GRANDAD, THERE’S A HEAD ON THE BEACH by Colin Cotterill

GRANDAD, THERE’S A HEAD ON THE BEACH Colin Cotterill (www.colincotterill.com) Quercus (www.quercusbooks.co.uk) £16.99 When we first met Thai crime journalist Jimm Juree in last year’s Killed at the Whim of a Hat, she had been forcibly relocated to the somewhat backwards Maprao in southern Thailand with her mother – slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s – and […]

The 2011 Round-Up

As the end of the year approaches, I have decided to break from the straightforward review posts that have populated Reader Dad to date, to do a brief round-up of the year’s reading, including my Top 10 of 2011 and my Most Disappointing of 2011. THE ROUND-UP If you have checked out my newly-added Reading […]

KILLED AT THE WHIM OF A HAT by Colin Cotterill

KILLED AT THE WHIM OF A HAT Colin Cotterill (www.colincotterill.com) Quercus (www.quercusbooks.co.uk) £7.99 “Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.” As Colin Cotterill’s latest novel – the first in a series featuring crime reporter Jimm […]

CRUCIBLE OF SECRETS by Shona MacLean

CRUCIBLE OF SECRETS Shona MacLean Quercus (www.quercusbooks.co.uk) £20.00 Aberdeen, 1631. Alexander Seaton, lecturer and regent of Marischal College, stumbles upon the dead body of his friend, the university’s librarian, and is asked by the principal to look into the man’s life with an eye to protecting the college’s interests. Convinced that his friend has been […]

THE DEMI-MONDE: WINTER by Rod Rees

The Demi-Monde: Winter Rod Rees Quercus (www.quercusbooks.co.uk) £16.99 The Demi-Monde in the title of Rod Rees’ new novel – a novel that forms the first part of a quadrilogy – refers to an advanced virtual reality environment commissioned by the US government to simulate so-called “Asymmetric Warfare Environments” – places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where […]