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Articles by Val Penny
MURDER AT CRAMOND an absolutely gripping Scottish crime mystery (Detective Hunter Wilson Mysteries Book 6)
Three women targeted. Two dead. One chance to stop the killer. Detective Hunter Wilson has just toasted his engagement to pathologist Dr Meera Sharma at Edinburgh's grandest hotel when the lift doors slide open. Inside lies a young woman drenched in blood. Her eyes are gone. She’s still alive. Eileen Maguire is the third victim of a killer with a horrifying signature. The first was found in Ravelston Wood. The second on Cramond Beach. Eileen is the only survivor — and Hunter’s only witness.
MURDER IN THE BRAIDS an absolutely gripping Scottish crime mystery (Detective Hunter Wilson Mysteries Book 5)
Two missing bodies. Thirty years apart. One killer who thought they’d buried the truth forever. Two weeks before Christmas. Two off-duty detectives out running through the wooded Hermitage of Braid on the outskirts of Edinburgh find a man bleeding to death beside the icy Braid Burn. They race for help but when they come back, the body has gone. No corpse. No name. Just a pool of blood freezing into the snow. Detective Hunter Wilson has seen this before.
MURDER IN THE NEW TOWN an absolutely gripping Scottish crime mystery (Detective Hunter Wilson Mysteries Book 3) (English Edition)
Behind the elegant Georgian terraces of Edinburgh's New Town, a killer is hiding in plain sight . . . Detective Hunter Wilson is dragged from his bed by a frantic call in the early hours of the morning. A young woman has been found dead in a flat above a betting shop on Frederick Street. By the time Hunter arrives, it’s clear this wasn’t a crime of passion. The victim has been beaten beyond recognition. The tips of her fingers are missing. The kitchen floor is soaked red with her blood.
DI Hunter Wilson Series: Book 5 eBook : Penny, Val : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
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Six Degrees of Separation - to and from Peter Carey!
Six Degrees of Separation is the brainchild of Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best where we all start with the same book and see where our links take us! Follow the hashtag #6degrees on Twitter to check out everyone else’s chains! This month the chain starts with Peter Carey’s Booker Prize-winning novel from 2000, True History of the Kelly Gang. The novel gives voice to the legendary criminal and Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.
Announcing 20 Books of Summer ’22!
Yep, it is official, I’m doing it again. 20 Books of Summer is back for another year and this is your call to start planning! Do you fancy getting 20 books off your TBR in three months? Think of the joys that this challenge brings: All that deliberating over what books to choose and how many – 10, 15 or the Full Monty? Crazed reading during the warmest months of the year Decisions over how you measure your progress – by books read per month? Or pages read by day?
Saying Goodbye to Reading Ireland Month ’22
Posted 2 hours ago by Cathy746books This year I almost didn’t run Reading Ireland Month, as a long bout of Covid at the start of the year and a busy schedule meant that I knew I couldn’t devote as much time as usual to it, but I’m so glad I did.
Reading Ireland Month Week Four round-up!
Posted 15 hours ago by Cathy746books My weekly round-up for Reading Ireland Month is slightly late this evening because of ongoing confusion with the clocks going forward and Mother’s Day shenanigans, but it has been another FANTASTIC week and I can’t believe there are only a few more days to go! This week I reviewed The Children of Dynmouth by the woderful William Trevor, and enjoyed it so much that I am now hatching plans for a William Trevor Readathon! I also shared some highlights in...
Forthcoming Irish Nonfiction for 2022
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books Following on from my posts about forthcoming novels and short stories from Irish writers in 2022, today I’m sharing some of the non-fiction titles there are to look forward to this year. The Lives of the Saints: The Laureate Lectures by Sebastian Barry The Lives of the Saints brings together the three acclaimed Laureate lectures from the bestselling, twice Costa Book of the Year-winning author.
