READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

[Stanley]

"With all the plots and intrigues it makes you wonder how Trump survived the first two years without being impeached more often."
That always puzzled me too Ken. I think it was that he was such a nasty character and his opponents were scared of crossing him. That's the theory for why he is going to survive this attempt.

[Stanley]

Finished Dark Fire. I start 'Sovereign' later today.

[Big Kev]

I enjoyed the Shardlake series, made a change from my usual present day crime stories.

[Stanley]

They're good aren't they Kev. It's so long since I first read them that they are all fresh to me and I have the full series up to 'Tombland' published in 2018.

[plaques]

Russians Among Us. (sleeper cells, ghost stories and the hunt for Putin's agents) by Gordon Corera.
An exposé principally based in America between Russian agents and the FBI + CIA, written for the american market with a bit of UK Skripal and Litvinenko thrown in for good measure. A simple events made unnecessarily complicated with loads of padding and reiterations to put some life into basically dull events. The villain is always Putin and the Russian secret service. Oh and it was Putin who got Trump elected in 2016.
cover Price £20, 400 pages, Free from the Library, Rating

[Stanley]

One to avoid.... thanks for that Ken. Actually I think the title would have put me off.
I'm on the last pages of 'Sovereign'.

[Stanley]

Finished 'Sovereign' and am now on 'Revelation'. Very easy reading......

[Wendyf]

Does anyone have any Lee Child novels that they don't want?

[Stanley]

Sorry Wendy. Never even heard of Him/Her.
Private Eye came yesterday, I only managed about half an hour with it, I am fed up with Covid and politics. (Even more with Brexit!) Went back into Shardlake and throats being cut for lighter entertainment.

[Wendyf]

I hadn't heard of Lee Child either till Col started reading his books. A prolific writer of action thrillers apparently, i hoped Kev might have some on his shelves....

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS Wendy. The lad has been busy!

[plaques]

Dark Towers, Deutscher Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of self Destruction. By David Enrich. (Finance editor, The New York times)
Details the rise of a small commercial bank into the worlds largest bank built on high risk and shady deals. Entering into loans especially those with Donald Trump and money transfers with Russians that no other bank would consider. Written like a spy thriller with the banks CEO's concentrating on high risk loans for short term gains and maximising growth with no thought to the long term outcome. The Trump deals keep cropping up and so does tentative links to Russian money laundering. Very easy to read but stops while Trump is still President leaving the reader with one foot up in the air.
This is obviously an ongoing saga with both the FBI and the Senate in hot pursuit of Trump and Deutscher Bank.

Cover Price £20, 360 pages, Free at the Library. Verdict, well worth a library read.

[Stanley]

You're reading on a far higher plane than me at the moment Ken. I am well into Shardlake 'Revelation'.

[Stanley]

Finished 'Revelation'. Heartstone is next but first I must finish this week's Private Eye.... I have to ration myself to PE, the news they report is so upsetting..... Masochism I think.

[plaques]

MR FIVE PER CENT, The Worlds Richest Man, The Many Lives of Calouste Gulbenkian. by Jonathan Conlin. A rather specialist biography on how one man influenced the worlds oil market and became the worlds richest man to such a degree that even two years ago he would have ranked at number two in today's money. Unlike his son Nubar which people like myself will remember for his monocle, goatee beard and bushy eyebrows he was more reclusive private person. An Armenian by birth and considered a genius in his field never pumped any oil himself but made his money from his wide contacts and his ability to predict the future markets. His life's object was to make money and avoid paying taxes, Sounds familiar.

Cover price £12.99, 320 pages, free at the library. Basically read it because I remembered him from all those years ago.

[Stanley]

I read a biography of him many years ago, was it this one? (No, I looked it up and it was a different book.)
Am on the sixth Shardlake now, 'Lamentations'.

[plaques]

We Need to Talk About PUTIN, How the west gets him wrong. by Mark Galeotti.

Initially tries to make the book look like some kind of insight on how Russia is developing on the world scene and what is Putin's mastermind thinking in controlling the country. The end product is one huge rant about Russia being a corrupt third world basket case with Putin having no idea what to do next and being influenced by his corrupt officials and oligarchs.

cover price £9.99. 140 pages (wide typed) . Free at the library. Verdict. Very disappointing.

[Tizer]

This is not a book but a long, complicated article on the BBC's web site and it's very interesting...
`How a ring tells the story of a forgotten secret agent' Marcel Leccia

[PanBiker]

Virginia Hall the one legged SOE agent who is mentioned as an associate in the article is featured in a Netflix film "A Call to Spy" which we watched a few weeks ago.

[Stanley]

I am nearing the end of 'Lamentations', only one more Shardlake novel to go, 'Tombland'.

[Stanley]

Got a bit of a surprise yesterday. I finished Lamentations and when I opened Tomblands I got the strong impression I have already read it. Not sure yet, I might be wrong. I don't understand it. it certainly isn't on my shelves.

[Wendyf]

I've decided to try a Kindle, it arrived last night..... exciting!

[plaques]

In-between library deliveries. re-reading 'War of the Windsors' What a bunch of nasty people they are. No wonder you know who have tried to escape.

[Gloria]

Does anyone have any Lee Child novels that they don't want?

I think we may have some if they haven’t been passed on, I’ll have a delve later.

[Wendyf]

Thanks Gloria!