It’s time for the Reading Roundup post again! The weeks seem to rush by so quickly these days.
Platform Seven by Louise Doughty
The first book of the week was Platform Seven by Louise Doughty. This is the blurb:
Platform Seven at 4am: Peterborough Railway Station is deserted. The man crossing the covered walkway on this freezing November morning is confident he’s alone. As he sits on the metal bench at the far end of the platform it is clear his choice is strategic – he’s as far away from the night staff as he can get.
What the man doesn’t realise is that he has company. Lisa Evans knows what he has decided. She knows what he is about to do as she tries and fails to stop him walking to the platform edge.
Two deaths on Platform Seven. Two fatalities in eighteen months – surely they’re connected?
No one is more desperate to understand what connects them than Lisa Evans herself. After all, she was the first of the two to die.
This was a real departure from my usual kind of reading material and here are my thoughts about the book, as written on the Goodreads website:
Platform Seven by Louise Doughty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a real mixed bag of a book. Parts of it were really gripping, some parts interesting and insightful, and yet other parts were slow and boring. I think it was well-written, but the first section began to drag after a while and I nearly gave up. Then came a part set in the past, which was faster moving and really explained what was going on – very necessary to me! The ending was also long, perhaps too much so, but rounded things off in a good and satisfying way.
The idea behind the story – a ghost slowly remembering the events leading up to her death – was really well-thought out and most of the writing was great. So, 3 stars is probably the best I can give.
I did enjoy the book, with some reservations, but my next book of the week was not so successful!
A Line of Forgotten Blood by Malcolm Mackay
This was A Line of Forgotten Blood by Malcolm Mackay. This is the blurb:
Scotland has been a proudly independent country for centuries. But success has now turned sour. Malcolm Mackay’s remarkable novel of crime and corruption is set in a brooding, rain-swept Scottish city that is compellingly different from the one we think we know.
The Scottish city of Challaid is a corruption-riddled place where people frequently go off the radar. So when PC Vinny Reno discovers his ex-wife, Freya, has disappeared, he turns to private detectives Darian Ross and Sholto Douglas.
Their search will lead them to a collision between Freya and a wealthy banking family. But it also leads to more questions. What does Freya’s disappearance have to do with a year-old murder case? What is the involvement of a young man who never leaves his house? As they dig deeper into the past, Darian and Sholto realise they must stand against the most powerful people in the city if they are to unearth the truth…
OK, I must admit that I cut my losses this time – here is my report with only one star (perhaps I should have avoided the stars altogether):
A Line of Forgotten Blood by Malcolm Mackay
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I read a few chapters of this, but couldn’t get any further. The writing was poor and the invented Scottish city with the constant listing of streets and areas was really jarring. So, I gave up. Life is too short to waste time reading bad books!
Right… so that was my reading for the week! Since then, I have been too ill to concentrate on books and I will have to decide what I wish to download next. You will find out in next week’s Reading Roundup post.
Until then, Happy Reading to you all!
Love and best wishes,
Anne
📖📚📖📚📖
The Librain
The Librain......retired 