As Wonderwife has taken to regularly reminding me, I have promised several times that in next month’s email I will share some ‘what am I reading’ recommendations. I have been appallingly lax in following up on this promise. Now, there’s two things you should know about me: one, I am a man of my word; and two, I once fit four snooker balls into my mouth. That second one is entirely irrelevant but here, as frequently promised, is not just some book recommendations but Caimh’s bumper baker’s dozen plus one of sizzling summer reads. Side note: there is no fun nickname for the number fourteen.
Thrillers
The Cut by Chris Brookmyre
As I have regularly shouted from the rooftops, Chris Brookmyre comes second only to the late-great master Terry Pratchett in my affections and I’m pleased to say that this stand-alone thriller is right up there with some of his best work. It follows a woman just released from prison having served twenty-five years for murdering her lover. Through a twist of fate she comes to realise that she was set up and her and the young lodger where she is staying find themselves on the run from some very dangerous people. I don’t want to give any more away than that but take my word for it, it’s a fun ride full of unexpected twists and turns.
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The Brass Verdict by Michael Connolly
Honestly, I’m not a massive fan of legal thrillers normally but I found myself in a bit of a reading rut and I remembered how much I enjoyed the film The Lincoln Lawyer based on one of Michael Connolly’s books. The Brass Verdict is the sequel and let me be the millionth person to share this revelation with somebody but yer man Connolly can write the hell out of a novel. Pacy, engaging, full of legal nuance that he somehow manages to make gripping — he didn’t become one of the world’s biggest selling authors by accident. This may have been the first of his books that I’ve read, but it certainly will not be the last.
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Slough House by Mick Herron
This is book seven in the Slough House series and really you should take this as a recommendation for all seven of them. Mick Herron is a master of the modern spy thriller. His books are laced with a caustic wit and a wonderfully immersive world where instead of some James Bond superspy, you are following the screw ups and burnouts of the British Secret Service. This book is quite possibly the best in the series which is high praise indeed. A character based on the current British Prime Minister is particularly enjoyable/horrifying as it feels like reality is trying to outdo any ridiculous ideas Mick can come up with. Satire, espionage and a stonking good story — what is not to love?
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Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz
On the topic of brilliant series that I highly recommend, this little beauty is book six in the Orphan X world and I can highly recommend every one of them. Frankly, an awful lot of authors seem to be trying to re-plough the furrows dug by James Bond and Jack Reacher – to the point where I was beginning to find it all a bit tedious. Then along came Gregg Hurwitz who entirely reinvigorated the genre for me. These are big thrillers that are wonderful escapist fun which will have you turning the pages late into the night.
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Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
Speaking of Gregg Hurwitz, I bought this stand-alone thriller entirely on his recommendation and I am currently reading it right now. I’m enjoying it so much I feel fully confident in recommending it to you and I’m only halfway through. The best thing I can say is, I’m looking forward to getting into bed tonight so I can get stuck back in. It’s very well written, wonderfully paced and both the story and characters are both highly believable and engaging. Apparently, it’s being turned into a movie staring Angelina Jolie, Read it now so you can tell all and sundry how the book was so much better.
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Fantasy
Doing Time by Jodi Taylor
Jodi Taylor is simply put the Queen of time as far as I’m concerned. She penned the long-running and highly popular Chronicle of St Mary’s series and Doing Time is the first book in a spin-off series based around the time police from her books. In this installment we follow a trio of misfit recruits as they struggle to not get kicked out or die while attempting to complete basic training. All the elements of Jodi’s writing are here in abundance; humour, historical swashbuckling adventure, and well-drawn characters that you can’t help but root for. Highly recommended.
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Dead Lies Dreaming by Charlie Stross
This is billed as the next instalment of Charlie Stross’s long-running Laundry Files series but the man himself described it on Twitter as really being more of a spin-off. Regardless, it is a wonderfully written slice of alternative universe fantasy. I read a couple of the Laundry Files books years ago but I haven’t kept up-to-date, to my eternal shame. Luckily, this one works fine coming in cold as the world is so evocatively rendered that you don’t feel like there is any back story you’re missing. The writing is razor sharp and some of the throwaway vignettes of the world feel like they contain more arresting imagery than many books manage. There’s one with Santa Claus that will really stay with you. There are elements of horror in there but they’re subtly done.
