This is the book for the true crime aficionado.

I love CSI and John Douglas (retired FBI criminal profiler), so I'm perfectly placed to read, love, and review this book.

David Simon spent a year as a 'police intern' with the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit in 1988, and this book is a masterful narrative account of that time.

The book is loosely centred around the horrific murder of Latonya Wallace, an 11-year old who was dumped in an elderly couple's backyard. We follow the detectives from calls to witness interrogations to arrests to court. Latonya's case is only one case in hundreds that year.

I particularly enjoyed this book because it tied together all the strands of crime detection - forensics, criminal psychology, good old-fashioned police work, and more than a little luck. It conclusively shows that not one particular method can serve to solve crime; a combination of all our 'favourites' need to work together.

This is not a casual read; you need to have a dedicated interest in true crime and crime detection in order to get through all 600-plus pages.

I loved it.

Don't let the title faze you. Helen Walsh's second novel blew my socks off - and I wear very snug-fitting socks.

---

Synopsis

On the coldest night of 1975, a young man with shock-red hair tears though the snowbound streets of Warrington's toughest housing estate. He is Robbie Fitzgerald, and he is running for his life - and that of his young family. In his heart, Robbie knows the odds are stacked against them. In this unbending Northern town, he has married the beautiful brown nurse who once stitched up his wounds. Susheela is his Tamil Princess, but in the real world, the Fitzgeralds have to face up to prejudice, poverty and sheer naked hatred from their neighbours. Now Robbie has seen a way out, and he's sprinting to his date with destiny...

But back at their low-rise flat, Susheela hears a noise. This single moment starts a chain of events that will reverberate throughout the lives of all four Fitzgeralds - herself, Robbie, their son Vincent and unborn daughter, Ellie. Over thirteen years of struggle, aspiration, achievement, misunderstandings, near-misses and shattered dreams, Helen Walsh plunges us into the lives and loves of the young, doomed Fitzgerald family. She shows herself to be a brilliant chronicler of our people and our times. And in the Fitzgeralds, she has created a family who will stay in your heart, long after the final page.

---

This novel was truly tragic. I almost felt no hope for any of the characters except Ellie, who (this is not a spoiler) was born shortly after the 'single moment' mentioned above. But even she (and this is a spoiler alert) takes some very wrong turns in her young life and I was left feeling quite wretched and (spoiler alert, only in the general sense) held out no hope at all for this young family.

One thing I personally couldn't understand was why (spoiler alert) Susheela never told Robbie what happened to her that night. This is where the book excels the most, I think - it's not just the storytelling that is amazing, the nuances of complex human relationships are such a strong feature of this novel. What hadn't been said is just as important as what was put down.

David Maine is an odd-looking character. I would say he actually resembles someone from the Bible, given his facial hair and long, flowing locks. It's a good thing he re-tells Bible stories, then!

The back of this edition says, "Samson, every Sunday School's favourite mass murderer, wreaks havoc whenever he or his Lord have been challenged." And so on.

Given that I went to both Sunday School and catechism, AND I've seen the Hollywood epic, I should be well-placed to review this book. Hehe. There is no blasphemy in this book, so it should not offend your average Christian, but it does portray Samson as less heroic and more psychopathic who uses his belief (one could say delusion) that the LORD (it is in all caps throughout the book) speaks to him directly to commit his various massacres.

From what I remember (I have not read the story in the Bible in a long time, I'm pretty lapsed is what I am), this re-telling sticks to the main events, but the brutality and almost psychiatric take on the state of our anti-hero's mind puts a new twist on it. The language the author uses (or perhaps I have a vivid imagination) works well to set the scene in my mind's eye - I could see the field and the dead lion, I could definitely picture the various locations where he, er, consummated his relationship with Dalila, and the temple where the climax we are all familiar with? I felt like I was blind, just like Samson. I could almost feel the hair growing back on my head, too.

I've heard that some people may have been put off by the cover. I thought it was funny, myself. I would definitely have picked this up in the bookstore, but I got it from work.

My synopsis

Sean's days revolve around the Fresh department of the chicken factory, his wife Maggie and daughter Donna, and pints at the Fiveways pub. But his brother Archie gets out of jail early and Sean owes him big.

My review

When I started reading it and discovered (it's not difficult) that it was written in the Glaswegian accent, I thought that I would have to do what I did with Trainspotting - read it aloud. But no! I've lived in Scotland for over a year now, and have become fairly acclimatised, so 'dinnay', 'greet', 'boak', and 'feart' didn't confuse me at all. Yay!

