Books read in August part 2

Next up for August, and book 18 of the year, is City of the lost by Kelley Armstrong. 

Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret that she has kept for most of her life, but when her past comes back to haunt her, she jumps at the chance to flee to a remote town, cut off from all other civilisation, with her best friend so that the pair of them can start afresh.

But this new life comes at a price.

In this remote, isolated town, someone is attacking and murdering the residents and Casey’s price for staying is finding out who is responsible.

This book started off okay, and was a good read for two thirds of the book, but for me, the third and final act of the book let me down. By its end, I felt a tad disappointed by what I had just read which is why I’m only giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

I’ve never been Armstrong’s biggest fan, but I loved the idea of this book and thought it had real potential.

Unfortunately though, the last few chapters really didn’t pay out for me which is why I have rated this so low.

I always think the real test of a good book is whether or not I would keep it. 

This one, I ended up donating which I think about sums up what I thought of it.

Book 19 of the year for me is Sharpes Tiger by Bernard Cornwell. The first book, chronologically, for Sharpe sees our erstwhile hero starting off his career in deepest, darkest India, fighting on behalf of the British colonies. A great insight into that particular period of time, the book was a really good read - the first Sharpe book I gave ever read - and certainly left me wanting to read more in the series.

My 20th read this year is The first casualty by Ben Elton. 

Set during the First World War, a former police inspector who refuses to fight on the grounds he doesn’t believe the war is one anyone can win, finds himself first incarcerated for his beliefs, and then sent to the front line when a senior officer is murdered.

Amidst all of the blood, the mud, and the fighting, his only hope of redeeming himself is solving what at first looks like an impossible crime, but the further he investigates, the closer he starts to come to the truth.

This was another great book that really sucks you in and takes you in really deep and dirty into what it must have been like for those brave men out on the front line. It’s also a great thriller and has certainly encouraged me to look out for more books by this former comedian who, in recent years, really seems to have done well for himself after starting out in stand-up over 20 years ago now at least.

This book reminded me a lot of a combination of Bernard Cornwell  and Sebastian Faulk’s novel, Charlotte Gray, and I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy their historical fiction.