Had a monster reading session last night, which felt just darn great for the soul. Finished James Oswald’s ’Natural Causes’, then stopped, dropped and rolled straight into ’The Guardians’ by Andrew Pyper, who I’m a huge fan of.

There is a lyricism to Pyper’s work, that bonds wonderfully with compelling characterisation, an eye for beautiful detail, and downright creepiness. I always know I’m in good hands when I’m in the company of Andrew Pyper – he is an all time favourite and I can’t wait for ’The Damned’ next year.

Just back on ’Natural Causes’ and James Oswald for a second, because I loved that book – really loved it. His protagonist McLean is a warm, funny, layered anchor point to a story that took me to places most unexpected. I will be giving zero away, but Oswald doesn’t just sneak a twist into the book, he actually sneaks a whole other genre in there, right under the readers’ noses. It is done with such a deftness that I found myself utterly gripped. I can’t wait to continue the series, and felt immediately how great the story, setting and characters would lend itself to a TV/film adaptation. I simply can’t wait to settle down with the next book.

With books like these, man… What a time to be alive!