#143. Skin And Bone by Kathryn Fox

Title:	Skin and Bone
Author:	Kathryn Fox
Genre:	Crime/Police Procedural/Detective
Synopsis:	A body is found in a torched house and the investigation moves from sexual predators to missing persons to allegations of child abuse and back to fire again with more in between.
Verdict:	An interesting enough plot but it felt a bit without soul, there was no suspense for me. Detective Kate Farrer, her back story, and her interactions with her colleagues and suspects should be interesting but it just didn’t grab me.
Pages:	362
Read:	May 2012

#142. The Well Of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Title:	The Well of Lost Plots
Author:	Jasper Fforde
Genre:	Alternate Reality/Crime
Synopsis:	Hiding from the Goliath Corporation within the reality hidden within books, Thursday Next fights to foil conspiracies and to keep her memories which are being threatened from within.
Verdict:	Still great fun. The further into the book world this series delves, the odder the series gets but it works. Thursday is a strong and matter-of-fact female hero who isn’t presented at a man with a woman’s name or as an overly feminised version of such. Lots of layers and plenty of drama which leaves me looking forward to the next one.
Pages:	360
Read:	May 2012

#141. La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales

Title:	La Bella Lingua
Author:	Dianne Hales
Genre:	Non-Fiction/Language
Synopsis:	An American lady charts the development of modern Italian using her own study of and passion for the language (a 20 year journey).
Verdict:	Lots of excellent historical detail of the politics and literature that helped develop and cement modern Italian. There’s a bit of name dropping but it the personal anecdotes aren’t too self-indulgent and whilst enthusiastic, her descriptions of Italian society aren’t too overly romanticised.
Pages:	290
Read:	April – May 2012