Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Each Peach Pear Plum, Allan Ahlberg explores the darkest realms of fantasy, describing in ultra-minimalist style the dichotomy between good and evil. Allan’s repetitive text wastes no words; this is espionage literature with the gripping narrative of Forsyth and Ludlum, written with sinister style of Le Carré and Greene. Characters are spotted, but only rarely are we given a glimpse of their fate – we know that Jack and Jill will fall down the hill, but it will happen off-screen, and in our imagination, a la Janet Leigh in the Psycho shower scene.

In a clear reference to the Cold War, the Bears – a metaphor for the Soviet Union – are always there in the background, and Janet Ahlberg’s illustration of the Wicked Witch could not resemble Margaret Thatcher more clearly if it were a photograph. The ditch in which Jack and Jill lie – and into which the Wicked Witch is peering, is surely modelled on the Berlin Wall, while in the very next picture, Robin Hood is shown firing long-range missiles at the Witch. Finally, there seems to be a sub-plot involving the Russian Bears and a “Sleeper” – codename “Baby Bunting”.

The novel works up to a sinister climax: Plum Pie awaits everyone. How much Polonium 210 is present?


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Whisky From Small Glasses by D.A. Meyrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whisky From Small Glasses slightly disappointed me. D.A.Meyrick clearly is a talented writer, and this is a decent story, but I felt this book dragged slightly for me as it sagged in the middle. Set in a town on Scotland's west coast which seemed based on the Kintyre area, Meyrick's central character DI Jim Daley has to solve a series of murders which end up involving him more personally.

I wanted to know more of Jim Daley, who is supposed to have a "volcanic temper" and has even been to anger management classes, yet has risen to quite senior levels in the police force; and his temper isn't really an issue in this novel either. Then there's Daley's wife - her releationship with him is unconvincing, and an important character in that relationship simply disappears in he plot, as if forgotten. I felt there was enough for two novels here, and it might have been better as two much shorter ones.

This book is published by Ringwood, and as with at least one other Ringwood novel I've read recently, it suffers a little from a lack of tight editing. There are one or two Ringwood-style curious layout issues, although after a while the reader forgets about them.

All the same, the novel is a decent read. The central plot is a good one, and the author's genuine understanding of the locality means he can visually picture, even feel, the scenery really well. It might well be that I read this book when I wasn't in the right mood for it. I'd certainly consider reading another Jim Daley novel.

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Nothing is Heavy by Vicki Jarrett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maybe I was just in the mood to read this. To be honest, I rarely delve into this sort of fiction, not because I don't like it, but just because I have so many other goodies to tuck into ahead of it.

But I bought - and decided to read - Vicki Jarrett's "Nothing Is Heavy" because it was on a 3-for-2 promotion, and I just took a fancy to it. I think it's her debut novel, in which case it's all the more exceptional. Set in Leith, Edinburgh, it tells the intertwined tale of two women, neither of whom has much going for them; one works in a fish shop, the other as a lap-dancer. It manages to be funny, gripping and poignant all at the same time, and Jarrett tells all this gritty story in a very feminine voice which emerges as a cross between Joanna Trollope and Irvine Welsh (it is Leith, after all).

Perhaps the plot is a bit too neatly resolved for some tastes - I know more a few readers who feel cheated by fully-resolved endings - but I reckon most readers will like the twists and turns at the end. By the way, it would make a great arthouse movie - watch out for a scene near the end involving potatoes, for instance, and you'll picture what I mean.

So this wonderful little book (it's only a little over 200 pages, it won't take much of your time) comes highly recommended. Then again, maybe I was just in the mood.


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