Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar

The Blurb On The Back:

Millar’s expansive take of werewolves in the modern world – friendly werewolves, fashionista werewolves, troubled teenage werewolves, cross-dressing werewolves, werewolves of every sort – blends satire, black comedy, fantasy and is hard-edged, hilarious, believable and utterly un-put-downable.

As teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is pursued through the streets of London by murderous hunters, her sister, the Werewolf Enchantress, is busy designing clothes for the Fire Queen. Meanwhile, in the Scottish Highlands, the MacRinnalch Clan is plotting and feuding after the head of the clan suddenly dies intestate.

As court intrigue threatens to explode in all-out civil war, the competing factions determine that Kalix is the swing-vote necessary to assume leadership of the clan. Unfortunately, Kalix isn’t really into clan politics – Laudenum’s more her thing. But what’s even more unfortunate is that Kalix is the reason why the head of the clan ended up dead, which is why she’s now on the run in London ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This urban fantasy about dysfunctional werewolves and their political struggle should have been a home run but the fact that Miller uses a writing style that’s almost all ‘tell’ rather than ‘show’ and the fact that Kalix is so wilful in refusing to deal with her own situation made it difficult for me to ultimately care. The scenes between two fashion-obsessed characters gave it much needed humour, but even they become repetitive and go on for too long. All in all, there wasn’t enough for me here to want to read the sequel.

The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré

The Blurb On The Back:

George Smiley has become chief of the battered British Secret Service at a time when the betrayals of a Soviet double agent have riddled the spy network. Smiley wants revenge. His method is attack, the quarry Karla, the battleground Hong Kong, and the choice of weapon, the Honourable Jerry Westerby, Eastern hand, passionate lover and seasoned, reckless secret agent. So begins the terrifying game ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Although this middle book in Le Carre’s ‘Karla’ trilogy isn’t as good as TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER SPY or SMILEY’S PEOPLE and it has dated, it is still an interesting read – if only for the Smiley sections.

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill

The Blurb On The Back:

THE PURE IN HEART is the second of Susan Hill’s novels set in the English cathedral town of Lafferton and featuring the enigmatic Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler.

A little boy is snatched as he stands with his satchel at the gate of his home, waiting for his lift to school. A severely handicapped young woman hovers between life and death. An ex-con finds it impossible to go straight ... Haunting and truthful, gripping and convincing, THE PURE IN HEART is neither a thriller nor a whodunit, but a fascinating crime novel arising out of character and circumstance.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This is a literary detective novel that’s so focused on the middle class introspection of its main character that it forgets to develop an actual mystery. Although the middle class angst is beautifully written, it’s not enough to hold my attention and I’ll be thinking twice before picking up the next in this series.