Meanderer defuses a few BOMBS

My cut-off point is the same as last time - books bought before 2010 will count as BOMBS.

..... The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg. Murder mystery set in Fjällback in Sweden. Plenty to keep the reader interested. Bought April 2009.

..... The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd. A trivia or reference (depending on your point of view) based on the TV series of the same name. If you've seen QI then you know what the book is about. The book sets out to ask some interesting questions (What does the Moon smell of? Where do most tigers live?) and debunk some common misconceptions. It sometimes uses a bit of lateral thinking to support its ideas. For example we all know that Henry VIII had six wives, but if you take into account annulments, illegalities, etc it turns out that only two marriages were genuine. Great for dipping into. Bought 25th May 2008

..... Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. Second of the Matthew Shardlake novels set in Tudor England. A compelling story with well-drawn characters and an atmospheric setting. Bought in or before July 2007.

Meanderer - I really enjoyed Dark Fire - it's been my favorite of the Shardlakes I've read so far (the first three) as I had a really good time with the more action-oriented plot (compared to the locked-room mystery of the first). I'm glad you enjoyed it.

..... Rubicon by Stephen Saylor. As is usual with this series, the mystery investigated by Gordianus the Finder takes place against the backdrop of real events that happened in the first century BC. In this case, I felt that the mystery (who killed Numerius whilst he was in Gordianus' house) definitely played second fiddle to the real events at the start of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, although the solution to the mystery has major implications for the main fictional characters. If I had come to this book as a fan of crime fiction or mysteries I would have been disappointed; luckily I enjoy straight historical fiction (particularly when it is as well written and accurate as this) as well crime fiction and so I enjoyed this immensely. Bought 10th June 2007.

..... Brute Force by Andy McNab. Thriller, although the pace is somewhat mellow in places. There is one little thing that irritated me however. Two of the characters are supposed to have degrees in Classics from prestigious universities and I did find it annoying that at one point they were discussing the Septimus Severus and Pentinax (instead of Septimius Severus and Pertinax). Like I said, a minor point and I only noticed because I'm interested in ancient history. Bought 25th November 2009.

..... Persuader by Lee Child. Usual Jack Reacher fun and frolics. Bought 29th May 2009.

..... Rue Sans-Souci by Jo Nesbo. Two mysteries for the price of one; who killed one of Harry Hole's former lovers and who is the bank robber known as The Expeditor? I have read a few reviews which say that the plot is boring and predictable. Well, I have to say that I didn't guess the solution to either crime, although I thought I had at one point and the story had me gripped from the start. Bought April 23 2009.

.....On the Beach by Nevil Shute. I once saw the film version of this book, although the only thing I remember about it was the scene with the car race. The book was a good read, although it shows its age a bit in some of the attitudes of the characters. Bought Oct 11 2009

..... Parthian Shot by David Wishart. It took me a little longer than usual to get into this one, but once there it had me hooked. Bought in or before June 2007

..... Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon. The first of the Brunetti series set in Venice. An enjoyable police procedural. Bought April 2009

..... The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid. A well written and compelling crime novel about a serial killer in a fictional town in the north of England. The characters are well-drawn and interesting; there are no pure goodies and pure baddies (except the killer). Bought 2nd July 2009

..... The Eagle in the Sand by Simon Scarrow. Plenty of action and adventure set in Ancient Near East. Bought June 2007.

Oh, that last one sounds good. Can you review the plot a little?

#15 It's part of a series of books following the careers of two Roman soldiers Macro and Cato. They start out in Germany then move to Britain as part of the Roman invasion force in the 40s AD. They then return to Rome for a brief spell before being posted to Judea in The Eagle in the Sand. The books are solidly based on fact, although some artistic licence is evident. If you like action, historical authenticity and good storylines then you will probably like these. The books are best read in order; the first book is Under the Eagle.

Murder Imperial by Paul Doherty. The first time I've read one of this author's Roman mysteries. I liked the detail in the settings but I guessed the identity of the killer fairly early on and the ending was a bit of an anticlimax. Bought March 2008.

>16 meanderer: That sounds good. I think that I will check the series out even though I'm not a huge fan of the Romans. Thanks.

..... Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason. Interesting one this. A story of two dysfunctional families, one in the present one in the past, and a skeleton discovered in a shallow grave on a building site. It seems to me that the mystery surrounding the skeleton is there mainly as a way of telling the stories of the families and the violence suffered by one of the them from an abusive husband. This book had me gripped; I really wanted to find out how things worked out for the people involved. Bought 13th October 2009.

That one had a really good first sentence, too. Glad you found it interesting!

..... Past Mortem by Ben Elton. Another of those detective-reminisces-about-the-past-whilst-solving-a-crime-in-the-present type of crime books. Quite enjoyable. Bought November 22 2008

..... Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Coles. An introduction to the history of our understanding of the universe and current ideas. It covers relativity, quantum mechanics, particle physics and other topics in this vast subject in an accessible way, although there were occasions when I had to resort to the internet for a bit of further explanation. The book was first published in 2001 and parts of it are now out-of-date since cosmology is such a fast developing subject. Bought 29 July 2005.

..... Voices by Arnaldur Indridason. There are several subplots going on in addition to the main one about he murder of a hotel's Santa Claus. ("Ideal reading for Christmas", I though to myself as I picked it up.) The author weaves the stories together well, although I was starting to get seriously irritated with the detective's daughter by the end of the book. This is the third book that I have read in this series and I have enjoyed them all. Bought June 6 2009

.....Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor. As with the previous book in this series ( Rubicon ) this to me was more of a work of straight historical fiction with a bit of a mystery throw in for good measure rather than a crime novel with an historical setting. Still, I read plenty of historical fiction so it didn't bother me that much. Bought June 2007.