2010 books, #46-50

Sacrifice, by S. J. Bolton [audiobook]. Read by Vivien Heilbron. Bath: BBC Audiobooks, 2009.

Consultant obstetrician Tora Hamilton hires a JCB to dig a grave in her Shetland field for her favourite horse which has died, and instead finds the preserved body of a young woman, minus her heart; runes are carved into her skin. There are disturbing links with an ancient Shetland legend, and Tora's attempts to investigate the murder leads her into serious danger as all authorities seem to be ranged against her. There are some genuinely scary moments in this one, and Vivien Heilbron's reading is excellent.

Security, by Stephen Amidon [audiobook]. Read by Jeff Harding. Bath: Oakhill, 2010.

A strange slightly uneven book, this one, set in a small college town in Massachusetts. The synopsis on the box talks about a sexual assault allegation, although this takes place almost halfway through the book and the central characters seem to be a charismatic professor and the student he's bedding. It's interesting enough to carry on with as an audiobook, but nothing really stands out as a story - probably not an author I'll bother looking at again...

Out of the deep I cry, by Julia Spencer-Fleming. New York: St Martin's, 2005.

Another very, very good Clare Fergusson novel. This is different from the previous ones in that chapters happen at all times from 1930 onwards, and deal with both an ancient disappearance and a more recent one, Prohibition and modern medicine. The cast of characters is fascinating and the plot snakes around; and the relationship between Clare and Russ takes another step into forbidden territory. The quality of this series is sustained. (If anyone reading this is in Ely, Oxfam had all of the first four books for £1.49 each last weekend. Snap them up if they're still there!)

This night's foul work, by Fred Vargas [audiobook]. Read by Saul Reichlin. Rearsby, Leics. : W F Howes, 2008.

I really enjoyed this detective novel set in Paris and Normandy, with roots in the Pyrenees. Having spent a year in Paris, the geography was familiar, and the combination of slightly unearthly characters, as well as one of pure evil, works well. And there's a very good sting in the tail.

The city and the city, by China Miéville. London: Macmillan, 2009.

A re-read, first reviewed here. I really enjoyed the re-read, and the discussion at Kniterati last night; I'm still not entirely sure I understand it all though! Very glad, as I was a co-suggester for this one, that most people enjoyed it...