Books

My favourite books of 2004 were:

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon. Unlike any book you’ve probably ever read. The ‘author’ is a fifteen-year old boy who has Asperger’s Syndrome. He finds a neighbour’s dog murdered and sets out to find the culprit. A remarkable and uplifting book.

Star of the Sea - Joseph O’Connor. This is a gripping book set in 1847 on the ship ‘Star of the Sea’ as it sails from Ireland to New York. This book has everything - funny, heartbreaking, frightening, moving, mysterious...just read it!

 

 

 

My  2 best reads of 2005 were:

 

The American Boy - Andrew Taylor

A winner of the CWA Historical Dagger for Fiction, this is a mystery set in Regency England with lots of twists and turns and beautifully written.

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Set in Barcelona in the middle of the twentieth century this is a brilliant book which combines mystery, murder, love, humour, twists and turns - a real page turner.

 

 

2006

 

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

A brilliant read - an historical mystery in the search for Dracula

The Conjuror’s Bird - Martin Davies

Excellent - ‘a pacy confection of history, mystery and romance’ (The Times)

 

 

 

2007

 

Historical novels:

Brethren - Robyn Young

Set at the time of the Crusades in the 13th century, a young man starts his apprenticeship in the Knights Templar. Full of mystery and action that spans England, France and the Middle East.

Dissolution - CJ Sansom

Set in 1537, during the reign of Henry VIII, Matthew Shardlake is sent by Thomas Cromwell to investigate a murder at a monastery set for dissolution.

Crime novels:

Looking Good Dead - Peter James

A man picks up a CD that had been left behind on the train seat next to him - big mistake.

The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld

A murder mystery set in New York in 1909, involving Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Political thriller:

First Lady - Michael Dobbs

Politics is a dirty game - I think we knew that already. “Barbed, breakneck, very funny and hugely entertaining” (The Times)

 

 

5/4/08

© 2004 GDB & LDC