Murder mystery in Golden Age Hollywood among an Algonquin set type of group of witty, arty, deeply unlikeable people.
This was an interesting read, veMurder mystery in Golden Age Hollywood among an Algonquin set type of group of witty, arty, deeply unlikeable people.
This was an interesting read, very well researched and a well drawn setting, but honestly it had the kind of feeling that I often get from witty Golden Age movies: there's a little bit too much cleverness and not quite enough emotion for it to be entirely satisfying. That's very much a matter of taste, though. ...more
Fascinating read, full of name dropping and embellished stories, but likeable for all that. Niven is sufficiently aware of his own flaws forit not to Fascinating read, full of name dropping and embellished stories, but likeable for all that. Niven is sufficiently aware of his own flaws forit not to come across as excessively bumptious. Most fascinating is that he obviously had a spectacular war--joined the Commandos, trained under Sykes and Fairbairn!--and doesn't give any detail on that at all, on the grounds that it was too serious for anecdotes.
Extraordinary account of the basically feral manner in which the British upper classes raised their kids. Explains a lot. ...more
A Russian man gambles with the devil, loses, and is cursed with immortality. It doesn't really bear the comparisons with The Master and Margarita: RubA Russian man gambles with the devil, loses, and is cursed with immortality. It doesn't really bear the comparisons with The Master and Margarita: Rubashov isn't a very interesting character, more just a viewpoint on a fairly limited account of twentieth century history (all Europe, overwhelmingly male with women barely getting to speak), and very heavy on the horrors of humanity. If you're trying to argue against the stereotype of the gloomy Scandinavian, I would not start here....more
Solid account of the writers of the Detection Club, which comprised most of the top mystery authors of the Golden Age, led by Sayers and Christie. IntSolid account of the writers of the Detection Club, which comprised most of the top mystery authors of the Golden Age, led by Sayers and Christie. Interesting stuff with some illustrious writers and many (justly) forgotten ones. I have a lot of titles to pursue now. ...more
A rather good Stevenson with a charming quiet heroine finding her feet, a very likeable hero, a great remote Scotland location, really interesting warA rather good Stevenson with a charming quiet heroine finding her feet, a very likeable hero, a great remote Scotland location, really interesting wartime setting, and a particularly plausibly nasty villain to add edge. Hugely readable....more
1980s written book on the actual spy career of various authors. Bought it primarily for the Dennis Wheatley chapter (uninformative if you've read the 1980s written book on the actual spy career of various authors. Bought it primarily for the Dennis Wheatley chapter (uninformative if you've read the excellent Baker bio) and also the incredible title which, props. My version also has an excellent cover.
I'm kind of running out of good things to say here because honestly this just reeks of old boys network. The entire British intelligence community was basically jobs for the boys: ridiculous numbers of relations and chums who went to school together, a fact that is made abundantly clear in the book, right up to the chapter on John le Carre who is presented as a vaguely unpatriotic meanie for writing about, er, how the place was run by old school chums. The author is basically revelling in his personal connection to all the authors still alive (wtf was the Len Deighton section except fluffing). It reeks of snobbery and low level homophobia. Bah, basically.
Also, let's be honest, the only author who comes out of this sounding like you'd trust him to run a whelk stall, still less an intelligence department, is John Buchan, a man of actual major talents and moral fibre, who gets sneered at for his 'Boys Own' stories throughout. (I would say the authors featured here couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery but actually it's fairly clear heavy drinking was well within their capability.)...more
I was recommended this as part of the 12 Book Challenge and I think it was probably a poor pick on my part. Ms Moffat seems to have spent her time driI was recommended this as part of the 12 Book Challenge and I think it was probably a poor pick on my part. Ms Moffat seems to have spent her time drifting around Britain doing odd jobs and climbing mountains, which I'm sure was deeply rewarding, but it comes across in an oddly affectless way. I'm not engaging with her personality at all, and for me, the writing isn't evocative enough to make the journey vivid. I think if you knew the landscapes already, or if you love mountaineering, or if you knew who she was (apparently a climber of repute), this would be a different reading experience, but I just can't find anything to attach to here. DNF at 40%, hey ho.
