Month: January 2023

A Winter Grave by Peter May

A Winter Grave by Peter May

Summary:

A TOMB OF ICE

A young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice.

A DYING DETECTIVE

Cameron Brodie, a Glasgow detective, sets out on a hazardous journey to the isolated and ice-bound village. He has his own reasons for wanting to investigate a murder case so far from his beat.

AN AGONIZING RECKONING

Brodie must face up to the ghosts of his past and to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that his investigation threatens to expose.

Set against a backdrop of a frighteningly plausible near-future, A WINTER GRAVE is Peter May at his page-turning, passionate and provocative best.

My Review:

I have always looked forward to a new a new thriller by Peter May and out today 19 January is his new standalone novel A Winter Grave (Riverrun) and based in the Scottish Highlands and there is clear climate warnings through this brilliant and very readable thriller.

A Winter Grave is set in the future and the year is 2051 the planet we call our home has changed forever and people are on the move to survive. On a Scottish mountain Addie is checking the weather station the weather station for the latest readings. But there is something really chilling up that ice covered mountain near Loch Leven. Encased in ice inside an ice tunnel is a body of a man but how did he get here and what really happened to him. Alone up a mountain and you come across a body in ice is frightening and for Addie she needs to get off the mountain and get the police involved.  

We now get to meet police detective Cameron Brodie who has been sent to investigate the body on the mountain. The body has been identified as missing journalist Charles Younger but now the question is what happened to Mr Younger was it an accident or was it fowl play. When the report from the pathologist arrives, it points to something more sinister. What I loved about Peter May’s latest novel is the characters hat really bring a personal touch to the plot especially when it comes to DI Cameron Brodie and Addie Sinclair and Cameron now needs to tell her who he really is.

Now Brodie is investigating a mysterious murder but soon he is going to have his hands full with another. This quiet Scottish Highland spot is now a murder scene.

There is enough here to keep you really guessing as to what really is going on and who is behind the murders and why. It is superbly written and crafted. If you are a Peter May fan, then A Winter Grave is your next read. If you have not ready, any novels by Peter May, what a book to start with. You will not be disappointed.

368 Pages.

My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) and Jess Hunt and Riverrun for the review copy of A Winter Grave by Peter May Published on 19 January 2023 and is now available in Hardback through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

Summary:

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

My Review:

I am not normally taken to reading fantasy novels but there has been one book that before Christmas I was completely absorbed in and it was Babel: An Arcane History (Harper Voyager) by R.F. Kuang. I have to say it completely blew me away with the style of writing and how absorbed in the main characters I became.

Welcome to Oxford it is 1836 and the city of dreaming spires. This though is an alternative nineteenth century and the British Empire. Here in Oxford the centre of all knowledge lies Babel an institute that is the centre of translation. But that is not all, there are things going here that really is the lynchpin to the British Empire.

It is here that some of the brightest come to learn from all parts of the British Empire and there is one that is the main character in this incredible novel. His name is Robin Swift. Robin was born in Canton but at a young age he lost his mother to the dreaded plague. Robin could easily have lost his way in life at such a young age but his has a benefactor and soon Robin finds himself taken from his home to England but now he will need to prove himself in education to gain entrance to Oxford. When Robin does finally qualify he also gets to join Babel, the institution that is the heart of translation. But what have the production of magical silver bars got to do with powering the British Empire. This dear reader is for you to find out for yourself. No spoilers from me. Though I will say it is absolutely ingenious piece of work that is Babel.

Robin gets to meet some of the other students and becomes friends with three of them. But all is not as it seems. Robin along with a few other students and are subjected to discrimination on a shocking level. But the they are at Babel to study translation and languages it here that things may sound complicated as the students seek matching words from different languages that in a sense make the magical silver bars. All sounds incredibly fantastic. And it really is. If you have an interest in philology then you will really appreciate R.F. Kuang’s writing as she is a translator herself a Marshall Scholar in Chinese-English. There are many themes that you will encounter within the storyline and does not shy away from the some of the horrors of the British Empire. Throughout the novel R.F. Kuang has added many footnotes that are really helpful. But if like me you love the study of words then you will be chomping at the bit on every page and there is close to 560 pages. I look forward to the day when I have more time to go back and re-read Babel at my leisure and enjoy once again.

560 Pages.

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang is Published by Harper Voyager and is now available in hardback through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org