Uhm, hi.

First, apologies for the long break (if anyone has noticed or cares).

There hasn't really been much to report, though I find now that I have an event looming next week. I'll be at the Muswell Hill Bookshop, 70-72 Fortis Green Road, N10 on Wednesday the 20th at 7.00pm. I'll be there with Andrew Martin, author of Necropolis Railway, The Lost Luggage Porter and Murder at Deviation Junction, amongst other books. We'll be giving brief readings and chatting about our work. I guess. I dunno. What usually happens at these things?

Another review to report, this time in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Edward Pettit (a National Book Critics Circle member,no less) writes: "Morris' sequel is firmly encamped in the mystery genre. Petrovich is the sleuth who must catch the killer. But Morris' use of a generic form does not dilute the idea of human suffering that Dostoyevsky wished to explore. Morris' twist is investigating the suffering of the investigator, not the criminal. In identifying with the killers he chases, Petrovich bears the terrible weight of suffering in the world. His profession forces him to perpetually wander the Siberia of his own soul. Morris' novel is a book not about the metaphysics of murder, but rather the metaphysics of the investigation of murders. As such, The Gentle Axe proves a worthy sequel."

Read the whole thing here.