Books read in May

May 31, 2013 by Carole 1 Comment

Doughnut – Tom Holt
This is the third of the three Tom Holt books that I bought recently and it was very enjoyable indeed. This one had multi universes, a twisted and complicated plot and a very confused physicist. Oh and a Very, Very large Hadron collider. Which blew up. Chaos galore and all of it great fun. I must check which of the author’s other books I haven’t read yet. I’m sure there are a couple more.

Fall of night – Rachel Caine
There aren’t many books that end with my saying “Whoa” out loud, but this was one of them. I do love this series and this, the fourteenth book, was excellent. It was set mostly outside Morganville, at MIT, where Claire has gone to study. At first she’s on her own but gradually the familiar characters creep back into the story. I loved the direction the story takes. It’s an obvious one, all things considered, and done brilliantly. Especially the ending. These are such great books for a light read. I’ll be sad when the series ends, and I believe there’s just one book left.

Skios – Michael Frayn
I fancied this as soon as I saw it in the book charts, as I’ve read another one by the author and really enjoyed it. I also liked the blurb on the back cover so as soon as I saw it going cheap, I grabbed it. It’s about a chap who flies to Skios for a holiday and when he sees a woman holding up a sign for another man, decides to become him instead. Of course, it gets a lot more complicated than just that with people getting taxis all over the place and lots of misunderstandings. It was brilliant! I loved the ending too. I’ll definitely look out for more by Frayn.

House rules – Jodi Picoult
I’m gradually tidying up my TBR bookshelves by reading the ones that are just sitting on top of the neatly shelved ones. There are still over 30 to go before the bookcase looks tidy again, but I’m getting there. House rules has been sitting there for some time so I thought I’d read it next. I haven’t read a Picoult for a while and I’ve pretty much enjoyed all the ones that I’ve read so far. This one was an excellent read. I saw the twist coming from fairly early on, but I think you were meant to. It makes it all the more interesting that you can see all the misunderstandings that are happening due to Jacob’s Asperger’s. It’s a thick book at over 600 pages but I’ve gone through it in two mornings just because it was so hard to put down. I think I’d forgotten just how much her books pull you in.

A cold blooded business – Dana Stabenow
Book four of the Kate Shugak series and read on my Kindle. This was one of the books bought in the great Alaska download last month. After my initial, slightly negative impression of this author’s books, I’m really getting into the Kate Shugak books. She’s a great character and her investigations and her life feel so authentic because of the author’s background. This one was set on the North Slope and was about oil production and the people who work in it. There was an investigation by Kate, lots of interesting detail and plenty of action and adventure. I really enjoyed it.

Chocolate wishes – Trisha Ashley
I started this while only half way through the previous book, as my Kindle was upstairs, I was downstairs, and I couldn’t get upstairs while the builders were working. So, as I wanted to read something, I had to have a rummage on the shelves and came up with this one. It sort of leapt out at me as I thought it was one that Jackie might like so it needed to be read. I quite liked it. It didn’t pull the usual clichés, with the characters actually talking to each other instead of having lots of misunderstandings. The chocolate sounded delicious and made me want to raid the fridge. It was a fun, and sweet read (pun intended) and a nice change from some of the murder and mayhem I like to relax with. (in a book-ish way only, I hasten to add)

Play with fire – Dana Stabenow
Back on the Kate Shugak books, with book five of the series. This one was a bit different with the setting and the way the story resolved. There was some more of Kate’s and Bobby’s back story, which all adds to the interest of these books, and once again there were some lovely descriptions of Alaska. Another very enjoyable read. Must resist diving straight into book six though. The TBR shelves are still overflowing.

Surface detail – Iain M. Banks
I loved this. I always enjoy the Culture novels but haven’t read any of the author’s sci-fi for a while. I’d forgotten just how detailed and interesting the stories are. The characters are so real, including the ship minds. I loved the idea behind this book, with the virtual hells and the various factions that were for and against them.

Sourcery – Terry Pratchett
I fancied something lighter after the excellent , but quite dense, Surface detail. There was an odd Terry Pratchett lying on top of some other books on the TBR pile so I chose that. It is a reread, but from about 15 years ago so I’d mostly forgotten what happened. It seemed familiar and I was remembering the plot as I went along. It was still funny though, even with that slight sense of déjà vu. I was a bit impatient to finish it, as I bought a new book halfway through this one, and was very, very keen to get into it. An enjoyable read, and I may check which books by the author I still have to read and see if they’re available at the library.

A wanted man – Lee Child
Brilliant! This followed on straight from the last book and was compulsive reading. I love the Jack Reacher books. I love the style of writing, I love the characters and I really love the plots. In this one, Reacher’s objective for lack of a better word, kept changing as he got more information and the situation changed. It was exciting and thrilling and full of action. Loved it!

The Chessmen – Peter May
This is the third in the Lewis trilogy and was just as good as the first two. There were more revelations about Fin’s past and that of his old friends. There was intrigue and action and an absolutely brilliant ending – which I didn’t see coming. An excellent trilogy.

Blood will tell – Dana Stabenow
The Kindle was handy when I was looking for my next read and once again I picked a Kate Shugak. They really are very good. This one was a bit slower than the others, but still fascinating as there are some fascinating descriptions of Alaska and its political situation. This was in a collection containing books four to six plus two short stories. As this was book six, it seemed a shame not to dive straight into the short stories.

Wreck rights – Dana Stabenow
Cherchez la femme – Dana Stabenow
These were both very short but still good. I like that you get an insight into Kate’s life away from the longer books. It all gives you more of a look into what her life is like, and what she is like. I really enjoyed these.

Gone – Mo Hayder
This is one of the author’s Jack Caffery books. I’ve read a few of the others, although probably not in order, and enjoyed them all. I haven’t read one for ages though and I’d forgotten just how good they are. I’ve had this on my TBR pile for a while, having found it at a charity shop, but it caught my eye last night. It starts with a car jacking, but as there was a child in the car, Jack Caffery is called in along with his team. The investigation gets more and more complex and interesting as they eventually find a suspect and chase him down. Not everything is as it seems though and the ending is very tense and exciting. I did guess who the kidnapper was and his motive, but then changed my mind. Then changed it back, and back again. The clues were all there, but there were also a lot of red herrings which made this one that I couldn’t put down. I wonder if there are any Jack Cafferys that I haven’t read yet…

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