Game Control - Lionel Shriver

I am a huge fan of Lionel Shriver. I consider ‘We need to talk about Kevin’ an incredible novel and have had the privilege of hearing Shriver read the short story A Convalescent Ego by Richard Yates at a Literary Festival a couple of years back. All in all a good start to enjoying this novel. Game Control was first published in 1994, then republished in 2009, and had minimal commercial success. Howwever I feel that’s quite surprising. It has a unique subject matter – demography and population control - with AIDS thrown in for good measure. There’s intellectual sparring and brilliantly flawed characters. However, I felt the ending didn’t quite match the edge contained within the rest of the novel. Shriver always offers a hefty dose of harsh reality and that’s what makes her work so strong. Game Control provides some great themes and writing but just falls short of Shriver’s best.

Dust to Dust - Ken McClure

Dust to Dust is the eighth Steven Dunbar thriller by Ken McClure. A research biologist turns violent and becomes seriously ill after entering an excavation at Dryburgh Abbey to examine some preserved bodies identified as having died of the Black Death. Our hero, Steven Dunbar, is called in to investigate. An ex-special forces medic, Steven has to attempt to answer the question of whether this has been caused by bubonic plague or a deadly new virus. His investigations identify individuals and organisations all with their own secrets to protect. In aiming to uncover the truth Steven is forced to truly fight for his life.

A thriller is meant to have you desperately continuing reading and Dust to Dust delivers. The plot is taut and exciting, revealing just enough as Steven picks up the pieces of this puzzle. The writing is skilled. The main characters are solid and distinctive enough to avoid being stereotypes. McClure’s talent is always noted as taking medical possibilities and making them into strong factual fiction. In Dust to Dust he does this successfully yet again.

Perfume - Patrick Suskind

Perfume - Patrick Suskind
Smells are important. Smell can evoke long forgotten memories, make you hungry, make you retch. Grenouille is born in stinking eighteenth century Paris. He has a talent for identifying and dissecting every odour around him but does not emanate any smell himself. This original tale follows Grenouille as he learns the trade of a perfumer and then travels to the olfactory mecca of Grasse. His obsession leads to deadly consequences.


A fascinating and absorbing novel.