'Super-Infiinite' by Katherine Rundell

 This a certain candidate for ‘most satisfying book of the year’. Bought to address my ignorance of John Donne’s poetry, and wishing to know more of his world, this looked promising but the extent to which Katherine Rundell had steeped herself in the subject, the compelling manner in which she shared her knowledge and her affection made this a total and fulfilling joy.

Five stars for Sarah Sultoon's 'DIRT'

Some time in my early teens I read Lynne Reid Banks' 'One more river' and remember being fascinated by its being set in a Israeli kibbutz. This is third of Sarah Sultoon's novels I have read and to me it felt like a change of gear had been made; it felt meatier in some way, even though I was made aware of my ignorance concerning everyday life in Israel.

Which is not to say I didn't find it as impactful, enjoyable and impressive as her previous books, because I did. Intricate and convoluted; characters multi-layered and all with secrets. I look forward to re-reading in the not too distant future (as I also will 'One more river')

'Twist of Fate' by D. L. Mark (aka David Mark) - my five star review

 The story, as David Mark himself said, certainly has its "bonkers" moments, but the writing of it, the descriptions of the characters, their actions and involvements, is so mouth-wateringly delicious, that I just kept on reading, reminding myself to take a breath now and then. Certainly merits Sharon Bolton's "Staggeringly good".

Louise Welsh 'The Second Cut'

A five star rating

Wonderful to spend time again with Rilke, and Rose and Anderson, along with cast of friends both queer and colourful and enemies of ill-intent. Plus there is an auction, and a lot of chasing around the murkier bits of Glasgow. Wonderfully inspirational writing too. 

Jane Jesmond's fast-paced thriller 'Cut adrift'

 If ever I'd thought "Follow THAT!' on finishing 'On the Edge' (despite a sigh of satisfaction most definitely tinged with admiration and, yes, a twinge of envy as I suspect I might've done) Jane Jesmond has proved herself eminently capable of doing just that. So many of the characters first met in that debut reappear in this: Jen, as brave as ever and maybe more more sensitive; her mother, Morwenna), assuredly more sensible, and Nick Crawford a LOT more enigmatic, as they hurtle towards trying to make safer a wicked and dangerous embroilment of people-smuggling. Thoroughly deserving of its Sunday Times nomination of 'Thriller of the month' I know it is one I'll return to more than once for the sheer pleasure of re-reading.

Graham Bartlett's debut novel 'Bad for good'

 This was, without doubt, a unsettling read. Not least because of the plot, which was tense and throat-achingly painful, but also because the whole way through I kept remembering that 'Write what you know' mantra. The knowledge that, as a police officer serving for more than thirty years, Graham Bartlett, had more than likely come across examples of all the horrendous behaviours (not all involving physical damage) his several compelling and well-drawn characters either suffer from or display, fails to match my impression of a thoroughly decent and apparently undamaged man that comes over in his excellent (and invaluable) crime writing workshops, as well as in the one-to-one conversations I've had, when asking for help with my writing. And write he certainly can. 'Force of hate' already on my wishlist.

'Tomorrow' - Graham Swift

Not sure when I first read this, but this second read an impressive, immersive, total delight. Told by a mother lying awake in bed, beside her sleeping husband, contemplating the information they have decided now is the time to pass to their twins, just past their sixteenth birthday. Much of the basic facts are guessable, but it is the intricacies and warmth of relationships, the diversions and the myriad possibilities of the consequences that adds quality and kept me reading. Truly a masterclass of novel writing.

Gallowstree Lane - Kate London

'Authentic' is a word that keeps recurring with Kate London's novels. It can be measured in the way nothing is easy, straightforward and how uncomfortable it all is, living. Every decision, every trying to do what is the best comes with the potential for damage and for getting it wrong. It is this dilemma that so convincingly provides the tension, the absorption, the insistence of the progression of this third in the series tale. And leaves the reader near tears. A second read, after an interval long enough for me to forget how things turned out, just as affecting. When is the next one due?'

'When is the next one due?' 

Unfortunately there's seems to be no answer to that. At the end of this third re-read - and once again my poor memory allowed me to do so as if for the first time - I was near flattened by the weight of inevitability as to how things could not help but go bad; of how choices were forced upon, and then reduced for each of the strongly-evoked characters. All I've said above still applies. In spades. 