The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor #readingirelandmonth22
Posted 2 days ago by Cathy746books The Children of Dynmouth is probably the most impressive of William Trevor’s novels that I have read so far. At the heart of this slim novel, set in the seaside town of Dynmouth, is a fabulous creation in fifteen-year old Timothy Gedge, an awkward, insinuating boy who spends his time hanging around the town and watching its residents in a manner which is often just a little too close for comfort.
Reading Ireland Month: Week Three Round-up!
Posted 6 hours ago by Cathy746books Well, there we have it. Week 3 of Reading Ireland Month is complete. Where is this month going? This week I reviewed two collections of short stories Dance Move by Wendy Erskine and Homesickness by Colin Barrett. I also posted an interview with James Doyle of Turnpike Books and shared a post highlighting some great short story collections coming out later this year.
Forthcoming Irish Short Story Collections for 2022!
Posted 18 hours ago by Cathy746books It’s been a great time for Irish short story collections. Last year brought fantastic releases from Lucy Caldwell (Intimacies), Louise Kennedy (The End of the World is a Cul-de-Sac) and Roddy Doyle (Life Without Children). This year has already seen fantastic books by Wendy Erskine (Dance Move), Sheila Armstrong (How to Gut A Fish) and Colin Barrett (Homesickness), but there is a lot more to look forward to in 2022.
An interview with James Doyle of Turnpike Books #readingirelandmonth22
Posted 28 mins ago by Cathy746books Turnpike Books is one of my favourite independent Irish publishers. They publish a series of Northern Ireland’s neglected authors such as Shan Bullock, Linda Anderson and Benedict Kiely and have been instrumental in bringing Janet McNeil, Brian Moore and Ian Cochrane back into print.
Irish or Not Irish?
Posted 4 hours ago by Cathy746books This week’s prompt for Reading Ireland Month is – Irish or Not Irish? The Irish can be a sneaky lot – are there any writers you thought were Irish but turned out not to be, or alternatively, are there any writers you didn’t even realise were Irish? Share your favourites, or the most surprising, during this week. The Irish identity is one that is claimed the world over but it can be a curious, slippery thing.
Dance Move and Homesickness: New collections from Wendy Erskine & Colin Barrett
Posted 18 mins ago by Cathy746books I’m kicking off Week 3 of Reading Ireland Month with a look at two authors who have just released their second volumes of short stories, following auspicious debuts that were both published by The Stinging Fly . DANCE MOVE BY WENDY ERSKINE Wendy Erskine’s stories of loneliness, quiet desperation, and small moments of connection set in her native East Belfast have garnered high praise since publication in her debut collection Sweet Home in 2018.
Reading Ireland Month: Week Two Round Up!
Posted 2 hours ago by Cathy746books It’s hard to believe that we are almost at the halfway point of this year’s Reading Ireland Month! It’s been a great week of posts and reviews. My round-up post is a little late this week as I am just back from a wonderful weekend on the North Coast, spending much needed time with family.
Irish Novels to look out for in 2022: Part Two!
Posted 2 days ago by Cathy746books Welcome to Part Two of my round-up of new books coming out of Ireland this year. There are so many that I’m looking forward to that one post just wasn’t enough. None of this is Serious by Catherine Prasifka A debut novel, once again set in Trinity College Dublin and written by Sally Rooney’s sister-in-law, None Of This Is Serious follows Sophie as she navigates her life and her loves, online and off, in that most precarious of times following graduation.
Nora by Nuala O’Connor: A Giveaway for #readingirelandmonth22
Posted 10 hours ago by Cathy746books It’s International Women’s Day so I am hosting a special giveaway for Reading Ireland Month of a copy of Nora by Nuala O’Connor, which is currently the One Dublin One Book Choice for 2022. Shortlisted for a 2021 An Post Irish Book Award, Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce is Nuala O’Connor’s fifth novel and she recreates Joyce’s home life through the voice of his muse Nora Barnacle.
Irish Novels to look out for in 2022: Part One!
