The Eleventh Annual Westies - review of the year 2019

Well, here we are again (seriously, where does the time go, eh?), gearing up for Christmas and all things festive, which means it's time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2019.

Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels, a few books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads.

As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone - if I've blogged about a book before, I've linked to it on the list.

Without further ado, I present the Eleventh Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:







1:   Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Read
2:   The Whisper Man, by Alex North
3:   Summer On A Small Island *, by Sue Moorcroft
4:   Let It Snow, by Sue Moorcroft
5:   Closer Still, by Richard Farren Barber
6:   Mistletoe, by Alison Littlewood
7:   The A-Team: When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?, by Charles Heath
8:   The Family, by Louise Jensen
9:   The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
10:  The Devil's Dice, by Roz Watkins
11: Grave Descend, by Michael Crichton
12: The Puppet Show, by M. W. Craven
13: Elevator Pitch, by Linwood Barclay
14: My Best Friend's Exorcism, by Grady Hendrix
15: Clean Break, by Tammy Cohen
16: Something In The Water, by Catherine Steadman
17: The Professionals 4: Hunter Hunted, by Ken Blake
18: The Banker's Wife, by Cristina Alger
19: Final Girls, by Riley Sager
20: Sleep, by C. L. Taylor

* This is Sue's Avon book for next summer, which I read to critique and will be published in May 2020.

The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1:   The Killers: Days & Ages, by Mark Beaumont
2:   Till The Cows Come Home, by Sara Cox
3:   With Nails, by Richard E. Grant
4:   INXS - Band On The Road, by INXS and Ed St John
5:   Game Over, by Dan Whitehead
6:   Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, by Eric Idle
7:   Cinefex 36, by Don Shay et al
8:   Making Movie Magic, by John Richardson
9:   Making A Monster, by Al Cummings & Sue Roy
10: Bohemian Rhapsody, by Lesley-Ann Jones

Stats wise, I’ve read 76 books - 42 fiction, 18 non-fiction, 9 comics/nostalgia/kids and 7 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 69 books, the breakdown is thus:

9 biography
12 horror
8 film-related
3 drama (includes romance)
25 crime/mystery
3 sci-fi
3 nostalgia
6 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here


Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

The Tenth Annual Westies - review of the year 2018

Well, here we are again (where does the time go, eh?), gearing up for Christmas and all things festive so that means it's time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2018.

Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels (I was on the BFS Horror Novel Award jury again), a few books that have been languishing on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads.

As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone - if I've blogged about a book before, I've linked to it on the list.

Without further ado, I present the Tenth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:






1: Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
2= Here And Gone, by Haylen Beck
2= Summer At The Seaside Village *, by Sue Moorcroft
4: The Changeling, by Victor LaValle
5: Cross Her Heart, by Sarah Pinborough
6: The House, by Simon Lelic
7: If You Go Down To The Woods, by Seth C. Adams
8: The Smallest Of Things, by Ian Whates
9: The River At Night, by Erica Ferencik
10: Hell Ship, by Ben Jones
11: The Last Temptation Of Dr Valentine, by John Llewellyn Probert
12: A Christmas Gift, by Sue Moorcroft
13: Relics, by Tim Lebbon
14: The Godwulf Manuscript, by Robert B. Parker
15: The Spy Who Loved Me, by Christopher Wood
16: You Were Gone, by Tim Weaver
17: The Woman In The Window, by A. J. Finn
18: The Cabin At The End Of The World, by Paul Tremblay
19: Looking For Rachel Wallace, by Robert B. Parker
20: The Chalk Man, by C. J. Tudor

* This is Sue's Avon book for next summer, which I read to critique and will be published in May 2019.

The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1: Once A Saint, by Ian Ogilvy

2: Roger Moore: A Biography, by Roy Moseley
3: George Lucas: A Life, by Brian Jay Jones
4: Steven Spielberg: A Biography, by Joseph McBride
5: The Making Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, by Derek Taylor
6: The Professionals Viewing Notes mk III, by Andrew Pixley
7: The Professionals Viewing Notes mk II, by Andrew Pixley
8: The Mighty One, by Steve MacManus
9: The Complete Spielberg, by Ian Freer
10: The Diary Of A Bookseller, by Shaun Bythell

Stats wise, I’ve read 82 books - 36 fiction, 21 non-fiction, 17 comics/nostalgia/kids and 8 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 74 books, the breakdown is thus:

6 biography
10 horror
14 film-related
3 drama (includes romance)
21 crime/mystery
9 sci-fi
0 nostalgia
11 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here


Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

The Ninth Annual Westies - review of the year 2017

Well here we are again with another year that seems to have zipped by and so, as we gear up for Christmas and all things festive, it's time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2017.