 

Another five star read, in anticipation of which I binge-read the previous four, luxuriating in the quality of the writing of them. The craft with which this was constructed, from Prologue to finale was truly amazing; the scene with the crane, breath-taking. Main problem, as ever, is it has left me desperate for the next book in the series, to continue reading about the relationship between Lacey and Mark Joesbury. Once again, thank you Sharon Bolton.

Five star review for latest of David Mark's Aector MacAvoy series, bought at a Book Flood event held at Moorforge Viking Settlement in Cumbria, appropriately enough against a background of wind and rain and thunder. 'Thunder", as following multiple flashes of lightning is how this book reads. I'd binge-read the entire series in anticipation of this, teased by the many hints of shady back story about the circumstances of McAvoy and Roisin's coming together. The gradual reveals - and there were several of them - piled tension high enough to turn knuckles white, thanks to the stuttering uncertainties as to whether - <i>this</i> time ... it might come good. As ever, the prose was similarly breath-taking.

Goodreads recommendations going barmy!!

 Because you are currently reading The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure:

The Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

Blurb says "No more ebook"

 Starting mid-July 2022, Blurb will no longer support the creation and publishing of ebooks. Much as I personally dislike the format, and prefer print, it is hard to justify their purchase when a P&P of £6,99 is added to the £9.99 cost of a paperback. A sensibly-priced alternative is to order a £4.99 PDF version.

As for progress re the 'Love triangles with murder' series, 'Snap is not a children's game' awaits my final re-read before passing it to a beta reader; 'Mercy for a Friday child' has reached ~60K words but is still in search of a convincing murder plot.

Jane Jesmond - On the Edge

As it says on the cover, Jen Shaw loves danger. Even so, hanging off a lighthouse, held only by a fraying rope does sound less than delightful, but to say that she survived beyond chapter two doesn't count as a spoiler because there's plenty more dodgy situations to overcome, not least her embroilment in her eccentric family's problems and the man who rescues her from the rain. But there's another plus, because while racing through to find out whether, and how, she'll escape, I was also aware of how much I savoured the skill of the writing. Enough for me to know I'll be re-reading this again shortly, and more slowly, to properly appreciate.

I promised myself a re-read, and spent all day yesterday doing just that; unable (thanks to my inability to remember how it ended) to put it down, and held by the many tensions on the way to the finale). Now left satisfied, but craving more.

Progress no longer said to be snappy

'Snap', initially a reference to a schoolgirl's opportune photo of an about-to-marry couple, became more relevant as 'Snap is not a children's game' developed. As usual, this fifth book in the 'Love triangles with murder' series was kick-started, in December 2019, with a conversation. As also usual, as the novel progressed the conversation moved from opening chapter to page 130.

 I declared the first draft 'done' in a record time of thirteen months and after resting it, sent it to one of my ever-wonderful beta readers in February. She returned it in March, with some praise, lots of margin questions and an incisive and honest summary of 2200 words. Her verdict: "There is a story here but you still need to tell it."

I felt ashamed at having asked her to spend time on  such a sub-standard piece of  … writing.

Since then I have been removing superfluous words, characters and plot-strands; strengthening those new to the story and (I hope) enabling the plot to stand  n its own merit.

Current word-count is 110,743. It needs to rest for a while (so I can forget what I meant and thus read what it says – or does not say) and insert chapter numbers, then I can offer it again for beta reading.

My first ever independent blog review and interview

 Drink with a dead man reviewed on Carol McKay's Lockdown book blog https://carolmckay.blogspot.com/2021/03/sandra-davies-drink-with-dead-man.html

'Drink with a dead man' - now available

 

Book 4 in the Love triangles with murder series featuring DI Luke Darbyshere 

Eight years ago Kit Talamantes faked his own death. When he receives notification of a wedding which cannot be allowed to proceed he has no choice but to return to England to correct mistakes made in his previous life. But who has summoned him? And why?

Similarly unexpectedly Edinburgh crime reporter Baz Rose hears of a proposed, and potentially problematic, reunion for four ex-uni friends who fled apart on graduation.

DI Luke Darbyshere receives a tip-off more interesting for its provenance than its content. In pursuing that he finds himself in professional conflict with the woman who, having given him six months to convince her they should marry, is struggling to solve a murder.

And Drew Bishop is determined on revenge.

ebook available https://www.blurb.co.uk/ebooks/p4a4655bbcf101d007e50

https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/10624440-drink-with-a-dead-man

Mercy for a Friday child

 ... is beginning to grow. 