I think the best thing about this book is its re'fresh'ing realism. I live in a small town, and there are loads of folk who work in the same place, with one big employer doing most of the, well, employing (the employer has changed over time, so I hear). This book was so easy to read and incredibly entertaining - I think it's easier to digest compared to Trainspotting (if you must compare the two) because you can imagine knowing someone like Sean and his family, most of us wouldn't know or be able to relate to hardcore junkies like Renton and Sickboy.

The story unfolds in 'real' time and flashbacks, giving us a taste of Sean as a married adult and Sean as a child. Sean as an adult is told in third person, and only the conversations are written in an accent. Sean as a child is told in first person and therefore, is completely 'accented'. As Sean gets older in flashback, the accent is the only way I could tell which was which (they do alternate, so it's not really that hard - I read it in bed, so give me a break...).

All in all, if you want to understand life in West Central Scotland, especially in small towns, Fresh is a perfect fictional example. Maybe some people may think that's a bad thing, but I loved it.

This is Ross Leckie's story of Hannibal Barca, a great Carthaginian warrior. Before I begin, I have to say that I may adore historical fiction, but I know very little history, especially any history outside of Southeast Asia.

So I approach these novels with the wide-eyed innocence of a child. Ahem.

The novel begins with Hannibal as a child, and how he was chosen by his father, Hamilcar, to be his 'heir' as it were, in his hatred of Rome. His younger brothers, Mago and Hasdrubal, play important roles later on. His younger sister, Sophoniba, is unfortunately married off to (another) Hasdrubal, who is an important ally, and also a real pervert (Hannibal's sister doesn't last long).

We learn of Hannibal's grief upon the death of his father, and his determination to finish what his father could not (march on Rome, conquer Rome). His lessons with Silenus, counsel from his father's trusted aide, Hamilax, companionship with Maharbal, support of his brothers, and the love of his life Similce, plus (spoiler) how he loses her all shape Hannibal's life as a warlord / tactician.

What struck me most about this novel was the matter-of-fact way absolute atrocities were described. I imagine that life back then truly was this brutal, and I did feel somewhat 'transported', as it were, to a different time. The utter savagery - crucifying men, cutting out of tongues, removing the foetuses of pregnant women and then killing them both - are all completely out of place in what we call civilisation today, but it seemed perfectly acceptable in the context of the book.

I am looking forward to the other two parts of this trilogy, assuming I can find them!

My synopsis

Leo Tolstoy, in the final year of his life, finds his legacy being fought over between his wife, Sofya Andreyevna, and his most loyal disciple, Chertkov. The story is told from the perspective of several different voices, including his daughter, Sasha, his new assistant, Valentin Bulgakov, and doctor, Dushan Makovitsky.

(I'm having trouble remembering how to spell all the names!)

(There are spoilers below.)

My thoughts

I really enjoyed the way the story was told. One thing I noticed from the beginning was how much I wanted to sympathise with Sofya, as she was Public Enemy Number 1 amongst Tolstoy's disciples. Their main reason for hating her was her desire to control the copyright over Tolstoy's work, when he and his followers were determined to release his work into the public domain. In a way, I did see where she was coming from - she was witness to, in her early married life, Tolstoy's hypocrisy in his avowed aims of chastity and simplicity (he had 13 children), and I could see why she wanted to preserve his wealth for her and her children after his passing.

However, her lifelong 'suffering', as it were, had made her quite hysterical later in life, as told by Parini. She was paranoid, probably rightly so, and swung between affection and sever mistrust of Valentin Bulgakov, a 'Tolstoyan' who was employed to assist Tolstoy in the last year of his life. This young man's story was also well-told, giving us an insight into how hard it is for a young man (who is a virgin and has sworn to uphold it) to be in frequent contact with a beautiful, intelligent young woman.

The story culminates in Tolstoy running off to a remote station, too ill to travel any further. He is under the impression that he is surrounded only by a few of the faithful; but news has got out, and the stationmaster's cottage, where he has holed up, is the focus of major media attention, and even Sofya arrives in style (her train cost 500 rubles to rent!), but doesn't get to see her husband until the very end.

I think I felt for Tolstoy, who appeared to be a walking contradiction, his values and goals not really in sync with his true personality. And to have it laid bare for the entire world to see!

My grandfather was a commercial artist in his time, and when I was a child, he had loads of books about art and comics lying around the flat. Being a voracious reader, I went through most things. Two of my favourite books in his collection were The Art of Disney, and a small collection of Peanuts comics.

This is a brilliant start to the collection - I want all of them. Charlie Brown is such a character - he's the stark reminder that all of us are made up of so many traits. Sometimes confident and cheeky, shy, sad, and lonely at other times. I don't remember feeling dad for him when I was a child (my favourite interactions tended to be between Snoopy and Woodstock), but I loved reading Peanuts, and am grateful that my employer has taken on this amazing project.