Once again, it's been a great reading year with a good mix of brand new novels alongside a few books that had spent far too long languishing on my TBR pile (plus a few welcome re-reads).  As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone reflecting my shift in reading from horror towards psychological thrillers (since I've been working on my thriller novel this year).  Where I've blogged about a book earlier, I've linked to it on the list.

This year features another tie for first place but since both books are very good and very different, I couldn't place one above the other.

Without further ado, I present the Ninth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:



1= The Summer Of Impossible Things, by Rowan Coleman
1= Behind Her Eyes, by Sarah Pinborough
3: The Little Village Christmas, by Sue Moorcroft
4: The Impossible Fortress, by Jason Rekulak
5: One Summer In Italy *, by Sue Moorcroft
6: Body In The Woods, by Sarah Lotz
7: The Pool House, by Tasmina Perry
8: Alexa, by Andrea Newman
9: I See You, by Claire Mackintosh
10: Disappearance At Devil's Rock, by Paul Tremblay
11: Naming The Bones, by Laura Mauro
12: Cockatrice **, by Stephen Bacon
13: Looking For Captain Poldark, by Rowan Coleman
14: The Surrogate, by Louise Jensen
15: The Escape, by C. L. Taylor
16: Perfect Darkness, Perfect Silence, by Richard Farren Barber
17: Helene **, by Nicola Monaghan
18: When You Comin' Back, Range Rider, by Charles Heath
19: The A-Team, by Charles Heath
20: Ten Percent Of Trouble, by Charles Heath

* = This is Sue's second book of her second Avon contract (I read it to critique) which will be published in May 2018.  Her current release is The Little Village Christmas.
** = read to critique, not published yet


The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1: A bientot…, by Roger Moore
2: Roger Moore As James Bond 007, by Roger Moore
3: How Star Wars Conquered The Universe, by Chris Taylor
4: Meryl Streep: The Reluctant Superstar, by Diana Maychick
5: The Man With The Golden Eye, by Peter Lamont
6: Alfred Hitchcock, by Peter Ackroyd
7: The Cinema Of George Lucas, by Marcus Hearn
8: Cinefex 51, by Mark Cotta Vaz
9: Kiss Me Like A Stranger, by Gene Wilder
10: The Cars We Loved In The 1980s, by Giles Chapman


Stats wise, I’ve read 74 books - 41 fiction, 22 non-fiction, 3 comics/nostalgia/kids and 8 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 66 books, the breakdown is thus:

6 biography
6 horror
15 film-related
11 drama (includes romance)
20 crime/mystery
3 sci-fi
2 nostalgia
3 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here


Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

The Eighth Annual Westies - review of the year 2016

Well it's that time already (another year having zipped by) and so, as we gear up for Christmas, it's time to indulge in the blog custom and remember the good books read in 2016.

Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels, a few books that have been languishing on my TBR pile for too long and some good finds on the behind-the-scenes film front.  This year has also seen my reading matter shift slightly as I explored the market of psychological thrillers and that, on the whole, has been very satisfying.

As with previous years, the top 20 places were very hard fought but, I think, show a nice variety.  I blogged about some of the titles (not too many this year as I found it really difficult to review a thriller successfully without giving away plot twists) and have linked to them in this list.

So without further ado, I present the Eighth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:



1: The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson
2: 13 Minutes, by Sarah Pinborough
3: In A Dark Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware
4: The Lie, by C. L. Taylor
5: Just For The Holidays (*), by Sue Moorcroft
6: Strangers, by Paul Finch
7: Laudanum Nights, by Stephen Bacon
8: Craze, by Steve Byrne
9: Paper Doll, by Robert B. Parker
10: Albion Fay, by Mark Morris
11: Promised Land, by Robert B. Parker
12: The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, by Usman T. Malik
13: The Grieving Stones, by Gary McMahon
14: Paupers' Graves, by James Everington
15: Becoming David, by Phil Sloman
16: Keep You Close, by Lucie Whitehouse
17: The Sister, by Louise Jenson
18: Buried In A Book, by Lucy Arlington
19: What They Find In The Woods, by Gary Fry
20: The Night Lingers And Other Stories, by Nicola Monaghan

* = This is Sue's second book of her Avon contract (I read it to critique) which will be published in May 2017.  Her current release, The Christmas Promise, was number 5 in last years chart.