Among the conversations which I've known Luke and Baz and Fran must have, as a result of what happened in 'Snap',  a new murder story is beginning to emerge, and make connections to what has gone on in the past. 

Very early days yet, but finding the perfect title  - which then gave impetus and focus to a rag-bag of semi thought-out scenes - and designing the cover has further helped it find a shape.

Top Ten books read for the first time in 2020

The events of 2020 weren't necessarily the reason I exceeded my Goodreads target of 165, and 179 not my highest total anyway. Several were slender but intense poetry books; the fattest an unintentional re-read of Jilly Cooper's 'Riders'.  (There were quite a lot of comforting re-reads, but that forty-four  of them were five star has to be a reason for celebration.) 

So, in no particular order, these, read for the first time, were (probably) my top Ten.

Stan Barstow A kind of loving: I am kicking myself for not having read this when it was first published. So real, so authentic, such depth of philosophy from Vic Brown, and so painful a series of events.

Jane Casey: The Cutting Edge: I cleared the day to read this. Followed the sun from the front of the house to the back and finished with a satisfied sigh after five.

James Cormac: The Surfacing: Without doubt, it was the writing - un-showy and quiet - that so superbly sustained this. All the more spectacularly for the white blankness of the landscape and the sustaining of the tedium of the days

Claire Fuller Our endless Numbered days: That, in all its oddness and its fairy-tale-for-adults atmosphere, it immediately ensnared me and kept me glued until I finished it, says much for the mesmeric quality of the writing, which maintained an the ever-present potential for evil all the way through.

Lesley Glaister: Easy Peasy:  Nuances and depths of each of the characters; the understanding the capacity for cruelty we all possess, the misunderstandings and ignorances of childhood, the later fears and inappropriate behaviours as adults.

Mary Loudon: My house is falling down: It left me reeling, wondering about what if and why and how and what.

Benjamin Myers: The Offing : I didn't anticipate this being such a smooth and sweet and easy read; another one begun at lunch and finished before tea.

Michael Ondaajte: Warlight: That, in all its oddness and its fairy-tale-for-adults atmosphere, it immediately ensnared me and kept me glued until, in the second sitting, I finished it, says much for the mesmeric quality of the writing, which maintained an the ever-present potential for evil all the way through.

Ray Robinson: The mating habits of Stags:  a book about place and relationships, regret and misunderstandings, the tension of it tight and gently ever-winding,  beautifully, mesmerisingly told

Frank Westworth’s ‘Killing sisters’ trilogy: Hell. I've just finished this and feel as if I've been mugged. 

And having come

The resting not for so long as intended since other writings either progressed or failed to ignite. So I returned to 'Snap is not a children's game, re-read it, adding needed detail in the early pages, aids to understanding in the later ones and removing duplication. Later chapters needed more and the final one might not be completed until I see where the as yet untitled Book Six looks like heading. (Characters caught me out in this one, either acting not as anticipated or returning unsummoned from another country.)

I counted the words as I dealt with each section, totted them up, and then the time it has taken to get from setting down its intended beginning to yesterday's final 'Save' - a mere thirteen months. Not that it felt that quick, the months and months I laboured over Theo's story, but it's a huge improvement on the four years of 'Drink with a dead man', and even more so on the eight years of 'Step so grave' 

'Snap is not a children's game' - cards dealt, now resting

First draft of 'Snap is not a children's game' - book 5 in the 'Love triangles with murder' series featuring DI Luke Darbyshere - today completed at ~96000 words.

Now to let it rest for a bit, so I can come to it fresh and see where all the plotholes are.

Love triangles with murder - now available as ebooks

I've FINALLY got my act together and made available as ebooks my Love triangles with murder series:

Step so grave  - 440 pp - is the first: https://www.blurb.co.uk/ebooks/704104-step-so-grave

Second - 373 pp - is Longest shadows reach: https://www.blurb.co.uk/ebooks/704317-longest-shadows-reach

Third, Commission and omission - 405 pp: https://www.blurb.co.uk/eboo…/704107-commission-and-omission

At £3.99 each, that works out at a penny per page.

Brilliant Blurb!

Uploaded to Blurb Saturday afternoon - received before midday today. To-be-proofed copies of 'Drink with a dead man' plus an anthology of my favourite stories from the past nine years.

