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Another dark, violent, hard boiled, private investigator hunts down vicious serial killer story in the Charlie Parker series. Still well written but maybe a little formulaic. I would like the supernatural element to be more up front. Maybe that comes later

A fun George Smiley story; a classic whodunnit, not a spy story. Great writing with great characters; skewering Great British snobbery at a second rate public school. There are a couple of really nice changes of direction towards the end. I thought the mechanics of the murder plot were stretched a little thin though.

I love Le Guin's writing but don't think this is up with her best. It's a very angry novella; raging against conolialism (obviously inspired by the Vietnam war). From the author's note at the beginning it sounds like it was written in a rush and that means the characters are one dimensional (especially the villain) and there isn't much structure to the story. The Athsean's dream culture is interesting though, and the final downbeat message is important. 

Almost perfect. Fully of moral ambiguity and grubby detail. The story of a broken middle aged spy on his last mission; cynically used by both sides which confirms his weary, nihilistic view of the world. It doesn’t really make any difference who wins, but innocent people get trampled in the race. Le Carré is one of the best character writers I’ve ever come across.

This one started really well and then disappointed. I thought the writing in the first chapter was incredible; I was completely hooked and excited for the rest of the novel. For a while the narrative gets bogged down in the hero’s family history, then the second half is just a frantic splurge of stuff happening and characters being whacky that I struggled to keep engaged with.

I really enjoyed this one. I’ve heard people say Le Carre is too complicated but I thought this one was a really accessible. A great story, full of humanity and pathos with great characters full of depth.

As a spy, George Smiley is an anti-bond; brave and resourceful when he needs to be, but old, short an tubby and thinking his way out of trouble rather than fighting. At one point he considers taking a gun with him, but decides against it because he’s not actually sure where he’s put it and there would be a frightful fuss if he actually used it.

The plot is meticulously revealed throughout the novel, but then there is a chapter of explanation at the end which I could have done without. Apart from that I thought it was terrific

I'm in my 60s and I've finally got round to reading my first Agatha Christie. It was a lot more fun than I expected. An easy read, tightly plotted with some amusing digs at various national characteristics (including the English so she can get away with it).

I've obviously never seen any of the movie versions of this one because the end was a complete surprise. I'll definitely read some more.

Solid writing with deep characters, some nice descriptions and great metaphors. But this one didn't fill me with wonder the way some of Le Guin’s other work has done. Most of the novel is a philosophical discussion about the merits of different types of society and I found it dragged a little. If I’d read this one first I wouldn’t be hunting out more of her books.

A really good contemporary urban fantasy mash up of police investigation and supernatural thriller. It's dark, mysterious, exciting and funny. Nicely paced and plotted with some great twists that I didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. Apparently there's a TV adaptation coming and I think it's perfect material for that.

The book is a lovely first person narrative full of dry humour. There are lots of wonderful pop culture references, some of them so subtle that I'm sure must have missed others. All of the characters are great. Even the bit parts have quirks and attitudes and you can tell they have backstories and feel they live outside the book. Mother Thames and her daughters are awesome. What really shines through is the author's obvious love of London in every grimy detail.

I thought the opening was a little contrived but if you push …

I chanced across a later volume in Connolly's Charlie Parker series last month and enjoyed it enough to go out and find this one (number one).

This is a first person hard boiled detective story with a hint of the supernatural about it (not much, just a hint).

Connolly writes a rollicking good story and isn't afraid to use some poetic language which makes his books a pleasure to read. You don't get sunsets in a Connolly novel, you get day bleeding into night. The plotting, pacing, characters, dialogue and action sequences are all great.

The tone of this one is very dark and the murders are particularly grisly (more grisly than I needed but not enough to put me off). I already have volumes two and three lined up but may need something lighter first.

A light and fluffy murder mystery. I have only read one other Lawrence Block book and that one was quite dark. This one is much lighter in tone. It was quite amusing, the characters are engaging and the writing flows well. Didn't think it was satisfying enough to seek out another one in the series though

Just terrific. A great updating of the classic Raymond Chandler first person noir PI format, with the added bonus of a heavy drinking road trip. The characters and dialogue are perfect and it's all wrapped up in really slick and stylish writing. The gunfights are realistically unpredictable and all of the tough guys are just waiting to be brought down to size. <spoiler>Trahearne's transition from charismatic drunk to despicably shallow moral coward is beautifully handled. The end is heartbreaking</spoiler>

This is a weird little book. The writing is sparse, clean and brutal and reads really well. It’s definitely 1970s/1980s noir; very violent and full of unpleasant characters. The “hero” in particular is completely despicable. The plot zips along nicely for first two thirds but then disintegrates in various bizarre directions. The ending is total nonsense and is followed by a few paragraphs that read like summaries of a longer novel. I enjoyed the pace of the book early on but don’t think I’ll read any more.

I remember enjoying these when I was young. I read the first two recently and thought they had some merit (if you could get past the 1930s racism) but this one seemed horribly overwritten, formulaic and dull

Well written and great fun. A hard boiled detective investigates murderous goings on in a quaint little town in Maine against a backdrop of ghosts, ancient gods, secret societies, cults and feuding psychopaths. The pacing, characters and dialogue (especially between Louis and Angel) are all great. I particularly loved the parts where Parker is goading the locals.

I found this one in a charity shop which means I’ve started with number twelve. It worked on its own but there’s a bigger story running through the series so I may have to try and source the others in order