Reviews

‘absorbing second mystery . . . stunning resolution.’ [Stage Fright]

- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

The Life of Crime by Martin Edwards: a splendid read

Posted on May 26, 2022 in Bloody Murder, Julian Symons, Martin Edwards, The Life of Crime, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

This book is the result of a lifetime of reading a vast range of crime fiction. Martin Edwards claims that despite its length – running as it does (with exhaustive indexes) to 724 pages – The Life of Crime is a miracle of concision and that is hardly an exaggeration. Chronologically it spans the late […]

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That’s all she wrote

Posted on May 11, 2022 in Alain-Fournier, Cold Comfort Farm, Elspeth Barker, Harper Lee, Le Grand Mealnes, O Caledonia, Stella Gibbons, The Catcher in the Rye, Three Men in a Boat, To Kill a Mocking Bird | No Comments

The recent death of Elspeth Barker got me thinking. I knew her briefly and remember her fondly. In October 1998 she taught me on an Arvon Foundation course and I can see her now, commenting with lively sympathy on the first few pages of what became my first novel. Her novel, O Caledonia – not […]

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