The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1: American Film Makers Today, by Dian G. Smith
2: Life Moves Pretty Fast, by Hadley Freeman
3: Let's Go Crazy, by Alan Light
4: The Cars We Loved In The 1970s, by Giles Chapman
5: Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series (vol 1), by Gary Gerani
6: The Making Of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, by Jody Duncan
7: Creating The World Of Star Wars, by John Knoll
8: Cinema Alchemist, by Roger Christian
9: We Don't Need Roads, by Caseen Gaines
10: Ridley Scott: The Making Of His Movies


Stats wise, I’ve read 70 books - 37 fiction, 22 non-fiction, 7 comics/nostalgia/kids and 4 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 66 books, the breakdown is thus:

1  biography
11 horror novels
19 film-related
2 drama (includes romance)
18 crime/mystery
6 sci-fi
3 nostalgia
6 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

The Seventh Annual Westies - review of the year 2015

Well here we are again, with another year that seems to have zipped by and so, as we gear up for Christmas and all things festive, it's time to indulge in the blog custom and remember the good books of 2015.

Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels, a couple of classics and a fair few books that have been languishing for too long on my TBR pile.  As ever, the top 20 places were hard fought and, as with last year, I had a tie (for first place, this time) because the books were just too good to separate.  For some of these titles, I've written specific blog posts and linked to them in this list.

So without further ado, I present the Seventh Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:








1= Breakfast At Tiffany's, by Truman Capote
1= The Death House, by Sarah Pinborough
3: Dead Leaves, by Andrew David Barker
4: The Hunt, by Tim Lebbon
5: The Twelve Dates Of Christmas (*), by Sue Moorcroft
6:  The Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins
7: The Machine Gunners, by Robert Westall
8: Starfishing, by Nicola Monaghan
9: Peaches And Scream, by Susan Furlong
10: Licence To Kill, by John Gardner
11: Winter Storm, by Anthony Watson
12: Closing In, by Sue Fortin
13: Goldeneye, by John Gardner
14: Peeper, by S J Smith
15: Horrorstör, by Grady Hendrix
16: There's A Bluebird In My Heart, by Gary McMahon
17: When The Worms Came, by Charlotte Bond
18: A Certain Smile, by Francoise Sagan
19: Leytonstone, by Stephen Volk
20: GodBomb!, by Kit Power

* = This is Sue's first book of her new Avon contract and I read it to critique, this isn't the final title and it won't be published until September 2016


The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1: All Those Moments, by Rutger Hauer
2: The Making Of "Licence To Kill", by Sally Hibbin
3: John Landis, by Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan
4: Le Freak, by Nile Rodgers
5: The True Adventures Of The World's Greatest Stuntman, by Vic Armstrong
6: Catching Bullets: Memoirs Of A Bond Fan, by Mark O'Connell
7: Born In The 70s, by Tim Glynne-Jones
8: The Art Of Darkness: Stephen King, by Douglas E. Winter
9: Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!, by Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn
10: Rebel Without A Crew, by Robert Rodriguez


Stats wise, I’ve read 62 books - 33 fiction, 13 non-fiction, 10 comics/nostalgia/kids and 6 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 55 books, the breakdown is thus:

8  biographies
16 horror novels
4  film-related
9 drama (includes chick-lit and erotica)
8 crime/mystery
no sci-fi this year
2 nostalgia
8 humour


All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

The Sixth Annual Westies - review of the year 2014

Well here we are again, with another year that seems to have whipped by (bit more of a bumpy ride than usual, I have to say) and so, as we gear up for Christmas, it’s time to indulge in the blog custom and remember the good (and not so good) books of 2014.

Once again, it was a great reading year for me, not only with my position as jury member for the BFS Best Horror Novel Award (free hardbacks!) but also because I decided to enrich my genre understanding and read some true classics.  As ever, the top 20 places were hard fought and, as with last year, I had a tie (for second place, this time) because the books were just too good to separate.  For some of these titles, I've written specific blog posts and linked to them in this list.

So without further ado, I present the Sixth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:






1: The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons
2= Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
2= Psycho, by Robert Bloch
2= Carrie, by Stephen King
5: The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes
6: The Happy Man, by Eric C. Higgs
7: The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin
8: The Wedding Proposal, by Sue Moorcroft
9: Burnt Offerings, by Robert Marasco
10: Pastime, by Robert B. Parker
11: The Night Just Got Darker, by Gary McMahon
12: The Weight Of The Ocean, by Paul M. Feeney
13: Home And Hearth, by Angela Slatter
14: Crimson Joy, by Robert B. Parker
15: Cold Turkey, by Carole Johnstone
16: Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
17: The Unquiet House, by Alison Littlewood
18: Beside Me, by Carolyn Henderson
19: Incubus, by Ray Russell
20: Dead Gone, by Luca Veste


(it should also be noted that Gary McMahon's short novel "The End" was published this year.  I first read it, as a critique, back in 2010 and it easily secured 2nd place in my list of that year as it should have done, it's a wonderful piece of work.  So really, this list has two McMahon entries, one you can see and also a 'ghost' one).

