Book Club

Even Dogs in the Wild

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Ian Rankin’s Rebus is back in his 20th novel, and this time the old man is retired. No pipe and slippers for our hero though, and although takings are up in the Oxford Bar these days he jumps at the chance of getting involved when…
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Book Club

A Taste of Ashes

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Tony Black’s second DI Bob Valentine novel is set in the west coast town of Ayr. Valentine is a cop who places himself – literally – at the sharp end, as he is just returning to duty after being stabbed in the heart. He is straight…
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PrintReviews

NTN: Penance by Theresa Talbot

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The Magdalene Laundries and the abuses they concealed left deep psychological and physical scars on their victims not just in Ireland but in the UK, USA and Canada too. It’s little wonder these institutions, where ‘fallen women’ went to have their babies, have become the inspiration for…
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Book Club

A Taste of Ashes

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The west coast town of Ayr is the backdrop to A Taste of Ashes, the second of Tony Black’s novels featuring DI Bob Valentine. He is a cop who places himself – literally – at the sharp end, as he is just returning to duty…
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iBookKindlePrintReviews

A Taste of Ashes by Tony Blank

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Detective Inspector Bob Valentine has recently returned to work in the West Scotland town of Ayr after being stabbed in the heart on a previous case. A rare night out with his long suffering and concerned family is interrupted by a murder. A man has been discovered…
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Features

Interview: Val McDermid

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Val McDermid is something of a media personality these days, often popping up on TV and radio. She was even asked about writing an opera recently on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions. But it is her crime writing that has garnered a legion of fans who snap up…
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Features

A gazetteer of British crime: Scotland

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A sense of place is one of those vital ingredients which can be crucial in a crime fiction novel. Maigret’s rainy Paris suburbs, Marlowe’s neon-lit LA, Harry Hole’s snowy Oslo streets – the locations are inseparable from the characters. Here in Britain we have our own…
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