Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

Book Review

Firstly, sorry for not posting for a while, I'm very busy with work at the moment and I'm also getting married in August (less than two months, oh GOD!), so time has gotten away from me a bit.

I really wanted to make time to write this review though as Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin (Penguin) is a book that I really enjoyed and I think Heaberlin is a crime writer to watch.


16 year old Tessa Cartwright is the only surviving Black-Eyed Susan, the name given to the victims of a serial killer who left their bodies beneath a Texas field of the yellow flowers. Tessa's memory of the event is fragmented and hidden deep inside her. What she can remember she uses to put a suspect in prison and hopes that she can move on with her life.
Years later Tessa is grown with her own daughter and tries to block out her past. But then she discovers a patch of Black-Eyed Susans beneath her bedroom window that seem to be newly planted. Does this mean that the serial killer is still out there and Tessa has put an innocent man on Death Row? Tessa must go back into her past and try and retrieve her memory in order to learn the truth of the Black-Eyed Susans killer.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Book Review

My rating: 3 stars

I know I'm a bit behind the times on this one, My Brilliant Friend (Europa Editions) has been on my to-read list for ages but I've taken a while to get round to it. Lots of people have suggested this to me, especially a friend of mine who says the series has perhaps become some of her favourite books. We usually have very similar tastes in books so I was keen to read it, but I have to say, I feel as though I've missed a trick. Sometimes films, books and TV shows live up to the hype (Game of Thrones anyone) but I feel like My Brilliant Friend just didn't quite get there.

Yet I say that with a sense of shame; I feel it must be my fault, not the book's, that I'm simply not intelligent enough to grasp its magnificence.

New Discworld Collector's Library Editions

It's recently been announced on Terry Pratchett's website that the Discworld Collector's Library will continue to include all the adult Discworld novels.

Terry Pratchett's celebrated and much loved Discworld series previously had collector's editions, with covers by illustrator Joe McLaren, up to Jingo, number 21 in the series. Now, due to popular demand, all the Discworld adult books will be released with new collectible covers.

The books are surprisingly affordable for collector's editions, ranging from £9.99 to £12.99 on the Discworld Emporium. Of course, if you wanted to get the entire series you're looking at a big pay out.

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

Book Review

I'll put it right out there at the beginning; The Killing Lessons (Orion Publishing) is bloody terrifying and pretty damn miserable. It's not for the fainthearted, or anyone who walks dimly lit streets alone or opens their door to strangers.

The fact that it's about a serial killer who kidnaps, tortures and murders women should give you a clue, but so many serial killers have been romanticised in recent literature, films and television; think of the conscious stricken Dexter or Hannibal Lecter with his redeeming affection for Clarice.

Black's serial killer does not have a redeeming quality.