Pete McCarthy was actually born Peter Charles McCarthy Robinson in Warrington, a town in the north-west of England. He was the eldest son of an Irish mother, who’d moved to England to work as a nurse. Naturally, there was an Irish influence on his upbringing : he was educated by the Christian Brothers and, in his childhood, spent his summer holidays with his mother’s family in West Cork. Before moving into travel writing, Pete had worked on television, and adopted his mother’s maiden name to avoid confusion with another actor. (It also spared him from sharing a name with a noted Northern Irish politician – who, unlike our author – has no great love for the Irish Republic). “McCarthy’s Bar” was his first book, and follows his travels through Cork, Kerry and up the west coast to his eventual destination : the dreaded pilgramage on Lough Derg. (It’s, therefore, not entirely set in pubs owned by people called McCarthy – but you weren’t seriously expecting that anyway, where you ?).

I haven’t read a lot of travelogues, but – up until now – I’ve made a point of avoiding those set in Ireland. I’ve flicked through one or two, and have been left with the impression that people who write travelogues – though they come close at time – don’t quite ‘get’ the Irish. McCarthy, on the other hand, does a great job and sometimes ‘gets’ us a little too well. He sometimes wanders a little off-topic and, once in a while, includes some relevant childhood memory or the occasional random thought. (The possiblility of genetic memory is something he puzzles over more than once, and he briefly notes the contribution of the Irish to Australia’s sporting successes). He touches occasionally on the Irish – English relationship, though (wisely) doesn’t try to explain it, while other tourists provide a few laughs…most notable among these are the Germans and – dare I say it – the Americans. (Please note : anyone who tries to tell you that, as a result, this book is anti-English, anti-German or anti-American should be roundly laughed at. Give them a lollipop, a pat on the head, even dry their eyes for them – just don’t listen to them). McCarthy has produced a very funny and hugely enjoyable book, and I will certainly be picking up “The Road to McCarthy”. Absolutely recommended.

“Time Bomb” is Jonathon Kellerman’s fifth Alex Delaware novel wnd was first published in 1990. Delaware is a psychologist based in LA who earns his living as a consultant – largely working with the courts and the police.

Alex is contacted at the book’s beginning by Milo Sturgis, his trusty pet detective from the LAPD. There’s been a shooting at the Nathan Hale Elementary School, in Ocean Heights – thankfully none of the children have been hurt. However, Milo feels that it would be a good idea for Alex to come down and help the kids work through the aftermath. The school had been in the news relatively recently : suffering from a siginificant drop in pupil numbers, it had started admitting inner city kids. This has caused a problem for for certain people, as the majority of these kids are Latino – broken windows, racist graffiti on the school walls…even pickets at the school gates. This ‘problem’ has brought two local politicians to the school – State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil and City Councilman Gordon Latch – who had opposing views on the presence of the kids. It’s believed that Massengil – who was far from happy about the kids attending the school – may have been the target.

The would-be assassin, a young woman called Holly Lynn Burden, was killed by one of Latch’s men. The police can only guess as to who she intended to hurt, though the most ovious target would have been Massengil. This leap has also been made by LAPD’s anti-terrorist department, which means that Milo’s time on the case is going to be very limited). However, Alex is subsequently given an alternative line of inquiry when he is approached by Holly’s father – who is convinced she wouldn’t have been capable of acting in this manner. When he accepts, Alex discovers there’s more to the race angle than he may have thought…

The book started out from an interesting – and not an entirely implausible – angle, and was pretty enjoyable for quite a while. I’ve only read two others by Kellerman, and thought – maye, just maybe – I’d found one of his books that didn’t rely on a certain amount of daftness. (Well, as further I got into the book, I realised that wasn’t going to happen). The writing is pretty lame at times, too : Kellerman tends to get overdescriptive and labours on what a room looks like, or what somebody is wearing. (In the case of Dr. Linda Overstreet, the school’s principal, Alex tends to focus on her long white legs). There’s even a fair number of typos and spelling mistakes in the book – well, at least in this edition I have. (Given that the edition I have was printed in 2002 – 12 years after the book was first published – I’d doubt that I’m alone). It’s therefore a little funny that Alex criticises a book written by another character – Terry Crevolin – for being ‘typos and grammatical errors’. Easily enough read, but no classic.

