Steve Horsfall - Author / Writer

Roll on Book 2, 7 Feb 2014

I had never read anything by J K Rowling before - Harry Potter was a children�s book and so not something I would rush to read, although I enjoyed the films and was delighted with the fact that it attracted millions of children to want to read. However I was intrigued by The Cuckoos� Calling as it is a crime genre I enjoy and was attracting rave reviews from writers I really respect, like Mark Billingham. I was not disappointed - Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, writes with an effortless style that engages throughout. The story centers on Cormoran Strike, a former soldier who lost part of a leg to a land mine in Afghanistan. He is eking out a living as a private… Read more

Intriguing with a nice twist at the end, 31 Oct 2013

Not my favourite Mark Billingham / Tom Thorne novel as the plot seemed a little overdrawn, but still a solid read. The concept is certainly intriguing in having a (unintentional) serial killer with medical expertise preying on young women to attempt to leave them in a comatose state between life and death. The technique is not very effective and the majority are just killed except for one poor girl who is left in a `locked-in' state and Billingham cleverly interjects her new view of life in-between each chapter. Thorne is convinced he knows the culprit and pursues him with the subtlety of a brick, whilst enjoying a fling with a senior medical consultant he meets through the case. The sub… Read more

Not Great, 9 Aug 2013

I knew this was an old Harlan Coben book pre-dating the Bolitar stories but I was curious to read as I have always liked Coben's style of writing. Unfortunately Miracle Cure was not a book that gripped me; in fact it initially bored me though an overcooked plot and surprisingly shallow characters. It does come to life towards the end and picks up to a good pace with a nice twist - this was enough to redeem an extra star. The plot itself centres on the search for a cure for AIDS which riles a group of influential (& homophobic) businessmen as money is diverted from cancer research. It would seem that the AIDS research is on the brink of a breakthrough and likely to retain funding but then… Read more