As you will have noticed I have got through shed loads of thrillers and detective novels this year. I am not a lover of Booker/Orange/Costa lists et al as I usually find when I look at them that I wish to instantly rename them List of Books I have No Intention of Reading. Call me shortsighted if you wish, many have already done so, but I am old enough now to know my reading preferences and habits and though I have tried to expand my reading since the birth of Random, I am not sure I have succeeded entirely though I now tend to try more books in different genres than I used to.
Sounds an oxymoron to call thrillers relaxing reading but I find they are and this year I have had no mental strength left over to cope with deep analysis and contemplating what I call 'worthy' books. It has been a very emotional twelve months, starting joyously with the birth of my utterly beguiling and hearbreakinglgy gorgeous Florence, but since then my darling mum left us, Kathryn departed to Australia and then my lovely Auntie Kit has gone and I will be attending her funeral next week. I just feel I have been beaten about the head and am still feeling somewhat fragile and prone to bouts of tears, one of which I had this morning after I received an email from Kathryn about the timing of the Christmas Day phone call. It struck me that this is the first time in her, and my, life that neither she nor my mum will be here and it just set me off big time. Luckily I was visiting a friend for coffee and I wept all over her and then I went to another friend for lunch and wept all over her and having flooded Colchester am now home and feeling a tad better.
ENOUGH of this rambling and wittering and back to the subject - because I have been writing about thrillers publishers seem to have cottoned onto this and I have started receiving parcels of detective/spy novels which plop through my letter box on regular basis. Shows that blogs are read and noticed as on a couple of occasions I have mentioned a title which sounds good and lo and behold it turns up a few days later. BIG thanks all round.
I have discovered Peter James (quite by accident as I thought I had brought home a PD James) and am now working my way through them. Set in Brighton, a town I know well, which adds to the enjoyment. Discovered Tess Gerritsen - her stand alone books are more romantic thrillers and fun, but the Rizzioli and Isles series are the real deal and am loving them. I was sent a Janet Evanovitch Stephanie Plum book back in the spring. Knew nothing of these and after reading Sizzling Sixteen and weeping with laughter throughout, I then went on a Plum Binge and read them all. Wonderful.
Lots of Reginald HIll, more Donna Leon and Camilleri, discovered Wallender and other Nordic crime fiction, have also read some crap which was sent to me but will not disclose names of same, Simon Hall and his TV detective carry on getting better and better and in between all this I have re-read some Christie, lots of Ngaio Marsh and of course, the utterly wonderful DL Sayers.
So my book of the year this year, streets ahead of all other contenders by dint of it pinning me to the sofa one afternoon from whence I did not move until read, is AMERICAN DEVIL by OLIVER STARK. A debut crime novel and one of the best first books I can recall reading. A second in the series is due out in the spring and I simply cannot wait. If you are a lover of well written, tightly plotted, thrilling and breathlessly tense thrillers then this one is for you. Quite wonderful. So thank you for that Oliver and look forward to my review copy of next title.......'hint' 'hint'
Most of my reading is fiction but have managed to read quite a lot of non-fiction as well and will be writing about that in the New Year. Some of them have made my Books of the Year list and my non-fiction choice has to be the heartbreaking but totally absorbing Journals of L M Montgomery, creator of Anne of Green Gables.
Will drop in tomorrow but then will be taking a Christmas Blog Break.
Night everyone.