The special thing about this collection is the introduction by Garrison Keillor (another author who makes me laugh and cry), and the mini biography at the end (there is another piece of writing I haven't quite got to yet, and I will). It was humbling to read that Charles Schulz WAS Charlie Brown, really.

Another thing that struck me was how much Bill Watterston (Calvin and Hobbes, my favourite comic strip ever) was influenced by Peanuts. I could pretty much spot which Peanuts strips inspired Calvin and Hobbes strips (the snowmen, for example). Obviously, I don't know this to be the case, it's just my interpretation.

All in all, I felt like I went back in time when I read this book. Back to when my life was simpler, too.

To be fair, I haven't read book 1, but I picked up The Shadow in the North earlier this year at a Bookworld closing down sale and loved it, so I was thrilled to find this at the Edinburgh October BookCrossing Meetup.

Synopsis

Sally Lockhart is an unconventional Victorian woman. She has her own financial consultancy, a business partnership with Webster Garland, and is mother to a child born out of wedlock (gasp!). Her life is happy, then one day she receives a legal document, a petition for divorce and bid for custody of her child, Harriet. The catch is she's never even heard of, let alone married, the petitioner, Arthur Parrish. She soon finds herself homeless and penniless as she sets out to discover the reasons why Parrish is trying to destroy her life.

My review

What can I say? I love Philip Pullman. I didn't have to read His Dark Materials to love him (although I did). His storytelling style is perfect for me. I found the tale riveting. Since I wasn't born during Victorian times, I have no idea how authentic his setting of the scene is, but given he talks about outhouses and nasty sewage and slums and staggering poverty in London, I think he's done his research. My heart skipped a beat when he takes Sally to Whitechapel in the East End, I thought he might introduce a new character into the tale, but thank goodness he didn't!

On reading the synopsis, I though this bloke was a really lame, sad person. Who in their right minds is so addicted to brands that he needs to set fire to them in order to 'cleanse' himself? Then again, I do actually know loads of people who can't possibly live without buying Louis Vuitton and what not, so our author, Neil Boorman, isn't alone in his very modern fixation.

Here's the rundown. Boorman realises he's got an unhealthy attachment to shopping and spending on luxury brands. Decides to burn the lot, starts to see a therapist, hires a publicist (!), and gets a book deal (full disclosure: I work for his publisher). He burns everything, and what he's not legally allowed to burn, he destroys with a sledgehammer. At the end of the book, he finds out his girlfriend/wife is pregnant and is learning about unbranded baby care.

Boorman has just completed a year of living without brands, and he's also trying to raise his baby with as little exposure to brands as possible.

With the basics out of the way, here's what I thought of the book. Boorman writes very honestly, he's not afraid to sound shallow. He rolls with the punches. Although I can't really understand why he is the way he is, I can empathise with his struggle.

I like that he has really done his research on the history of advertising and how advertising agencies manipulate consumers, and was absolutely astounded at his list of items to be burned (even I don't own that many shirts). You can see that his personality doesn't change over the course of the book, but he becomes more self-aware, kind of like how someone recognises the 'triggers' when they are trying to quit smoking.

For our budding anti-brand warriors, another book that could be read in conjunction with this is Toxic Sludge is Good For You, another book I read recently about the public relations industry.

I didn't want to like this book. Based on its description, I thought it was going to be a misogynistic, self-congratulatory vanity piece.

The Game is a memoir of Average Frustrated Chump Neil Strauss, a successful writer who could never get the girls until he joined the Seduction Community and learned from the master Pick Up Artists and became one of the top PUAs in the community today.

It is definitely addictive reading, and the story is told with just the right amount of humility and candour. Some of the AFCs and PUAs were definitely misogynistic, but the book isn't. I mostly felt sorry for these men who had such low self-esteem and confidence that they needed this sort of help just to speak to a woman.

There are definitely wannabe PUAs I read about who I immediately disliked, but there were those who I really felt sorry for: Sweater immediately comes to mind, the Australian AFC who just wanted to marry a beautiful girl. And what did surprise me was (SPOILER ALERT) the comment that it was the smart women who didn't think they would fall for the lines who did, as the bimbos didn't have the attention span, and so were immune.

It's almost unbelievable that men would go to such extremes and hand over so much cash just to learn how to pick women up, but there's a market for everything, I suppose. It is an enjoyable read, and I do recommend everyone reads it, male or female. If you're female you may recognise some pick up techniques that have been tried on you... although I didn't.

From what I've seen by searching the web, the book continues to be popular among men, even though it was published in 2005.