The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig

The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig

The Barnes & Noble Review

All roads lead to Shakespeare for Matt Haig, which turns out to be a good thing. There’s no one quite like the Bard for barging head-first into a tale of death, desperation, and betrayal, and wringing out some laughs along the way. No flinching, no sentimental sap, no turning back.

That’s how Haig played it in his weird and wonderful debut novel, The Dead Father’s Club, a modern re-working of Hamlet, and that’s how he hands us The Labrador Pact, an offbeat look at domestic life through the eyes -- and voice -- of the family dog.

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Offbeat story of trials and tribulations endured by a family as seen from the eyes of a dog. Cute and whimsical narration make this a an endearing read.

Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton

Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton

Synopsis

You’re born. You live. They die.

Moving to remote Shetland has been unsettling enough for consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton; even before the gruesome discovery she makes one rain-drenched afternoon…Deep in the peat soil of her field she is shocked to find the perfectly preserved body of a young woman, a gaping hole where her heart has been brutally removed and three rune marks etched into her skin.

The marks bear an eerie resemblance to carvings Tora has seen all over the islands, and she quickly uncovers disturbing links to an ancient legend. But as Tora investigates she is warned by the local police, her boss, and even her husband, to leave well alone.

And even though it chills her to the bone to admit it…something tells her their concern isn’t genuine.

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Obstetrician
moves to remote Scottish islands to live in relative peace and quiet until it is shattered by discovery of a mutilated body of a woman on her property. Gripping debut by the author who weaves a tale of deception and intrigue around a long lost legend in Scottish islands.

A Darker Side by Shirley Wells

A Darker Side by Shirley Wells

Synopsis

Forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy has given up police work for a quiet life in the Lancashire village of Kelton Bridge. But when Martin Hayden, a seventeen-year-old schoolboy, is murdered, DCI Max Trentham, Jill's ex-colleague, wants her back at work. As they hunt Martin's killer, they discover that nothing is as it seems.

When the killer strikes again, Jill and Max find themselves in a desperate

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Small village is shocked by the murder of a popular boy. The investigation unravels long hidden skeletons in a dysfunctinal family with tragic consequences. Well written suspense right till the end.

Gone to Ground by John Harvey

Gone to Ground by John Harvey

Synopsis

When police detective Will Grayson and his partner, Helen Walker, investigate the violent death of Stephen Bryan, a gay academic, their first thoughts are of an ill-judged sexual encounter or a fatal lovers’ quarrel: The man’s face was like a glove that had been pulled inside out. But they soon shift focus to the book Bryan was writing about the life and mysterious death of fifties film star Stella Leonard. While Bryan’s sister puts herself in danger by conducting her own investigation, Grayson and Walker peel away the secrets of a family blighted by a lust for wealth and power and by its perverted sexuality. On the heels of his critically acclaimed Frank Elder series, John Harvey delivers a page-turner both subtle and devastating.

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Police detective investigates brutal death of gay professor.

Ammunition, Vol. 7 by Ken Bruen

Ammunition, Vol. 7 by Ken Bruen

Synopsis
Over the many years that Inspector Brant has been bringing his own patented brand of policing to the streets of southeast London, the brilliant but tough cop has made a few enemies. So when a crazed gunman, hired by persons unknown, pumps a magazine full of bullets into Brant in a local pub, leaving him in grasping at life (but ornery as ever), his colleagues on the squad are left wondering how to react.

Brant's old partner Inspector Roberts, the man who may know him best, finds himself wondering why someone didn't shoot the hateful detective years ago. The answer, as they're all about to find out, is quite simple: if you come after Brant you'd damn well better kill him the first time-because if you don't, you won't want to stick around to find out what happens next.

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Paying homage to Ed McBain, the author weaves a series of subplots into the storyline with other characters. The central theme being shooting of the main character Brant himself.

Illegal Guilt by Jeffrey Ashford

Illegal Guilt by Jeffrey Ashford

Synopsis

The new mystery from this popular author - The disappearance of seven-year-old Elaine is especially disturbing for Detective Constable Perry, because she is the daughter of his estranged sister. Breaking protocol by pursuing his enquiries in a case where a relative is involved, Perry is soon convinced of the perpetrators identity, and it is a race against time before kidnapping turns into murder . . .

