Friday December 09, 2005

Sidetracked

The most recent Henning Mankell book with its detective Wallender in it that I have read is called Sidetracked. It is a monster read compared to the other books of his, at a hefty five hundred pages. In it Wallender is younger than in the novels I have read so far and it starts with a girl commiting suicide in a field. Soon a series of baffling murders occurs with the scalps of the victims being torn off as a trophy. Clues start to build up as you near the end of the book as to who the murderer is and it has a thrilling end. It is the best Wallender book I have read so far so would highly recommend it. I think the book also won the CWA Gold Dagger award in 2001. Good stocking filler for those who like a good detective read.

Ian Dury

Ian Dury ( not forgetting his Blockheads. I remember the first time I heard the album New boots and panties (NBAP). This album is not for the faint hearted and it caused offence to many who did not understand what the words really meant. He died a few years ago of cancer having performed fairly recently before his death when clearly very ill. He suffered from the after effects ofPolio having had the illness as a child. I loved the name of the record label; his albums were sold under stiff records. The later albums like Do it yourself with the varied wallpaper style album covers (can't remember how many different types there were) were not as good as NBAP but still original. Somewhere up in the attic is my original copy of the album that I really must get it on CD soon.