Author: mark young

Title:             The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception Genre:          True Crime Author:        Emmanuel Carrère  First published in France in 2000 as “L’Adversaire”, an English translation followed a year later. Here is the first sentence on page one: “On Saturday morning of January 9, 1993, while Jean-Claude Romand was killing his wife and… Continue reading French True Crime Story that’s Way Stranger than Fiction →

Title:             The Late Show Genre:          Crime Fiction Author:        Michael Connelly Published 2017 “The Late Show” introduces a new Connelly character, following on from his highly successful Harry Bosch (detective) and Mickey Haller (lawyer) series of books. Meet LAPD Detective Renée Ballard, modern cop surfer girl of indeterminate age, and her dog, Lola. Ballard… Continue reading Michael Connelly delivers again with a punchy police procedural and a brand new character. →

              Title:             Cropper’s Cabin Genre:          Crime Noir Fiction Author:        Jim Thompson  My paperback copy of Cropper’s Cabin (above) was published in 1952 by Trent Book Company of London. It’s dog-eared as hell and would have been purchased second-hand by my late brother Clem, probably way back in… Continue reading Big Jim Thompson packs one helluva punch (review). →

Title:             Full Moon Genre:          Humorous Fiction Author:        P. G. Wodehouse Full Moon is the seventh book in the Blandings series. Originally published in 1947 it was re-issued in 2008, and its timeless, so don’t worry. It is about the intertwining, matchmaking, thwarting and scheming surrounding two eminently marriageable debutantes and their socially ambitious… Continue reading Peerless Wodehouse revisited (review) →