Madeleine

A famous pub in London, The Cheshire Cheese, has got a mention in the Barbara Erskine book I'm currently reading.

party

Just watched Far from the Madding Crowd, the one with Carey Mulligan. It was ok, felt very rushed with lots of major plot points skimmed over.

I'm half looking forward to it, half dreading it!

Yep i can't stand it when characters don't learn from their mistakes! Still it's early days yet in the series.

"A Cold Case in Amsterdam Central" by Anja de Jager - this is the 2nd book in the Lotte Meerman series, again set in Amsterdam and it starts with what looks like a workplace accident when a decorator falls from a window of a new building he was working on. But when Lotte and his widow find a left luggage ticket in his jacket which leads them to a bin bag containing a skeleton, which he was seen storing on CCTV at the station, things take a strange turn. Initially it's thought that the body is one from the War, which had been found during the building works (which happened quite a lot in Holland), but when the pathologist finds an extra arm, which is much more recent, the case becomes even more sinister, especially when the arm is identified as belonging to a local criminal! I thought this book was much better than the first one, and Lotte, although likeable, hasn't learnt from her big mistake in the first book, when she started a relationship with one of the suspects! When an old schoolfriend turns up, she's again tempted, but really - twice in a row? Yes she's lonely and finding it hard to get along with her colleagues, but I did find it hard to accept that she'd jump into bed with another potential suspect! Apart from that quibble, this was an enjoyable thriller, and the series is developing nicely. But why do female characters always do stupid things? And yes she goes to investigate various deserted premises without waiting for backup first! 8/10 "High Force" by L J Ross - next in the series set in Northumberland, and this follows on directly from "Angel" which ended on a cliffhanger with one of Ryan's own team being abducted by his worst nightmare - the serial killer The Hacker, who has escaped from prison in an audacious break out attempt. It's a race against time as Ryan and his team struggle to rescue their colleague, and in the meantime the Hacker is still claiming more victims, and taunting Ryan every step of the way. To say this case is personal is putting it mildly. This was another hugely entertaining (albeit slightly gory!) read, with some good character development and a gripping final showdown. These books would make a great TV series! 8/10

Thanks Athena, have a good weekend too.

I had a nice weekend in Christchurch in Dorset, weather was sunny but chilly, and we did manage a lunch by the sea on Sunday (indoors admittedly!) and it was rather hazy as well. Back at work now with something similar to sciatica, had yesterday off sick, bit better today but still quite stiff and sore and it seems to vary between my lower back and then my hip. Still at least it's nearly the weekend again!

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm off to Christchurch in Dorset this weekend for a few days, fingers crossed the weather gets better again! Easter's meant to be nice though so you should be OK Talisman.

Well have had a few minor disasters to wrap up March - ruined a good pair of trousers by ironing them with the iron turned up too high, then burnt the rolls at lunchtime as I forgot to set the timer, also had a book pile collapse, but at least I did find some books I'd been looking for, except for the one I really wanted! Plus we lost an hour of course, which I thought was badly timed for Mothering Sunday.

i went out without a jacket as well today, it was lovely, not meant to last though

I'm reading High Force (5 in the Ryan series) at the moment, and have just found there's a new one out soon, hooray

Recently finished 9 and 10.

The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick - this is the second book in the trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and covers most of her turbulent marriage to Henry II, during which she was either pregnant, or recovering from a birth, and after John's arrival, she was told any more would kill her. Meanwhile Henry is becoming more and more controlling, and as the children grow up, they become increasingly disaffected by their father's reluctance to hand over any power to them. So the seeds of rebellion are sown, and Eleanor takes the brunt of the blame. This was another engrossing read, with the people all brought vividly to life, and a reminder of how women were treated back then, although the idea of pregnancy brain seemed to be popular even then! 7.5/10 "In the Woods" by Tana French - this is the first book in a crime series called The Dublin Murder Squad, and is set mainly on the outskirts of Dublin and focusses on two young detectives, Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, who are not only work partners but also best friends. When the call comes in that a young girl's body has been found at the site of an archaeological dig, they grab it quickly, but get more than they bargained for, as the case is a hard one, with every lead turning out to be at best only circumstantial. Even worse, it's a painful reminder of Rob's past, for although he passes himself off as an Englishman, in reality he was born and lived in the same small town, until the age of 12, when he and his two friends went into the woods one day to play, and only he returned. He's never been able to remember a single moment of that day, he was found fairly quickly with blood on his shoes, but apart from a few scratches he was unhurt, but catatonic with shock. His parents decided to move to England where he was sent to boarding school before joining the police. Now he's terrified that not only will his true identity be discovered (his real name was Adam Ryan), but also that he might find out what did happen all those years ago, for the murder victim's father was one of the local teenagers, who he and his friends used to spy on in the woods with their girlfriends. Will the man remember him? Was he responsible for whatever happened to his friends? This book works on two levels, at one it's a fairly conventional police procedural, and on another it's about Rob's past, and also his relationship with Cassie, who is the only person who knows his background. I found this an extremely well-written thriller, more character driven than many crime novels and very vividly described, although I did find Cassie's reaction to what happened between her and Rob a little bit melodramatic. 8/10

Everybody wants to rule the world - Tears for Fears

room

Same again today, sunny but with a cold wind.

Well it's not been a bad weekend - dull yesterday but not that cold, though it turned chilly overnight, and today's been nice and sunny, albeit with a cold wind.

Live and let die - Wings

Well you find out what happened in her past.

Paint it Black - Rolling Stones

Hi, I was probably generalizing when I said that statement in the spoiler, but what I was basically saying was that I felt like Eleanor was put into situations that made her an element of being made fun of which I didn't feel comfortable with Those were my thoughts exactly, I found those bits unconvincing and yes also rather insulting. I did suspect the twist though but got the wrong person

Quite bright today, still a few showers though, and very cold last night.

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