Finally a book update...

I'm a bit behind with my book blogging so I'd better do a quick catch-up.



Way back in January I read A Game of Sorrows by Shona MacLean which is the sequel to The Redemption of Alexander Seaton. I have to say I was a little disappointed in this one. The previous book had been very atmospheric and had a great sense of place, which I felt was lacking slightly in this second book. It was still a good read, just not as good as the first in my opinion (such as it is).



Next up was The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths. This is the second in her series about Ruth Galloway a forensic archaeologist working in East Anglia. I loved this. Ruth is a really great character and the book is such an easy read, it simply flew along. Highly recommended!



I started Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly and normally I love Connelly's stuff, and this one is a Harry Bosch too, which I usually prefer to the stand-alones. However I seem to have got stalled with it. I'm stuck with Harry mid-air on his way to Hong Kong and can't seem to summon the enthusiasm to pick it up again. Most odd.



I had better luck with Justice Hall by Laurie R. King. It's one of her Mary Russell books and you probably know how I love those. I'm reading them all out of order as I find them (almost all are out of print in the UK at the moment, though I think I read somewhere that they would be republished to coincide with the publication of the next one later this year. I hope so. These are just too good to remain out of print.



While I was on a Sherlock Holmes theme I read Prayer of the Night Shepherd by Phil Rickman, one of the Merrily Watkins series, this one about whether or not Conan Doyle got the idea for the Hound of the Baskervilles while in Ledwardine rather than in Devon. This is the second of these I've read and I'm quite liking them. Of course, again I have been reading them all out of order, reading so far just the first and this one which I think is the fifth. I did like the first one, and this one has seen me through a short bout of insomnia so it must have been OK. (Certainly not one for hurling into the backseat, Jill!) I shall try again with one of the earlier ones, as I do like the characters, just not too sure about all the religious stuff (heathen that I am).



I only finished the Rickman this morning so I'm currently between books. I know I got a proof from the lovely Karen at Eurocrime last week, so that should be next, but I can't remember what it was, or where I've put it. (Found it - it's the new R. N. Morris, A Razor Wrapped in Silk, another Porfiry Petrovich mystery - all those Russian names!)

Oops, forgot one. I also read Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell, which is pretty much what you expect from Mr Cornwell. It has an interesting character who is a bit player in a major battle or historical event, he has a bit of love interest and some backstory, the plot is fast and the historical detail just hits the spot - just enough fascinating stuff without boring the pants off you. You know what you're getting with almost any Bernard Cornwell book and this did exactly what it said on the tin, which is fine by me. Long-term readers will know that almost all the English history I know has been gleaned from the pages of Mr Cornwell's books. (Scottish schools were none too hot on the teaching of English history when I went to school - this may have all changed now but all I ever learned was about Mary Queen of Scots.)

I think that's it for now. Next post will be (hopefully) on my progress with my loom. Yesterday I started to put the new Texsolv heddles on and today I hope to finish that and start to warp it up. There may be some swearing....