The programme for the Edinburgh Book Festival will be revealed next week. And news that the Festival is to be sponsored by The Guardian. As part of the Fringe, Alexander McCall Smith's 44 SCOTLAND STREET is to be brought to the stage.
Meanwhile, the Fringe By The Sea festival is shaping up too - no book events on the actual site as yet; however, tickets are available for an event with Alex Gray and Karen Campbell on 12 August.
And a couple more events - Gillian Galbraith at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum on 18th June, and Tony Black at the Carnegie Library in Ayr on June 14th.
Val McDermid talks about A PLACE OF EXECUTION on the BBC World Service.
Harper Collins are to publish two digital exclusives from Stuart MacBride.
Reviews of Christopher Brookmyre's WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED and Denise Mina's END OF THE WASP SEASON. And one of Pat McIntosh's THE COUNTERFEIT MADAM.
Ian Rankin is not happy with Radiohead.
An interview with Jason Isaacs - star of Kate Atkinson's CASE HISTORIES.
A lost Conan Doyle novel is set to be published.
And Helen Fitzgerald's Rules For Writers on The Release.
Showing posts with label pat mcintosh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pat mcintosh. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
The Plumber Reviews...
My Dad has now decided to open my blog up further on the reviewing front. In the comments section of the previous post he says "The Mermaids Singing I passed on to the Electrician who came to fit a new light in the hall. 'Oh!' he said 'I haven't read that one, I like Val McDermid' so maybe I will get him to do a review sometime." So there you go. That blog feature will no longer be called My Dad Reviews, but My Dad's Electrician Reviews.
A review of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. And he's appearing at the Vancouver International Writers' Festival in August.
Alex Gray talks to the Glasgow Herald about her health. While Suite 101 reviews GLASGOW KISS.
Louise Welsh is appearing at the Mitchell Library on 17th June as part of Refugee Week.
A few reviews for this round-up - Pat McIntosh's HARPER'S QUINE, Alexander McCall Smith's DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB, and Lin Anderson's FINAL CUT and a lovely review of OLD DOGS over at Crimesquad. Thank you guys!
Whoops - Philip Kerr bites back after receiving bad reviews from Scottish writer Allan Massie. And here he is talking to German TV about his books.
And finally, a report from Aberdeen's Word Festival. And on a (fruitless) search of the Internet for William McIlvanney's Frankenstein's monster meets drunk Glaswegian poem, I found this interesting article on the roots of Scottish noir.
A review of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. And he's appearing at the Vancouver International Writers' Festival in August.
Alex Gray talks to the Glasgow Herald about her health. While Suite 101 reviews GLASGOW KISS.
Louise Welsh is appearing at the Mitchell Library on 17th June as part of Refugee Week.
A few reviews for this round-up - Pat McIntosh's HARPER'S QUINE, Alexander McCall Smith's DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB, and Lin Anderson's FINAL CUT and a lovely review of OLD DOGS over at Crimesquad. Thank you guys!
Whoops - Philip Kerr bites back after receiving bad reviews from Scottish writer Allan Massie. And here he is talking to German TV about his books.
And finally, a report from Aberdeen's Word Festival. And on a (fruitless) search of the Internet for William McIlvanney's Frankenstein's monster meets drunk Glaswegian poem, I found this interesting article on the roots of Scottish noir.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Looking Forward To 2010 - Part 3
Stuart MacBride - DARK BLOOD
Publisher: Harper Collins
Date: April 2010
6th in the Aberdeen set police procedural series featuring Logan McRae. From Harper Collins' website: 'Martin Knox has served his time, so why shouldn’t he be allowed to live wherever he wants? Yes, in the past he was a violent rapist, but he’s seen the error of his ways. Found God. Wants to leave his dark past in Newcastle behind him and make a new start. Or so he says. Detective Sergeant Logan McRae isn’t exactly thrilled to be part of the team helping Knox settle into his new Aberdeen home. He’s even less thrilled to be stuck with DSI Danby from Northumbria Police – the man who put Knox behind bars for ten years – supposedly here to ‘keep an eye on things’. Only things are about to go very, very wrong. Edinburgh gangster Malk the Knife wants a slice of the development boom Donald Trump’s golf course is bringing to the Granite City, whether local crime lord Wee Hamish Mowat likes it or not. Three heavies from Newcastle want a ‘quiet word’ with DSI Danby about a missing mob accountant. And Martin Knox’s dark past isn’t done with him yet…'
Charles Maclean - NIGHT
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Date: February 2010
A psychological suspense thriller apparently. And that's all I can find out about it- sorry.