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books 2021 is shaping up to be another great year for Irish literature. With so many Irish books making their way on to longlist and shortlists across the UK and Ireland, it will be interesting to see what makes a splash in the coming months. Some big names have books scheduled for release in 2022.
Six Degrees of Separation - The Irish Edition!
Posted 7 hours ago by Cathy746books Six Degrees of Separation is the brain child of Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best where we all start with the same book and see where our links take us! Follow the hashtag #6degrees on Twitter to check out everyone else’s chains! As it is Reading Ireland Month, I decided to choose Irish novels in this month’s chain, with the exception of the opener, which is The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.
The Dublin Railway Murder by Thomas Morris #readingirelandmonth22
Posted 7 hours ago by Cathy746books The Dublin Railway Murder is a real-life locked room mystery, the details of which wouldn’t be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel. In November 1956, the body of George Little, a fastidious cashier for the Midland Great Western Railway Company in Dublin, was found inside his locked office at the Broadstone Station in the city.
Two reviews for #ReadIndies 2022
Posted 3 hours ago by Cathy746books Well, I think it is fair to say that my blogging mojo has vanished during February! It’s been a busy month and the effects of Covid are still lingering, so I haven’t had much time or inclination for posting, which doesn’t bode well for Reading Ireland Month next week! Still, I couldn’t let Lizzy and Kaggsy’s #ReadIndies initiative pass by without taking part, so here are two mini reviews of books I’ve recently read from independent publishers Sternberg...
No 384 The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark
Posted 3 hours ago by Cathy746books My last encounter with Muriel Spark was not a successful one and I wasn’t fussed on Aiding and Abetting, her novel about the elusive Lord Lucan. The Ballad of Peckham Rye worked much better for me and I loved this folkloric fantasy about the mysterious Dougal Douglas who pops up to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Peckham before disappearing as quickly as he has appeared.
Reading Ireland Month is coming…!
Posted 2 days ago by Cathy746books Arguably the most famous Irish book of all time – Ulysses by James Joyce – was published 100 years ago today, so there is no better day to announce the return of this year’s Reading Ireland Month! Reading Ireland Month (or The Begorrathon as it is affectionately known) will return for the sixth year between Tuesday 1 and Thursday 31 March 2022 and I’d love for you to join me.
No 385 The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti A. Skomsvold, translated by Kerri A. Pierce #NordicFINDS
Posted 3 hours ago by Cathy746books The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am is an intriguing novella from Norwegian writer Kjersti A Skomsvold, which explores big themes of aging and loneliness with a light touch. Mathea is an elderly widow, who is very aware that she has never fully participated in life and that nothing particularly special has ever happened to her. Since childhood, she has been an outsider, shy to the point of idiosyncrasy and living her life mainly indoors.
No 386 Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, translated by Lois Roth
Posted 9 hours ago by Cathy746books The series of ten ‘Martin Beck’ police procedurals, which were written in the ‘60s and ‘70s by the Swedish couple Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö are considered classics of the genre, influencing a generation of crime writers across the world. Of their work, Henning Mankell said; They realized that there was a huge, unexplored territory in which crime novels could form the framework for stories containing social criticism.
No 387 Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Rebecca Copeland (for Japanese Literature Challenge 15)
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books Having read and enjoyed a previous novel by Natsuo Kirino, I decided to go for another book of hers in the 746 for the Japanese Literature Challenge, hosted, as always by Dolce Bellezza. This tonally confusing novel opens with the murders of two Tokyo prostitutes. What makes the murders strange is that both the victims had attended the exclusive and expensive school at the same time in their teens.
No 388 Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist for #NordicFINDS
Posted 4 days ago by Cathy746books My first review of the year is also my first review for NordicFINDS, Annabookbel’s month-long celebration of Nordic writing.
December Stories II by Ian Sansom
Posted 5 hours ago by Cathy746books Ian Sansom is back with another antidote to the festive season in his second collection of December Stories, which contains a story for every day of the month, which each of the 31 pieces presenting a particularly contrasting take on ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. Focusing on those recognisable emotions and trials that come with the festive season, December Stories II features anticipation, frustration, despair and joy.
