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Books XLI and XLII
XLI: Val McDermid, Beneath the Bleeding (2007)
One of the Tony Hill psychological profiler novels, and somewhat divergent from the tv version as they lost the original female cop, Carol Jordan. I think there's a dig at the tv version here with an attack on the use of clear plastic boards to write on - always a stand by of the lazy director.
This is a tale ripped from the headlines - terrorist attacks, fears of mass poisonings, assassinations by foreign powers. Tony is in hospital, recovering from an attack by a mad axe man (very Rear Window), when a premiere league footballer is poisoned by Ricin. Tony is convinced that this would be one of an existing series and disagrees with Carol over this. But their investigation is interrupted by an explosion at the football ground.
I think I missed something from the last novel - which I'm sire I've read - with Carol and Tony now sharing a flat, and there is still fall out from the last case (The Torment of Others). We get some insight into Tony background, which is unexpected, and I suspect we now know more about him than her. Unlike the previous McDermid I read (the Wordsworth one - The Grave Tattoo), I didn't get the sense of there being too many plot elements, although I could have lived with the axe murderer. But a very gripping read which plays with readerly expectations.
XLII: The Elham Valley Way
Two guidebooks in one for a twenty-odd mile walk between Hythe and Canterbury. I plan to do it in two sections, after I've walked from Broadstairs to Sandwich (which may be two walks in itself). This useful guide suggests a journey break at the Palm Tree Inn, without specifying where this pub is. I can only assume it is at TR193472, north of Wingmore, and thus on the Canterbury-Folkestone via Elham bus route (# 17).
This is a smart idea, with a detailed account of history (the Elham Valley line), nature and geology and a detachable section with a cut down version plus maps on (allegedly) waterproof paper to take on the actual walk. It is about ten years old, so some of the details will be out of date, but the only obvious mistake was that Marlowe was not born in Canterbury. Watch this space for the walk - which will mean I've walked to the north coast and from the the south coast of Kent.
One of the Tony Hill psychological profiler novels, and somewhat divergent from the tv version as they lost the original female cop, Carol Jordan. I think there's a dig at the tv version here with an attack on the use of clear plastic boards to write on - always a stand by of the lazy director.
This is a tale ripped from the headlines - terrorist attacks, fears of mass poisonings, assassinations by foreign powers. Tony is in hospital, recovering from an attack by a mad axe man (very Rear Window), when a premiere league footballer is poisoned by Ricin. Tony is convinced that this would be one of an existing series and disagrees with Carol over this. But their investigation is interrupted by an explosion at the football ground.
I think I missed something from the last novel - which I'm sire I've read - with Carol and Tony now sharing a flat, and there is still fall out from the last case (The Torment of Others). We get some insight into Tony background, which is unexpected, and I suspect we now know more about him than her. Unlike the previous McDermid I read (the Wordsworth one - The Grave Tattoo), I didn't get the sense of there being too many plot elements, although I could have lived with the axe murderer. But a very gripping read which plays with readerly expectations.
XLII: The Elham Valley Way
Two guidebooks in one for a twenty-odd mile walk between Hythe and Canterbury. I plan to do it in two sections, after I've walked from Broadstairs to Sandwich (which may be two walks in itself). This useful guide suggests a journey break at the Palm Tree Inn, without specifying where this pub is. I can only assume it is at TR193472, north of Wingmore, and thus on the Canterbury-Folkestone via Elham bus route (# 17).
This is a smart idea, with a detailed account of history (the Elham Valley line), nature and geology and a detachable section with a cut down version plus maps on (allegedly) waterproof paper to take on the actual walk. It is about ten years old, so some of the details will be out of date, but the only obvious mistake was that Marlowe was not born in Canterbury. Watch this space for the walk - which will mean I've walked to the north coast and from the the south coast of Kent.