The 2018 Round-Up

As a new year dawns, it’s time to look back on my reading habits for the past twelve months, and pick out those books that really stood out for me this year. As I do so, it occurs to me that I didn’t do a 2017 round-up, thereby depriving my regular reader of the wisdom […]

INHUMAN RESOURCES by Pierre Lemaitre

INHUMAN RESOURCES Pierre Lemaitre Translated by Sam Gordon MacLehose Press (www.maclehosepress.com) £16.99 At the age of fifty-seven, HR manager Alain Delambre finds himself more on less on life’s scrapheap: made redundant four years previously, Alain has struggled to find suitable work in an extremely competitive market, taking whatever work comes his way so that he […]

INFLUENCES: The Writer’s Bookshelf by ZYGMUNT MIŁOSZEWSKI

Name: ZYGMUNT MIŁOSZEWSKI Author of: ENTANGLEMENT (2010) A GRAIN OF TRUTH (2012) RAGE (2016) There are no schools or universities for writers. Well, there probably are some institutions out there that con people into believing they can be taught how to write, but the only school of writing worth mentioning is every writer’s […]

RAGE by Zygmunt Miłoszewski

RAGE Zygmunt Miłoszewski Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones AmazonCrossing (www.amazon.com) £8.99 The discovery of a skeleton in a construction site in the historic Polish city of Olsztyn brings Prosecutor Teodor Szacki into the spotlight when it is discovered that the bones are fresh, the rest of the body chemically dissolved. Identifying the remains proves relatively easy, […]

The 2015 Round-Up

As 2015 draws to a close, it’s time to take a step back and reflect on the year that has been. As is now “traditional”, I’ll be using this post to talk about my favourite books of the year, but first a quick blast through some of the non-bookish stuff that happened in the past […]

THE GREAT SWINDLE by Pierre Lemaitre

THE GREAT SWINDLE Pierre Lemaitre (www.pierrelemaitre.com) Translated by Frank Wynne (www.terribleman.com) MacLehose Press (maclehosepress.com) £18.99 As the Great War approaches its end, Lieutenant Henri d’Aulnay-Pradelle decides to make one last bid for glory. Sending two scouts over the top, he shoots them in the back, and uses their deaths as the perfect excuse for one […]

CAMILLE by Pierre Lemaitre

CAMILLE Pierre Lemaitre (www.pierrelemaitre.com) Translated by Frank Wynne (www.terribleman.com) MacLehose Press (maclehosepress.com) £17.99 Anne Forestier is in the wrong place at the wrong time. When she stumbles upon the robbery of a Paris jeweller, she is beaten to within an inch of her life, and left for dead. Despite the lack of body, Camille Verhœven […]

The 2014 Round-Up

As another year draws to a close, it’s time for my annual retrospective of what’s gone on at Reader Dad. There’s a lot to cover this year, so without further ado… THE ROUND-UP As the reading year closes, I have read 65 books this year, more than every year except last year, but I had […]

IRÈNE by Pierre Lemaitre

IRÈNE Pierre Lemaitre (www.pierrelemaitre.com) Translated by Frank Wynne (www.terribleman.com) MacLehose Press (maclehosepress.com) £16.99 Released: 13th March 2014 Commandant Camille Verhœven’s team are called to the scene of a grisly murder in a well-appointed apartment set in the middle of a largely deserted industrial estate. Two women have, quite literally, been torn apart and the only […]