MAIGRET STONEWALLED - George Simenon

 

 As a story its fairly ordinary but sets the scene for the ensuing 75 books.

I had trouble imagining Maigret in a bowler hat.

THE LEMUR -Benjamin Black

 

An ex-CIA operative who has gone on to become a wealthy businessman finds out there is to be a very hostile biography written about him.

To circumnavigate this he commission's his son, John Glass in law to write the official story.

When the researcher Glass hires tries to blackmail him, he is fired and a short time later found dead.  Glass begis to worry that he may be next due his secrets.

Not a top Black story,  ( John Banville) and not even close to his Quirke crime novels, but an interesting Sunday interlude, the book is more a novella and only takes a few hours to get through, worth the effort.

THE LOOKING GLASS WAR - John Le Carre

Early Le Carre is exceptional Le Carre.  

This story relates to an incompetent Government Department living on past glory attempting to pull off an intelligence coup.  

Totally unglamourous characters,but a very, very good book.

 

THE THREE TAPS - Ronald Knox

 

Mr Mottram is found dead in a locked room with a gun shot wound to the face and a fatal knife wound to his heart.

Miles Bredon & his wife investigate.

Knox is very funny and exceptionally literate, I'd wager that Hammet modeled  "The Thin Man "on these two. Both couples wise cracking while solving the mystery .  It appears Knox got there first with this  published in 1927 , the The Thin Man published in 1934.

Good fun

GREENMANTLE- John Buchan

 

Its 1915 and Richard Hannay is taken from the trenches in France to embark on an undercover mission to " save the world ".

One of the great adventure yarns, I think its better than it's predecessor "The 39 Steps".

Been read many times , will get read some more.

STRIDING FOLLY - Dorothy L. Sayers

 

Three short stories from Sayers featuring Lord Peter.  Entertaining , but light weight when compared to her novels.

FIELD GRAY - Philip Kerr

Time to start a re-read of the Bernie Gunther series, one of the best historical sets written.

Bernie is kidnapped from the waters off Cuba by the US and taken back to Germany to be tried as a war criminal.  He re-counts events from over a 25 year period,  his dealings with the atrocity that was Nazi Germany.

A great great series