Reviews

‘My favourite type of mystery, suspenseful, and where everyone is not what they appear . . . Christine is great at creating atmosphere . . . she evokes the magic of the stage, and her characters [have] a past to be uncovered before the mystery is solved.’ [Stage Fright]

- Lizzie Hayes, MYSTERY WOMEN

Linda’s Book Launch

Something to add to my last blog. The launch of Linda Stratmann’s new novel, THE POISONOUS SEED, is at Waterstone’s Islington Green on Thursday 2 June from 6.30. I can’t be there, but maybe you can? All are welcome.While I’m here I’ll mention that Anne Fadiman’s second book of essays, AT LARGE AND AT SMALL: […]

Chloroform

I spent Thursday to Sunday last week at Crimefest, where I moderated a couple of panels. Linda Stratmann was on one of them. She is the author of a book entitled CHLOROFORM which I’d heard was good – and it is. As far as I’d thought at all about it, I’d been aware of chloroform […]

The Surgeon of Crowthorne

I am working full tilt on the first draft of a new novel and that makes it hard to find time to blog. It also makes it hard to find time to read fiction, or rather, it’s not so much a matter of time, more there is something about being deep in my own narrative […]

Night of the Jabberwock

Martin Edwards’ blog with the wonderful title: ‘Do You Write Under Your own Name?’ is a favourite of mine and I often pick up tips for books I might enjoy, especially in his forgotten books section. Not long ago he wrote a review of a novel by Fredric Brown which made me think that I’d […]

A little break from blogging

Posted on Apr 22, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

I’ll be back in ten days or so. I’m having a holiday and will let you know what I’ve been reading when I get back.

Fashion

I’ve written before about disposing of my mother’s books and how hard I’ve found it to part with them. Even now over three years after she died I have a couple of boxes of her books that I haven’t known whether to keep or not. However a few weeks ago I decided that I wasn’t […]

Deadline

Posted on Apr 8, 2011 in Deadline | No Comments

I’m very busy trying to finish a story to a deadline, so I am skipping this week’s blog.

Anna Karenina

Posted on Apr 1, 2011 in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy | No Comments

I’d intended to spread reading this over several months, but in the event it took a lot less. I was just enjoying it so much that I wanted to keep on reading, though maybe at some points enjoyment isn’t the word, cathartic may be better. One of the fascinating things about rereading a great work […]

Thrilled to Bits

Last week I was surprised and delighted to get a letter from the editor of ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE telling me that my short story, ‘A Tour of the Tower’ has been nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for the Best Long Short Story. It appeared in the March/April 2010 edition. I’ve […]

Read All About It

Posted on Mar 16, 2011 in earthquake, The Independent, tsunami | No Comments

There were several things that I thought of blogging about today – including that fact that I have finished reading ANNA KARENINA – but in the end there is only thing to write about: the earthquake in Japan. These days many of us will know someone affected in some degree. My son’s brother-in-law lives in […]