Tokyo Express | Translated by Jesse Kirkwood On the evening of the thirteenth of January, Tatsuo Yasuda invited one of his clients to join him at the Koyuki restaurant in Akasaka. His guest was a senior official at one of the government ministries. I acquired a reading copy of Tokyo Express back in November. At … Continue reading Tokyo Express | Seichō Matsumoto #JPNcrimefiction
There was a moment, between Quai des Orfevres and Pont Marie, when Maigret paused, so briefly that Lapointe, who was walking beside him, paid no attention. Happy Bastille Day! Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! Picking up a Maigret is like falling into a soft, cosy blanket with a tray of strong cheeses, biscuits and a robust red … Continue reading Maigret and the Tramp | Georges Simenon #FRAfiction
I've been wanting to read a Sherlock Holmes story for a long time now. I purchased my lovely Knickerbocker classic editions about five years ago with the good intentions of reading them in chronological order. Ever since then, I have been putting A Study in Scarlet on my CC Spin list, in the hope it … Continue reading A Study in Scarlet | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCspin
Police procedural is not my usual fare, but sometimes book club leads me down a path I wouldn't choose for myself, yet it turns out okay in the end. I very nearly used the 'not enough time' excuse to not read this book, but a recent rainy weekend gave me a chance to check it … Continue reading The Good Turn | Dervla McTiernan #AWW
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line attracted my attention initially thanks to the cover. That big eye seemed to follow me around everywhere I went and after a season of blue/green covers, the bright yellow stood out a mile on the bookshop bookshelf. However I made an early assumption that it was nasty crime fiction, … Continue reading Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line | Deepa Anappara #WomensPrize
I suspect I'm going to be the lone dissenting voice when it comes to Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton.This is a debut Australian novel garnering a HUGE amount of attention and rave reviews. In the lead up to our Christmas rush at work last year, this is the book many, many locals were asking … Continue reading Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
A Maigret Christmas contains three very different stories by Georges Simenon - A Maigret Christmas, Seven Small Crosses in a Notebook and The Restaurant near Place des Ternes - yet they all share a similar sense of melancholy and loneliness. In Simenon's world, Christmas is not a time for goodwill and cheer, so seasonally well-adjusted … Continue reading A Maigret Christmas | Georges Simenon #ShortStories
On the scorching February day in 2009 that became known as Black Saturday, a man lit two fires in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, then sat on the roof of his house to watch the inferno. In the Valley, where the rates of crime were the highest in the state, more than thirty people were known to … Continue reading The Arsonist | Chloe Hooper #AWWnonfiction
Also known as Signed Picpus or Maigret and the Fortune Teller, Signe Picpus was one of the three Maigret books that Simenon published in 1944. My 2015 edition was translated by David Coward. According to wikipedia, Simenon actually wrote Signe Picpus in 1941. It was serialised into 34 instalments between 11th of December 1941 and … Continue reading Signe Picpus | Georges Simenon
I'm not usually a big reader of crime fiction.During my younger days I enjoyed a good mystery wrapped up in an adventure series (thank you Trixie Belden and Enid Blyton) and I still love to delve into the psychological reasons why people do the things they do (Maigret fits the bill here). Cosy crime is … Continue reading The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham
Maigret's First Case is my second Georges Simenon book. I'm not reading the Maigret books in any particular order and so far it doesn't seem to matter. Especially as this one, #30 in the series, is a flashback to Maigret's early days in the police force and, as such, provides an insight into how his … Continue reading Maigret’s First Case | Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon (1903 - 1989) is a Belgian writer best known for his 75 book Maigret crime series. One of my regular bookshop customers has been pre-ordering these books every quarter year in anticipation of the next batch of translated copies since 2014. Crime is not my usual genre, but I've been quietly curious all … Continue reading Maigret’s Mistake | Georges Simenon
During my recent blogging malaise, Maisie Dobbs kept me sane and calm. She is familiar, comfortable and cosy. Although some of the crimes are getting a little nasty now that Hitler is involved, Winspear still avoids gory details and gruesome forensic descriptions, for which I am eternally grateful! Journey to Munich is book 12 in … Continue reading Journey to Munich | Jacqueline Winspear
So I figure the only thing to do to find my words again, is to simply start writing and see what happens!During this most recent blue funk, when writing left me and reading seemed too hard, I pulled out my next Maisie Dobbs book. She has seen me through quite a few meh times already. … Continue reading Maisie Dobbs Saves the Day
I read The Fall by Australian writer Tristan Bancks as one of my recent #readathon books.Bancks has been very successful with his previous book, Two Wolves (titled On the Run in the US), winning the KOALA & YABBA Children's Choice Book Awards in 2015 as well as being shortlisted for the CBCA and Australian Prime Minister's … Continue reading The Fall by Tristan Bancks
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