It’s hard to miss that publishers are pushing series novels. It’s particularly weird in cosy mysteries where the intrepid amateur sleuth encounters so many dead bodies over the course of the novels that they ought to be in therapy or otherwise confined for the safety of the community. I imagine that the logic for publishers is…

I picked up a copy of The Northbury Papers for a dollar from a local secondhand bookstore and read it over the weekend–and thoroughly enjoyed it. For a second book in a series, there were no problems in picking up characters, setting and events. In fact, and strangely, I’m disinclined to go back and read…

Occasionally a snippet of poetry will insist on being written, but then, despite raving and praying, nothing else arrives. The snippet is consigned to the pages of my notebook, surrounded by scribbles and crossings out. I’ve been working around this one for months: Silent lie the dragon bones,fossilised footprints,seashells in mountains. I love the sound,…

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark is a fantastic example of a book that lets you peek inside a rarefied world. Even better is the fact Don Thompson is a sharp observer who strikes a neat balance between observation and subtle commentary. He can see the craziness of the contemporary art world, but he doesn’t take cheap…

This post comes out of a category romance I read yesterday. I won’t mention names because I’d hate to have my own novels used as examples of annoying genre books, but I have to share my pet peeves when it comes to annoying romance plots. First is the noble lie. For whatever reason one of…