My 2021 in books
Imagine you could buy a pill that could give you more brainpower, more empathy, better vocabulary and a longer life, while preventing cognitive decline, reducing stress, helping sleep and lifting depression. How much would you…
Is cozy mystery crime the new hummus?
Now is possibly the best time ever to be a cozy mystery crime reader Sales of crime novels in the UK soared this year, overtaking general fiction for the first time. And, like hummus, it seems…
How seductive is the call of Sirens – review of Joseph Knox’s debut noir
Sirens – this week’s review in the Library Corner I was standing in Waterstones, asking for dark crime stories, when the assistant handed me Sirens – debut novel by Joseph Knox. Sumptuously produced in hardback,…
Join the washed-up spooks in Spook Street
Spook Street: Spies, it seems, come in distinct and recognisable flavours. There’s the glamorous-sexy (Bond), the depressive-tragic (The Spy Who Came In From The Cold). The dumped-on-by-the-boss (The Ipcress File). The intellectual-self-effacing (Smiley). And, of…