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An insipid police procedural with a confilcted constable whose niece gets kidnapped and goes on dogged pursuit of a suspect.

Strange Blood by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

Strange Blood by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

Synopsis

Last year Frozen introduced Welsh crime writer Lindsay Jayne Ashford to U.S. mystery fans. Now Strange Blood, the next in this critically acclaimed series, has been shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Fellow nominees include Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, and Stephen Booth.

In this second crime novel to feature forensic psychologist Dr. Megan Rhys, she is called in to help police investigate what they believe to be a ritual killing. But as more women die, and as the press, the police, her boss, and even her own family turn on her, Megan stakes everything on finding the killer.

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Criminal profiler tries to find a serial killer killing young women. The main character is supposed to be a criminal profiler but acts more like a detective. Impacts the realism of the story.

Point of Impact by Jack Curtis

Point of Impact by Jack Curtis

Synopsis
After an ominous prologue in Dartmoor, a sniper begins picking off random victims in London. Pursuing the killer, Scotland Yard maverick Robin Culley encounters menace at every turn from such sinister figures as an Arizona art collector who possesses people as if they were so many paintings. Another key figure is Culley's ex-wife, struggling with her conflicting feelings about a reconciliation: ``It's like being in a house where you used to live, but you can't quite remember its danger points.'' Throughout, events are made more chilling by the author's characteristic air of detachment--``There are a lot of dead people. It looks like a madman. So it probably is.'' Moods and locales change with lightning precision, with rarely a missed beat, and seemingly disparate plot elements are ingeniously tied together.

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Scotland yard detective Robin Culley unravels a conspiracy involving high officials when he goes after a sniper killing seemingly random people. Good reading, holds interest throughout.

James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories by James Herriot

James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories by James Herriot

Synopsis

A warm and joyful collection of James Herriot’s loving tales of our furry friends. From delightful old favorites like Tricki Woo to heartwarming stories of Brandy, Hermann, Jock, and more. James Herriot’s Favorite Dog Stories is a must-have for any dog lover.
Contains:
“Tricki Woo Goes Crackerdog” * “Prince and the Card Above the Bed” * “Jock Top Dog” * Tricki Woo “A Triumph of Surgery” * “Jake Rides into Town”* Gyp “Only One Woof” * Roy “From Rags to Riches” * Tricki Woo “A Judge of Form” * Hermann “A Happy Ending” * Brandy “The Dustbin Dog”

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Funny and insightful selection of stories from James Herriot as he encountered them during his years of veterinary practice in Yorkshire.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

From the Publisher
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.
And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

Touching and insightful narrative from an autistic boy's point of view. Very good. Recommended.

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

A Spot of Bother
by Mark Haddon

From the Publisher
George Hall is an unobtrusive man. A little distant, perhaps, a little cautious, not quite at ease with the emotional demands of fatherhood or of manly bonhomie. The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely. Some things in life can't be ignored, however: his tempestuous daughter Katie's deeply inappropriate boyfriend Ray, for instance, or the sudden appearance of a red circular rash on his hip.

At 57, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden and enjoying the freedom to be alone when he wants. But then he runs into a spot of bother. That red circular rash on his hip: George convinces himself it's skin cancer. And the deeply inappropriate Ray? Katie announces he will become her second husband. The planning for these frowned-upon nuptials proves a great inconvenience to George's wife, Jean, who is carrying on a late-life affair with her husband's ex-colleague. The Halls do not approve of Ray, for vague reasons summed up by their son Jamie's observation that Ray has "strangler's hands." Jamie himself has his own problems - his tidy and pleasant life comes apart when he fails to invite his lover, Tony, to Katie's wedding. And Katie, a woman whose ferocious temper once led to the maiming of a carjacker, can't decide if she loves Ray, or loves the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob.

Unnoticed in the uproar, George quietly begins to go mad. The way these damaged people fall apart - and come together - as a family is the true subject of Haddon's hilarious and disturbing portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely.

A Spot of Bother is Mark Haddon's unforgettablefollow-up to the internationally beloved bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Once again, Haddon proves a master of a story at once hilarious, poignant, dark, and profoundly human. Here the madness - literally - of family life proves rich comic fodder for Haddon's crackling prose and bittersweet insights into misdirected love.

An unforgettable funny and witty narrative about a family in a small town in England. an empathetic look at family life and the associated crises. A must read for any fan of humour.