Christine Vickers

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I am not one normally given to hyperbole, but I have just finished reading 'The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal'. It is one of the very best of Jodi Taylor’s works... No. It IS the best. I have read all of them, even 'A Bachelor Establishment'. In fact, it is one of the very best books I have EVER read. No word of a lie. Truly. I was in a conundrum from almost the first page. Do I read at my normal speed? Do I attempt to read more slowly than usual, to delay the ending? Well, no, that was impossible. It was nerve-wracking, at times. I kept having to try to take a breather for a few seconds but this book was unputdownable. It was utterly engrossing. It is the best book I have read for many a long year... and now I have finished reading it. Sigh... Oh well, I shall just have to do what I normally do with my favourite books - and this is in the top 5 of all the books I have read in my long life - I shall have to put it to the back of my mind until I start thinking about it in another few weeks, maintaining my focus on not remembering details. Then, in a few months, read it again. A win, win situation! Thanks, JT. Thank you so much.

I have just finished watching the four episodes of Rowan Atkinson's Maigret. What an eye opener! Mr Atkinson is so well-cast. Who would have believed that Mr Bean could be so... still and thoughtful! Atkinson's Maigret is a cerebral, but emotionally literate detective. I read some of the books many years ago and don't remember this aspect of Maigret's character from them, although may be wrong! Mr Atkinson fills the screen in every one of his scenes. The writing is spare, the costumes are superb and the locations are very reminiscent of post war Paris, despite being filmed in Budapest and elsewhere. My only quibble would be that some of the vocabulary seems rather too modern. I sincerely hope Maigret returns to the small screen, with the same lead actor, of course.