Reviews by Richard

I came accross this book on a television book review show, where they rated the book highly. I am delighted to say that in my opinion they were right. The book in set in the "Old West", cowboys, guns, saloons, and open prairies all abound. But this is no ordinary "cowboy" tale, true it has lots of what you would expect from a western, but it has a whole lot more about it than that.
Beutifully narrated, every character is totally recognizable, the narrator is able to give each character in the book their own distinct voice.
This book is written in the language of the time, and the story focuses on the two main characters as they go about their latest job as hired killers. The plot is simple, it is the wonderfully crafted writing that realy makes this a special tale, that in the end leaves you with a sense that moraly, justice is done.

This is my first Henning Mankell novel without Kurt Wallander, and I have to say this is as good as any of the Wallander books.

Set in northern Sweden, an isolated, sparsly inhabited area, a place where it is easy to hide and difficult to police. The murder of aformer coleague brings a police officer, who is on sick leave, awaiting the start of treatment for cancer. His trip north finds him enbroiled in two bizzare murders, that appear to have their origins in the past.

This is Mankell at his best, he brings to life this dark, heavily forrested area of Sweden, giving the reader a real sense of the isolation and community that such a harsh environment demands. The story is well crafted, great, well defined characters. The main character is not only drawn into this complex murder investigation, but is dealing with his own demons as he faces his own mortality, as he awaits the start of his cancer treatment.

If you enjoy a good crime thriller then I urge you to read this book.

Whimsical tale about an old man, who on his 100th birthday decides to run away from his nursing home. The tale chronicles both the amazing things that happen after he runs away and his bizzarre life story which is told in flashback.

This book is warm hearted and funny in places. It is however not at the top of the class in this genre, it falls down when you compare it to the likes of Tom Sharpe

I gave it four out of five, it really is worth giving this one a go..

I do not feelqualified to review a book by the master craftsman that is Stephen King. It is suffice to say that in my opinion this is one of the finest short stories that I have had the privelidge of reading.

A tale of prison life in the American penal system during the 1950s and 60s. Grippingbrutal, but ultimately uplifting, I read this book in one evening, I was almost unable to take off my headphones.

Brilliant narration, the narrator reminded me of Morgan Freeman, who of course starred in the movie, based on this book.

I honestly cannot recommend this marvelous audiobook enough.

This is my first book by this author. It was brought to my attention when I read that Sean Barrett, the narrator of so many great audio books, recommended the novels in this series, and said that he greatly enjoyed recording the books.

This book is both a legal thriller and a study into human emotions and frailties,. The main character is a wonderful mix of tough lawyer anda man on the edge of an emotional breakdown.

Set in southern Italy the author beutifully describes the native way of life and the small town and it's picturesque surroundings.

The Plot is engageing and the whole book is superbly written. The dulcet tones of Sean Barrett, just brings this great book to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this great little book.

This is my first James Lee Burke novel. What a literary treat, the author is a true crasfman. His descriptions of the sprawling Montana scenery, fauna and flora are wonderful, both descriptive and poetic. This book is part of a series and the main characters are obviously old friends of the author. I am now compelled to delve into the earlier books in the series.

It is essentially a crime thriller, with a solid cast of characters, some good, some bad and some you're not sure about. This ambiguity, I believe is the main strength of the

book.

This novel does not have the most complex plot and I think it is all the better for this.

If you like a gritty thriller that is superbly narrated, then I highly recommend you give this one a go.

This wonderful thriller is not for the feint hearted, or for the reader who is looking for a relaxing listen. It is however absorbing and slowly gravs the reader and brings you into the gritty world of the Oslo drug scene. Nesbo's great skill is to slowly build the plot around great characters.

This book is quite different to anything else Nesbo has written. Part of the narrative is written through the eyes of the murder victim, this format however works well. As usual Sean barrett does a great job, his ability to bring characters to life I believe makes him one of the best narrators out there.

The book ends on an absolute knife edge, and the reader is left to reach their own conclusions, but the author leaves us enough clues, to hope that Harry Hole will be back.

This is my first venture into the books of Deon Meyer. I am happy to say it will not be my last, since reading Thirteen Hours, I have purchased another two Deon Meyer novels, they are sitting in my library, and I don't think that I'll be able to wait much longer before I return to Cape Town.

This is a well crafted book, a great plot, good procedural police thriller set amongst the beutiful backdrop of table Mountain, Cape Town is brought to life by Meyer, the lifestyle of all races, Black White and coloured are portrayed in a well balanced ansympathetic way. Meyer really does appear to be trying to give the reader a reflection of what it is like to live in the rainbow nation that is the modern South Africa.

Written in a gritty style, some horrific scenes, but all delivered with more than a little humour. Fast paced, great Characters, I can't wait to meet them again. I highly recommend that you take some time and enjoy this great book.

Being a massive Jo Nesbo fan, I have been waiting eagerly for the first book in the Harry Hole series to be translated into English. Having loved everyNesbo novel so far, I approached The Bat with high expectations. I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Not yet the fully formed character, many of Harry Hole's skills and flawes ar soon on show. The reader is able to see how the author developed Harry into the more mature complex person that he becomes in later books.

Strangely the first book in the series is set out of Harry's native Norway. A young Norwegian woman is Murdered in Sydney and Harry travels to Australia to liase witth the local police. All the usual Nesbo plot complexities are soon on show. The story builds up to a great ending, a typical trait of all Nesbo's thrillers. Had I read this book before any of his later novels, I would have immediately looked for the rest of the series. Just one more book to be translated, Cockroaches I believe is to be published in the English language sometime in2013. It does not really matter which order you read The Harry Holes books, Just read them!.

This is the conclusion to Nesbo's trilogy, following on from The Redbreast and Nemesis. Detective Harry Hole is once again investigating a series of complex murders. On this case he is teamed up with a colleague that Harry believes is a corrupt killer. In the earlier books in the trilogy Harry has failed to prove his fellow detectives guilt.
This book has complex characters, wonderfully placed in bizarre and life threatening situations. Nesbo has the gift of making the reader feel uneasy in every chapter. The authors words are brought to life by narrater Sean Barrett, who never fails to add something special.
The book builds to a crescendo, I was unable to stop listening and felt disappointed when it had to end.
One of Jo Nesbo's best.

This is my first Peter James book, and after the many positive reviews that I have read I was not disappointed. Roy Grace is a main character who is well brought to life by the author, superintendant Grace is a realistic, down to earth copper, he gets results by his hard work and dedication to his job.
I like the way that Peter James has made sure that police procedures are closely followed, I just wish that the same could be said about the actions of the killer. For the plot to work the villain has to eavesdrop on his intended victim, the methods used would be more at home on the pages of a James Bond novel and this is the only reason I did not give this book five stars.
Despite this minor criticism this is a first class book, well written and narrated. fast paced and absorbing, I will certainly read more of the Roy Grace series.