TBR Thursday 3…

Episode 3

Great writers never die…

Since this is the first TBR Thursday for three weeks, you can only imagine how many reviews have tickled my fancy in that time – a stupendous total of 23 made it on to the longlist. Shortlisting has never been so hard, but with a TBR pile which remains stubbornly at 99 (despite my best endeavours), I have been ruthless. So with my usual thanks to all the bloggers who have entertained, intrigued and tempted me, here goes…

The Silver Medallists

With grateful thanks to the reviewers/recommenders, here are the runners-up in this week’s contest:

Rooms filled with blood begin another investigation for Hanne Wilhelmsen…

The Game’s Afoot says: “Blessed Are Those Who Thirst is an extremely rewarding reading. Despite being relatively short, the novel has a wide scope…: a police investigation, the trauma of a rape victim, the private investigation of the victim’s father, the twisted motives of the perpetrator and the further development of some of the characters that we have first met in The Blind Goddess. “

See the full review at The Game’s Afoot

*******

Modern noir from the writer of the brilliant The End of Everything…

Sparkcharms says “Die a Little isn’t just a noir novel, but a commentary that reaches far deeper into our own psyches, whether we’re in LA or Mississippi. There is darkness in all of us, and it’s a beguiling thing, even to the most straight-laced of us. Some are encompassed, and when that happens, disentangling oneself from it becomes excruciatingly hard.”

See the full review at Sparkcharms

*******

A Japanese story about love, family, memory…and mathematics…

Need to Read Blog says “It is a quick read, but will leave a definite mark on your mind. Although I couldn’t understand all of the mathematical formulas within it, it doesn’t matter so much. What is important however, is to understand the professor’s passion, which is so strong that it leaps off of the words on the pages, and right into the hearts of the readers.”

See the full review at Need to Read Blog

*******

The Act of Union of 1707 and the spying of Daniel Defoe…

BooksPlease says “This is a story about spies and the struggle between various factions for power and once I had got the characters sorted in my mind I was swept along with the intrigue and dangers of the times, keen to see how the Union came about. The English Spy is a mix of fact and fiction but A Warning to the Reader at the beginning of the book clarifies that Daniel Defoe had indeed been sent to Scotland…’“

See the full review at BooksPlease

******

And the Gold Medallist is…

 

Murder and madness with a magical edge…

LitBeetle says “More than anything, I was charmed by their lunacy, and it’s not until later, as the mystery unfolded and with some space from finishing the book, that I realized how disturbing it all is. Make sure you wear a decent shawl while reading this, because–between Merricat’s quietly frightening mind and Jackson’s simple but eloquent writing–We Have Always Lived in the Castle will give you chills.”

Litbeetle’s reviews always inspire me with enthusiasm – time to put it to the test!

See the full review at litbeetle

Now all I have to do is find time to read it…