#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

#140. Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Title:	Snuff
Author:	Terry Pratchett
Genre:	Fantasy/Crime/Satire
Synopsis:	Commander Vimes is supposed to be on vacation in the countryside but wherever a policeman goes, they are sure to find crime. There is something strange going on and it involves the Discworld’s most shunned species, goblins.
Verdict:	If this turns out to be the last Sam Vimes book I will be happy with how Terry Pratchett has left him. The dynamics between Sam and Lady Sybil, the expansion on characters and some of the touches at the end made it really lovely. There is less layering than some of the previous City Watch books but the social issues and the explorations of morality remain.
Pages:	378
Read:	April 2012

Re-Read #4. World War Z by Max Brooks

Title:	World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War
Author:	Max Brooks
Genre:	Zombie/Thriller/Interview/Alternate History
Synopsis:	A comprehensive and remarkably in depth overview of the zombie war that nearly wiped humanity from the face of the Earth, provided via a series of interviews with different survivors of the conflict. The stories told come from all over the world, from individual accounts of survival to administrators' tales of the challenges involved in turning things around in time to avoid destruction and give humanity a chance of not just enduring but triumphing and rebuilding.
Verdict:	This book stuns me every time. The breadth of geographical, sociopolitical, psychological, technological and cultural knowledge is astounding. The authentic feel of each of the 'narrators'. This book gives me chills. Not just 'argh, zombies!' chills but humanity chills. Using the zombie apocalypse to explore what makes us human and why that's worth fighting for gives World War Z a poignancy that many wouldn't expect from a book about zombies.
Pages:	342
Read:	April 2012

Re-Read #3. Thud by Terry Pratchett

Title:	Thud
Author:	Terry Pratchett
Genre:	Fantasy/Crime/Satire
Synopsis:	The age old conflict between the trolls and the dwarves is heating up again as the anniversary of a controversial battle approaches. But there are other factors at play which are threatening to push things over the edge and plunge the city into chaos unless Sam Vimes can find out who murdered a high-ranking dwarf, where a priceless painting had gone and what really happened at Koom Valley all those years ago.
Verdict:	Do you even need to ask? Can my verdict just be a bunch of hearts? Terry Pratchett continues to add a depth and complexity to his characters and world that blows me away.
Pages:	373
Read:	April 2012

Re-Read #2. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Title:	Night Watch
Author:	Terry Pratchett
Genre:	Fantasy/Crime/Satire
Synopsis:	When a magical event during a pursuit lands Commander Vimes and dangerous criminal 30 years in the past, Sam Vimes has to walk a difficult path. It isn't easy keeping your regular self alive whilst watching over your younger self, trying to keep a city on the brink of civil war from destroying itself and managing to capture your quarry in order to ensure there's a future to get back to.
Verdict:	Of all the Discworld sequences, the City Watch books are my favourites, hands down. The social issues explored, the challenges faced by the watchmen, the sheer heart-breaking brilliance that is Sam Vimes all make for a potent and compelling experience every time.
Pages:	474
Read:	March 2012