Dunfermline Reads

North Wind

Author: JD Kirk

Page Count: 333

Date Finished: 22/1/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Former soldier. Ex-copper. Current man on the edge.

Shunned by his old colleagues, and dividing his time between a dead-end job and the bottom of a whisky bottle, former Police Scotland Detective Superintendent Bob Hoon’s life is a mess.

Then an old face from Hoon’s Special Forces days turns up asking for help: his teenage daughter has been missing for months, the police have drawn a blank, and he needs the kind of help that only Hoon can provide.

And besides, Hoon owes him one.

From the Highlands of Scotland, to the mean streets of London, Hoon’s relentless hunt for the girl will see him make new friends and encounter old enemies. Enemies who know what happened to the girl. And to hundreds more like her.

But Hoon’s been given something that makes him dangerous, something he thought he’d long-since lost: a purpose.
He may be a disgraced ex-copper, a barely-functioning alcoholic, and a borderline psychopath, but Bob Hoon still believes in justice.

And he’s just the foul-mouthed **** to dish some out.

Review

I had been looking forward to reading the pages of the Hoon series after being introduced to the character through the pages of the DCI Logan series.

I knew the book was going to be very different to Logan so was wary going in but this book is funny, dark, yet brilliant right though. Hoon makes for the perfect anti hero and I can’t wait to read the other books in the series.

Anxious People

Author: Fredrik Blackman

Page Count: 400

Date Finished: 20/1/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

It’s New Year’s Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment when an incompetent bank robber rushes in and politely takes everyone hostage.

For Anna-Lena and Roger, busy buying-up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage, it’s something else to talk about.

For Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be, it’s yet another worry.

Lonely bank manager Zara only came here for the view.

While 87-year-old grandmother Estelle seems rather pleased by the company . . .

As the police gather outside, the anxious strangers huddled within try to make the best of a very sticky situation – but could it be that they have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye?

Review

I’m always wary when going to read a book club picked book because a lot of times they aren’t the kind of book I read. I never voted for this one either so I opened the pages already disappointed.

The disappointment soon left even in the early chapters of the book and I will definitely be reading the other works of Fredrik Backman.

From the synopsis I just expected a story of a hostage situation but in fact you get a mystery mixed with intertwined stories of the individuals involved not just within the apartment but outside the apartment as well.

A very though invoking story that gets you thinking about life and love and idiots. Worthy of the 5 stars I have given it.

About Me

Welcome to DunfermlineReads.

I’m Dwayne, Scottish, in my 40s & a lover of literature.

As well as my family and career, books are an important part of my life, spending my spare time mainly reading but also dabbling in writing, which I hope to develop further in the future.

I enjoy a variety of genres, particularly crime. I look forward to sharing my hobby with you and discovering my next great read.

The Santa Klaus Murder

Author: Mavis Doriel Hay

Page Count: 282

Date Finished: 8/1/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Aunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered – by a guest dressed as Santa Klaus – with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond’s death, but Santa Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the shot, has no apparent motive. Various members of the family have their private suspicions about the identity of the murderer, and the Chief Constable of Haulmshire, who begins his investigations by saying that he knows the family too well and that is his difficulty, wishes before long that he understood them better. In the midst of mistrust, suspicion and hatred, it emerges that there was not one Santa Klaus, but two. The Santa Klaus Murder is a classic country-house mystery that is now being made available to readers for the first time since its original publication in 1936.

Review

The Santa Klaus Murder was very similar in setup to Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. A grown up, well off family who come together at Christmas time where there is talk of money and inheritance followed by murder then investigation. Although it was very similar to Agatha Christies it fell a little short of the mark and doesn’t stand up in comparison in my opinion.

That being said, it is still a very nice read with moments of interest and you do find yourself double checking details and trying to work out who did it. What else can you ask for in a crime novel?

Although I’ve only scored this as 4 stars I would still make this a traditional Christmas read along side other Christmas crime stories and would certainly recommend that other crime enthusiasts give this book a try.

Ginger And Me

Author: Elissa Soave

Page Count: 367

Date Finished: 02/12/22

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Wendy is lonely but coping after the death of her mum. At nineteen, all she wants is to drive the 255 bus around Uddingston with her regulars on board, remember to buy milk when it runs out and just to be okay.

To cope with her loneliness, she meets with a social worker, who helps her get back to some normality and even suggests for her to join a writers’ group to help her make friends and share the stories she writes, like the one about a bullied boy who goes to Mars.

Soon Wendy meets Ginger, a teenager with flaming orange hair, Ginger’s so brave she’s wearing a coat that isn’t even waterproof. For the first time, Wendy has a real best friend. But as they begin the summer of their lives, Wendy wonders if things were simpler before. And that’s before she realizes just how much trouble Ginger is about to get them in…

Review

The final Scottish Book Club read of 2022 and what a great one to finish the year on.

Overall I found the story very good but only rated it 4 stars due to some flaws I think the book had. The main flaws for me were that the final quarter of the book felt very rushed and I don’t think how the book ended really fit the story line.

Negatives aside though the characters are very well developed and you understand how they are feeling and why. The relationship between Wendy and Ginger is the stand out part of the book so the title is well chosen.

Don’t let a 4 star review put you off this is definite for anyones reading list and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Young Mungo

Author: Douglas Stuart

Page Count: 391

Date Finished: 7/8/22

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo must work hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold.

But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, with two strange men behind whose drunken banter lie murky pasts, he needs to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.

Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism, Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the meaning of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by so many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.

Review

My first read with The Scottish Book Club and was certainly like diving in at the deep end.

The book comes with trigger warnings as it touches on many subjects that people may find upsetting so keep this in mind before choosing to read this story.

The warnings did have me going into this book with caution but I have to say it was an amazing read. Beautifully written with stories that many people will be able to relate to and characters that you either fall in love with or hate with a passion.

What Douglas gives us in this book is a large number of characters, all flawed in their own way, and all with varying level of traumas that have impacted them and made them into the people they are.

If you are looking for a Scottish author with a book based in some amazing Scottish locations then this is one you want to read and I promise it will be a thought provoking read.

The Count Of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Page Count: 1312

Date Finished: 17/7/22

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.

Review

The Count Of Monte Cristo was the first book I picked up in many years in order to make a return to my love of reading and wow did it not disappoint. In a story you are always looking for great characters, a story that makes you want to read more and more with each passing page, and you want to feel emotion. Well this book gave me everything. I was shouting at the pages in anger, laughing, crying, every emotion you can think of.

I was surprised that it wasn’t really just the one story but actually many stories that bring together one overall tale. Each character has a story that we learn as things move along and a lot of the characters are associated with each other in some way.

People talk about big books being scary and at one point I agreed with that feeling however if you want to give one a try then I would certainly recommend this one as a starting point. If however you love big books and haven’t read this one yet I can only shout ‘why not, are you mad’ and suggest you click the image link above and order your copy today.

5 stars just isn’t enough.