Shona Maclean - A GAME OF SORROWS
Publisher: Quercus
Date: March 2010
From Amazon's website: 'It is 1628, and Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher in Aberdeen is shattered by the arrival in town of a stranger carrying a plea for help from his dead mother's family in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse, elements of which have begun to come true. Reluctantly answering the call, Alexander travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family riven by secrets and long-standing resentments. In the course of seeking out the author of the curse, Alexander becomes increasingly entangled with both sides in the conflict - fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents of the king. His life and liberty are threatened as he is confronted with murder within his own family, and he finds the lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty blurred to the extent that he begins to question his own identity, and is forced to face up to the destructive power of love.'
Ken McClure - A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE Publisher: Harper Collins
Date: April 2010
6th in the Aberdeen set police procedural series featuring Logan McRae. From Harper Collins' website: 'Martin Knox has served his time, so why shouldn’t he be allowed to live wherever he wants? Yes, in the past he was a violent rapist, but he’s seen the error of his ways. Found God. Wants to leave his dark past in Newcastle behind him and make a new start. Or so he says. Detective Sergeant Logan McRae isn’t exactly thrilled to be part of the team helping Knox settle into his new Aberdeen home. He’s even less thrilled to be stuck with DSI Danby from Northumbria Police – the man who put Knox behind bars for ten years – supposedly here to ‘keep an eye on things’. Only things are about to go very, very wrong. Edinburgh gangster Malk the Knife wants a slice of the development boom Donald Trump’s golf course is bringing to the Granite City, whether local crime lord Wee Hamish Mowat likes it or not. Three heavies from Newcastle want a ‘quiet word’ with DSI Danby about a missing mob accountant. And Martin Knox’s dark past isn’t done with him yet…'
Charles Maclean - NIGHT
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Date: February 2010
A psychological suspense thriller apparently. And that's all I can find out about it- sorry.
Shona Maclean - A GAME OF SORROWS
Publisher: Quercus
Date: March 2010
From Amazon's website: 'It is 1628, and Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher in Aberdeen is shattered by the arrival in town of a stranger carrying a plea for help from his dead mother's family in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse, elements of which have begun to come true. Reluctantly answering the call, Alexander travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family riven by secrets and long-standing resentments. In the course of seeking out the author of the curse, Alexander becomes increasingly entangled with both sides in the conflict - fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents of the king. His life and liberty are threatened as he is confronted with murder within his own family, and he finds the lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty blurred to the extent that he begins to question his own identity, and is forced to face up to the destructive power of love.'
Publisher: Polygon
Date: May 2010
Eighth in the series featuring Dr Steven Dunbar of the Sci-Med Inspectorate. From Amazon: 'John Motram, a cell biologist at Newcastle University firmly believes that Black Death was not caused by bubonic plague but by an unknown virus. He is excited when Oxford University tell him that they have come into possession of information suggesting there might be preserved bodies of victims from the time of Black Death hidden under Dryburgh Abbey. Motram sees this as an opportunity to settle the argument once and for all. An excavation is mounted but comes to a disastrous end when Motram apparently loses his mind after entering the secret tomb. Dr Steven Dunbar of the Sci-Med Inspectorate is sent to investigate fearing that a new killer virus has been let loose.'
