| Hi All I have, over the past few months, read a few excellent thrillers written by female authors – Just last night I stayed up late finishing off Ann Cleeves’ “Rising Tide” Ladies have a completely different flare in their writings adding their feminine touch and thoughts to most scenarios; leading female scribes seem to be able to describe the feelings of both the tyrant and the hero in their novels; they include analytical impressions of the rooms or environment where the story is taking place. Describing visiting a nearby yoga studio Ann wrote …”There were blinds at the windows, a deeper yellow, all pulled down. Vera supposed you wouldn’t want passers-by gawping at you doing a downward dog or standing on your head…” I first picked up an Ann Cleeves book on my way back from Australia earlier this year and bought “Rising Tide” last weekend. The book centres around a Scottish Island separated from the mainland by a long bridge that you could only traverse when the tide was in its low periods. A group of high school kids set off to an old building called “Pilgrim’s House” for a long development weekend with one of their teachers. They had such a good time that they decided to reunite there once every 5 years in remembrance of one of the girls who died unexpectedly during the first recess. The story takes place when they are all in their late 60s. Ann’s chapters are short and to the point with new characters and complexities being introduced regularly throughout the book.  My previous read was one by Val McDermid – “Broken Ground”- also based in Scotland. Two guys “inherited” a couple of state of the art Indian Motorcycles as soldiers were demobbed at the end of the Second World War. One of them had placed a bag full of diamonds, ransacked from retreating German soldiers, in one of the pinion bags. But then the bikes were shipped back by someone else and buried in Scotland leaving only a basic map of the burial site. The story revolves around one of their granddaughters eventually finding their location many years later – the plot was complicated by the discovery of a muscular bodybuilder buried deep down with the bikes in the bogs. Great story that was hard to put down at the end of an evening Other lady authors that I’ve read lately include Elizabeth George, Jane Harper (The Dry), and Sarah Pearse. Do you enjoy reading a good book? Are you like me who, on a Saturday evening, prefers to have my latest Page Turner in hand with LM Radio playing in the background with the TV off; my dogs lying on the carpet in front of me and a glass full of Sauvignon Blanc placed carefully on the table next to me. It’s always special to meet up with others who can talk passionately about their latest read. On to my next literary special. Mike G. |