Not one of the best, with the final twist shatteringly obvious from about 1/3 of the way through and appallingly rendered into e, absolutely rammed wiNot one of the best, with the final twist shatteringly obvious from about 1/3 of the way through and appallingly rendered into e, absolutely rammed with errors. Looks like nobody bothered. Oh well. ...more
This is a pure joy and I'm baffled why it's one of the few not to be digitised (or at least not on Kobo). The story is split between Tommy Hambledon aThis is a pure joy and I'm baffled why it's one of the few not to be digitised (or at least not on Kobo). The story is split between Tommy Hambledon and mild mannered James Hyde who starts more of a Jekyll. Hyde gets mixed up with Argentinean gangs and lost Nazi millions and murder. Hambledon and his sidekick Superintendent Bagshott are running to keep up.
This is the first book to introduce Forgan and Campbell, model train makers / freelance dodgy bastards / totally epic double act, and there are some laugh out loud sequences of, basically, them ripping the piss. Bit of mildly offensive "funny Spanish man can't speak English" unfortunately but otherwise delightful. If everyone would just please go read all the books with Campbell and Forgan, I could then justify licensing the characters and writing a series of books about them, which is literally all I want to do with my life. ...more
Post-war Tommy Hambledon, and to my delight, Forgan and Campbell (the gay model train makers/freelance psychos from Now or Never) have turned up. AnnoPost-war Tommy Hambledon, and to my delight, Forgan and Campbell (the gay model train makers/freelance psychos from Now or Never) have turned up. Annoyingly, this book comes after With Intent to Deceive/A Brother for Hugh, even though GR lists this one as coming first, and they're clearly linked so I have read in the wrong order. Useful as ever, Goodreads, thanks.
This is pretty violent, with some allusively written but on-page torture scenes, with Hambledon on the run from the law while chasing down Nazis. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I've finished these. ...more
Not the best Tommy Hambledon but an entertaining read in which Tommy and somewhat hapless assistant investigate German spies in Portsmouth, with the uNot the best Tommy Hambledon but an entertaining read in which Tommy and somewhat hapless assistant investigate German spies in Portsmouth, with the usual insouciantly high body count....more
This is more like it. Tommy Hambledon--can we take a moment to appreciate that bumbling name for a super-spy please, instead of the usual "Dirk Stone"This is more like it. Tommy Hambledon--can we take a moment to appreciate that bumbling name for a super-spy please, instead of the usual "Dirk Stone" type bobbins--goes undercover as a prisoner to break up an organised escape gang. Quite a bit of violence, a couple of excellent allies--I think these books really excel with Tommy's allies--and a rapid fire plot. ...more
I'm officially obsessed with Manning Coles now. You might not think wartime thrillers would be comfort reading but there's something about these: extrI'm officially obsessed with Manning Coles now. You might not think wartime thrillers would be comfort reading but there's something about these: extremely engaging, with a lot of very hard stuff but our heroes never lose their sense of humour or humanity. Which is probably a big part of the fantasy. Distinctly better than Ian Fleming for that reason--Bond is entirely humourless in the books, and actually, the quips in the films are inhuman--mostly mocking horrible deaths --whereas here, the humour is a way for the agents to keep going, keep friendships alive, and remind themselves people are better than the circumstances might suggest. Albeit not that great: the body count is high and Tommy's sidekick here is scarily ruthless.
This one is set mid-war with Tommy Hambledon posing as an explosives expert, ie tosh but fun. Really vivid description of life in Germany mid war. Half of the writing duo was a professional spy, and it was written in 44, so comes by the the whistling-in-the-dark quality honestly....more
Read for research. You wouldn't read it for pleasure.
This is a memoir from "Fabian of the Yard", a superintendent of the Metropolitan Police whose caRead for research. You wouldn't read it for pleasure.
This is a memoir from "Fabian of the Yard", a superintendent of the Metropolitan Police whose career spanned the 20s to the 50s, and he upholds the finest traditions of the Met: racist, misogynist, homophobic, thick as mince, and very much not a man you'd want to be stuck in a lift with. Particular highlights:
--the chapter on Satanism in London including lurid descriptions of a Satanic temple that totally existed in Lancaster Gate. Utterly ludicrous. Everyone knows the Satanic temple was off the Finchley Road. --his definitely true descriptions of what drugs do to you, which sounds brilliant. Though I may be unfair here, possibly he got hold of a lot better drugs than I ever had access to. --in a chapter on gun crime he assures us that, while many people might carry a gun, the only ones who can shoot to kill have grey eyes. Brown-eyed people are not in fact capable of shooting others. I am not making this up. --the photograph of him having tea with "some of his Coloured friends" which Jesus Mary and Joseph. --the lurid, slavering, three-page section detailing exactly what a dominatrix does to her clients in the course of humiliation play, of which he absolutely disapproves and cannot in the slightest understand why anyone would be into this stuff, certainly not him, no sir.