Commission & omission

When Chloë Carrington, successful but predatory gallery owner of a North Yorkshire gallery, is found dead the morning after a Private View, first to come under suspicion is Annabel, the pregnant, soon-to-be-wife of wealthy ex-criminal Ed Hetherington.
Second is publicity-shy artist Ivo Kinnersley whose exhibition it is.

Despite a multitude of motives, and many witnesses, evidence to convict either proves elusive. The discovery of a new lead coincides with Ed’s fortieth birthday, interrupting a weekend of celebrations during which DI Luke Darbyshere learns that Ivo Kinnersley has not only already escaped one murder charge, but also shares a past and a secret with the woman with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life.

(Prediction Fiction participants might be pleased to know Pettinger plays a part in this.)

Longest shadows reach

‘Step so grave’ indicated a wealth of history between Luke Darbyshere and Baz Rose. They’d been born within a week of each other; lived half mile apart, in a Hertfordshire village small enough to allow no escape.  Each came successfully  through adolescence courtesy of Susannah Elphinstone (Baz two years before Luke).

Before puberty was reached, however, Susannah, to some extent, made an already horrific situation worse, the results of which came back with a vengeance 24 years later.

‘Longest shadows reach’ reveals how nurture and nature influenced what came next.

Inspiratiion and coincidence - 'Longest shadows reach'

A huge stroke of luck kick-started ‘Longest shadows reach; the second book in the Love triangles with murder’ series.

A part-remembered house, seen from the top deck of the school bus. Turrets and chimneys, emerging from a sea of tree-tops. One day it disappeared and there were times I thought I might’ve dreamt it. I Googled it. Struck lucky. Found a photo of it on Flickr. It looked like the perfect place for a murder.

Luckier still – pure serendipity –  the photo had been taken by someone I’d sat next to in primary school. He was kind enough to give me permission to use it on the cover.

Available to buy from mid-September

'Step so grave' - at last!

and now available via Blurb

Eight years ago I signed up for NaNoWriMo 2011 with plans to write a murder mystery (a genre I then knew little of).

I had a title. An idea: a cruise ship on which brides were bumped off to order. I had back stories for a dozen honeymooning couples; for ship’s crew and owners (some good, some bad). Best of all I had DI Luke Darbyshere and crime reporter Baz Rose, whose from-the-cradle friendship had turned toxic. All I needed to do was convincingly bump off a few brides under suspicious circumstances, by person-as-yet-unguessed-at, for reasons I could not begin to imagine.

Nearly eight years later, the final, final version of ‘Step so Grave’ is available to order.

Not only did the original undergo a change of title and me commence a steep learning curve – simultaneously reading some 700 crime novels and learning how to structure a readable novel – but, thanks to fellow writers and a succession of beta readers, asking pertinent questions and pointing out self-indulgences I reached a point where Step so grave was far removed from a shitty first draft and, having undergone eleven rewrites, became something I’m confident enough about to release upon a paying public. [Click on the link via the image in the sidebar]

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50219754-step-so-grave" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Step so grave (Love triangles with murder #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563968396l/50219754._SX98_SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50219754-step-so-grave">Step so grave</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1226042.Sandra_Davies">Sandra   Davies</a><br/>

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Available from: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/9633748-step-so-grave">https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/9633748-ste...</a>

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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8882805-sandra">View all my reviews</a>

Words paint pictures

Said so often but it really came home to me today when, having finished reading an admirably detailed police procedural, the main characters and their activities described with warmth; the progression of the plot with clarity, I returned to continue with the writing of one of mine.

I was immediately struck with the comparative stark sketchiness of my version of a police briefing. Perhaps because the book just finished* dealt with painting, I realised that my paintings and prints similarly outline; drawn with the minimum of detail for the viewer to get the gist.

In part, with writing, my knowledge of police briefings is scant enough to provide a reason for lack of detail, yet I am reluctant to go seek it, believing readers deserve to exercise their imagination.

 The degree to which they wish to has, of course, an impact on how much they are likely to enjoy my books. When I finally get them published (and this one I'm only 80% through writing.)

*Jackie Baldwin's 'Perfect Dead', set in Dumfries & Galloway, much of the action in 'art town' Kirkcudbright.

Just signed up for this

http://www.crimeandpublishment.co.uk

- I so missed it last year. One of the friendliest writing groups you could wish to meet.

Temptation

Sun through the cracks between the barn’s roof timbers created stripes alive with husk-freed motes, dancing witless as dervishes and spot-lighting his discarded trousers, their corduroy putting me in mind not only of Oliver Mellors but also a September-ploughed field. 