My Year with Brian Moore #brianmoore100
Posted 3 days ago by Cathy746books Yesterday saw my final review for my Brian Moore at 100 Readalong challenge which celebrated one of Belfast’s greatest literary exports during his centenary year. It has been an absolute joy to immerse myself in so much of his work and to relish his skillful storytelling and depth of characterisation across a diverse range of styles of novel.
My Favourite Books of 2021: Part Two - Irish Writers
Posted 1 hour ago by Cathy746books I’m continuing my run down of my favourite books of the year, with a look at the best books I read this year by Irish authors. The Emperor of Ice-cream by Brian Moore Of all the Brian Moore novels I read this year, this was not the one that I anticipated loving the most.
No 391 Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden #RumerGoddenReadingWeek2021
Posted 1 month ago by Cathy746books Brona over at This Reading Life is hosting a Rumer Godden Reading Week this month and I’m delighted that she is, as it pushed me to finally pick up Black Narcissus, which has been languishing on my shelves for many years.
Classic Novellas Week: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James #NovNov
Posted 31 mins ago by Cathy746books What can I say about The Turn of the Screw that hasn’t already been said and written? I know there are countless papers, essays even PHDs exploring this slim book, which is the most inconclusive of ghost stories. In Henry James novella, an unnamed narrator is engaged as governess to two angelic children at Bly, a remote English country house.
For Translation Week: An interview with Stella Sabin of Peirene Press #NovNov
Posted 3 hours ago by Cathy746books Today, as part of Novellas in November Translation Week, I am delighted to welcome Stella Sabin, Co-Director of Peirene Press to 746 Books to talk about the work that Peirene Press does and the irresistible nature of the novella. Peirene Press is an award-winning independent publishing house, specialising in high-quality first-translations of contemporary international novellas.
Translation Week: Winter Flowers by Angélique Villeneuve, translated by Adriana Hunter #NovNov
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books Winter Flowers, by Angélique Villeneuve (translated by Adriana Hunter), is a thoughtful meditation on the struggles of the families of soldiers left behind in Paris towards the end of the First World War. The story focuses on Jeanne Caillett, a talented maker of artificial flowers, who lives in a small apartment with her young daughter Léonie.
Translation Week: Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder #NovNov
Posted 8 hours ago by Cathy746books Hotel Iris is the story of Mari, a 17-year-old woman who works for her tyrannical mother in a run down hotel by the sea. She meets an older man, a translator of Russian novels, who lives on an island and is rumoured to have murdered his wife. They start a relationship based on dominance and sado-masochistic violence yet they love each other. “It occurred to me that I had never heard such a beautiful voice giving an order,” Mari thinks.
Short Nonfiction Buddy Read: The Story of My Life by Helen Keller #NovNov
Posted 10 hours ago by Cathy746books This week is Short Nonfiction Week and our ‘buddy read’ is The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. Helen Keller was an American educator, advocate for the blind and deaf and co-founder of the ACLU. Stricken by an illness at the age of 2, Keller was left blind and deaf, however she overcame her disabilities and all the challenges they brought to attend University, become a published author and to achieve world-wide success and recognition.
50 Books at 50!
Posted 6 hours ago by Cathy746books Today is my 50th birthday and despite being up to my oxters in reading and reviewing for Novellas in November, I thought it would be fun to compile a list of 50 novels that have stayed with me after all these years. These are not necessarily my favourite books and a few of them probably wouldn’t survive a re-read.
Contemporary Novellas: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Posted 4 hours ago by Cathy746books Following on from her elegiac novella Foster, Claire Keegan has again crafted a short, powerful narrative which thrums with a powerful emotional force. Small Things Like These is dedicated to the women and children who were kept in the Magdalene laundries and confronts one of the most shameful periods in Ireland’s history.
