Salem Falls by Jodie Picoult

I've read most of Picoult's books and like the rest of them Salm Falls is excellently written, tightly plotted and heartbreaking. It challenges the assumptions even I hold that men who work with and are able to connect with and inspire young girls are suspect, a sad indictment on how the predators that there are rob us of our innocence. Picoult's use of subtle clues meant I saw the final twist coming but it wasn't disappointing, more an affirmation that I had read something hidden correctly. I read it in a day and enjoyed it greatly.

Dead and Alive: Dean Koontz's Frankenstein Book 3 by Dean R Koontz

Another great book, the third in Koontz's Frankenstein series rewriting Shelley's modern myth with hope and horror in equal measure. A return to familiar Koontz themes of what it means to be human, the creation of new races, the temptations and dangers of intelligence and love, oh, and the intelligence of canine friends. Unlike Odd Hours I didn't think any of it felt a little stale, there is a deep humanity in Frankenstein's monster Deucalion and many of Shelley's themes and fears are raised here in the same way she wrote about them, most of all about the fact that creation is monstrous if it is not the wonder of pregnany and birth through the female line.

Marvel Romance tpb by Stan Lee

A fantastic collection of the most un pc stories of romantic pulp, of women giving themselves to their men, of broken hearts and schmaltz so powerful it's kitsch. The graphics are wonderful and each story is so of its time, right through 60s flowerpower and 70s feminism. A hinky delight.

Angel: Strange Bedfellows tpb by Christopher Golden

I don't usually read spin offs but I thought I'd pick this up on a whim, I was right. There's none of the developement of character and depth that Joss Whedon brought to an episode of the show. Not my kind of thing, listen to the voices!

The Keep by F. Paul Wilson - graphic novel

This is quite interesting and the graphics are great, I love the use of a very limited palatte of black, white and red. However, the story is a little predictable and the oncoming horror not as acute as it could be because the people dying are Death's Head Nazis who it is clear deserve everything coming to them.

Modesty Blaise
Cry Wolf and The Gallows Bird

What great fun! Two collections of the wonderfully dated Modesty Blaise magazine comic strip, great adventures, a slick proto Lara Croft ass kicking mystery solving girl and her hunky rough diamond side kick.