Monsieur Pamplemousse by Michael Bond

Yes, that Michael Bond. Of Paddington Bear fame.



The first of a series about Monsieur Pamplemousse - late of the Paris sureté - and his side-kick, Pommes Frites - ex-police bloodhound. M. Pamplemousse now works for France's premier culinary review, like the Gault Milleau, and is inspecting a restaurant to determine if it will keep its two "stock pots" or, indeed, be awarded another.

But instead of getting the chef's signature dish, M. Pamplemousse is served up with what appears at first glance to be a man's head. Much hilarity and ridiculousness follows until the case is solved.

A most excellent start to a series.

Broken by Karin Slaughter

This one is marked as read but I stopped very soon after starting it. I didn't enjoy the writing and I didn't like any of the characters who seemed very two dimensional.

I was quite proud of myself for actually putting this one aside and not continuing with something that I didn't like and wasn't enjoying. Reading is for pleasure and now I've started my OU course in earnest I have to be more selective with my fun reading, and ready to cast a book aside even if I haven't read it to the bitter end.



America Unchained by Dave Gorman

I didn't know who Dave Gorman was  or is - actually I'm still a little unclear - but when I mentioned that I like travel-writing an internet friend suggested this and then sent it to me. Cool.

I like travel books to have a theme and this one is quite interesting. Very interesting in fact. The plan was to drive from the west to the east coast of America using only independent retailers to refuel, overnight and buy supplies at. The great American tradition of the Mom & Pop store was to be tested, in fact. I like the idea of this because although I've not been to America I have seen it on film and on TV and I have a lot of American friends. I live in Europe and I am often surprised (and not in a good way) that I could be in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London or Berlin (or Soltau, Sittard or Sheffield or countless other towns in Europe) and there will be retail outlets, hotels and petrol stations that I recognise.

Let's Parler Franglais! par Miles Kington

This book reminds me of countless afternoons spent at the dentist's surgery as a schoolgirl. I was at boarding school and, at Red Maids at least, the custom was for the boarders to have their appointments (after the check-up which was carried out at school) on Wednesday afternoons. There would typically be five or six of us, and we'd go together either with a matron if we were all young ones, or in the charge of one older girl.

And there we'd sit, waiting for our turn.

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

People who read the Discworld novels often say to me: oh the ones with the XXX are the best. It could be the Witches, the Unseen University, the Líbrarian or The Watch. They all have their afficianados.

I like the Witches, and I love the Librarian. But the Watch are the boys for me, after reading this one I've finally decided which of the books I like the best: this one.

The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch

So this is described (on the jacket) as "a mesmerising thriller - told in reverse!". Stete Berry - a New York Times bestselling author, no less - said "brilliantly conceived, perfectly executed. Fresh, Exciting, bristling with originality."

On goodreads the author mantions that it's been described as a cross between The Bourne Identity and The Time Traveller's Wife.

Wallanders Erster Fall (Wallander's First Case) von Henning Mankell

(Don't worry - the review isn't in my excrable written German...)

I've seen Wallander on German TV and on English TV - with Kenneth Brannagh in the title role in the English language version, and with subtitles in the Swedish version which meant that I missed all the action. Coming in, fashionably late as usual, to the trend for Swedish "krimis" (as the Germans call detective stories) I decided to give the novels a whirl.