Cameron Colley is a journalist based in Edinburgh. working for “The Caledonian”. He has an eye for trouble, and enjoys using his articles to take pot-shots at the ‘establishment’ and big business. His past-times include alcohol, drugs and a computer game called “Despot” – one which sounds very similar to Civ II. Cameron’s social circle seems quite small – there’s William and Yvonne, a couple he met at university. The pair are married, though Cameron has no qualms about enjoying Yvonne (in as kinky a manner as possible) on a very regular basis. There’s also Andy, who Cameron has known pretty much all his life. Andy has ‘achievment’ written all over his past – he was an officer in the Falklands War and was subsequently awarded the DSO. On leaving the army, he went into advertising – where he came up with the BIG campaigns for several global companies. After that, he then opened a chain of very successful shops, became obscenely rich…and then, strangely, dropped out. Andy is now living in a dilapidated old hotel (his own, naturally) in the Highlands – doing little other than drink and drugs, apparently…

Workwise, Cameron is quite possibly on the verge on something big : he has a mole feeding – “Mr Archer” – feeding him about five high-profile deaths within the nuclear and security services. All five victims died within two years of each other and, although all were officially written off as suicides, there have been rumours of something murky about the deaths. Cameron isn’t the first to have looked into the story -however, he’s hoping Archer’s information will lead him somewhere. (If what’s he’s been told is true, it’s quite possible it could lead to to Iraq). Unfortunately, while Cameron’s working on his mole-inspired story, another set of very high-profile individuals are finding themselves being assaulted and / or murdered. The problem, as it turns out, is that all the victims have been lambasted in one of Cameron’s articles.

“Complicity” is definitely a book I’d recommend – which is hardly a surprise, given that it’s been written by Iain Banks. Banks has a certain way of telling a story I enjoy – the occasional jump back and forward, and the hint of looking at something from a slightly different angle. Most of the book is told by Cameron (“I drive the car up the little single track road leading towards the low hills”), part of the book is also told about the killer. Although it does mean we know who’s getting killed and how they’re dying, practically nothing is given away about the killers identity. It’s even (deliberately) vague about the killer’s gender – for example, “you get to the bedside and raise the log over your head”. Excellent stuff.

“Trainspotting”, a classic movie that spawned a classic soundtrack, hit the big screen in 1996 and is based on Irvine Welsh’s debut novel. Starring, among others, a pre-Jedi Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle, the film is mostly set in Edinburgh and London. The film is narrated by Mark Renton – known to some as Rent Boy and played by McGregor. It tells the story of our ‘hero’ and his friends : a group of junkies and / or criminals.

As the film opens, Renton is already a heroin addict – though, as it progresses, he tries several times to get off the drug. Most of his friends are also addicts – the most notable exception is Begbie, played by Carlyle. Franco (as he is occasionally known) is an ignorant, obnoxious, violent, hard-drinking bully, who likes nothing better than being at the center of a brawl. Sick Boy – played by Miller – is as much a rival to Renton as a friend. He is also something of an expert on Sean Connery, particularly in his 007 days. (Miller’s grandfather, funnily enough, played “M” in the Bond movies until 1979). For some reason, I found Spud (played by Ewen Bremmer) to be the most likeable character – or, at least, the one I had the most sympathy for…I’m not entirely sure why, when it was Tommy who had the worst luck of all. (Bremmer was also in the running for the part of Renton – he’d played that part on stage in Edinburgh and London). The gang’s dealer is known as Mother Superior – it’s not that he’s particularly religious, it’s more to do with the length of his habit.

The soundtrack is superb – New Order feature, while Primal Scream begged to be allowed to write a song after seeing a rough cut of the movie. I now find it hard not to think of the film’s opening scene when I hear Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”, while Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” inclusion is not entirely unexpected, but thoroughly welcome.

Anyone who tells you that “Trainspotting” glamorises drug-taking in general, and heroin use in particular, simply can’t have watched it. While there is a great deal of humor, many of the scenes and situations do not present addiction as an appealing option. Renton and his friends see a great deal of action : constipation when hooked, impressive bouts of diarrhoea when coming off the drug, the risk of catching HIV / AIDS, the sickness brought on by going cold turkey and the potentially fatal effects of too big a hit. As a result, it’s not for the easily offended or the squeamish – while it’s one of my favorite movies, I wouldn’t recommend watching it with your grandparents !

The second solo release from the one-time All-Ireland Singing Champion and former member of Oige. As with Cara’s first release, husband Sam and brother-in-law Seth both play on this album, and sister Mary once again provides backing vocals. Recorded in Somerset, Sam is also listed the album’s producer.
Cara’s first album featured only three songs that weren’t traditional tunes. With Sweet Liberty, the mix is slightly different – five of the twelve tracks are traditional, five are written by Cara and Sam, with the remaining two having been written by others. One of these songs is “There Were Roses”, written by the legendary Tommy Sands. Cara initially recorded it for use on a BBC TV show called “Billy Connolly’s World Tour of England, Ireland and Wales”. After the episode featuring the track was broadcast, the message boards on Cara’s website were virtually flooded (pun entirely intended !) with demands that this song be released. There’s no doubt that it will be one of the highlights of the album for many people – it is superbly delivered.

