As I said in my previous post, crime and thrillers remain my staple diet and as well as continuing to enjoy the work of Jo Spain's DI Tom Reynolds, I've become great friends with DI Rowan Jackman and his Sergeant, Marie Evans, created by the pen of Joy Ellis. Set in the Lincolnshire fens the novels deal with abduction, murder and some devious, cold-hearted villains. Jackman and Evans work well together complementing each other's instincts and skills whilst they are supported well by a dedicated team. Well plotted with a number of  twists, they have all been great listens, not least because Richard Armitage is a first class narrator. Their Lost Daughters and The Stolen Boys which I enjoyed earlier this year were both excellent and a review of my most recent follows:

23rd May : Joy Ellis, The Murderer's Son (Audio, read by Richard Armitage)
In the first story featuring the duo of detectives and their team, Jackman and Evans have to decide whether the man who turns himself in following the discovery of a woman's brutally murdered body is a time-waster, is seriously deranged or ... is the killer.  With the aid of expert criminal psychologist, Guy Preston, they determine that it is safe to release him but then the body count starts to rise so the two detectives and their team need to find some answers fast if they are to prevent further bloodshed.  Rattles along at a great pace to a satisfying conclusion.

My other great love is historical fiction and once again I've read a couple of crackers. Conn Iggulden's novels based on the Wars of the Roses are largely faithful to events and are positively cracking with energy, great characters on both sides and intriguing sub-plots of his own imagining. I'm gradually working my way through them and will share my thoughts in due course. But now, I turn my attention to the work of Kate Mosse and the first part of her Huguenot trilogy which has been my companion every morning for the past couple of weeks, often as I've been out walking across the fields:

6th June 2020: Kate Mosse, The Burning Chambers (Audio, read by Hattie Morahan)
Beautifully written with some evocative prose and entertaining dialogue, Mosse brings the era, events and environment of 16th Century France very much to life.  Set largely in Carcassonne and Toulouse, it follows the fortunes of Minou Joubert and her family as they try to preserve a 20 year old secret. Peopled with a wonderful cast of characters including Minou and Piet Reydon, the heroes of the story, two very different villains in Blanche of Puivert and her confessor, Piet's old friend, Valentin as well as the rest of Minou's family and friends, all of whom are drawn in some depth. An exciting plot full of mystery and incident explores love and loyalty, power and ambition, treachery and sacrifice, against a backdrop of the religious battles of the early 1560s.  I loved it and can't wait for the second part to be published early next year.