Orion Archives - Debbish

Book review: Your Child Next by MJ Arlidge and Andy Maslen

January 9, 20252 min read

Your Child Next by MJ Arlidge and Andy Maslen is a suspenseful read that I raced through in one sitting. For me there was also an element of frustration because I’m a logic-lover and like to see ’cause and effect’ – even if there’s no trigger to a crime or action (a direct ‘why’ like revenge etc), there’s usually sufficient childhood trauma allowing one explain psychopathy. And here there’s a randomness to the way victims are chosen, with little care or connection.

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Book review: All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

November 8, 20243 min read

I read Chris Whitaker’s award-winning We Begin at the End four years after it was published, only getting my hands on a copy a couple of months ago… and I loved it. So, although I avoid shops like the plague, I actually entered one (on purpose) last weekend to buy a copy of his 2024 release, All the Colours of the Dark – as I’d also heard excellent things about it. And there are a lot of similarities between this and We Begin at the End, not least is that they’re both predominantly narrated by children. And those children are from challenging homes with complex families. Like Duchess Day Radley the 13 year old who saw herself as an outlaw and looked after her 5 year old brother and their mother, here we meet Joseph Macauley – aka Patch – a wannabe pirate, with only one eye and raised by a loving but heavy drinking and often absent mother.

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Book review: The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

July 23, 20222 min read

I’m loving this Eddie Flynn series by Irish author Steve Cavanagh. The legal procedurals offer a great balance of courtroom drama, twisty plots and a really likeable and engaging cast of characters. Here in particular, amidst the legalese and police investigation, Cavanagh’s inserted the FBI. Or more aptly, an FBI-reject who I found to be fascinating. There’s reference, for example, to the much-lauded FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit (BAU) having very poor solve-rates and a flawed profiling methodology. *Googles to check*

I’m not usually a fan of detail but Cavanagh offers up loads and has the talent to drop it in seamlessly without detracting from the events unfolding.

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Book review: The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

July 24, 20213 min read

I’ve only read a couple of Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn novels in the past and always reflect on how I miss the golden days of the legal procedural.

Cavanagh manages to easily traverse the balance between the mystery / crime solving element and showcasing the (both) boring and enterprising foibles of the justice system. He’s also created very likeable characters in the ensemble cast supporting Eddie and – in some ways – I find myself drawn as much to them as I do to the former con-man turned-lawyer.

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Book review: Spirited by Julie Cohen

July 15, 20202 min read

Julie Cohen’s two most recent books, Together and (The Two Lives of) Louis and Louise have both made my very short ‘favourite books of the year’ listing when released.

I knew her latest, Spirited was a little different and, as it combines a couple of elements I usually avoid—historical fiction and the supernatural—I was a tad nervous. And though it’s set in the 1850s its themes resonate today. Cohen’s books are often hard to describe but I saw this from a fellow author on Twitter and it seemed apt.

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Book review: Like Mother Like Daughter by Elle Croft

March 14, 20202 min read

I read (and enjoyed) Elle Croft’s The Guilty Wife (in early 2018) and actually have her 2019 novel The Other Sister sitting in my to-be-read pile… something I hadn’t realised before picking up her latest release.

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Book review: Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

February 16, 20203 min read

I came across Irish author Steve Cavanagh’s name last year when his 2019 novel Thirteen won Crime Novel of the Year at Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (which – incidentally – I’ve fantasised about attending someday). He was also touring with a number of other authors I knew so I kept seeing him on social media again and again.

It wasn’t until later I realised I’d actually read one of his books – The Liar in 2017 – which I really enjoyed. And of course I heard (only) fabulous things about Thirteen, and though I’ve not read it I really must. More so now I’ve read the fifth in the series featuring Eddie Flynn, Fifty Fifty.

I mention in my review of The Liar that it’s only when I read a legal procedural that I’m reminded how much I enjoy them. I’m also reminded that though once they were a dime a dozen and they’re now as rare as hen’s teeth. (Apologies for the idioms but you get what I mean….)

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Book review: Never Look Back by AL Gaylin

July 6, 20193 min read

It’s increasingly common for books to reflect popular culture – true crime podcasts and the like. I’ve now read a few novels that have pursued a story either via the podcast or for the purposes of one. (As an aside, Sadie by Courtney Summers, which does exactly that was one of my favourite books for the first half of 2019.)

This is a little different in that it’s mostly about the investigation which may (or may not) result in a podcast. But I guess this book by AL Gaylin also takes the opportunity to consider 21st century journalism, news and our consumption of information. In some ways it’s a peripheral issue, but in others a reminder of how different today’s world is from that of 40yrs ago.

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