For me, the highlights of this album are – as with her first release – the traditional songs. “The Winding River Roe”, which gives a nod to Cara’s hometown of Dungiven, features only Cara’s voice and Sam tinkling the keyboards. Cara’s delivery is so good on this track, I couldn’t help wondering why the song hadn’t been recorded unaccompanied. Running it close for my Song of the Album award is “The Emigrant’s Farewell”. One of the songs on the album to benefit from Brian Finnegan’s flute playing, it also sees Liam O’Maonlai joining Mary on backing vocals. Liam, of course, is better known as the lead singer of the Hothouse Flowers.

The album opens with “High Tide”, one of the songs Sam and Cara wrote themselves. It and “Broken Bridges” would be the best of the self-penned bunch. “Where Are You ?” nearly took that title – largely a gentle tune until the uileann pipes cut in. However, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was drifting a little towards the sort of territory associated with the Corrs.

I’d only have one minor criticism of the album – I think it would’ve benefited from a little more variety in the backing music. While the pipes and flute popped up every once in a while, there still seemed to be an over-reliance on Sam and his keyboards. All the same, it’s still a highly recommended album.

“Feet of Clay” is the nineteenth novel in Terry Pratchett’s hugely popular Discworld series, was first published in 1996 and is the third to focus on Sam Vimes and Ankh-Morpork’s City Guard.

Sam is the now the Commander of the City Guard, and – having married Lady Ramkin – a member of the nobility. It’s fair to say he’s not your typical hero : he doesn’t like the Undead (particularly vampires), Assassins (they keep trying to kill him) and – in keeping with an old family tradition – Kings (not an ideal musketeer then). Sam has quit drinking – though it’s still something of a struggle – and smokes the occasional cigar to ease the blow.

Although numbers among the ranks are rising, Sam tends to rely on those he knows best. His most capable officer is Captain Carrot – who was born human, although raised as a dwarf. Carrot is an incredibly innocent and very honest character and is widely believed to be Ankh-Morpork’s rightful King. (Sam has – to date – refrained from beheading him). Carrot’s girlfriend, Angua, is also a member of the City Guard though – being a werewolf – she isn’t quite so popular. Sergeant Detritus, a troll who deals roughly with troll drug-dealers, seems a natural – not to mention likeable – cop, though Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobbs (a confirmed slacker and probably human) are the most experienced officers. The one newcomer is Cheery Littlebottom, an ex-alchimist dwarf who becomes quite useful in the City Guard’s newly established forensics department. (Cheery left the Guild of Alchemists after, accidentally, blowing up the Guild Council. Alchemy is an unusual profession for a dwarf, though Cheery – as it turns out – isn’t your usual dwarf).

“Feet of Clay” gives Sam a good, old-fashioned mystery to solve – a mystery that includes a couple of rather unusual murders. One of the victims is Father Tubelcek, who Sam considers to be one of the neatest corpses he’s ever seen : eyes closed, arms neatly folded across his chest…and a slip of paper with some strange writing on it in his mouth. The other victim was Mr Hopkinson, curator at the Dwarf Bread Museum. Dwarf bread is much more useful on the battlefield than on the breakfast table, and Hopkinson had unfortunately been beaten to death with a loaf. There is a little white clay and a suspicion of Golems hanging around, but the murders are puzzling…however, it’s difficult to focus on a puzzle, when you’ve also got to investigate the poisoning of the Patrician. (He’s surviving, but only barely). The difficulties aren’t confined to professional matters – there’s even bad news for both Sam and Nobby at a personal level. Following a visit to the Royal College of Heralds, Sam learns he is ineligible for a Coat of Arms. (An ancestor, Old Stoneface, killed Ankh-Morpork’s last king). To make matters even worse, news of his rejection is delivered by a vampire called Dragon King of Arms. Nobby, on the other hand, is devastated to learn he is Earl of Ankh.

Another very funny book from Pratchett, with a storyline ‘underneath’ it all that your standard murder-mystery writer would love to tell. Excellent stuff, highly recommended !

