The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

With Monsters of Men being another of the Carnegie Medal Short Listers, I thought I'd better attempt the whole trilogy. As they were such thick books, I thought that this could take me a while. How wrong I was.

I remember hearing good things about this book when it was first published a couple of years ago. And it more than lived up to its reputation. With a talking dog, and a town where you can hear everyone's thoughts, the last boy in town is looking forward to becoming a man ... until he senses ... silence. An exciting story, you follow Todd and Viola through all sorts of struggles, adventures and misadventures, until you reach what you hope will be - hope. But will they make it through? I never looked so forward to reading the next book before!

The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff

Another Carnegie Short Lister, this was a much more romantic book to read after the darkness of my other more recent reads. Although there are difficulties faced by Pell in the book, the tone is lighter and more hopeful. An enjoyable book, and I did appreciate the lighter read.

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

My librarian suggested that I should read some of the Carnegie Medal nominees, and this was the first one I tried. Set in Zimbabwe shortly after the Civil War, the main character, Robert, is sad to be sent to boarding school and finds it hard to settle in. He gets involved with the wrong set of friends. An intriguing and desperately sad story, as the issues of the Civil War surrounding race and ruling assert themselves in the school. This dark and hard-hitting book asks you to contemplate that which you do not want to think about, as it makes you wonder if you should sometimes agree with the enemy, the bully, for the sake of the greater good.

The Butterfly Tattoo by Philip Pullman

Quite a sad story, and bleak. Pullman is a fine writer, and this is a good book, but suffers perhaps from a lack of hope and surfeit of disappointment. To clarify, the main character, Chris, eventually suffers from this, the book itself does not suffer. But it does make it sad to read.

I read this back in May, but I am a bit behind with my reviews so am trying to catch up now. Hence I do not have the immediacy that you might expect!

A Rush of Blood by Quintin Jardine

I can't quite decide who my favourite detective is: Bob Skinner or Cetin Ikmen. I love the familiarity of Edinburgh, Fife and Tayside brought to me by Jardine, and I love the exoticness and heat of Istanbul that Nadel's fiction inhabits. Each series has a plethora of interesting and involving characters, whose private lives provide much of the interest. I have read both series out of order, so I have discovered that some characters have divorced, remarried or died, then have read stories from their earlier days where they have yet to meet the loves of their lives, or the criminal insider or such. A Rush of Blood is Quintin Jardine's latest book, and long may they continue. An interesting point - at one point, a policewoman reads a book called "Inhuman Remains", about a female detective - this is one of another Jardine series, a small injoke, which I liked.

Anyway, I am looking forward to reading more about Bob Skinner's past as I am intrigued by some of his present circumstances!

Here is the list so far, with links (hopefully!) to other books of his that I have reviewed (unfortunately not as many as I would have liked!) (If you know me, please feel free to send me more of these unread books!!):

Skinner's Rules (2nd read)
Skinner's Festival (4th read)
Skinner's Trail
Skinner's Round
Skinner's Ordeal
Skinner's Mission
Skinner's Ghosts
Murmuring the Judges
Gallery Whispers
Thursday Legends
Autographs in the Rain
Head Shot
Fallen Gods (1st read)
Stay of Execution
Lethal Intent
Dead and Buried
Death's Door
Aftershock
Fatal Last Words
A Rush of Blood (3rd read)

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

Another great Christie thriller, and yet another with non-familiar characters (although Inspector Japp is mentioned a couple of times). Tommy and Tuppence are Young Adventurers, and what an adventure they get caught up in. Kept me guessing right to the end - every time it seemed to be one person, I decided it was the other, and kept on changing my mind with each new clue or revelation. Fun!

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

Just right for the holidays, a good Agatha Christie murder mystery! And this one has an element of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Not a Poirot or Miss Marple inside though - here the story is told by Mark Easterbrook and also features Detective-Inspector Lejeune. Bought from Waterstone's Secondhand Section for £1.50, started yesterday and finished this morning (I love holidays!), this represents very good value for money! And I have another one for this evening ...


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Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel

I woke up early this morning, eventually decided to open my eyes and start reading. Started reading at 8.30am. Eventually finished the book and got up to have a shower at 2.30pm. That's what holidays are all about! Great books! This is the first book in the Inspector Ikmen series. Roll on the rest!

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson

Delighted to return to one of my favourite children's authors. Yet another book that pulls you in and makes you feel for the characters. Nice touch of romance, a dash of mystery and a much looked forward to denouement. I spent a few hours lying on my bed reading this, didn't want to do any more work until I'd finished!

No and Me - Delphin de Vigan

This was one of my Mum's book club reads. A reflective story of homelessness, friendship and the fact that we cannot truly understand the lives of others. A quiet read.

Skinner's Rules by Quintin Jardine

It's been a while since I read a Quintin Jardine book. This is one of the earlier ones. Great to read stories set in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland. Good story with great characters. Must get another one!

HIVE: Zero Hour by Mark Walden

Well worth waiting for, can't wait for the next one now! Love reading about Otto Malpense and his friends. This one had a bit of an unexpected turn - well, two really. Look forward to finding out what happens next!