The Top 5 in non-fiction are:

1: Last Man Standing, by Sir Roger Moore
2: Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular: A Riotous Footballing Memoir about the Loneliest Position on the Field, by Graham Joyce
3: The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back, by J. W. Rinzler
4: The Making Of Return Of The Jedi, by J. W. Rinzler
5: Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, by Chris Nashawaty

Stats wise, I’ve read 69 books - 31 fiction, 9 non-fiction, 17 comics/nostalgia/kids and 12 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 57 books, the breakdown is thus:

4  biographies
21 horror novels
4  film-related
4 drama (includes chick-lit)
6 crime/mystery
3 sci-fi
3 nostalgia
12 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

My Three Investigators All Time Top 10

Over the course of this year, to mark the 50th Anniversary of The Three Investigators, I've been re-reading (and blogging about) my favourites to compile this "All Time Top 10" (which, of course, will always be subject to change).  In case you're interested in those titles that don't appear here, I read all 30 of the original series between 2008 to 2010 and reviewed them on this dedicated blog.

So this is it, as at the end of 2014, 50 years after the boys first appeared in print, here is my Top 10 (with links back to my original post and the full review).

1 - The Mystery Of The Invisible Dog

by M. V. Carey

Another strong entry from M. V. Carey (her fifth in the series), this has long been my favourite, for a whole variety of reasons.  Although the boys are hired to investigate a "shadow" that might be a ghost, the real mystery kicks in once they’re on the scene at Paseo Place and the burglary of the late Edward Neidland’s house takes place.  He has created a unique crystal sculpture for Fenton Prentice, The Carpathian Hound, “a heavily muscled dog with a square  massive head. The wide round eyes were rimmed with gold, and gold froth flecked the crystal jowls” and now it’s being held for ransom.  At the same time, a lot of apparently separate incidents are happening around the apartment complex - the church next door is broken into, one neighbour is poisoned and hospitalised, another is in his apartment when there’s a fire that hospitalises him and the building supervisor has her car blow up when she’s on the way to the market (after the bombing, a policeman remarks “Things have been really weird on this block the last couple of days.”).  Great fun, from start to finish, this is a superb read with well-developed characters, a vividly created location, a nicely realised atmosphere and a strong pace.  I highly recommend it.
Read my full review (from December 2014) here

2 - The Mystery Of The Whispering Mummy,

by Robert Arthur

Well told and structured, this is superbly written and drops clues for further in the timeline (“Two and two don’t always make four,” Jupe said, his manner mysterious. “And fifteen and fifteen don’t always make thirty” after Worthington mentions that it opens on the fifteenth day of their thirty days use of the Rolls Royce) though it does niggle me there’s a chapter not told from an Investigator-led POV (which probably troubled me more as an adult than it did as a kid).  That aside, this is a great book with a good sense of location and atmosphere and further proof - should it be needed - that it’s a shame Robert Arthur didn’t write or plot more of the adventures.
Read my full review (from March 2014) here

3 - The Mystery Of The Vanishing Treasure,

by Robert Arthur

This is a rollercoaster of an adventure that doesn’t let up and covers a lot of ground from the initial robbery (a cleverly staged set-piece), to the details of the gnomes (when they’re first seen, it’s quite a spooky sequence) and beyond (including a terrific chase in an abandoned cinema), this is full of assured writing and helped by a great sense of location and atmosphere.  It also has a sense of melancholic nostalgia (which I probably missed as a kid but now realise is a signature of Robert Arthur), where the differences between past and present are not generally good.  In this case, it’s Ms Agawam reflecting on the lack of children in the area as those she once read to - and wrote for - have now moved away to start families of their own and it’s also about how old LA is being demolished (the old Moor theatre next door) to make way for the new.  I really appreciated that on re-reading it.
Read my full review (from March 2014) here 

4 - The Mystery Of The Singing Serpent,

by M. V. Carey

There are some great set pieces - breaking and entering the butlers flat (the first time I think Jupe deliberately breaks the law) and the bombing of the deli - but the key one is when the foursome infiltrate the cult’s mansion on Torrente Canyon. Gripping and tense, with a real sense of location and some great descriptions, this works brilliantly.  Helping the overall tone of the book is that a lot of the action takes place at twilight or after dark and there’s a real sense of adventure to it.  There are also some nice observations about why people join cults and the power of belief that are sharply written and in keeping with future Carey stories, where she touches upon real phenomenon and deals with it effectively.
Read my full review (from March 2014) here

