Booked up for Summer

Just finished If You Liked School You’ll Love Work by Irvine Welsh. I’ve read most of his stuff, some more than once and I love his writing and his imagination. He invents brilliant characters and although I’m Scottish and understand the dialogue sometimes it takes time to understand it, but once you’re in the storytelling is addictive. He makes no allowances and although i know he has an international audience it must sometimes be a struggle for the non Scots.
This book is three separate and entirely different short stories, the first based in the states with a brilliantly weird ending, the second based in Spain based around a pub owning English ex pat, and the last based in Cowdenbeath, Scotland. The main character trying desperately to get into a horsey bird’s pants. Typically lot’s of proper swearing, shagging, drink, drugs and brilliant humour. Recommended.
Agree about kindle, fuck that. Books are a paper sanctuary from the electronic world.

Skag Boys is brilliant Mr Reasonable.
Prequel to Trainspotting and how the characters became the cunts that we know.

The last good book I read was "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time".

Can't really tell you why I read it, and I'm not much of a literary commentator, but I really enjoyed it, one of those books you're sorry to have finished.

I've been Shakey Brine's book as he'd a right scoundrel I tells you. Actually if you take his view as good and proper Colin Schiller was an ok dude that got him some good rides even though he was a proper dangerous driving cunt with an RS Turbo and a RGV250 which he blew up after 5 days.

Bought Johnny Rea's book to read as well since it was £2.50. Not expecting much shocking drama from it though as he wasn't doing cunty things like 190 on the roads for Fast Bikes like Shakey.

Inagine scifi razzle.

So, not reviewed a book in a while so here goes you lucky cunts.

A Place of Execution by Val MacDermid

A young girl goes missing in rural northern England in the 60s. The strong suspicion is that she has been raped and murdered but without a body, evidence will be difficult to secure. Decades after the case, an investigative journalist contacts the senior investigating officer to write a book about the case but new information comes to light and he abruptly ends their collaboration.

I'd only ever read one Val MacDermid book before, can't remember what it was called but I wasn't all that impressed. I therefore embarked on this book with pronounced apathy and that, combined with a relatively slow start to the book, meant that it took ages to get through.

Well, if the start was slow, the ending certainly made up for it. Often with crime novels, 90% of the plot is crammed into the last chapter and that can often feel heavily edited (as it probably is) but in this case the balance is perfect. You might guess at a bit of the twist buy the full reveal is not only unexpected but also throws up a multitude of ethical questions. It very cleverly corners the reader into making their own judgement on guilt and punishment.

Admittedly the first half of this book could have been scythed to an extent to encourage greater initial investment from the reader but this would undoubtedly have lessened the impact of the ending. As it is, it's one of the finest crime thrillers I've ever read and is absolutely ripe for a movie adaptation.

8/10, no tits but...