I have read three books since last week’s Roundup, two by Linda Fairstein and one by Ann Cleeves. I seem to be on a roll at the moment with crime/mystery fiction and these were no exception. Perhaps, when I next pay a visit to the local library, I will look for books in some of my other favourite genres, such as fantasy or science fiction. Mind you, watching The Handmaid’s Tale on the TV is whetting my interest in feminist fiction again, so I may be hunting for a few titles.

Killer Look by Linda Fairstein

The first book to write about is Killer Look by Linda Fairstein. I have already read one book in her Alex Cooper series and I enjoyed that. This book was one of two that I borrowed from the library in anticipation that I would like both of them. Well, the story had moved on a bit from Night Watch, which I read in 2015 – now this is the value of using Goodreads to track my reading! Here is what I wrote in my short review:

This was OK. Not brilliant, but OK. As I am interested in the fashion world, the details of this were fine for me, but might have really irritated other readers, I think. I get that Alex Cooper was traumatised, although I had not read the relevant book, but that got annoying too. As did her relationship with Mike. I will read others in the series, but not go out of my way to find them, and will not have very high expectations. Perhaps other books will be better? Hope so.

Death Angel by Linda Fairstein

It is unusual for me to read two books in succession but in the wrong order! As a former librarian, it is normal for me to check the publishing details, if I have the two books in my hands, and get this right. Well, this time I didn’t and so the next Fairstein book, Death Angel, was actually #15 in the series, as opposed to Killer Look being #18. Never mind. Anyway, I enjoyed this one much more. This time, Fairstein’s attention to detail was very interesting as she explained the history and geography of her setting for the story, New York’s Central Park. The park almost became a character in the book in its own right. Even though her main characters are often irritating (I really dislike Mike Chapman) I thought this book was much better and so I will probably read more of this series when I come across the books. I will not, however, go out of my way to find them or request them from the public library.

The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves

I read The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves almost in one sitting. This was an ebook borrowed from the local library service, which I had requested some weeks ago and was being held on reserve for me. Once again, her main characters and the interplay between them, are fascinating. I cannot help comparing the written Vera with Brenda Blethyn’s portrayal of her in the TV series, as I love Blethyn’s version. I hope Ann Cleeves does too! In this book, the plot was centred around aspiring authors, which I found very interesting and I loved the fact that I did not work out who the murderer was at all.

The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver

My next book will be Jeffrey Deaver’s The Burning Wire. I don’t think I have ever read anything by this author, so I am going into this book “blind”, as it were. Anyway, I will write about it in next week’s Reading Roundup, all being well.

Best wishes,

💛💚💜💙❤️