5 - The Mystery Of The Magic Circle,

by M. V. Carey

Another strong entry in the series from M. V. Carey and it’s been one of my favourites since I first read it in 1983 (I have the 1982 Armada paperback).  Back then - as now - I got the impression from their working at Amigos Press (as Bob says “the private detective business is slow this summer, we thought we’d get some experience with office work”), that Carey was writing them as slightly older and I think it works really well.  The book also has a nice attitude - shared by Jupe - towards old-time Hollywood that really grounds this in reality.  Starting with a bang, this has a good pace, a concise plot that unravels well, a nicely nostalgic atmosphere and the boys interplay is brilliant.
Read my full review (from September 2014) here

6 - The Mystery Of Death Trap Mine,

by M. V. Carey

With Rocky Beach only seen very briefly, this takes place in Twin Lakes, an old mining town in New Mexico that has shrunk since the Death Trap mine played out its silver (only the town’s logging operation is keeping it going).  There are some nice reflections on this - and a great use of Hambone, a ghost town that suffered a worse mine closure - and the locations are well used and realised.  Tightly written and paying out its clever central mystery strand-by-strand - their tracking down of information on Gilbert Morgan (the corpse found in the mine) is well played - this is full of suspense, casting suspicion on Wesley Thurgood and Uncle Harry’s other neighbour Mrs Macomber alike, before fresh suspects enter the fray.
Read my full review (from June 2014) here

7 - The Mystery Of The Dead Man's Riddle,

by William Arden

There’s a lot of bright characterisation - especially Billy Towne, Dingo’s eight-year-old grandson who knows all about the Three Investigators and ends up a fourth partner (and wears a cape and deerstalker), Turk & Mr Savo and Dingo’s niece and nephew, the awful Winifred & Cecil Percival, two nasty piece of work English villains - along with some nice interplay between the boys.  The book also has a good sense of humour about it, typified by Pete’s eating habits and it runs at a cracking pace (I read the first half in one sitting and the time just flew by).  After opening on Bob writing up their last case (the search for Mrs Hester’s ring), we see the boys at school (and find out that Jupiter is president of the Science Club) and old favourite the Ghost-to-Ghost hook-up makes another appearance - and is used again by Billy, at a critical point of the story, where he makes his headquarters a phonebooth.
Read my full review (from April 2014) here

8 - The Secret Of The Crooked Cat,

by William Arden

This is another terrific entry, combining a deceptively simple plot with some really good set pieces, logical detection and plenty of intrigue along the way.  After setting things up in the first chapter, the story takes off and whips along, featuring bad luck, a reverse-disguise, carny-life, a human fly, a bank robbery and remnants of the past along the way.  There’s great use of the abandoned amusement park and it’s desolation and spookiness is remarkably well conveyed (especially during a tense and suspenseful moonlit pursuit).  The book also has an element of Robert Arthur style pathos to it, about the waning carnival life and people wanting someting for nothing, which is a nice touch.

Read my full review (from February 2014) here

9 - The Mystery Of The Dancing Devil,

by William Arden

Taking place solely in Rocky Beach - as did Arden’s last book, “The Mystery Of The Dead Man’s Riddle” - and giving us a whole new set of locations to imagine, this makes good use of the town and adds the story a nice flavour.  Opening on Pete’s street and staying close by for several chapters, it brings a touch of realism to a tale that, it has to be said, needs to be sometimes taken with a pinch of salt.  Now I like pulpy action, I like twinges of horror in my mysteries and so I loved the whole Dancing Devil (the spirit/demon/man, rather than the statue) concept (especially how people accept its existence) but I can see that others might have problems with it though who could deny that “The Dancing Devil of Batu Khan, dated 1241AD and inscribed ‘To the Exalted Khan of the Golden Horde’” isn’t a touch of brilliance.
Read my full review (from July 2014) here

10 - The Secret Of The Haunted Mirror,

by M. V. Carey

This has some great characterisation (including a prize quote from Worthington - “Master Pete prefers to avoid unnecessary vexation”), a nice cameo from Dr Barrister, who appeared in ‘The Mystery Of The Singing Serpent’, some nicely spooky scenes and Jupe using Sherlock-Holmes-level detecting skills to wrap the case up at the harbour.  Top notch writing, a smart mystery and a cracking pace make this a fun read.
Read my full review (from April 2014) here


For all of my Three Investigator related posts, click this link

Thanks to Ian Regan for the artwork (you can see more at his excellent Cover Art database here)

The Fifth Annual Westies - review of the year 2013

Well this year seems to have whipped by (even quicker than last year, if that's possible) and so, as we gear up for Christmas, it’s time to remember the good (and not so good) books of 2013.