All this is pretty funny. Not funny at all are the loving descriptions of horrific violence against women. Or the sheer hate-filled parts about gay men in particular but anyone guilty of sex crime, in large part because his logic is so slack-jawed. (What consenting adults do in private is the business of the law because the law says they shouldn't do it, and the law says that because it's important to impose arbitrary restrictions on human behaviour to prove we aren't animals. The truth of this is shown because when you do impose arbitrary restrictions on human behaviour, lots of them break the law anyway, and sometimes they get blackmailed, or they behave weirdly because their lives are being distorted by arbitrary restrictions, and that just proves why the law was needed in the first place! God he's thick.)
Some bits are quite useful if you're writing a novel which is police or London adjacent in this period, but handle with tongs. ...more
Wildly enjoyable if a tad dated. This is set in 1938, though written mid-war. It's the story of a disgraced Army officer who was cashiered for losing/Wildly enjoyable if a tad dated. This is set in 1938, though written mid-war. It's the story of a disgraced Army officer who was cashiered for losing/selling tank plans. He meets a burglar who is also officer class but down on his luck, and they form a dynamic duo who go after Nazi spies in the run up to war.
This is the second one of these I've read. Pattern appears to be that we get hot amateur spy action for about half the book and then Tommy Hambledon of the Foreign Office appears to start getting matters under control, and I am Here For It. This is the kind of pulp that my brain consistently rewrites as queer romance for whatever reason and honestly, I could have written this setup and am yea close to saying sod it and just fanficcing the whole thing because it would be delicious. It's on a satisfying edge between farce and brutality, with the sense of looming war. A couple of regrettable lines of casual bigotry, unfortunately, but otherwise stands up very well as pulp goes. ...more
Stevenson very wisely decided in this third Dering instalment that we actually needed to see Rhoda settling in to her new home, partly to be sure she Stevenson very wisely decided in this third Dering instalment that we actually needed to see Rhoda settling in to her new home, partly to be sure she could, mostly because Stevenson writes the Platonic ideal of "woman coming to grips with living in village" and clearly would never leave an opportunity to do so. This one is more soapy in the sense of expanding out the cast and bringing in a new story and a bit more drama.
I have read all three of these books in two days and regret nothing. ...more
Another delightful DE Stevenson expanding on the Vittoria Cottage story, which basically gives you the feeling of being in the world's most comfortingAnother delightful DE Stevenson expanding on the Vittoria Cottage story, which basically gives you the feeling of being in the world's most comforting and least dramatic soap opera. Dean Street Press deserve medals for bringing these books back into print: I'm eating them like Prozac.
BTW if you are panicking because you tried to search Dering Family book 3 and Goodreads told you it was 'Shoulder the Sky' but you can't find it anywhere, it's published by Dean St as Winter and Rough Weather. That's the original UK title of this UK set book by a UK author, so of course we should prioritise the US edition....more
The thing about DE Stevenson is, her books are incredibly safe and kind places while always being aware that the world is not safe and kind at all. PeThe thing about DE Stevenson is, her books are incredibly safe and kind places while always being aware that the world is not safe and kind at all. People can be rather awful, and we don't discount how much harm even petty cruelties and unpleasantness can do. There is horror out there--this book is set post WW2 and people are badly scarred.
But there is also kindness and love, and people being awfully sensible and determined to get on and do their best, and those small efforts somehow form a bulwark against the world. It's a nice thought; maybe it could even be true, if enough people tried it.
Anyway, these books are warm-bath comfort and escape where you absolutely know everything will be fine, and I think I'm about to binge six. ...more
That's more like it. The Platonic ideal of hokey occult twaddle with satanic possession and homunculi and people called "Canon Copely-Syle" like you'dThat's more like it. The Platonic ideal of hokey occult twaddle with satanic possession and homunculi and people called "Canon Copely-Syle" like you'd ever ordain someone called that for the sheer obvious evilness, and naked women on altars, and running around with seaplanes and bandits. Hugely enjoyable, do not look at the sexual politics. ...more
Loading...
