs out of steam or perhaps decides that it's simply time to end it. " 'I can visualize him, developing this hobby of his .... And little by little developing a morbid taste for violence at …
Third Girl
by Agatha Christie Fast forward three decades from the colourful world of Death on the Nile! We're now in the sixties, a time I remember quite well, the age of the Beatles, Beatniks, miniskirts and tight trousers, of long hair, Purple Hearts and angst. " 'Yes, I've killed him.... The blood got on my hands …
Death on the Nile
by Agatha Christie For my second post this week on the Hercule Poirot novels, I've chosen this novel from 1937, one of my favourites. '[Poirot's] glance softened as it rested on one particular couple. A well-matched pair - tall broad-shouldered man, slender delicate girl. Two bodies that moved in a perfect rhythm of happiness. Happiness …
Murder on the Orient Express
by Agatha Christie An interesting lecture on the 'Queen of Crime' during our recent cruise inspired me to re-read some of Christie's stories featuring her cerebral Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express, published in 1934, is one of her best known works, having been popular also as a drama for cinema …
The Devil's in the Detail
Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin 'Darryl Christie's closed eyes were puffy and bruised, his nose swollen with dried blood caking the nostrils. A foam head brace had been rigged up with further support around his neck.' Set in Edinburgh like most of Rankin's stories, Rather Be The Devil brings together all of the …
Getting Away With Murder (3)
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 …
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