Contemporary Novellas: Come Closer by Sara Gran
Posted 6 hours ago by Cathy746books Come Closer is a marvellously creepy novella that blends horror and psychological thriller tropes to brilliant effect. What we think is impossible happens all the time.
Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings #NovNov #AusReadingMonth
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books ‘Everybody knows the fight was fixed/ The poor stay poor, the rich get rich/ That’s how it goes, everybody knows’ Leonard Cohen Books about business and Wall Street in particular tend to be big, epic affairs in the vein of The Bonfire of the Vanities and most concern the world of men.
It’s Novellas in November time - Link to Your Posts Here! #NovNov
It’s 1 November and that can only mean one thing – it’s time for our second year of the Novellas in November reading event, hosted by myself and Rebecca at Bookish Beck. Over the next four weeks we can going to celebrate the short novel in all its forms. The definition of a novella is loose – it’s based on word count rather than number of pages – but we suggest aiming for 150 pages or under, with a firm upper limit of 200 pages.
Some reading options for Novellas in November!
Posted 9 hours ago by Cathy746books With just ten days to go until this year’s Novellas in November kicks off, I’ve been looking at my piles of books to get some options for what to read. Aside from our Buddy Reads this year, which are Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima, The Story of My Life by Helen Keller and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, here are some of the other books I have to choose from.
No 398 White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi #ripxvi
Posted 15 hours ago by Cathy746books In White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi uses the tropes of the ghost story and the Gothic haunted house to explore a more personal kind of horror – one that comes from within. White is For Witching is set in Dover and is ostensibly about a pair of twins, Miranda and Eliot, who live in a bed-and-breakfast run by their father, Luc.
No 400 The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin for #1976Club
Posted 1 day ago by Cathy746books The Boys from Brazil is the fourth Ira Levin novel I’ve read in the last few years and it is yet another gem of a book. With his tense, taut plots that often incorporate elements of the supernatural, or in this case, science fiction, many of his books were successfully adapted for the screen. The Boys from Brazil was no exception, released in 1978 and starring Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier.
No 401 The Elementals by Michael McDowell #ripxvi
Posted 1 week ago by Cathy746books Michael McDowell is a horror writer who, in his heyday, was mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King and James Herbert, with Peter Straub calling him “one of the best writers of horror in this or any other country.” Nowadays he has fallen under the radar somewhat and is probably better known for having written the screenplays for Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
No 403 The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
Posted 14 hours ago by Cathy746books I’m telling you stories. Trust me. It has been well over twenty years since I read Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges are not the Only Fruit and Sexing the Cherry in quick succession. I’m not sure why I never returned to her writing, but on the strength of The Passion, it seems that I have been missing out. The Passion is a short, hypnotic and vibrant novel set against the backdrop of Napoleon’s tumultuous campaigns in Europe and Russia in the early 1800s.
No 406 I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurđardóttir, translated by Philip Roughton
Posted 2 weeks ago by Cathy746books I Remember You is my first experience with thriller writer Yrsa Sigurđardóttir and I was incredibly impressed with this novel which deftly mixes the rational crime story with the supernatural ghost story.
Get ready for Novellas in November 2021!
Posted 1 month ago by Cathy746books Novellas: “all killer, no filler” (said Joe Hill). For the second year in a row, Rebecca of Bookish Beck and I are co-hosting Novellas in November as a month-long challenge with four weekly prompts. New this year: each week we will take it in turns to host a “buddy read” of a featured book we hope you will join in reading. We’re announcing the challenge early to give you plenty of time to get your stack ready.
R.I.P Challenge 2021: A Longlist! #ripxvi
Posted 2 hours ago by Cathy746books So, you would think that given I have just completed a three month, 20 book challenge, that a new challenge would be the last thing I would want to dive into. But… I have a very soft spot for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril which is now in its sixteenth year and kicks off on 9th September. It’s a challenge I have done once or twice before and one that gets me firmly in an autumnal frame of mind.
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