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Standing in another man's Grave - Ian Rankin A series of seemingly random disappearances - stretching back to the millennium. A mother determined to find the truth. A retired cop desperate to get his old life back... It's been some time since Rebus was forced to retire, and he now works as a civilian in a cold-case unit. So when a long-dead case bursts back to life, he can't resist the opportunity to get his feet under the CID desk once more. But Rebus is as stubborn and anarchic as ever, and he quickly finds himself in deep with pretty much everyone, including DI Siobhan Clarke. All Rebus wants to do is uncover the truth. The big question is: can he be the man he once was and still stay on the right side of the law? My Thoughts Show More Show Less I've been a long time waiting to read this book, which has been sat on my Mother-in-law's bookcase for ages now. I've always loved Rebus, so I need to explain why I haven't read this sooner. The answer? The last two non-Rebus Ian Rankin books I read; The Complaints and Doors Open. Both were OK but weren't on a par with his Rebus novels. So, in the back of my mind I was wondering if Rankin had gone off the boil. Thinking that, I was shy of reading this, in case it didn't live up to his previous offerings. I needn't have worried. This book had me hooked from page one right to the last sentence. The characters are sharply drawn and complex - they never cross the line into caricature. The plot is beleivable and keeps you guessing. There is sub-plot aplenty. "Rebus is back" says the front cover of the book - I, for one, couldn't be more pleased. 5/5

flock

Saying a programme is "worth the licence fee alone" has become a bit of a cliche, but in this case I think it's justified. Brilliant acting and writing....well, I'm in awe!

Thank you all!

I have to agree, I wasn't impressed with the Christmas episode, and like MIchelle I can't say I've enjoyed any of The Moff's Christmas offerings more than the previous writer (his name has escaped me, and I'm too lazy to open another tab to look it up!). He does seem to have a fixation on a Victorian style Christmas.

Well, this programme just gets better and better! The Sign of Three was the best one and half hours TV I've seen in a very long time. The best man's speech could so easily have been a simple "genius struggling with a simple social situation", but instead we got both this and a heart-warming view of Sherlock's real feelings for Watson - and all within the space of a single sentence! Very, very clever writing and great acting from everyone involved. The writers respect and knowledge of the original stories keeps showing through. My only critisism - we need more episodes per series! Still, less is most definitely more.

Never Go Back by Lee Child After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, former military cop Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had. Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind his old desk isn’t a woman. Is Susan Turner dead? In Afghanistan? Or in a car wreck? What Reacher doesn't expect to hear is that Turner has just been fired from her command. Nor that he himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: ‘You’re back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.’ Will he be sorry he went back? Or – will someone else? My Thoughts I can't say that this is the best Reacher novel in the series. For a large part of the book the plot seems simply to be treading water, almost as if Lee Child had the basis idea for the book, but not enough to fill a full sized novel, so needed to fill it with padding to get the book to an acceptable word count for the publishers. Hopefully a blip, and not the start of a decline. What could have been an interesting development for the character of Reacher and, potentially for the series as a whole turned out to be false, which I personally think was a shame. Oh well - 3/5

Happy New Year everybody! Christmas saw me well catered for in terms of books - 6 received as presents plus a Waterstones voucher and a Book Token. I'm already well into my first book, which is "Never Go Back" by Lee Child. After reading what I received, my only other plan for this year is a re-read of all the Harry Potter books, most of which I've only read the once, when they first came out, so I'm due another go I think.

I've actually read nothing by him before - I'd never fancied trying anything before. As usual, my preconceptions have, on the basis of this book at least, meant that I've been missing out!

I have to put in one more book, that I managed to finish before Christmas - Notwithstanding by Louis de Bernieres. This is actually a book of short stories which are all set in the fictional village of Notwithstanding. It became obvious fairly early on that these stories are based on the author's actual childhood in part. The stories manage to convey the essence of growing up in a small village, where everyone knows everyone else, without slipping into some sort of rose-tinted nostalgia. Actually, I'd seen this book on the shelf at work in the coffee room for ages, but I had been reluctant to pick it up as I thought it might be a bit middle-class (not helped by the sticker on the front saying that the Daily Mail called it "Delightful"). In fact it pretty mercilessly picks apart the class snobbery that exists at all levels of British society. The book is in part funny, part tragic. I enjoyed it tremendously 4/5

I've certainly dropped enough hints! I asked my daughter - she said I've been naughty and won't be getting anything! I really must get around to reading the follow up books as well. There were so many unanswered questions!!

2013: The tale of the tape. A bit early I realsie, but I tend to organise my reading from Christmas to Christmas rather than New Year, so the book I'm reading now will have to count towards 2014 as I won't finish it till after Christmas day at this rate. Confused? Me too! So.... Number of books read in 2013: 48 Average score: 3.92 out of 5 Did not finish: 4 Scored 1/5 = 0 Scored 2/5 = 4 Scored 3/5 = 6 Scored 4/5 = 28 Scored 5/5 = 10 Worst book of the year - The Tales of the Arter Gems - Episode III: The chosen one. One of the DNF books, but I read enough to know that this book really was absolute rubbish Best book of the year: Of my ten top scoring books, I would have to pick Hyperion by Dan Simmonds, simple for the fact that it stayed with me so long after reading it. All in all, I've had a good years reading. Looking forward to sharing my thoughts on 2014's books, which will hopefully be under the tree Christmas day!

