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Janet Emson

@janetemson

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Book pusher. Fighting a losing battle with my TBR. What I’ve read, what I’m reading and what I’ve not read. @janetemson over on Twitter.

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Ad: PR copies Still not at Harrogate? Fear not for I have another giveaway. At this point it would have been cheaper for me to have paid for one you to go to Harrogate compared to the postage this lot will cost me. Today we have these:Gunner - March 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to lie low as the Luftwaffe begins bombing Glasgow.But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When it turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.A Novel Murder - March 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to lie low as the Luftwaffe begins bombing Glasgow.But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When it turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.The Broken River - A body has been discovered on the riverbanks of The Valley, a remote community in the hills of New South Wales. Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are dispatched to investigate. The warning is clear - there are secrets lurking in the depths of this Valley, secrets worth more than their weight in gold. What price will this town have to pay to ensure that they never see the light of day?To win:Follow me and like this post. Comment which book you’d like to win and tag someone who you think would like to enter.Closes Sunday 26 July at 6pm.UK only due to postage costs. Not affiliated with Instagram. This is my only account so I won’t contact you for money etc. No giveaway accounts and no replacements if they get lost in the post. by @janetemson

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I wasn’t going to go to Theakstons Crime this year. For a myriad of reasons. I did go over to Harrogate last night for a lovely dinner with @thereadingpara, @lucyevans77 and @caz_evans007 but didn’t venture to the tent. Very last minute (as in the last 20 minutes) I have booked to attend a panel tomorrow evening, hoping to get some writing tips from @laurashepherdrobinson @remikonewriter @adele_parks and Ardal O’Hanlon (yes I’m a book blogger wanting to write). So I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, after I’ve done real life duties. If you see me and don’t want to flee in the other direction, do say hello. (As pointed out by Jules last night, this outline looks like it has a boob) by @janetemson

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Ad: PR copiesContrary to popular belief (and social media for the next few days) not everyone is at the Theakstons Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. So for those of you who aren’t, how about I bring a little bit of Harrogate to you? I’m going to have not one but two give away posts this weekend. This one is the first. Three books, three winners. The choices today are: The Death Row Club - The Death Row Club is an annual weekend getaway for the adult children of serial killers – and Nicola is the newest reluctant member. Desperate to escape her small town, she accepts the offer with barely a second thought, forging tentative bonds with her fellow club members, most of whom seem intriguing, and only slightly unhinged. But then one of them is killed…The Dog Park Detectives (signed) - When friends Louise and Irina find a dead body in the local park whilst walking their dogs, they are soon drawn into the mystery of who murdered local entrepreneur Phil Creasey.Deadly Animals - When 13 year old Ava sneaks out to find a fox, she instead stumbles upon the body of Mickey Grant.Detective Seth Delahaye has never seen a murder case like this one - as though the victim was set upon by a wild animal.Nor has he met anyone quite like Ava: so determined, resourceful and . . . unusual.And when another boy goes missing, Delahaye has no idea that Ava will become his secret weapon in the hunt for a killer.To win: Follow me and like this post. Comment which book you’d like to win and tag someone who you think would like to enter. Closes Sunday 26 July at 6pm. UK only due to postage costs. Not affiliated with Instagram. This is my only account so I won’t contact you for money etc. No giveaway accounts and no replacements if they get lost in the post. by @janetemson

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Ad: PR copies shown (I wasn’t asked to post)I present to you the winners of the Theakstons Old Peculier awards. Crime novel of the year went to Elly Griffiths for The Frozen People. Shortlisted eight times, this was Elly’s year with a novel about a newly created detective department who can travel in time to investigate very cold cases.The McDermid Debut Award went to Frances Crawford for her novel A Bad, Bad Place is set in 1979 Glasgow and is about 12 year old Janey who finds a body on her dog walk and is drawn in to the investigation. The Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award went to David Baldacci who has a career spanning 30 years and 54 novels. Have you read any of the winners? by @janetemson

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I’ve had a shuffle (bookcases not cabinet) and due to some magic that probably involves physics and a skill rarely seen outside of The Krypton Factor, I’ve made space on my shelves. This is part one of books I don’t own but which would look lovely in said space. Don’t be fooled into thinking I’ve already got them, sat there on my shelves. This photo is just a result of my highly honed editing skills. It’s uncanny I know. What books would you fill a gap on your shelves with? by @janetemson

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2 days ago

Don’t mind me, just trying to cover as many social media trends in one post as I can. Seriously though, I do like seeing those posts about the taste in books as it’s interesting to see which books appear (some more regularly than others). Ironically the word ick gives me the ick.And I’m fed up of saxophones (no offence to saxophonists).Do you like social media trends? Any you are tempted to join in with? by @janetemson

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Ad: contains some review copies .I was kindly tagged by @lovedreadingthis in a blue stack post (who I believe was tagged by @craigsreads). I’ve seen others floating by on my feed too. So it turns out I’ve got the odd one or two blue books. I tried to stack them darkest to lightest but they look more like they’ve been plonked down. So here’s my blue plonk. Have you read any of these? by @janetemson

