Monthly Archives: May, 2014
The Merchant’s House by Kate Ellis
Kate Ellis was born and raised in Liverpool, England. She studied drama in Manchester then worked as a teacher, and in accountancy before her writing achieved success when she won the North West Playwrights Competition. However, crime and mystery stories have always fascinated her, as has medieval history so she tries to bring these elements into her books. She is …
Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben was born in 1965 to a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is an American author of thrillers and mystery novels. The plots of his novels often involve the re-surfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events of the past including murders and fatal accidents. They also often have a multiple plot twists. …
Everything You Know by Zoe Heller
Zoe Heller was born in London, England in 1965 and educated at Oxford University, UK and Columbia University, New York, USA. She is a journalist who, after writing book reviews for various newspapers, became a feature writer for The Independent in England. She wrote a weekly confessional column for the Sunday Times in London for …
Time and Again by Evelyn Hood
My friend, Evelyn Hood is a former journalist. She probably best known as the author of family sagas mainly set in her home town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland and on the Scottish Clyde Coast. Although she is the author of over 40 novels and of ‘Forward by Degrees’, a history of the University of Paisley. The history …
The Complaints by Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin was born in Cardenden in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland in 1960. He was educated at Beath High School and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982. While working towards his PhD in Scottish Literature, he was writing novels. He did not complete his PhD. He is probably best known for his …
Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 6 September, 1968 and attended Glasgow University before he turned his hand to writing novels. Quite Ugly One …
The Naming of Eliza Quinn by Carol Birch
Carol Birch is a British novelist who was born in 1951 and attended Keele University, England. She currently lives in Lancaster, England with her family.She is the author of eleven novels and won the 1988 David Higham Award for the Best First Novel of the Year for Life in the Palace, However, The Naming of Eliza Quinn was …
The Logic of Life by Tim Harford
Tim Harford is an English economist and journalist. He was born in England in 1973 and now resides in London. He writes economics books and a column in the Financial Times, He was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School, Berkshire and then at Brasenose College, Oxford where he got his undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and his Masters degree in Economics. …
The English Assassin by Daniel Silva
Daniel Silva was born in Michigan, USA in 1960. He was raised in California, a Roman Catholic but converted to Judaism as an adult. His book The Messenger won The Barry Award for best thriller, but this book, The English Assassin was the first book by this author I had read. I enjoyed it. Silva began his writing …
Lethal Intent by Quintin Jardine
I really enjoy the Quintin Jardine Bob Skinner murder mystery crime novels. This is a genre I enjoy and the novels are set in a beautiful area of the world that I know well that is around Edinburgh and East Lothian, Scotland, UK. The Bob Skinner stories are set in Edinburgh, and are built around …
Val Penny's Book Reviews 
Recent Comments