Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

What the cover says:
When Robert Kemble stumbles across Victoria Lyndon in a hedgerow maze, he can't believe his eyes. The girl who'd torn him in tow - who let him plan an elopement and then left him standing by the side of the road - is suddenly within arm's reach, and still impossible to resist.
Victoria's father told her an early would never marry a vicar's daughter, and he was right. Robert had promised her marriage, but then danced off to London, leaving her thinking that he had jilted her. So when Robert offers her a new job - as his mistress - she refuses, unable to sacrifice her honour, even for him.
But now Robert won't take no for an answer, and vows to make her his, through any means possible...

Julia Quinn's novels are Georgette Heyer meets modern chick-lit, and are a delight to read. The lead characters are both loveable and the plotline provides many opportunity for amusement. Nothing too serious, but very witty and a good escapist read.

9/10

A Dark Devotion by Clare Francis

What the cover says:
Grace Dearden is beautiful, clever and admired. The last person to disappear into the lonely Norfolk marshes in the black depths of winter.
Seven days... and still no trace.
With police investigations stalled, old family friend Alex O'Neill returns to the haunting landscape of her childhood. And immediately begins to uncover disturbing new clues...
Each one drawing her closer to a family's tragic secret...

Not sure how I felt about this one. I do tend to prefer to like at least one of the characters in a book as I find it gives more of an interest in how the story will turn out. Unfortunately I didn't feel anything for any of the main protagonists except perhaps mild dislike for the more unpleasant. On the whole, not bad I suppose.

7/10

Name to a Face by Robert Goddard

What the cover says:
When Tim Harding agrees to do a favour for a tax-exile friend by representing him at an Auction in Penzance, he is unaware of the secrets that tie the ring he is sent to buy to three widely separated events: the loss of HMS Association with all hands off Scilly in 1707; an unsolved murder in Penzance thirty years later; and the seemingly accidental drowning of a journalist diving at the Association wreck site in 1999. Very soon he discovers that by taking on this apparently simple task he has allowed himself to be drawn into a web of conspiracies. Somewhere a perilous truth awaits him, coupled with a terrible realization: those who uncover the truth are not allowed to live...

Typical Robert Goddard fare, but no less enjoyable. As always, you only know what the hero knows which keeps the mystery going from start to finish. The main character is flawed but likeable, and you are rooting for him right to the very end. The plot is fanciful and complex, but very clever.


8/10

Double Cross by James Patterson

What the cover says:
Just when Alex Cross's life is calming down, he's drawn back into the game to confront he Audience Killer - a terrifying genius who stages his killings as public spectacle in Washington DC and broadcasts them live on the net.
In Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his maximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has spent years plotting his escape and revenge. Craig prefers to work alone, but if joining forces with DC's Audience Killer helps him get to the man who put him away - Alex Cross - then so be it.

I love the Alex Cross novels and have read all of them. This is as good as any of the others, but I must confess, I'm getting a little bored with Kyle Craig now, and will be much happier when Alex gets round to shooting him (as I'm sure he inevitably will). Probably not one to read if you haven't read some of the earlier ones.

9/10

Selected Stories by H.E. Bates

This is a really old edition that I must have picked up in a charity shop somewhere and forgotten about.
These stories were all written in the 1930's and are very evocative of that age. The writing is incredible and conveys the atmosphere beautifully, but they are pretty much all about love, loss and death, and I found them actually quite depressing to read. Perhaps it was the sense of impending doom with the approach of the second world war that casts such a shadow over the book. Not sure I could cope with a whole novel by Bates!

Enigma by Robert Harris

What the cover says:
March 1943, the war hangs in the balance, and at Bletchley Park Tom Jericho, a brilliant young codebreaker, is facing a double nightmare. The Germans have unaccountably changed their U-boat Enigma code, threatening a massive Allied defeat. And as suspicion grows that there may be a spy inside Bletchley, Jericho's girlfriend, the beautiful and mysterious Claire Romilly, suddenly disppears.

