Crime lovers and readers of the ABC series by Sue Grafton will twig the meaning of the title of this post straight away. I am on one of my Binge Reads. Others may binge on box sets (though I have done that too in the past) but I tend to find an author I like and then work my way throughout the entire series in one go and then feel bereft at the end and say So What Do I Do Now?
I never learn.
Sue Grafton has written a series of books A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, C for Corpse, D for Detective etc and so far I have read A through to H, leapt ahead to X and W, purely because they were on the library shelves, and am now working through from I to V. They are never in the library, only the two I found, a sweep of charity shops locally has brought forth none, so I am buying them for my Kindle. They are not the cheapest but I am so immersed in them now that I am buying them three at a time.
The heroine, or should that be hero nowadays, is Kinsey Millhone a private investigator. Used to work for the police, did not like it, left, married twice but prefers living on her own (oh how I empathise with that), has a lovely landlord Henry, who though 80 is elegant and handsome and a good cook. Perhaps she should marry him...
All the stories are exciting, well written with a great pace and snappy dialogue and I am enjoying every single one. At the moment the author has Y and Z left to write. What happens after that I wonder? I hope she continues. Aa Bb Cc? Or perhaps she will start using numbers? I do hope so.
Kate Rhodes - Alice Quentin books. Yes and I have just read the latest in this series, Blood Symmetry. Was sent the first one by this author some years ago by the publishers. Read and thought oh this is good, wonder if there will be any more and yes each year one pops up and I have either been sent it or bought it.
Alice is a London-based forensic psychologist. She has issues. Well, it would not be a good detective story if the main protagonist was well balanced and happy. Her parents had a bitter marriage which has left her mark on her, relationship with her mother is bad and to top it off, her brilliant brother has imploded and gone AWOL with bipolar problems and descends on her in his bouts of madness and turns her life upside down. She has bad relationships with men, quelle surprise, and is the perfect heroine to star in a detective series. You may think I am being a tad sarcastic, perhaps I am, but these books are terrific. So well written with great characterisation and great pace and style. Once you start reading you cannot stop, well I can't anyway and have read all of these books through at one go when I lay my hands on them.
Clare Riordan and her son Mikey are abducted from Clapham Common early one morning. Hours later, the boy is found wandering disorientated. Soon after, a pack of Clare's blood is left on a doorstep in the heart of the City of London. Later, a blood specialist is kidnapped and found murdered in a gruesome manner on an operating table in an old hospital museum. Then another is taken and a link is discovered. They were all linked with a scandal in which contaminated blood was imported and used on patients resulting in death and disease. Somebody is out for revenge.
A real nail biter with a great ending - I will admit to guessing the identity of the baddie half way through but this made no difference to the created tension. An excellent book and I can really recommend this series. But do start from book one if you do as the characters develop over the period of time and it makes better sense if they are read in order. And, yes I say that as one who reads wildly out of order....
On my TBR heap at the moment, both on my table and on my Kindle, are the latest Linda Castillo book set in Amish country, love these and the latest Montalbano which I am saving up as a treat. I did read a chapter last night and ended up falling about laughing but resolutely shut it up. I like to know it is there waiting for me.
I also have the latest Susan Hill ghost book to read. This I am keeping to read in DAYLIGHT. I read her Woman in Black years ago late at night and was so petrified I could not get out of bed to go to the loo in case something awful happened to me. Yes really. So will report back on this in due course.
Au reservoir
