Category Archives: Review

Book Review: Martin Cruz Smith ~ Hotel Ukraine (2025)

Posted on October 29, 2025 by odeboyz

Authors who create wonderful characters own a gold mine.1 Killing a ‘Golden Goose’ is very expensive. Lee Child outsourced the Reacher series to his brother. Ian Ranken’s Rebus recently was imprisoned for murder and then solved a murder and lives … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Ian Rankin ~ Midnight and Blue (2024)

Posted on July 30, 2025 by odeboyz

Q) What does a brilliant detective do after being sentenced to life imprisonment? A) Solve ultra difficult murders. Rebus got a life sentence for murdering his criminal nemesis ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty. It was accidental but nonetheless he was found guilty … Continue reading →

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Book Review: James Ellroy ~ The Big Nowhere (1988)

Posted on June 25, 2025 by odeboyz

The USA has a menacing culture, which embraces extreme violence and corruption. The January 6th 2020 Insurrection led to multiple deaths and systematic vandalism. It was celebrated by President Trump as an act of ‘patriotism’. His first act, as president, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: James O’Brien ~ How they broke Britain (2024)

Posted on April 30, 2025 by odeboyz

James is a superb radio talk show host on LBC. He’s perceptive and insightful and listens to people who are uninformed in comparison to him. Although he’s combative he is prepared to discuss issues. A star no less. His book … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Alastair Puddick ~ 46% better than Dave (2019)

Posted on March 12, 2025 by odeboyz

In economics ‘Hedonic Treadmill’ explains that people believe who  believe  in recipes for happiness are doomed to failure. They’re on a ‘treadmill’ with entirely illusionary possibilities for happiness. Continuous pleasure-seeking feeds dissatisfaction. At its most extreme it is corrosive creating … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Lee Child ~ The Visitor (2000)

Posted on January 29, 2025 by odeboyz

Reacher novels mainline on ‘Smash, Bang, Wallop’. The Visitor is subtle, nuanced and very, very clever. It is the fourth novel in this book-a-year series and appeared before Lee Child transitioned into formulaic sado-porn. There are only two examples of … Continue reading →

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David Williams reviews M&S Collection Pieronte Barolo, Italy 2019

Posted on November 13, 2024 by odeboyz

Having had some of the most memorable food experiences of my life in Piedmont during the truffle season, eating al tartufo, made with fresh tarjarin pasta, butter, eggs and shavings of truffle, it’s hard for me to conceive of a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: M W Craven ~ Dead Ground (2021)

Posted on October 16, 2024 by odeboyz

This is a marvellous novel. The two principals are Sergeant Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. The first is a no-nonsense *copper*. He’s diligent, very bright, intuitive, a ‘maverick’ and has a history of success. Tilly Bradshaw is from the Lisbeth … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Roy Keane: the second half ~ Roy Keane with Roddy Doyle (2014)

Posted on September 4, 2024 by odeboyz

Two Irish giants coming together to translate the spoken word into an autobiography should end up with something great. Keane was a superb footballer playing at the highest level for 12 years at Manchester United. Roddy Doyle is an outstanding … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Juan Gomez-Jurado ~ Red Queen (Translator Nick Caistor) (2023)

Posted on August 7, 2024 by odeboyz

Ever since the Skandi-noir books of Stieg Larsson1 there have been *seriously clever female heroines*. Antonia Scott is a Spanish super genius. The scene is set on the first page, “…in three minutes – Antonia is capable of calculating: The … Continue reading →

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