Author Archives: drewsmith28

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About drewsmith28

Words, words, words...

The Dry by Jane Harper (Abacus)

Posted on January 22, 2018 by drewsmith28

“Even those who didn’t darken the door of the church from one Christmas to the next could tell there would be more mourners than seats.” AS in all worthwhile whodunnits, everyone in this small dirt town comes under suspicion. We … Continue reading →

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Books of the year 2017

Posted on December 11, 2017 by drewsmith28

THE criteria are simply that I have read and reviewed these books in the last year. You might like a head’s up list for your Christmas stocking. There are some powerful contenders, although flicking through the bestseller lists of W.H. … Continue reading →

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Winter by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)

Posted on December 8, 2017 by drewsmith28

“God was dead, to begin with. Romance was dead. Chivalry was dead.” WHEN, finally, we get everyone into the same room, the intimacy starts to crackle. Ali Smith is at her best when she has people talking to each other. … Continue reading →

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Autumn by Ali Smith (Penguin)

Posted on November 24, 2017 by drewsmith28

“It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.” FROM the getgo this tale is populated with popular images like the variation on Charles Dickens opening to a Tale of Two Cities above, although here is the … Continue reading →

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The disappearance of Adele Bedeau by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

Posted on November 9, 2017 by drewsmith28

“It was an evening like any other at the Restaurant de la Cloche.” YOU are on page 88 of 244 before the character cards you hold start to reveal themselves as a full house of a plot. Here the main … Continue reading →

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Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham (Hodder)

Posted on November 8, 2017 by drewsmith28

“My name is Sebastian Rudd, and though I am a well-known street lawyer, you will not see my name on billboards, on bus benches, or screaming at you from the yellow pages.” THERE is a library near me, beside a … Continue reading →

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The accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

Posted on November 2, 2017 by drewsmith28

“There did not appear to be anything remarkable about the accident on the A35” THE pleasing aspect of Graham Macrae Burnet’s writing is that he is an old school story teller. From the first you know you are going to … Continue reading →

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A legacy of spies by John Le Carre (Viking)

Posted on September 18, 2017 by drewsmith28

“What follows is a truthful account, as best as I am able to provide it, of my role in the British deception operation codenamed Windfall..  THIS sequel to the Spy Who Came in from the Cold is probably best read … Continue reading →

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Vodka politics by Mark Lawrence Schrad (Oxford Uiversity Press)

Posted on August 31, 2017 by drewsmith28

“Nikita Khrushchev was an oddly disarming fellow: five foot three and nearly as wide, with a face that seemed to be made from putty”. THE big argument in this lush, brutal academic history of Russia is how vodka has fashioned … Continue reading →

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The trip to Echo Springs by Olivia Laing (Canongate)

Posted on August 23, 2017 by drewsmith28

“Here’s a thing. Iowa City, 1973. Two men in a car, a Ford Falcon convertible that’s seen better days. It’s winter, the kind of cold that hurts bones and lungs, that reddens knuckles, makes noses run. If you could, by … Continue reading →

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