I picked this up because of my interest in codes and more recently Bletchley Park (particularly as it's not that far away) and because I couldn't be bothered to stay up to watch the film when it was on a few weeks ago. I'm very glad I didn't though as I'm fairly confident that the book is way better than the adaptation.
It's a classic wartime thriller with spies and codes and a tormented genius for a hero. Although it starts off fairly gently, the tension builds and builds to a breathless finale and once I got past halfway through I couldn't put it down.

9/10

Punchbag by Robert Llewellyn

What the cover says:
Nick hasn't managed to achieve much in 35 years except a good set of pecs. He has a grotty flat, a stationary car, a teenage son who he doesn't know all that well, an ex-girlfriend who hates his guts, and a job as a night club bouncer that's going nowhere.
Then Tara, a speaker at a women's conference, invites him to San Francisco. She wants him to become a padded assailant in a women's self defence class. She wants him to wear a protective suit and assault women for a living. Why not? It's a free trip to the States.
It's a trip that's going to change Nick's life. But will it be for the better?

I had quite high hopes for this one. Robert Llewellyn is a star, and I loved his other novel that I've read (The Man on Platform 5). It didn't disappoint me entirely. The padded assailant thing is fascinating, as is Nick's transformation from zero to hero (kinda). It's not as good as TMoP5 but a reasonable read, and all the story threads run through nicely and are tied up neatly at the end in a very satisfactory way.

8/10

The Pact by Roberta Kray

What the cover says:
Eve, the 34 year-old daughter of recently deceased conman Alexander Weston, knows a good deal when she sees it - and this one doesn't even come close. However, with vulnerable brother Terry being beaten in jail, she can't afford to be fussy. She needs to organize protection for him, and fast. The intimidating and powerful con Cavelli seems the perfect solution, but how high a price is he going to exact? She may well be forming a pact with the Devil.
A break-in, followed by a vicious assault, soon makes Eve question the wisdom of her choice. Cavelli is leading her straight into Hell. And suddenly, her own life is in jeopardy...

Going solely on the author, you would perhaps expect great things from this novel, and indeed it does have a promising start. Unfortunately it doesn't quite carry on with the same impetus, and the ending is clever in parts and uninspiring in others. If you hadn't looked at the cover, it would be quite easy to think you were reading something by Martina Cole - not sure whether that's a good or bad thing! On the whole it's ok - not great, not awful, just ok.

7/10

Fall of a Philanderer by Carola Dunn

What the cover says:
In the summer of 1924, the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher has planned a quiet, relaxing holiday in the small coastal town of Westcombe. With her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, planning to join them later, Daisy goes ahead with her step-daughter Belinda, and Belinda's chum Deva. Currently three months pregnant, Daisy is looking forward to a nondramatic vacation of quiet strolls along the cliffs and days down at the beach. She doesn't have that kind of luck, however, as the seemingly quiet seaside town turns out to be a hotbed of rumour and scandal. It seems much of the turmoil centres around local lothario George Enderby - the married owner of the town pub - who keeps himself busy attempting the seduction of whatever women cross his path. In a town this small, no indiscretion remains secret for very long - a consequence clearly illustrated when the husband of one of his rumoured conquests assaults the innkeeper in full view.
The last vestige of the idyllic vacation dissipates shortly thereafter when the Fletchers, out for a simple picnic, discover Enderby's broken body at the foot of a sea cliff. With murder the most obvious conclusion, Alec's vacation is cut short by the official investigation. It is up to Daisy, however, to uncover the truth lurking behind the rumours, gossip, and closely held secrets of this small town if the killer is ever to be found.

An easy to read, enjoyable enough story. It is a little laboured in getting to the point sometimes, and tries rather too hard to imitate the style of the great authors who have written in this period before. The ending is clever, but something of an anti-climax. I'd happily read another 'Daisy Dalrymple Mystery'.

8/10

Ready Or Not? by Chris Manby

What the cover says:
Every bride is entitled to some pre-wedding jitters. And what girl wouldn't think twice about marriage when her fiance gets his eyebrows shaved off just in time to look horrendous for the photographs?
But what if it's not the ceremony that freaks you out but the happy ever after? Heidi Savage is wondering whether she an really forsake all othersfor macho, berr-swilling Ed. And how can a couple who've never even been babysitters be ready to start a family of their own?
Will the answer come in the form of her ex-boyfriend Steven? Grown-up, gorgeous and good-with-children. Is Heidi's dilemma simply a case of right shoes, right dress, wrong husband?