Once again it was a really strong field this year (or a sign that my reading choices are generally pretty good) and places in the top 20 were hard-fought.  So hard fought, in fact, that for the first time ever I had four books that were all - in my opinion - five star reads.  Since I couldn't separate them, I've decided to have a joint first place between all four.

So without further ado, I present the Fifth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:









Joint first:
The Year Of The Ladybird, by Graham Joyce
Joyland, by Stephen King
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
The Language of Dying, by Sarah Pinborough

5:  Path Of Needles, by Alison Littlewood
6:  House of Small Shadows, by Adam Nevill
7:  The Bones Of You, by Gary McMahon
8:  Is This Love? by Sue Moorcroft
9:  Stir Of Echoes, by Richard Matheson
10: The Latchkey Children, by Eric Allen
11: The Shelter, by James Everington
12: Shiftling, by Steven Savile
13: Invent-10n, by Rod Rees
14: Pale Kings and Princes, by Robert B. Parker
15: Phoenix, by Steve Byrne
16: Bite, by Gardner Goldsmith
17: Necromancer: Necropolis Rising 2, by Dave Jeffery
18: Guns Of Brixton, by Paul D. Brazill
19: The Fox, by Conrad Williams
20: Urban Occult, edited by Colin F. Barnes


The Top 5 in non-fiction are:

1:  Rod, The Autobiography, by Rod Stewart
2:  The Making of Return Of The Jedi, edited by John Philip Peecher
3:  Parallel Lives: Blondie, by Dick Porter & Kris Needs
4:  The Making Of Scarface, by David Taylor
5:  The Star Wars Archives, by Mark Cotta Vaz

Stats wise, I’ve read 65 books - 34 fiction, 7 non-fiction, 12 comics/nostalgia/kids, 2 I co-edited/edited and 10 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 55 books, the breakdown is thus:

3  biographies
21 horror novels
4  film-related
5 drama (includes chick-lit)
5 crime/mystery
7 sci-fi
2 nostalgia
8 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
2012
2011
2010
2009

Reading round-up for 2013

I know it's slightly over the halfway point in the year, but I thought I'd do a little update on my reading so far and offer up an "in progress" Top 10.

So far this year I've read 32 books (not including Steve Byrne's "Phoenix", which I'm currently reading), the bulk of them horror (at 34%).

At this point, my Top 10 consists of:

1 Joyland, by Stephen King
2 Path Of Needles, by Alison Littlewood
3 The Bones Of You (early read), by Gary McMahon
4 Is This Love? (critique), by Sue Moorcroft
5 Stir Of Echoes, by Richard Matheson
6 The Fox, by Conrad Williams (this is horror chapbook)
7 Urban Occult (anthology), edited by Colin F Barnes
8 Riders On The Storm (critique), by Simon Bestwick
9 Everett Smiles, by Neil Buchanan
10 The Jungle, by Conrad Williams (nightjar press chapbook)

special mention to Stephen Volk's "Whitstable", which was my co-book of the year in 2012, even though it wasn't published until May of this year.


On the non-fiction side, my Top 5 looks like this:

1 Parallel Lives: Blondie, by Dick Porter & Kris Needs
2 The Making Of Scarface, by David Taylor
3 The Star Wars Archives, by Mark Cotta Vaz
4 How To Make Love Like A Porn Star, by Jenna Jameson
5 The Art Of Return Of The Jedi, edited by Carol Titelman

The Fourth Annual Westies - review of the year 2012

Well this year seems to have whipped by and so, as we gear up for Christmas, it’s time to remember the good (and not so good) books of 2012. 

It was a really strong field this year (or, alternatively, I made some good reading choices) and places in the top 20 were hard-fought.

So without further ado, I present the Fourth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:

Joint First

Last Days, by Adam Nevill

Whitstable, by Stephen Volk (not actually published until next year)

3:  Silent Voices, by Gary McMahon

4:  Dream A Little Dream, by Sue Moorcroft

5:  Reaping The Dark (not published yet), by Gary McMahon

6:  A Cold Season, by Alison Littlewood

7:  Ceremony, by Robert B Parker

8:  Beyond Here Lies Nothing, by Gary McMahon

9:  Darcie’s Dilemma, by Sue Moorcroft

10:  The 9 Deaths Of Dr Valentine, by John Llewellyn Probert

11:  Into The Penny Arcade, by Claire Massey

12:  Eyepennies, by Mike O’Driscoll

13:  The Widening Gyre, by Robert B Parker

14:  The Way Of The Leaves, by David Tallerman

15:  Taming A Sea-Horse, by Robert B Parker

16:  Marionettes, by Claire Massey

17:  Joe & Me, by David Moody

18:  Videodrome, by Jack Martin (Dennis Etchison)

