Madeleine

The Seeker by S G MacLean - first in a new crime series set during the "reign" of Oliver Cromwell. Damian Seeker is one of Cromwell's main "agents", keeping a very close eye on anyone suspected of trying to bring down the self-styled Lord Protector. When a high ranking official is found murdered, a local lawyer, Elias Ellingworth, who is known for his rebellious views and writings, is the chief suspect, especially as he is found standing over the body, with a blood-stained knife in his hands. It looks like a simple case of convicting him, but Seeker, who is feared by pretty much everyone, doesn't think Elias is the culprit, despite the man's refusal to do much to help his own case. Meanwhile various plots against Cromwell are uncovered and thwarted, whilst Seeker desperately tries to find the real killer, and rescue Elias from execution, in an increasingly secretive London. I enjoyed this, it's a promising start and Seeker is be turns terrifying and likeable, (and there is a hint of romance too) and I'm sure he'll have plenty more adventures, with a rich, mysterious background of his own to be revealed as well. There's definitely a touch of James Bond about him, and there are modern resonances with the current security/surveillance issues of today. And the author's previous hero, Alexander Seaton (I have those books too but haven't read them yet!) also makes an appearance. 8/10

Meant to get very hot here as well, then thunder!

Lucky Star - Madonna

Rider

Hi Karen - I thought the Amber Spyglass was the weakest book in the trilogy, and I did finish it, but struggled a bit, but good luck if you decide to keep going!

Couldn't tell you about the stories, but you definitely need to read the books in order.

The Long and the short of it by Jodi Taylor -novellas and short stories, now in one paperback, hooray.

And at halfway through the year, yesterday I brought number 25 in under the wire!

Half the year gone, how is that possible! Quite dull and cloudy here too, and it rained last night, which means the garden is growing like mad!

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith - this is the second in the crime series written by J K Rowling, and better than the first (which wasn't bad). When a famous author is found murdered in the same style as the main character of his latest book, private detective Cormoran Strike is faced with a long list of suspects, for the author had written a thinly veiled attack on pretty much everyone he knew - fellow authors, agents, friends, who were all very upset by their treatment in the novel. So Strike, helped by his assistant Robin, who is about to get married, sets out to find out who the culprit is. We get more of Strike and Robin's relationship in this book, as it develops nicely, and we also find out more of Strike's background (chequered to say the least, with several half siblings thanks to his feckless parents) and meet Robin's fiance, Matthew, who isn't happy with her choice of career. I enjoyed this, although I wasn't totally convinced by the reveal of the murderer's identity. 7.5/10 And I've just received a set of the 4 McLevy books (Victorian crime set in Edinburgh) which I ordered from an Amazon seller, brand new and very reasonably priced!

It's Friday

I hate it when you change titles too, and have also nearly bought the same book twice, in fact I have done that, but it was because the publishers re-printed the author's books, and I bought an older book thinking it was the new one, as the covers were all so similar.

That must have taken you ages to get together. Interesting - I tend to try to read according to season too, and yes you're right, there are loads of books around every season except spring, strange!

Similar forecast here, although it's quite sunny at the moment, but quite chilly.

It's a Mystery - Toyah

I agree with you too, Athena , when I used to go to my friend for one of her children's parties I'd only be there for a few hours and be completely exhausted -the constant attention-seeking, having to smile inanely at the slightest thing the child did - another drawing, hooray! - I don't know how parents manage being with them all the time! I've never been maternal either (as you can probably guess from what I've just said), maybe it's a selfish thing and if I'd met the right person, but I don't think so. Give me a dog any day, although they can be exhausting as well.

We're quite a way from the coast (about 40 miles and then it's only the muddy Thames estuary) but it's been very windy here for several weeks now, apart from last week's mini-heatwave. Hard to believe that this time last week we were sweltering!

Sounds yummy! And it's been chilly today, so also sounds very comforting and warming.

Brolly is generally short for umbrella. We had loads of rain yesterday, pretty much non-stop since about 1400, was still raining when I went to bed. I got very wet coming home! And my brolly collapsed and had to be thrown away.

Good point Athena, especially when it's getting near lunchtime!

I love jacket potatoes with cheese, and a nice bit of slaw on the side.

I used to like Come Dine but now it's got to be too much of a freak/ego show so I don't watch it any more. I hate most reality TV, never watched BB or I'm a Celeb (except for one ep when I was at a friend's house).

Thanks for that!

At last! Someone else who doesn't like soft fruit either, I have exactly the same reaction as you, it's to do with the texture. I can eat apples (as long as they're not soft, if they are then it's straight in the bin for them)and melon but that's about it.

Been raining a bit but not that much, cooler and dull.