by FOOL | Feb 23, 2026 | Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Fiction
I recently read The Black Wolf by Louise Penny, the latest Inspector Gamache novel, in a series I now realise I’ve followed for more than 20-years! The books are set in Canada and could be described as police procedurals, but the consistent plot strand through them...
by FOOL | Feb 14, 2026 | Fiction, Historical
A few months ago I posted a blog about The Darkland Tales – a series of six novellas written by different, contemporary, bestselling Scottish authors, who each re-imagine stories from Scottish history, myth and legend. At the time of writing I’d only read three...
by FOOL | Feb 8, 2026 | Cosy Crime, Crime Fiction, Fiction
When I saw this on the bookshelf at Oundle Library, I thought it was just another celebrity cosy crime novel. But then I spotted the cover quote from the author Janice Hallett, saying it was “intriguing, complex and hugely enjoyable”, so I thought I’d give it a try....
by FOOL | Feb 1, 2026 | Adventure, Cosy Crime, Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Espionage, Fiction, Historical, Thriller
In January we tried to include at least one historical mystery in our reading for the month, so you’ll find these scattered through this list of recommendations. Our choices range from swashbuckling adventures to espionage and cosy crime, and there are several...
by FOOL | Jan 25, 2026 | Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Fiction
I listened to The Island as an e-audiobook on BorrowBox, not realising it was Book 2 of Ragnar Jónasson’s Hidden Iceland trilogy, featuring Reykjavik Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir. Having said that, it still worked as a standalone novel, and because it was...
by FOOL | Jan 17, 2026 | Action Thriller, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Thriller
I don’t normally like a long series of books featuring the same detective or protagonist, but this author was recommended to me by a couple of friends in Oundle Crime who love the ‘Spider’ Shepherd thrillers, so I decided to give one a try. So far Stephen Leather has...