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4 days ago

Ad: review copy Our unnamed narrator, nicknamed Geovedi (Italian for Thursday as it sounds similar to his English name), finds himself freshly graduated and the new archivist at Villa Coco. Moving from the USA to Italy, and not speaking any Italian, Geovedi is at first a little overwhelmed with his surroundings and the people who live there. From the cook and chauffeur/handyman, who also speak little Italian and even less English, to Ghazel the other handyman who speaks a form of Italian all of his own (not to mention the elderly Nonna who shouts at passing cars), these are nothing in comparison to his employer, nonagenarian Coco. Geovedi soon finds his plans to start assessing the house’s contents thwarted by Coco and her plans. First up there emptying the villa’s overflowing cess pit. Then a list of jobs from gathering the olive harvest to trying to capture Coco’s nemesis, the resident pine marten. The reader perhaps falls for Coco’s charms before Geovedi does but what follows is a delightful few months in the Italian countryside as Geovedi discovers who he wants to be, both literally and figuratively as a gay man at the turn of the 21st century. There is a lightness and charm to this story. It is one where there’s no high drama, but there are comedies of errors, self discovery, a holiday romance and even a little subterfuge (and the odd bit of light larceny). Andrew Sean Greer | escapist fiction | literary fiction | light comedy | enchanting characters | character lead fiction by @janetemson

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5 days ago

Do you DNF books? I do. It’s not a reflection on me or the book if for some reason we just don’t gel. I’m a mood reader so it could be that the book doesn’t fit that mood. It could be because it’s well written but the style doesn’t suit me or just because I’m not “feeling it”. I usually NYF (not yet finish), and have found I can race through a book I wasn’t interested in months (or sometimes years) later. Just because I didn’t like a book doesn’t mean it’s bad and there’s no guilt for not finishing it. Someone else will have loved it and I save time to move on to the next book which could become a new all time favourite read. As for the book in the photo. I got this far through, having picked it up and put it down a few times. The last time I picked it up would be well over a year ago. I’m thinking it may not be an NYF but actually is a DNF. I don’t want to make any rash decisions though. by @janetemson

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6 days ago

I’m lucky that I sometimes receive books from publishers for review. I do however sometimes buy the odd one or five. Invariably I end up not reading them as I prioritise the books sent for review. (I know my steak is too juicy and my lobster too buttery - not a real problem). I bought North and South in 2020. I know because I’m a bit weird and have a spreadsheet. So I’ve put off reading it for 6 years. I’ve picked it up a couple of days ago to read and keep stopping because I think I should be reading a review book instead. Which is silly because I don’t get paid to review, I’m not expected to review and often when I do review the publisher doesn’t notice. I am determined to read more books I’ve bought each month and I think these are the ones I may pick up first. A lot of the ones I have on my TBR have been published for a while. It’s a good job there’s no use by date on books. Have you read any of these? Which one would pick up first? Or more temptingly, which books would you add to my imminent TBR? by @janetemson

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Ad: review copyTwo weeks, all expenses paid cruising around the med on a luxury yacht? Trips to Cannes, Capri and lemon groves? What’s the catch? Oh you just have to solve a murder before it happens. That’s how the Three Dahlias, Posy, Caro and Rosalind find themselves on the super yacht of millionaire businessman Percival Pendleton. He thinks someone murdered his father and that he is next. So he’s gathered together the people he suspects most on board his yacht and tasked the trio to find out who wants him dead. Among the champagne and sumptuous surroundings, secrets are being kept and plans are being plotted. And it’s up to Posy, Caro and Rosalind to uncover them. I’ve loved every other book in the Three Dahlias series and this latest instalment is a fine addition. There’s all you could want from a modern day crime novel with a classic edge. Closed surroundings, limited suspects, all with reasons of their own to possibly want Percy dead and more questions than answers for the three detectives. With a lovely, warm feel to the book, in no small part due to the protagonists, I had immense fun reading it. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next book in the series which is thankfully due later this year. If you love crime novels with a golden age lean, with characters you grow to love and can see develop over a series then this series is for you. Crime fiction series | crime fiction | amateur detectives | female lead characters | cosy fiction | books to curl up with by @janetemson

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8 days ago

Ad: review copy. Graham Swift has been writing for fifty years. Interspersed with novel writing, for a time around 2004 he wrote a flurry of poetry. To celebrate those five decades, the poems are gathered together in one collection. This is a slim volume, at just 44 pages, and the poems within it cover a range of subject from allotments to bookmarks. There’s the impression, supported by the author, that these poems were the result of random pieces of inspiration, but with a theme of the passage of time running through them. Some are a few lines, others a few pages. As I find with most poetry collections I read, there are some that stand out more, moving or appealing in different ways. For me, those include The Bookmark, where an old ticket falling from a neglected book creates more interest than the book itself. Others that appealed are Rush Hour and To His Dead Father, again with moments in time captured. A lovely collection and a fitting way to mark half a century of writing. by @janetemson

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