On the first day of my holiday in France I sat down with a literary treat. The fifth of Nicci French’s gripping Frieda Klein series has just been published and it’s a belter. I didn’t look up again until I’d whizzed through its 375 pages. Frieda Klein is one of my favourite fictional detectives. To be strictly accurate, she’s a psychotherapist rather than a detective but she has the uncanny ...keep reading
The Chipping Norton Literary Festival is hands-down my favourite lit fest of the year. It’s only been running for three years but it’s the friendliest, most innovative, most inspiring celebration of books that I’ve come across. I ran a freelance journalism workshop the first year and was so hooked by the festival’s buzzing atmosphere that I’ve been back every year since. I’ve heard everyone from Nicci French (pictured), Mark Billingham ...keep reading
I’ve been hooked on Nicci French’s Frieda Klein novels since the first one was hot off the press back in 2011. Why? Because when it comes to crime fiction, Frieda stands out from the crowd. She’s a complex loner who has a tricky relationship with her family, a tricky relationship with her lover, a tricky relationship with the police and well, a tricky relationship with virtually everyone. She also has a ...keep reading
I’m so hooked on Nicci French’s addictive Frieda Klein series that the instant I realised that the fourth instalment was out I hotfooted it down to my local bookshop to buy it. There was no question of waiting for the paperback – I had to read Thursday’s Children immediately (review to follow). I had exactly the same response when I spotted that husband and wife writing duo Sean French and Nicci ...keep reading
Much to my surprise, I’ve become a big fan of crime fiction. Considering that I’m an out and out coward and hate anything gory, I can’t quite believe that I count the likes of Nicci French, Sophie Hannah and Mark Billingham among my favourite authors. It all started when I started reviewing books for a national newspaper and found that I looked forward to the crime thrillers most of all. ...keep reading
I’ve been addicted to Nicci French’s Frieda Klein series ever since the first book was published two years ago. Now the third, Waiting for Wednesday, is out and it’s as enthralling – and yes, as disturbing – as its predecessors. I was slightly worried to start with because there’s quite a bit of recapping of Frieda Klein’s back story before the novel hits its stride. But once readers have caught ...keep reading
It’s New Year’s Eve, so what better time to look back over a year of brilliant reads? I love reading about other people’s favourite books of the year, so as 2012 draws to a wet and windy close, here is my list. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman Australian ML Stedman’s first book is the moving account of a young lighthouse keeper and his wife in the 1920s. The ...keep reading
My son gazed out of the car window and sighed. “If it doesn’t stop raining soon I’m going to leave Oxford and go and live somewhere hot,” he said. I could understand his frustration. He’s just taken up road biking with a vengeance and five miles out of Oxford, lashed by wind and rain, his bike had suffered a flat tyre. He didn‘t have a puncture kit or bike pump ...keep reading
My admiration for husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French knows no bounds. Just before my husband took up a new post in France we spent a month working in the same office at home. It did not work. He drove me mad pacing about and talking at top volume on the phone, while he couldn’t stand my cluttered workspace (he’s a fan of the clean desk ...keep reading