Just over a year ago I reviewed Sinclair Macleod’s The Reluctant Detective, the first in his series of crime novels set in Glasgow with an insurance investigator who gets caught up in murders. I mentioned in that review that while The Reluctant Detective wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination a cosy mystery nor was it quite dark enough to be categorised as a “tartan noir”…
Aberystwyth Mon Amour
15 February 2013 by Leave a Comment
In my own personal backlash against the influx of Scandinavian crime fiction I was determined to read more British thrillers this year and did relatively well. I may have been last to the party in discovering the brilliance of Mark Billingham but at least I discovered it. I took a tour of some M.C. Beaton cosy mysteries..
My Animals and Other Family
17 January 2013 by Leave a Comment
Last year will not go down in history as a triumph for the BBC which is a real shame. For all the scandals and cover-ups and disasters I still think it’s one of Britain’s greatest institutions. One of its saving graces from 2012 however was the coverage of the London Olympics and one of the stars of the Olympic presentation team was Clare Balding….
Me Before You
15 January 2013 by Leave a Comment
It may surprise you to know that I can be somewhat opinionated at times. Not just about films and books but about everything around me in life – both the trivial and the serious. I tend however to struggle with the big moral questions as I can always see both sides of the argument. The ‘right to die’ issue however is one that I’m quite comfortable with my opinions of…
Don’t Tell The Groom
3 January 2013 by Leave a Comment
I keep hearing about women who have been planning their weddings since early childhood. Disney Princess dresses have been adapted in their minds to be their wedding dresses and pillowcases have been used as veils in dressing up games. That was never me…
Insurrection
2 January 2013 by Leave a Comment
For years I was happy reading crime novels and romance and chick-lit stories and I didn’t stray out of my comfort zone very much. I read the odd book from other genres but for the most part I was happy. When I finally did broaden my horizons the biggest surprise to me was how much I enjoyed historical action adventure novels…
The West End Front
21 December 2012 by Leave a Comment
Over the past few weeks I’ve been utterly enchanted by Richard E. Grant’s Hotel Secrets on Sky and that’s almost entirely down to Grant himself. He’s bonkers, totally, utterly and wonderfully bonkers and has educated me in the ways of posh hotels around the world…
How To Be A Woman
19 December 2012 by Leave a Comment
When I was at University I chose Feminism and Political Theory as one of my modules in a bit of a blind panic. It was that or Marx & Hegel and that option terrified me. I was a bit worried about it before going into the classes but enjoyed it more than I thought I would and it ended up being one of my more academically successful modules. I was the least militant feminist in the class…
Killing Cupid
12 December 2012 by Leave a Comment
As the daughter of two devoted Scottish Nationalists the story of Robert the Bruce and the spider is one that I grew up with. For those who aren’t aware the basic premise is that following numerous defeats against the English, King Robert was despondent and in a cave pondering the future of Scotland’s fight against the Auld Enemy…
Death of a Gossip
6 December 2012 by Leave a Comment
Oh the weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful so while we’ve no place to go let’s get reading. Actually the weather outside is frightful, woke up yesterday morning to an unexpected covering of snow outside so it was the perfect day to sit inside writing reviews and doing some reading under a blanket. It was a day to be all warm and cosy…