A Collaborative Interview with R N Morris: Part 2 – In which Porfiry takes a back seat

This one is not really collaborative.  It seems my enthusiasms ran away with me as I subjected the poor author to a bit of an interrogation.  He survived.  As you can see, he’s still smiling. Lizzy: Your first novel was a contemporary thriller. What made you switch and what are the main differences between writing contemporary [...]

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A Collaborative Interview with R N Morris: Part 1 – All Things Porfiry

R N Morris is the author of 3 rather brilliant historical crime novels based on the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky and featuring Dostoevsky’s supersleuth Porfiry Petrovich.  You’ll find my rather enthusiastic reviews here and here.  Following the recent publication of the third novel A Razor Wrapped in Silk, the author agreed to be interviewed by myself [...]

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The Boys In The Trees – Mary Swan

As I have to still to capture my thoughts about the other NTTVBG title I read, because I was and remain ambivalent, I thought I’d be more organised for today’s title which will be discussed in depth chez dovegreyreader.  It helps too that my thoughts are quite clear on this one …. in fact, I can describe the [...]

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The Arsenic Century – James C Whorton

Life expectancy in Victorian Britain, in the high 30′s in 1837, had reached the ”giddy” heights of 48 by the end of Victoria’s reign.  There were many obstacles on the way to a longish life – not least the ever-present threat of death by arsenic.  Ever-present?  Is that hyperbole?  If so, it is a Victorian one.  [...]

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Not just the Orange shortlist

In the following lists (how I love them), bolded titles are in my TBR.  Hyperlinks to my reviews.  I’ll give the Orange Prize, pride of place, seeing as it was announced today – and there is an incredibly small chance that you may have missed it. Shortlist # 1  The Orange Prize for Fiction  The Very [...]

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TSS: On happiness: Two novellas

Hector, a psychiatrist, helps unhappy people in search of  happiness.  His first tactic is to ask them ”what does happiness mean to you?”   He listens to them, helps them solve their own problems.  He gives them pills when that is not enough.  At the end of the day he goes home to his girlfriend, whom he loves but [...]

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Happiness is ….

Friday evening.  A cloudless sky. A brand new book. Happy weekend!

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Black Water Rising – Attica Locke

What would you do if you were taking a night cruise on the Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas and you heard a woman screaming for help followed by two gunshots?  It’s a real-life dilemma that confronted the author’s father  when she was a child.  She was on the boat at the time and the incident is one [...]

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The Beginning of Spring

As the lilac tree comes into bud, it is time to prune the clematis – all 30ft of it Chop it. Bag it.  Manually.  There are no fancy gadgets here. The creosote can wait because, for now,  this reader has earned her wages.

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Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig

This novel has been on my radar since May 2009 when Dovegreyreader praised it so effusively. But sometimes these things take time to mature.  Finally an Orange prize longlisting and a forthcoming trip to London promoted it to the top of the pile. And now I’m feeling ever so nervous about that trip because this is [...]

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