19:  The Eyes Of Water, by Alison Littlewood

20:  Valediction, by Robert B Parker

The next ten, in no particular order, were:

One Summer In Malta and Where The Heart Is, by Sue Moorcroft, Thin Men With Yellow Faces by Bestwick & McMahon, Hell’s Ditch (critique) by Simon Bestwick, The Butterfly Waltz by Lisa McCarthy, Small Animals by Alison Moore, Black Mirrors by Paul Edwards, The Respectable Face Of Tyranny by Gary Fry, Vampire Circus by Mark Morris and The Howling 2 by Gary Brandner. 

Nothing was spectacularly bad this year, though The Plague Pit by Mark Ronson and The Cartoonist by Sean Costello were both a bit ropey and only garnered 2 stars.

Stats wise, I’ve read 59 books - 35 fiction, 14 non-fiction and 10 comics/nostalgia.  Having not read any Three Investigator books last year - and missing the series - I’m just about to start The Mystery Of The Invisible Dog as my Christmas read and I’m really looking forward to it

Of the 59 books, the breakdown is thus:

5 biographies

25 horror novels

9 film-related

5 drama (includes chick-lit)

4 crime/mystery

1 sci-fi

1 nostalgia

9 humour (including the first two Adrian Moles)

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

Just in case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:

2011

2010

2009

A Year In Books

Well, it’s that time of the year again, as we gear up for Christmas and remember the good (and not so good) of 2011. Here, I present the now Third Annual ‘My Best Reads Of The Year’ award and my top 20 reads like this:

Joint 1st:
Love & Freedom, by Sue Moorcroft
The Concrete Grove, by Gary McMahon

3: The Silent Land, by Graham Joyce
4: The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker
5: Nearly Departed, by Rook Hastings
6: It Knows Where You Live, by Gary McMahon
7: Fogbound From 5, edited by Peter Mark May
8: Peel Back The Sky, by Stephen Bacon
9: The Howling, by Gary Brandner
10: The Derelict, by Neil Williams
11: Immortal Remains, by Rook Hastings
12: Early Autumn, by Robert B Parker
13: Lantern Rock, by Stephen Bacon
14: King Death, by Paul Finch
15: Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion
16: Nowhere Hall, by Cate Gardner
17: Necropolis Rising, by Dave Jeffery
18: Angels Of The Silences, by Simon Bestwick
19: Last ManThroughThe Gate, by Tim C Taylor

There’s no number 20 listed here, since I’m currently reading Alison Littlewood’s superb “A Cold Season” and that will definitely feature.

The worst, without any close competition, was “Almost Blue”, by Carlo Lucarelli (translated by Oonagh Stransky), a dreadful piece of work.

Stats-wise, as of this writing, I’ve read 50 books - 31 fiction, 8 non-fiction and 11 comics/nostalgia. I didn't read any Three Investigator books at all, since I finished my epic read-through of the first 30 last year but, to be honest, I've missed them.

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

My Top Reads of 2011 (so far!)

Okay, so it’s a random date - 15th July, a Friday and I’m up at the Terror Scribes gathering in Chesterfield tomorrow (and really looking forward to it) - but I thought I’d share my top-10 reading list of the year so far.

To date, I’ve read 20 books in contention and 4 cartoons (Calvin & Hobbes and Snoopy) and I’m almost done with another, Rook Hastings' very good “Nearly Departed” (which, I imagine, will sneak into the top 10).

Anyway, here’s the list (subject to change, of course, as the year progresses) and it should be noted that my joint first spot is occupied by friends of mine. I also read both books in draft, to critique. I defend my choice though, since both books see their respective writers really firing on all cylinders.

joint 1st
Love & Freedom, by Sue Moorcroft

joint 1st
The Concrete Grove, by Gary McMahon

3:
The Elephant to Hollywood, by Michael Caine

4:
It's Only A Movie, by Mark Kermode

5:
The Silent Land, by Graham Joyce

6:
Nerd Do Well, by Simon Pegg

7:
Nowhere Hall, by Cate Gardner

8:
The Howling, by Gary Brander

9:
Abolisher Of Roses, by Gary Fry

10:
The Fog, by James Herbert

So there you have it, hopefully you’ll read this and get inspired to pick up something. If not, well, stuff you then!

As ever, you can find all my book reviews up at Goodreads.com.