Similarly post-harvest, the blond stubble of his beard had brought my skin to cherry-ripe.

His voice, husky as a post-gig Springsteen, had murmured hot encouragement, his fingers skilfully tickled my fancy, but ultimately everything he offered failed to match the pull of  new scarlet, liquid scatter-patterning the polished silver curve of a sickle.

Stand-out books of 2018

Dirt Road - James Kelman,          

This another of those books - told from a single point of view - that requires a change of mindset, of mental pace, to read but it was so very worthwhile for the thought-provoking depths of it. Murdo's struggling to cope with grief and the adolescent bursting for independence, in America rather than Scotland (so all the more dislocating) - plus the insight into experiencing the joys of playing music were impressively told and made for a very satisfying read.

The Lesser Bohemians Eimear McBride

This is more than reading a story. It is the absorption into another's head, another's life and experiences and so intense, and so throat-aching, it could only be absorbed in relatively short doses - I needed to stop for a breather. The writing - "stream of existence rather than consciousness" - is what sets it above and beyond much writing of relationships, and sets a new standard for would-be writers about sex and being with another, about honesty and what happens when one lies.

The Handless Maiden – Vicki Feaver

This contains 'Judith' which blew my breath away and introduced me to the gut-wrenching, mind-blowing use of words, creation of new imagery to be enjoyed and enjoyed again and again in Vicki Feaver's poetry,.

A Natural – Ross Raisin

Amazing for more than holding my interest throughout, despite my considerable scorn for all that is football. This was a weightily emotion-packed novel, full of well-drawn characters. The sense of doom inescapable, my involvement total. And yet so much, so many of the turning points were feather-light.,

Unexploded – Alison MacLeod

Sense of place and time wonderfully evoked. The treatment of aliens and prisoners, the suspicions of Brighton's residents, the inexperienced lack of thought and brutality of those in authority make this a rich experience. The tension, so gradual and so pessimistic, and the collision of several dreadful possibilities perfectly executed. And above all the relationships, the push-pull of marriage, the betrayals small and large, the compromises, painfully true to life. 

The Rules of Backyard Cricket – Jock Serong

The pace of this, the delivery and impact of the telling mimics that of a bowled cricket ball and, to continue the obvious parallel, hits the wicket every time. Or the bat, sweet enough to soar, along with the reader's admiration and heart-broken attention every time. Heartbreaking it is, and you don't need to know anything about cricket to fully appreciate the skill with which this tale is told.

 London Rules/ Smoke and Whispers –  Mick Herron

I really cannot praise London Rules highly enough. Like all of Mick Herron's Slough House series the protagonists are an endless source of entertainment, the pace is lunatic and the observations so incredibly sharp they tingle one's brain.

I came away from Smoke and Mirrors thonking what a clever brain Sarah Tucker has. As does her creator. And what a wonderful, exhilarating book this was.

Cairo -  Chris Womersley

Read on a plane in one single sitting, absorbed and admiring of the way the tale was built to hold so much tension and the insight into the mind and emotions of Tom Button. Manipulation par excellence

Bone Deep – Sandra Ireland

 Very slightly less amazing than 'Beneath the Skin', but nevertheless un-put-downable and read in virtually one sitting. The writing so lucid, the tales told with clarity, the tension slow-paced but no less taut and the brooding sense of place over-arching.

If I Should Die – Matthew Frank

I'm very grateful to the assistant in Glasgow's Argyle Street Waterstones who recommended Matthew Frank to me then gently insisted I begin with this rather than 'Between Crosses', which he had on the shelf. More than lived up to its promise, for characters - physically flawed, war-damaged trainee detective, anti-bullshit female Caribbean DS, plus more - plot, setting and 100% enjoyment. An extremely satisfying read.

Blue Night –  Simone Buchholz

This was superb - a female character with an initially off-putting, chick-lit type name, who was one of the most believable and appealing protagonists I've read in a long time: ballsy but suffers doubts, and has a strong moral streak. But above all it was the quality of the writing - and the translation - which shot it up to a five star rating almost from the first page. Pity it is the tenth in the series but only the first to have been translated into English

49 of the 175 books read this year were five-star, of which 18 were binge re-reads of previously much-enjoyed books - Peter Temple and Andrew Greig to name but two. Six of the above were new discoveries - long may that keep happening!