staff picks

While Nordic authors and settings seem to dominate my crime reads, the list is not exclusively Northern European I am glad to say. I have even endeavoured to go beyond wider Europe, taking in the US of A, the Middle East, south-east Asia, and even Africa. And it is to Africa that I travel in this post, with two authors to mention, South Africa's Deon Meyer (see below) and Southern Rhodesia's (aka Zimbabwe's) Alexander McCall Smith. McCall Smith a Rhodesian, you might ask? Well, while living in Scotland, he is correctly speaking a Rhodesian-born Scotsman who has also spent some considerable time in Botswana. A prodigious writer, he is probably best known as the author of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The agency is located in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. So far the series extends to thirteen titles, of which I have to date read two. Read more »

Best selling American crime writer Patricia Cornwell is in Dublin today, here to take part in one of the opening events of the Bram Stoker Festival, happening this weekend. The event, The Anatomy of Fear - From Stoker to Scarpetta with Patricia Cornwell, takes place in Trinity College, and the author will be introduced by the state pathologist, Dr. Marie Cassidy! Very appropriate given the subject matter and the significant role forensic science plays in her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

Cornwell has sold over 100 million copies of her books worldwide, and wouldn't you know it, you can borrow her books in our branch libraries and read away to your heart's content (check below).

Right: Patricia Cornwell in Trinity College, 26th October 2012 (click thumbnail to enlarge)

The 20th novel in the Scarpetta series (The Bone Bed) has just been published (25th October in fact), so while not yet on our bookshelves is on order and soon to arrive. In this latest, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta returns to solve the mysterious disappearance of a paleontologist. Read more »

Mid October 1962: the crisis began on 14 October when photographs of Soviet military installations in Cuba, taken by a U2 spy plane from the United States air force, showed that nuclear missile sites were being constructed. The United States government demanded that the missiles be withdrawn, and they put in place a naval blockade of Cuba with the intention of preventing any further military equipment being delivered. The crisis came to a head when a Soviet convoy approached some of the blockading ships. However at the last minute the Soviet ships halted and after a tense stand-off they eventually turned around. Read more »

It's been too long since my last post here on crime reads, so time to catch up. In this post I am going to take you through my most recent reads, covering four nations, and not all Nordic! Starting with Italy we will then visit Iceland, Sweden and finally Denmark.

From Italy:

Number 21 in the Commissario Brunetti series, 'Beastly Things'  convinces me that Donna Leon has not after all grown tired of the Venetian detective. Thank heavens, this is a definite return to form. Four stars (out of five) from me. A well developed plot (yet another body retrieved from a canal) with Brunetti as ever a joy to accompany as he meanders through Venice and its surrounds while unravelling the mystery. The abattoir visit is quite descriptive! In contrast to a reviewer for the Independent newspaper, I long for even more of wife Paolo and the culinary delights. A likeable read, a perfect holiday read if looking for one. Read more »

A very important and fascinating book was published this year, "Where Were You? Dublin Youth Culture & Street Style 1950-2000" by Garry O'Neil and Niall McCormack.

The book is a compilation of photographs documenting social and fashion scenes in Dublin. What sets this book apart is that there are no staged fashion shoots or celebrities, just amazing photographs of everyday people wearing what was in style and ordinary people with extraordinary style.

It's a very intimate account of street culture in Dublin. This feeling of intimacy is directly linked to the way in which the material was sourced. Posters were hung up in cafes, bars and shops around the city asking people to send in photos, rather then all the material being collected in newspaper archives. Read more »

How often do you look up? The members of TICAS, The Irish Cloud Appreciation Society are very fond of doing so and at the end of this month (Fri-Sun 27th-29th July 2012)  are holding a festival in the north-west of Ireland.

Cloud watching, or cloud spotting is a relaxing and very enjoyable hobby. Enthusiasts will tell you there are ten basic categories of cloud, in a Latin 'Linnean' system devised by Luke Howard in 1802. Within these 'genea', or basic categories, however there are many different 'species' of cloud, and then within these there are further 'varieties'! Read more »