Month: September 2025

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

No surprise, ‘Sixteen Horses’ has been sitting on the tbr pile for quite some time. I spotted it ages ago, and as we know I do not read blurbs, but the cover appeared to absolutely be something I would read and I had seen some great reviews of it too on Bookstagram. So, when I spotted a copy in my favourite second-hand bookshop, I picked it up – it just now happens to have been ages ago.

‘Sixteen Horses’ is a great thriller – the heads of sixteen horses are found buried on some farmland. There appears to be absolutely no reason for it, and what happened to the corpses. This gives Detective Alec Nichols, supported by Dr Copper Allen (forensic veterinarian), quite a case to investigate, and it will be no surprise that there is so much about this quiet seaside town that is quite as it seems. Of course, if you want to know what specifically, you are going to have to read the book, as this is a spoiler-free zone.

This story was absolutely gripping, I devoured the book in two days as I just had to know what was going to happen and why there were sixteen horses. The writing was brilliant, which created excellent storytelling, and the characters were complex. I really liked the character of Dr Cooper Allen; not only was she a strong female character, but a forensic veterenarian was a fascinating job role to be involved in an investigation. I have to be honest, that I absolutely would not have solved this mystery and that always makes it a great thriller/crime story in my opinion. I would be interested to know if anyone else had read it and had worked it out?

So, as usual, it has to be short and sweet because it is a thriller post, but it does mean that I am definitely going to be searching out ‘Consumed’ by Greg Buchanan, as I need to know what Dr Cooper Alled does next and how/if she has moved on from the events of ‘Sixteen Horses’.

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

‘Slow Horses’ was a top read of mine in January 2024 (as it turns out – I was sure it was so much more recent than that; where does all the time go?), so I knew that I would carry on with the series. So, as I completed a bank holiday readathon with the lovely bookish community, I thought it was about time that I picked this one up.

Spy fiction has never, traditionally, been a genre that I would turn to. However, Mick Herron’s Slough House books have started to change my opinion. And, let’s be honest, I am not sure there is a character quite like Jackson Lamb out there. You know you should be disgusted by some of his personality traits, but there is no denying that he is an intelligent man and loyal to those who show loyalty to him.

When Jackson Lamb hears of the death of a former colleague, which, to all intents and purposes, appears to be completely innocent, he decides that he is going to investigate. A hunch that others are not sure about, but it certainly leads to something – otherwise, well, we would not have a book.

And, of course, there is something very strange when the powers that be decide that they would like to use some of Jackson Lamb’s ‘slow horses’ to help out with the visit of some Russian visitors – giving us even more action.

I think what really works with Mick Herron’s writing and storytelling is that he creates characters that you can see really existing in that world, without it becoming too much. And the stories make sense in the world that we live in, and keep moving without any ridiculous or fantastical ideas – and with a little touch of humour as we go.

In good news, I have also found out that, as a family, we have all the books, so I can keep reading them and following Jackson Lamb and his team, maybe not waiting as long this time.

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Steve Cavanagh never disappoints, and I was recently lucky enough to hear him speak (again) about his latest book (on the tbr pile), which encouraged me to pick up another that I had on the pile first. I am not sure why, as I do not really read them in order.

‘Witness 8’ is a brilliant pacy thriller, with Eddie Flynn being his best self as always. Eddie Flynn is brought in to defend a man who appears to be being framed for the murder of a neighbour. Eddie is convinced of his innocence, so him and his team need to find out who really commited the murder and why this man is being framed. Alongside this, there is a bounty on Eddie Flynn’s head. So, as you can imagine, there are all sorts of thrills along the way as we hope our man Eddie manages to not only save his client but also himself.

Steve Cavanagh just creates the most brilliant characters, heroes and villains alike. They are all so fascinating – especially the villains. You know they are bad, bad people, but somehow Cavanagh’s writing and character creation has you feeling sympathy for some of them, what has really brought them to this point? And, although Mr Christmas may not be a character I had much sympathy for, I did find him very entertaining.

So, it is safe to say that Steve Cavanagh is still cemented in place as one of my favourite authors and, as we enter the ‘-ber’ months, it means it is surely time to spend more time with Eddie Flynn and his team.