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The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
I was drawn to this book as I saw it mentioned alongside The Stranger Times in several articles and I am, of course, a massive fan of my own work! I then looked into the author and I was frankly sickened by what I found out. Luke Arnold is only a bloody successful actor who’s been in loads of stuff, including playing Michael Hutchence of INXS fame in a biopic. Flipping actors coming over here trying to turn their hand to writing! What ever next? Comedians? When will it end? So obviously, when I started listening to this audiobook, which is narrated by Luke Arnold OF COURSE I really, really wanted to hate it. Annoyingly, the book is great. He is a great narrator, and now I have to start a GoFundMe page to have him and his perfect cheekbones killed. It is very cleverly set in a world where magic has just been supposedly wiped out and it follows the protagonist, a world-weary gumshoe that Raymond Chandler would be proud of, as he tries to solve the case of a missing vampire. The world building, in particular, is fantastic and it has a delightful, subtle, tongue-in-cheek humour to it which is really enjoyable. What a talented prick!
Click here for more info on The Last Smile in Sunder City
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
I recommended this before, but dammit, I’m gonna do it again! As a rule, I am not a big fan of epic fantasy, or at least I wasn’t until I started reading Joe Abercrombie. These books are so skillfully written. Technically, I should recommend The Trouble with Peace here which is book two in the series but this is definitely not one of those series where you can come in anywhere. Start at the start and treasure every word. Despite there being a lot of characters they are all instantly recognisable and the complex story pulls you along without ever becoming confusing which is a testament to the brilliantly realised writing. I can’t emphasise enough how good the dialogue in this book is. The characters leap off the page and every one of them helps the story build and build to a wonderful crescendo. This book is a masterpiece in any genre.
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The Crow Folk by Mark Stay
Mark will be familiar to anyone who caught the online launches of either The Stranger Times or Dead Man’s Sins. He’s a man with many strings to his bow – he is one of the duo behind the highly successful Bestseller Experiment podcast, he’s written two movies, the second of which is out next year, but his first love is writing and this book is an absolute corker. Described best as ‘cosy fantasy’ it’s set in the English countryside during World War Two, where witches are very much a thing. Its setting is perfect as the inadvertent great leap forward in woman’s liberation brought about by necessity, with the men off fighting a war, is an excellent backdrop for the tale. It’s well researched, but it doesn’t bash you over the head with the fact, instead letting the humour and characters speak for themselves. Also, it is about time that bell ringing featured in a high-stakes finale!
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Books from my showbiz mates
Death and Croissants by Ian Moore
Ian was on The Bunny Book Club a couple of months ago but his book will finally be available to you, the great unwashed, next week. Being the very important person that I am in the literary world, I was lucky enough to get an advance copy a couple months ago and it is a delightful read. Cosy crime has become quite the thing ever since the success of The Thursday Murder Club so, dare I say it, this little beauty might do big things from Mr Moore. It’s set in France where he lives and while it contains a fine mystery story, really its biggest selling point is the wonderfully evocative picture of the expat community that it draws. Ian is one of the sharpest comedy minds I’ve ever met and in this book it feels like he’s found the perfect avenue for his talents. This is the ideal book to enjoy with a cold beverage on a hot day.
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Naughty Boy by Eddie Brimson
This book couldn’t be more different to Death and Croissants if it tried. It is actually based on a one-man play that I was lucky enough to see any perform on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe a couple years ago. That experience was one of the most memorable things I have ever seen up there. I’ve known Eddie for a long time and I consider him a good mate but honestly, I’ve never been more blindsided by somebody’s unexpected talents than I was when I caught this show. The play was a brilliant window into the mind of a damaged man involved in the world of football violence.
It’s not for the faint-hearted but, if you’re not lucky enough to catch the play, then I highly recommend the book. It has strong language and disturbing themes but it is one hell of a powerful piece.
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Klopp Actually by Laura Lex
This is a light-hearted and fun read based on the premise of the imaginary life that Laura made up for herself with the Liverpool football manager. It came out of some hilarious tweets that she wrote one weekend that went ‘viral’ as in half the planet found them hilarious. Laura is a wonderfully funny person and that really shines through in this book. I know she has a novel coming too which I can’t wait to read but in the meantime, this is a great easy read. And don’t worry if you know nothing about football, Laura knows nothing about it – that’s weirdly sort of the point.
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To Be Someone by Ian Stone
Finally, another book I’ve mentioned before but I am happy to recommend again. This is the only non-fiction book on the list. Technically, it’s about one man’s obsession with the band The Jam but it’s actually so much more than that. Ian does an incredible job of explaining what it was like growing up as a Jewish kid from a difficult home environment in working class London. I didn’t know a great deal about The Jam before I started reading the book but really, that didn’t matter at all. If you spent your teenage years being obsessed with music like I did, then you will understand the obsession perfectly. Also, I found this book genuinely educational as coming from where I came from I had no idea about the level of anti-Semitism that was a part of Ian’s life. And to be clear, one of the funniest men in Britain wrote this book so there are plenty of laughs too.
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