My Top Reads Of 2010

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time for the third annual “Mark West’s Top Reads Of The Year”. It’s been a bumper year, has 2010, with a total of 48 books read (30 fiction, 11 non-fiction and 7 ‘comics’) along with 12 Three Investigator titles and there haven’t been too many stinkers either.

My Top 20 Fiction titles of 2010
1. All That Mullarkey, by Sue Moorcroft
2. The End - CFF (published 2011) - by Gary McMahon
3. Falling Angel, by William Hjortsberg
4. Starting Over, by Sue Moorcroft
5. What They Hear In The Dark, by Gary McMahon
6. Hungry Hearts, by Gary McMahon
7. God Save The Child, by Robert B Parker
8. Looking For Rachel Wallace, by Robert B Parker
9. Mortal Stakes, by Robert B Parker
10. Pretty Little Dead Things, by Gary McMahon
11. The Judas Goat, by Robert B Parker
12. Three Shirt Deal, by Stephen J Cannell
13. Birth Marks, by Sarah Dunant
14. Blonde On A Stick, by Conrad Williams
15. Dead Bad Things - CFF (published 2011) - by Gary McMahon
16. Where The Heart Is, by various (ed. Gary Fry)
17. A Matter Of Blood, by Sarah Pinborough
18. The Harm, by Gary McMahon
19. Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby
20. The Godwulf Manuscript, by Robert B Parker

As my main writing project this year was a crime/horror hybrid, I intentionally set out to read a lot of crime - this coincided with a decision to get back into the Spenser series, following the death early in the year of Robert B Parker. I’ve also read a lot of Gary McMahon this year, both as critiques (the Angry Robot and NewCon Press books) and purchases and it’s great to see my old writing group chum Sue Moorcroft ploughing ahead (I loved “All That Mullarkey” when I first read it, back in 2000 or so and it’s mentioned in “Conjure” too).

The Non-Fiction looks like this:
1. 1980s: Decades Of Our Lives, by Various
2. The Complete Making Of Indiana Jones, by Laurent Bozreau
3. MMS Annotated Bibliography, by Lavie Tidhar
4. ILM: The Art Of Special Effects, by Thomas G Smith
5. Premiere - Film Cuts
6. My Booky Wook, by Russell Brand
7. Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off, by Michael Deeley
8. The Time Of My Life, by Patrick Swayze
9. Ooh! What A Lovely Pair, by Ant & Dec
10. Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

Here’s to 2011 - cheers, everyone!

And this year, I've been reading...

Today, I finished “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”, which is the 44th ‘adult’ book I’ve read this year (in addition to 12 Three Investigator books) and, as we tick down towards Christmas, I thought now might be a good time to consider my Top 10s.

I set myself a tough target in 2009, to read 24 books and 12 Three Investigator mysteries. I’ve sailed past that, obviously and it’s been a damned good reading year for it. Since I tend to read in different areas, I’ve separated out the fiction and non-fiction and haven’t completed listings for the comic books or TTI mysteries.

So without further ado, here are my top 20 novels of the year (so far!):

1. Different Skins, by Gary McMahon
2. Chasing The Dead, by Joe Schreiber
3. We All Fall Down, by Simon Wood
4. They (unpublished), by Gary McMahon
5. The Turtle Boy, by Kealan Patrick Burke
6. Promised Land, by Robert B Parker
7. Hugger Mugger, by Robert B Parker
8. Johnny Gruesome, by Greg Lamberson
9. Crimson Orgy, by Austin Williams
10. Tide Of Souls, by Simon Bestwick
11. Stardust, by Robert B Parker
12. The Dare, by John Boyne
13. Vardoger, by Stephen Volk
14. Stories We Could Tell, by Tony Parsons
15. Covenant, by John Everson
16. The Nightwalker, by Thomas Tessier
17. Live Girls, by Ray Garton
18. The Hides, by Kealan Patrick Burke
19. Shrink Wrap, by Robert B Parker
20. A Savage Place, by Robert B Parker

horror - 11 books
crime/thriller - 6 books
drama - 3 books

(note - this was a year of good choices and with less reading volume, several of these books would have easily been my number one choice).

Non-fiction (so far !):

1. Skywalking, by Dale Pollock
2. The Life & Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid, by Bill Bryson
3. On The Road, by Frank Skinner
4. Remember The 80s, by Richard Evans
5. Blondie, by Fred Shruers
6. Once Upon A Galaxy: Making Empire Strikes Back, by Alan Arnold
7. Things Ain’t What They Used To Be, by Philip Glenister
8. Friends Like These, by Danny Wallace
9. The Wah-Wah Diaries, by Richard E Grant
10. INXS - Band On The Road, by INXS and Ed St John