It's been a full month of reading this April, with a little more variety than usual, though there's still the usual big dose of murder.
Dead Water and Thin Air by Ann Cleeves (Shetland series #5 and #6)
I thought I'd lump these two together as they're part of the same series. Continuing on from last month's favourites, I'm still working through the Shetland series and loving it. Cleeves is just masterful at using the setting to highlight the story and the crime. Inspector Jimmy Perez is having a pretty crap time of it in these ones, and it adds a bit more depth, though sometimes it can be distracting to the stories. Dead Water is good but I think Thin Air, where a woman disappears completely from a small island, is one of the best so far.I've reserved the last book in the series at the library and I'm desperately waiting for it to come in.
Sweetpea by C J Skuse
This is one of the best new releases I've read all year. You can read my full review of Sweetpea here with all the reasons why. It's the diary of a serial killer with equal parts humour and grisly murder. Rhiannon is worryingly relatable and her story is disturbing but fascinating. I sped through this book and loved the mix of thriller and comedy.
A Life Discarded by Alexander Masters
You can read my full review of this book on my previous post. While I didn't rave about A Life Discarded I did enjoy it, especially as it's such a unique concept: biographer Alexander Masters finds over 100 diaries in a skip and sets out to discover who the diarist is. It's written with his usual humour but also manages to be heartrendingly sad in places. Not as good as his first book, Stuart: A Life Backwards, but still an interesting read.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower #1)
As a big Stephen King fan I'm embarrased to admit that I haven't read any of The Dark Tower series (I've read loads of his other books though, don't hate me!). I've finally rectified that. The Gunslinger is the first in the series and introduces Roland of Gilead, aka The Gunslinger as he crosses across a blistering desert on the track of The Man in Black. I love the world King creates, part Western part Camelot, and the mysterious character of Roland. However, a lot of the time I had no idea what was going on; it's a confusingly disconnected book and there is a lot unanswered. But, it's a first in a series so I'm determined to read on. Plus, it's Stephen King!
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
A bit of a change of direction here. I was feeling swamped down by all the murder and darkness that I usually read and wanted something light. This caught my eye in the library and I picked it up as I've never actually read any of the Pippi Longstocking books.I read this one afternoon sitting in the garden in a brief moment of relative warmth and it was just right to add a little bit of levity and fun to my reading list.
Pippi Longstocking is a mysterious girl with giant shoes, a horse that lives on her porch and super strength. I really enjoyed the short stories, one each detailing her adventures with her neighbours Tommy and Annika; they're wonderfully imaginative without being cutesy. And it's great to find a unique and strong female character in children's literature.
I didn't enjoy it as much as I'm sure I would have done when I was younger, but it was a breath of fresh air in between all the murders this month.
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