Hostage by Robert Crais When a convenience store robbery goes horribly wrong the three young men who perpetrated the crime make a run for it. Hotly pursued by the police they crash into the suburban home of an accountant and take the family hostage, and before they know it, an armed siege ensues. This is the last thing the local sheriff wanted - after all, he left the force in L.A. because of the stress, and this is about as stressful as it gets. To make matters worse, the gang have chosen the wrong accountant to hold hostage. He works for the Mafia and he holds all the local family's financial records. Soon the mob are on the scene and a nightmarish, high-tension three way stand off develops. My Thoughts Another excellent read. The narrative goes along at a good pace without ever losing dumbing down. The plot is good with enough twists I didn't see coming to keep me interested. There was one major plot twist I saw coming a mile off, which is why I knocked it down a point, but really I'm being super-critical. 4/5

Just watched the last episode of Ripper Street, which I've now found out has been cancelled by the BBC due to poor ratings, which is a big shame. I don't really see how they can justify cancelling something so well made while continuing to make that absolute trash - Citizen Khan. You can't tell me more people are watching that?! I've had trips to the dentist that are funnier!

The Invisible Man by H.G.Wells H. G. Wells's "The Invisible Man" is considered to be one of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. It is the story of the scientist Griffen who discovers a serum that will turn his entire body invisible. The initial excitement over the possibilities quickly dissipates when Griffen, who uses the formula on himself, is unable to turn himself visible again. "The Invisible Man" is a cautionary tale about tampering with the laws of the universe. It is the story of how one scientist's great discovery leads him into a state of madness. My Thoughts This is just the kind of book that my jaded reading mojo needed. Easy to read, straight into the action. Previously, I've only read The Time Machine, War of the Worlds & The island of Doctor Moreau. All very serious books as I remember, so I was surprise to find that the first half of this book was almost comic in the way the residents of Iping (The village that the Invisible Man first "appears") are depicted. Eventually, the narrative takes a more serious turn, as Griffen's madness takes full hold. I really enjoyed this book. 5/5

My reading mojo has sort of disappeared over the last few weeks. Books I would normally whizz through I find I am needing to make an effort on. So, that's probably why I've had to give up on "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. I got about a third of the way through before I had to admit to myself that I just wasn't enjoying it at all. I decided that I needed to turn to something much more simple and easy to read - so I've plumbed for "The Invisible man" by H.G Wells.

Have you read the Harry Potter books? - they are excellent reads

It's that time of the year when I pick short books, or books I have read before. I don't want to be stuck with something that will take me ages to read, because come the 25th I will (hopefully) have a load of new books to read that will be clamouring for my attention

I actually enjoyed it more on the second watch. There were too many in-jokes and self references for me to spot them all on the first time around. My eight year old daughter actually physically cringed away from the screen at the point when Kate Lethbridge-Stewart turned back into a Zygon. I loved that, the whole point of Doctor Who when I was a kid watching it was that it scared the cr*p out of you!

A Florentine Death by Michele Giuttari Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara knows that the beautiful surface of his adopted city, Florence, hides dark undercurrents. When called in to investigate a series of brutal and apparently random murders, his intuition is confirmed. Distrusted by his superiors and pilloried by the media, Ferrara finds time running out as the questions pile up. Is there a connection between the murders and the threatening letters he has received? Are his old enemies, the Calabrian Mafia, involved? And what part is played by a beautiful young woman facing a heart-rending decision, a priest troubled by a secret from his past, and an American journalist fascinated by the darker side of life? Ferrara confronts the murky underbelly of Florence in an investigation that will put not only his career but also his life on the line. My Thoughts A crime novel written by a former police chief? I thought this would be excellent. As it was, my high expectations were disappointed, but only slightly. It seemed to take a while for the story to really get going. There is obviously a lot of authentic detail here, which does make up for it. You know who the murderer is from the start, so there is no need for cliff-hanger chapter ends, instead the plot advances and slowly we begin to guess at the murderer's motivation. A good book - I will be looking out for more by this writer

Watching Ripper Steet, and while I am really enjoying it, they do seem intent on including every famous Victorian they can think of!

I have to agree - it's all a matter of opinion. Plus, sometimes, you aren't in the right frame of mind for a book. Sometimes, a second read can make all the difference.

Me too. But on the plus side, it's much easier to write a review on a book you didn't like!

Ha Ha, good point. I did wonder if the book was sponsered by the Red Bush tea growers association!

The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion... My thoughts. In the end, I couldn't finish this book, although I made it three-quarters of the way, before I gave up. I really disliked the main protaganist, Conrad, who seemed more like an annoying teenager than a man in his thirties. Plus, if you are going to write a book about a house that is haunted by the spirit of a woman that wants babies to be born into the house, then you need to get realistic, sympathetic female characters, don't you? Not according to this author you don't. Conrad's wife, Jo, is effectively not present for the part if the book I read, and the pregnant next-door neighbour, Nadia, acts like a famle version of Conrad. The supporting characters remain unfleshed out, serving only to fill in plot devices where necessary. In fact, the only time when the writing felt warm and from the heart, was when he was writing about the dogs. A shame, because there are indications that somewhere, hidden in this book, there is a half-decent writer trying to get out. Sadly, this book is mired in unconvincing, non-scary horror and non-erotic, pointless sex scenes. A final note must go to the publisher's: Don't put a comment on the back comparing this trash to Stephen King . It's an insult to SK, and unfair to put that level of expectation on a writer that isn't up to the job. I won't score this, as I didn't finish.