Although Grace Lawson is a well-known artist, she’s better remembered for an incident known as the ‘Boston Massacre’. Fifteen years before the book opens, Grace was in the front pit for a a Jimmy X concert – a show that had been due to start at 8:30pm. The crowd are, obviously, a little agitated when it hits midnight and there’s still no sign of the singer. Unfortunately, at that point, things move a little beyond agitation when three shots are fired. The resulting mayhem eighteen people dead and Grace, briefly, in a coma – with a variety of injuries. A year later, she movea to France to study art and meets Jack Lawson there – the man who was to become her husband. It had been love at first sight for the pair, though each kept their secrets : Grace couldn’t really talk about the concert (her memories were still a little fuzzy), while Jack had a falling-out with his family – the details of which he was also reluctant to share.

Grace and Jack returned to America, shortly after Grace fell pregnant with their first child. (Emma is now eight, while their more recent addition, Max, is six). Her troubles start as she picks up some freshly-developed photographs from a family day out – when she discovers a photo she didn’t take in her packet. At first she thinks someone else’s photo has accidentally been sorted into hers – but then she suspects it’s been placed there on purpose…There are five people in the photo and, judging by the quality of the print,and the style of dress, it was taken around fifteen years ago. One of the faces has been covered with a large ‘X’, while another – she thinks – is of Jack…but, at a point in his life before she had met him. Later that night, when Jack arrives home from work, he sees the photo and – within a matter of minutes – nips out the front door and drives off without a word. When he doesn’t return, Grace knows he’s in trouble. She’s right : what she doesn’t know, however, is that Jack’s been grabbed by Eric Wu – not a man you’d want to mess with. The police, initially, assume he’s just done a runner (possibly to scratch a seven year itch). Grace, on the other hand, knows better – and so starts trying to discover what’s happened to him. Luckily, she has a couple of useful allies – including noted Mafia Boss Carl Vespa and an Assistant US Attorney, Scott Duncan.

Although I don’t think “Just One Look” will ever be considered a classic, it’s certainly much better than a Dan Brown book. Admittedly, there wasn’t much in the way of tension or fear and some of the characters – the friendly neighbourhood Mafia Boss, for example – were just a little bit too convenient. There also turned out to be a few too many connections between the key players…however, I did find it to be a very enjoyable, pacey and easily read book and it’s certainly worth a rattle.

Born in Sydney in 1975, Markus Zusak is the youngest of four children and the son of Austrian and German parents. He grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, two of which led to him writing “The Book Thief”.

The story is told by Death, who tries not to take too much of an interest in humans – sometimes, however, he can’t help himself. In “The Book Thief”, Death follows the story of Liesel Meminger – a young German girl he first meets in January 1939. Liesel is nine years old and travelling by train to Munich with her mother and brother, Werner. Liesel’s mother is having difficulty providing for her family and is constantly ill. In the hope of a better life for her children, she has arranged for them to be fostered with a family in Molching – a town close to Munich. Here, she hopes they will be fed and educated better than she could provide. Unfortunately, Werner doesn’t make it – he dies and is buried on the journey, giving Death his first meeting with Liesel. Werner’s funeral is where the Book Thief is born, when Liesel ‘acquires’ a copy of “The Gravediggers Handbook”. Her pilfering, naturally, doesn’t finish there – and it isn’t always restricted to books.

Liesel’s new family, the Hubermanns, live on Himmel Street in Molching. Liesel’s new foster-mother is the foul-mouthed and (apparently) permanently cross Rosa Hubermann. Even worse, her cooking is as bad as her language. Hans, Liesel’s ‘new’ father, is a different matter entirely. He’s a kind, loving and patient man, who works as a painter and is a WW1 veteran. His main pleasures in life are centred around tobacco and playing the accordion. He also teaches Liesel read and write – something Liesel is very keen on – with “The Gravediggers Handbook” being used as the starting point in her education. After Hans, two other men play a big part in Liesel’s life in Molching. One is her permanently hungry best friend Rudy Steiner, who is also a big fan of Jesse Owens. (This is just the sort of thing that could get you in trouble in Nazi Germany). Although Rudy is always on the lookout for food, there’s only one thing he’s truly desperate for : a kiss from Liesel. The Book Thief’s ‘other’ best friend isn’t introduced until a little further into the book : a Jewish man by the name of Max, who -like Liesel – is a fairly useful fighter.

“The Book Thief” was published in Australia as an ‘adult’ title, but as a Young Adult novel in America. The truth is, both age ranges will enjoy this story – it’s very easily read book, with very likeable characters – Liesel, Hans and Rudy particularly sttod out for me. Death proves to be a sympathetic, likeable and even, occasionally, witty character – something this Death has in common with Terry Pratchett’s Death. (Of course, there’s a lot less silliness and a good deal more sadness here than in one of the Discworld books). A beautiful book, well worth reading.

