Category: dark humour
+ abuse, Australia, child abduction, child abuse, childhood, dark humour, family, fiction, grief, rabbit, relationships, review
The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan
Thirty-eight-year-old lawyer Audrey is tired of not being seen. Not seen by her mother, who always preferred her golden brother. By her sleazy boss, who works her to the bone, without reward or recognition. By her self-obsessed colleagues, who want her to help them fix their lives without any acknowledgement of her own. Her social life consists of late nights in the office, visits … Read More The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan
+ 1970s, crime fiction, dark humour, fiction, humour fiction, murder, murder mystery, review, Shakespeare
The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale
DC Toby Marlowe has just landed his dream posting but the quiet streets of Shakespeare’s Stratford are about to suffer a reign of terror. A name from the past has returned, intent on revenge. A series of murders go unsolved but Toby realises that the killer seems to be following the plot of Hamlet. Can Toby and his boss, DS Fred Williams, find the … Read More The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale
+ crime fiction, dark humour, Dogs, fiction, journalist, murder, police corruption, police drama, police procedural, review
Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr (PC Lucy Halliday #1)
The signs are unmistakable. The dog halts, his nose up – nostrils quivering. Every inch of him is poised. Moss has a scent. When a hand is found in Gallows Wood, PC Lucy Halliday and her specialist search dog Moss must find the rest of the body. What they uncover is a killer’s dumping ground. Like every case since her husband’s mysterious disappearance, Lucy … Read More Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr (PC Lucy Halliday #1)
+ cult, dark humour, feel-good, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, murder mystery, mystery, thriller, Victorian Britain, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Two
Here are my favourite 10 books of 2024 Part Two, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Away Weekend by Lesley Fernández-Armesto Geraldine is divorced. Her military ex-husband Jonty has run off with Sally, leaving Geraldine with only her apricot poodle Bolly. She now lives in a tiny mews house in St John’s Wood. Then she meets Ellis, smooth, handsome, American, … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Two
+ crime fiction, dark humour, fiction, kidnapping, mid-life crisis, online dating, revenge, review, thriller
The 23-Day Girlfriend by Mark Eklid
Lonely heart Barry thought Gina might be too good to be true. He was right.Gina preys on vulnerable older men through online dating sites. She lures them in, uses them to set up a financial scam and then vanishes without trace. But when an angry victim of her fraudulent scheme comes looking for Gina, Barry is drawn into deadly danger. He faces having to … Read More The 23-Day Girlfriend by Mark Eklid
+ anthology, care home, crime fiction, dark humour, fiction, lies, murder, murder mystery, police drama, review, short stories, short story, thriller
Killing Nan and other crime short stories by Keith Wright
Following on from the previous ‘Killing…’ series of short story anthologies ‘Killing Nan and other crime short stories’ has twelve stories each with a sting in the tail. Killing NanThe Care Home staff picked on the wrong old lady. A Family GatheringA School trip reveals a heartbreaking family secret. The BeastThe reason for the poor man’s disfigurement and increasing insanity becomes clear in devastating … Read More Killing Nan and other crime short stories by Keith Wright
The Code of the Vavasors (A Mathematical Mystery Book #6) by Jonathan Pinnock
A witty, fast-paced thriller, with a dash of mathematics and a large dose of danger. Tom Winscombe and his ex-girlfriend Dorothy Chan are on a mission to crack a code – a code embedded in a chip inside two alpacas that used to belong to the famed dead mathematical geniuses, the Vavasor twins. #TheCodeoftheVavasors X/Twitter @jonpinnock @farragobooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #BookXInstagram @beardyjon Their search leads them … Read More The Code of the Vavasors (A Mathematical Mystery Book #6) by Jonathan Pinnock
+ alcoholism, crime fiction, Danish Noir, dark humour, Denmark, fiction, grief, Iceland noir, literature, murder, revenge, review, Scandi noir, secrets, writer
Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Masden – translated by Megan Turney Paperback Out Now
A snobbish Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration, and then the first body appears… Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that she’s … Read More Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Masden – translated by Megan Turney Paperback Out Now
+ crime fiction, dark humour, fiction, murder, police drama, police procedural, review, Scotland, serial killer, thriller
Ice Into Ashes by John Carson
Time is a healer….unless you’re the one doing the killing… DCI James Craig is heading home to Fife for a family funeral after the discovery of his wife’s uncle’s lifeless body at home, having fallen down the stairs. The incident was classified as a Sudden Death, attributing it to the man’s advanced age and fragility. Case officially closed.…Or is it? Genre: Scottish Crime Thriller … Read More Ice Into Ashes by John Carson
+ abuse, crime fiction, dark humour, female friendship, fiction, friendship, germany, murder, murder mystery, police drama, revenge, review, serial killer, thriller
The Kitchen by Simone Buchholz (Chas Riley #2) translated by Rachel Ward
When neatly packed male body parts wash up by the River Elbe, Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her colleagues begin a perplexing investigation. As the murdered men are identified, it becomes clear that they all had a history of abuse towards women, leading Riley to wonder if it would actually be in society’s best interests to catch the killers. #TheKitchen #SimoneBuchholz #Rachel Ward … Read More The Kitchen by Simone Buchholz (Chas Riley #2) translated by Rachel Ward
+ assisted dying, Australia, dark humour, dystopia, eco thriller, Historical fiction, Italy, kidnapping, List, murder mystery, mystery, thriller, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part One
I couldn’t decide whether to cheat or not. Should I move my favourite audiobooks into their own section and give myself more room for extra favourites in this list? Or should I feature them in both? Then I looked back to last quarter and I did move them. So here are my favourite 10 books of 2024 so far, not counting audiobooks. The Dubrovnik … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part One
+ assisted dying, dark humour, dementia, euthanasia, fiction, friendship, humour fiction, loneliness, memory, politics, review
Shaking Hands With Elvis by Paul Carroll
An uncaring government has legalised assisted dying, but it’s not only the terminally ill they loosen the rules for. Anybody considered to have nothing to contribute, a drain on resources, or simply past it, is encouraged to do the decent thing and opt for an early check out. #ShakingHandsWithElvis @paulcarrollink #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #funnybook #assisteddying Entrepreneur Callan Clay is quick to fill the market gap through … Read More Shaking Hands With Elvis by Paul Carroll
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