Living in the Highlands I found this tale very intriguing as I didn’t realise that they were a no go area during World War II. I love the main character, Karen Pirie, and the way she works with little regard to authority to get results. Perhaps because she reminds me of myself and the scrapes I used to get into as a fraud investigator! The main plot involves Karen’s search, together with her sidekick, Murray ‘The Mint’, for the reason a body was buried alongside a pair of motorbikes in the peaty ground of a remote hillside. The sub plots are also really interesting as Karen heads up an Historic Case Unit which attempts to get closure for the families involved in crimes from the past. This along with a certain gentleman’s attempts to woo Karen, which went way off the mark at times, and the atmospheric descriptions of place make the story move along at a really good pace. As usual, I found Val’s characters extremely well rounded and easy to picture in my imagination. Altogether another triumph for our ‘Queen of Crime’!

This is a fantastic book with so many twists and turns none of which were beyond belief. The narrative was very well written – especially as it was from a female’s point of view depicted by a male author! After Paula’s husband dies she is tipped off by a girl at his funeral that maybe he wasn’t all that he seemed. Of course Paula is intrigued even though at first she doesn’t believe this can possibly be true. The two women get together and embark on what turns out to be a dangerous journey involving others who are not what they first appear to be. In order to get to the truth they have to decide exactly who they can trust which is far from straightforward. I found this to be a real page turner involving two heroines who, at first, make an unlikely pair fighting a cause with very little police intervention or help.

This is the first book in a great trilogy which I have to admit I did not read in order and wished I had! I read this one after the third but, still found it fairly easy to follow so would say they could be read as standalones. I really like this author both as a writer and a very approachable person. She really gets a grip on the dark side of Glasgow and it’s characters in the nineties. I lived in London at that time and the characters in the book are similar to the ones involved in the gangland society of the day I came across there! The main character, Maureen O’Donnell, feels there is no one she can trust when her married boyfriend is found murdered in her sitting room. The police think she did it, her lover’s wife, an MEP, blames her and her drunken mother, Winnie, constantly pressures her into the close relationship that Maureen no longer wants. She was sexually abused by her father leaving her with mental health problems but, none of her family believe that either. Her brother is the only family member she is in any way close to but, even he is a drug dealer associated with the sort of people Maureen just does not want to become involved with. Consequently, our heroine decides to set out on her own, sometimes with a little help from her best friend, Leslie, to get get to the truth. Of course they get into all sorts of scrapes on the way making the book very difficult to put down as you really want to know that Maureen will be alright despite the numerous obstacles put in her way by those determined to stop her!

I really thought I wouldn’t like this book as it was in a different genre to the crime novels I usually read but, I loved it. It was really well written and, although the plot took place in a futuristic setting, there were some really grippping moments featuring good old fashioned shoot outs!  You could feel yourself getting into the fantasy of the world described. Some of it not too far from the way science is heading with brain mapping and implants! The basic idea of a small number of people battling against a huge company making money from  criminal activities was intriguing – something most of us would like to do perhaps. The main character, Carina, started off as something of a lost cause but came good in the end – in fact the whole theme of the book was the triumph of good over evil which we all love! Altogether a fantastic read!

I loved this book both for the prose like way in which it was written and the depth of the narrative. The writing style actually helped me to understand prose as I have always wanted to be able to write some myself but had never quite got to grips with it. The book is based on the true story of a jazz musician who lived her life as a man and I can only presume this was due to the prejudicial treatment of women in the world of musicians. I have come across this before in ‘The Singer’s Tale’. The story is written from several points of view – Millie ‘his’ wife, his son and a few others who were close friends so you really get a feel for how they all reacted when the trumpet player passed away. Millie endures an immense sense of loss and retreats to the Scottish Highlands to spend time alone with her memories which the author really helps the reader to understand. Their adopted son at first sees the revelation that his father was a woman as a way to make money by engaging with a journalist to write a book. However, he gradually realises that the truth really did not matter. I felt for the estranged grandmother who had not seen her daughter for some years but the fact that her grandson went to see her gave her a little comfort. All in all a marvellous book written with real feeling.

Another fantastic tale from this author featuring Detective Poe and his internet whizz sidekick, Tilly. Tilly has grown up quite a bit in this book but not so much that she has lost any of her disarmingly charming, unselfconscious ways! The case is a difficult one for them as it concerns a well known chef convicted of murdering his daughter until she turns up – or does she? The story weaves its way through many turns with Poe getting into his usual troubles on the way before his and Tilly’s dogged tenacity find the answer. The solution is quite complicated and must have taken hours of research by the author. Well done once again Mr Craven!

I found this to be a really enjoyable book with a slightly different Americanised style of writing and plot. As the blurb suggests there is a serial killer at large in New York city who manages to get himself on the jury presiding over the murders he has a part to play in. He manages this by getting rid of anyone who may direct the verdict away from the one he wants! Our hero is Eddie Flynn, con artist turned lawyer, who is not exactly a favourite of the NY cops which earns him a few beatings on the way to the truth. The tale takes many different paths along the way resulting in the reader doubting the accused is the perpetrator but exactly who is he? Will keep you guessing until the surprising answers are finally revealed!

This is number seven in the DCI Lorimer series but can quite easily be read as a standalone. The setting is atmospheric making Glasgow come alive almost as a character in it’s own right. In this book a murderer sets out on a killing spree but, as they use a different method for each victim it takes the police a while to figure out that they have a serial killer on their hands. As always, by this author, the police procedurals are well researched making for a very interesting read. The characters are well described so painting a picture of those involved for the reader in this tale of many twists and turns which keeps you guessing. The case and the killer move on through the pages until Lorimer realises that the killer is moving nearer to those closest to him and must pick up the pace of the investigation before it’s too late……..

I knew Carol many years ago and always admired her not only for her voice, which is fantastic, but her way of life too. I never realised what a troubled childhood she had so I suspect writing about it in her autobiography was a sort of catharsis for her. She was passed from foster homes to childrens homes and back again becuase her Mother simply didn’t want her. Even when Carol tried to return to her mother’s home many years later the door was very firmly closed in her face. The descriptions laid out in the book bring the places she led a sort of life – more of an existence really – alive in not the most pleasant of ways. The reader can really visualise what these places were like back in the fifties and try to understand how Carol as well as many other children like her learnt to survive. 
Music became Carol’s saviour as she grew into the talented woman she is today so, when she and others around her realised she could sing it brought new meaning to her life. As the tale unfolded it was good to‘meet’friends of mine from the old days in London during the late sixties and seventies particularly‘Beat’who was firstly my neighbour and then my friend for many years. It was through Beat that I met Carol when we went to her gigs. I always thought she was far too good to be performing in local pubs and clubs so wished I was back in my young journalistic days in Birmingham when I interviewed then wrote about up and coming performers. Sadly, Carol’s singing career was never destined to rise to the giddy heights that were so richly deserved due to deals and bands falling by the wayside with alarming regularity. 
This book just reaches the late seventies but I am sure we will hear much more in Carol’s planned sequel as her career is still going strong as I write this in 2019.