Pat McIntosh - A PIG OF COLD POISON
Publisher: Soho Constable
Date: July 2010
Seventh in the series set in medieval Glasgow, featuring the Archbishop's investigator, Gil Cunningham. From BooksFromScotland.com: 'Danny Gibson and Nanty Bothwell, rivals for the affections of Agnes Renfrew, the apothecary's pretty daughter, are also good friends. When they both take part in the festive play at the house of Gil's sister Kate, it ends in Danny's death, apparently by poison from his friend's flask. But was it deliberate?'
Shirley McKay - LINES OF INQUIRY Publisher: Soho Constable
Date: July 2010
Seventh in the series set in medieval Glasgow, featuring the Archbishop's investigator, Gil Cunningham. From BooksFromScotland.com: 'Danny Gibson and Nanty Bothwell, rivals for the affections of Agnes Renfrew, the apothecary's pretty daughter, are also good friends. When they both take part in the festive play at the house of Gil's sister Kate, it ends in Danny's death, apparently by poison from his friend's flask. But was it deliberate?'
Publisher: Polygon
Date: May 2010
Second in the Hew Cullan series set in late 16th century St Andrews. From the Fantastic Fiction website: 'The year is 1581, and the young St Andrews academic Hew Cullan is unhappy with his life and disillusioned with the law. After his father's death, he is invited by the advocate Richard Cunningham to complete his legal education in Edinburgh as Richard's pupil at the bar. Hew resists, but, later, as he looks through his father's things, he finds a manuscript entitled 'In Defence of the Law'.With it is the promise of publication from the Edinburgh printer, Christian Hall. Hew resolves to deliver the manuscript, and takes up Richard's offer. He is surprised to find Christian Hall is a young widow, the mother of a small child. Hew is attracted to Christian, but as they grow close it becomes apparent that the relationship is fraught with danger. Christian is under attack, culminating in the brutal killing of her nursemaid and the disappearance of her child. As Hew begins a frantic bid to find Christian's son, he suspects links with the murder of a young girl in St Andrews. The truth lies much closer to home.'
Thursday, 24 September 2009
P Is For...
Pat McIntosh - author of six books in a series featuring Gilbert Cunningham, a young notary in 15th century Glasgow. The first book in the series - THE HARPER'S QUINE - introduces us to Gil as he investigates the murder of a young woman in the new Glasgow Cathedral. Later books in the series are set in Glasgow University, Stirling, Linlithgow, an almshouse, and a coalmine amongst other locations. "With a historian's eye for detail and a novelist's flair for plot and characterization, McIntosh provides an intelligent, authentic, and suspenseful historical whodunit that will please the most demanding of Ellis Peters' fans." - Booklist
Paul Johnston - Paul Johnston is the author of three very different series - the Alex Mavros novels, set in Greece, featuring a half-Greek, half-Scottish private investigator; the Matt Wells novels which feature a crime novelist as protagonist; and the Quintilian Dalrymple series (my favourite of Johnston's series) which are set in a dystopian Edinburgh in the near future (2020s). The protagonist is an ex-policeman turned private investigator who's not best loved by the authorities. Funny, clever and great storytelling. And it's been far too long since the last one. "In a series of highly original books set a couple of decades in the future, Paul Johnston has created a portrait of the post-Enlightenment city-state of Edinburgh, whose inhabitants' drab lives are controlled by a secretive little group of dour Guardians. Despite the grimness of the setting, the books are always entertaining, in part because of the unsquashably rebellious personality of Johnston's maverick sleuth, Quint Dalrymple, and the sardonic humour which enlivens the narrative." - Sunday Telegraph
Peter May - as well as writing for TV, Peter May has written standalone thrillers, plus a series featuring a half-Scottish, half-Italian former forensic scientist called Enzo MacLeod who lives in France and solves cold cases. Peter May is probably best known, however, for his China set thrillers which pair detective Li Yan and pathologist Margaret Campbell. "An accomplished pulse-racer of a novel. This book is much more than just a run of the mill whodunit, think Silence of the Lambs crossed with Quincy, with a bit of the Lonely Planet's Guide to Beijing thrown in." -Daily Record (about chinese Whispers).