I was really disappointed in this story. Chris Manby's books are usually good fun to read, but this time I felt nothing for any of the characters (apart from mild irritation) and just wanted Heidi to get on with it and make her mind up. And when she finally did at the end, all I felt was slightly cheated for some reason.

6/10

The Railway Detective by Edward Marston

What the cover says:
London, 1851. With the opening of the Great Exhibition at hand, interest is mounting in the engineering triumphs of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating...
In an audacious attack, the London to Birmingham mail train is robbed and derailed, causing many casualties. Planned with military precision, this crime proves a challenge to Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck who fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction.

This is a beautiful period piece, written in a style perfectly suiting the era in which it is set. The heroes are heroic and the villains truly villainous, exactly as you would wish for. The plot bowls along merrily and is relatively straightforward without being dull. I look forward to reading another "Detective Inspector Colbeck mystery". All in all, a real delight.

9.5/10

Booked for Murder by V.L.McDermid

What the cover says:
Why would anyone want to kill Penny Varanvides, bestselling author of the 'Teen Dreams' series? Her demise can't be the freak accident it first appeared - it's an exact replica of the murder method in her forthcoming book. Only three people knew the plot of Penny's unpublished novel; her literary agent, her editor and her ex-girlfriend Meredith.
In an effort to clear Meredith, Lindsay Gordon delves beneath the glittering facade of the seemingly glamorous world of London publishing in search of a murderer. While hobnobbing with industry notables, Lindsey encounters an unsavoury mix of soured relationships, desperate power plays, underhanded fraud and seething rivalries. Who, amongst this sordid group, wanted Penny Varnavides dead?

This has a fantastic opening chapter, and the rest of the book carries on in a similar way. There's twists and turns and red herrings and you're kept guessing right to the end. The subplot is woven seamlessly into the main story with no confusion and all the main and secondary characters are very likeable. The only complaint I have is that it was too short!

9/10

7th Heaven by James Patterson

What the cover says:
The hunt for a deranged murderer with a taste for fire, and a devastating new lead in the high-profile disappearance of the governer's son combine in an electrifying series of stunning twists and emotional surprises.
With the help of her friends and fellow members of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay must race to find the suspects and stop the cold-blooded killers, fast.

I'm still not so sure about this Women's Murder Club series. I've been a big fan of James Patterson for a long time, and keep reading them in case he suddenly has a return to early form, but this is not it.
It's readable of course, but I've never been able to warm particularly to any of the characters. The arsonist storyline is clever, but seems to end with more of a whimper than a bang. The twist in the tale is the one redeeming feature, but it's unfortunate that you have to plough through so much mediocrity to get there.

7/10

Blood Substitute by Margaret Duffy

What the cover says:
DCI James Carrick is playing rugby for police team The Ferrets when an injury sends him off the pitch. His substitute is DS Cliff Morley, an undercover policeman investigating a criminal gang operating in the Bristol area. The next day Morley's horribly mutilated body is found dumped in woodland near Bristol, the initials RK carved on his torso.
Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley, late of MI5 and now working as consultants for SOCA, are called in to investigate. At the same time Carrick, who is an old friend of theirs, asks them to make some discreet inquiries on a private matter: he has discovered that his father, whom he thought long dead, is not only alive but a criminal. His name is Robert Kennedy. Can there be a connection between the two cases, and if so, what is it?

Oh where to start with this one? It's not often that I struggle with a book so much that I'm tempted not to even bother finishing it, but this one came very close to beating me. The basic story idea seems a good one, but it is told in such a convoluted meandering way that it ends up making very little sense. The lead pair seem to be almost superhero-like with their huge range of skills and talents that just happen to suit precisely every tricky situation they land themselves in (frequently through being downright stupid). There is not one likeable or even remotely realistic character anywhere, and to be honest, I cannot imagine being so desperate for a book that I would ever consider picking up another one from this series.

3/10