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five. He was awarded the OBE in 1995 and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. “An Artist of the Floating World” is his second novel, was first published in 1986 and won that year’s Whitbread Prize.

“An Artist of the Floating World” opens in October 1948, and is set in post-World War II Japan. The story is told by Masuji Ono, a retired artist and – once – a man of some influence and renown. His wife and son died during the war, though both his daughters survived – one is married, with a son, while Ono is conducting negotiations for his other’s marraige. Over the course of the book, Ono looks back over his life and tries to deal with how his home city and the attitudes of the people around him are changing. His own career began on the workshop of Mister Moriyama, before he moved to the studio of Master Takeda – one who favoured painting the ‘floating world’, as the pleasure districts were known. Finally, Ono worked with Chishu Matsuda in producing artistic propoganda – which led to his position of influence leading up to and during the war. Now, in the post-war years, he notices how his own once great reputation has faltered and how attitudes towards him and his paintings have changed. There are many, for example, from the younger generations who hold him at least partly responsible for Japan’s misguided foreign policy.These changes in attitude are being mirrored by the physical changes of the city. With the post-war rebuilding, whole districts are now becoming unrecognizable – Ono’s own favourite ‘pleasure district’ is changing in this way. These changes in attitude and in the city lead Ono to look back over his life and try to come to terms with how he has lived it.

“An Artist of the Floating World” was an excellent book, though a little sad in places. Ono himself seems a somewhat sad at how his home city is changing – partly due to the damage caused by the war, partly in the name of ‘progress’. In fact, I couldn’t help feeling a little sad at the loss of Ono’s ‘pleasure district’ myself. Ono, on the other hand, doesn’t quite change enough : he acknowledges his role to a point, though doesn’t show any real sorrow for how things turned out. (He comments, that he “acted on what he believed and did [his] utmost” actually reminded me of Tony Blair – who has made any number of bad decisions in “good faith”). There were one or two points I’d have liked more information on – particularly his relationship with an ex-pupil called Kuroda. I’m not too surprised, however, that Ono avoided this topic as much as possible, though. For Ono to have dwelt on that topic may have caused him to discover something about himself he didn’t like.

Val McDermid grew up in Kirkcaldy, a small mining community on the east coast of Scotland and studied English at Oxford University. The books she has written featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan have provided the basis for the popular “Wire on the Blood” television series, while her novels have won a number of awards, including the Macavity award, the Anthony Award and Grand Prix des Romans d’Aventure. “Common Murder” is her second novel and – like her first – features journalist, Lindsay Gordon. The book was first published in 1989.

Lindsay is now living in London with her girlfriend Cordelia and working for the Daily Clarion. She’s assigned a story centred around the women’s peace camp at Brownlow Common – which was set up to protest about the of nuclear weapons sited at the American airbase. Lindsay, as it turns out, is a supporter of and a regular visitor to the camp. (Cordelia, a noted and successful playwright, also supports the camps aims. However, since Cordelia’s more stereotypically middle-class than stereotypically lesbian, she prefers not to get her wellies muddy. Instead, she sends letters to the Guardian and makes cash available to buy lentils for the camp). The differences with regards to the camp are, indeed, a sign that things aren’t going terribly well in the relationship.

The problem for the women’s camp is a local action group called Ratepayers Against Brownlow’s Destruction, headed up by a local solicitor called Rupert Crabtree. RABD wants the camp removed from the Common since, they believe, it’s being destoyed by the women living there. (You’d be amazed how much damage candlelight vigils and singsongs can cause). Of course, the damage to the common isn’t entirely down to the women : the camp is regularly attacked by a vicious gang of mad, bullying bikers. (Nasty stereotypical bikers). However, the story that brings Lindsay down has nothing to do with mad bikers and everything to do with Crabtree – he was, allegedly, assaulted by one of the women based at the camp. The woman in question turns out to be Deborah Patterson – who is, would you believe, an ex-girlfriend of Lindsay’s. (It is such a small world, isn’t it ? What a coincidence, that she turns up just as Lindsay’s current relationship hits a sticky patch). Things, naturally, get even trickier when Crabtree is murdered close to the Common – not long after Deborah is released on bail.

On the whole, I’d describe “Common Murder” as a very quick and easy read – though McDermid’s done much better than this. There’s nothing special or memorable about the storyline and there’s nothing particularly engaging about the characters. Lindsay ‘solves’ the whole thing far too easily – especially bearing in mind where the ending takes her – with the key people in the investigation giving her all the answers for no reason whatsoever. The promised “often comic prose” wasn’t all that funny – I’d have been more inclined to laugh at the book, rather than with it at times. Very ordinary overall.