Peter Turnbull - Peter Turnbull is the author of over 35 novels. He is best known for the police procedurals set in Glasgow's P Division - a fictitious division similar to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct. Like McBain's books, the stories don't focus on one or two characters, but the entire division. Sadly, he stopped writing this series in the late 1990s. He also writes a police procedural series set in York featuring Chief Inspector Hennessey and Sergeant Yellich, as well as a number of standalone novels. "Our own mean streets done to a turn by Turnbull" - The Times. "Grips like the devil’s forceps" - The Observer.
Philip Kerr - Philip Kerr has written six books in the Bernie Gunther series - Bernie is a hard-boiled detective in Berlin in the 1930s who specialises in finding missing persons. Kerr has also written a number of other thrillers set in the past, present and future, as well as childrens' books under the name P B Kerr. His most recent Bernie Gunther novel - THE DEAD RISE NOT - recently won the RBA international prize for crime fiction - the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize (125,000 Euros - nice!) "Kerr builds his story like an apple strudel, lots of layers that peel away to reveal a shocker based on fact that threatens everybody from Peron down to Gunther...A Quiet Flame is an intelligent, smartly written thriller with a touch of reality that makes its chills even more chilly" - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Paul Johnston - Paul Johnston is the author of three very different series - the Alex Mavros novels, set in Greece, featuring a half-Greek, half-Scottish private investigator; the Matt Wells novels which feature a crime novelist as protagonist; and the Quintilian Dalrymple series (my favourite of Johnston's series) which are set in a dystopian Edinburgh in the near future (2020s). The protagonist is an ex-policeman turned private investigator who's not best loved by the authorities. Funny, clever and great storytelling. And it's been far too long since the last one. "In a series of highly original books set a couple of decades in the future, Paul Johnston has created a portrait of the post-Enlightenment city-state of Edinburgh, whose inhabitants' drab lives are controlled by a secretive little group of dour Guardians. Despite the grimness of the setting, the books are always entertaining, in part because of the unsquashably rebellious personality of Johnston's maverick sleuth, Quint Dalrymple, and the sardonic humour which enlivens the narrative." - Sunday Telegraph
Peter May - as well as writing for TV, Peter May has written standalone thrillers, plus a series featuring a half-Scottish, half-Italian former forensic scientist called Enzo MacLeod who lives in France and solves cold cases. Peter May is probably best known, however, for his China set thrillers which pair detective Li Yan and pathologist Margaret Campbell. "An accomplished pulse-racer of a novel. This book is much more than just a run of the mill whodunit, think Silence of the Lambs crossed with Quincy, with a bit of the Lonely Planet's Guide to Beijing thrown in." -Daily Record (about chinese Whispers).
Peter Turnbull - Peter Turnbull is the author of over 35 novels. He is best known for the police procedurals set in Glasgow's P Division - a fictitious division similar to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct. Like McBain's books, the stories don't focus on one or two characters, but the entire division. Sadly, he stopped writing this series in the late 1990s. He also writes a police procedural series set in York featuring Chief Inspector Hennessey and Sergeant Yellich, as well as a number of standalone novels. "Our own mean streets done to a turn by Turnbull" - The Times. "Grips like the devil’s forceps" - The Observer.
Philip Kerr - Philip Kerr has written six books in the Bernie Gunther series - Bernie is a hard-boiled detective in Berlin in the 1930s who specialises in finding missing persons. Kerr has also written a number of other thrillers set in the past, present and future, as well as childrens' books under the name P B Kerr. His most recent Bernie Gunther novel - THE DEAD RISE NOT - recently won the RBA international prize for crime fiction - the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize (125,000 Euros - nice!) "Kerr builds his story like an apple strudel, lots of layers that peel away to reveal a shocker based on fact that threatens everybody from Peron down to Gunther...A Quiet Flame is an intelligent, smartly written thriller with a touch of reality that makes its chills even more chilly" - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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