Book Talk
with Smiffs book & card store, Nerja
The title of the book Kompromat
refers to the Russian term for
compromising materials about a
politician or other public figure.
Stanley Johnson’s latest political
thriller claims to recount the
story of the most audacious geo-
political coup since Genghis Khan
and his hordes swept across Asia
into Europe. The novel explores
the dirty dealings that might just
have gone on behind the scenes
as the United Kingdom,
surprisingly, voted to exit the
European Union. As the father of
the UK government’s foreign
affairs minister, Boris Johnson, the author’s political thriller
will inevitably invite great interest and speculation. It is
particularly timely given the continuing controversy around
Russian-source fake news and propaganda on social media.
In other fictions genres, look out
for Assassin’s Fate (p), the
culmination of Robin Hobb’s Fitz
& The Fool trilogy, moving into
paperback; The Space Between
The Stars (p), by Anne Corlett;
and Dead Men’s Trousers (l), the
latest chapter in Irvine Welsh’s
‘Trainspotting’ story featuring
characters Mark Renton and
Begbie.
New foodie and cookery books in
March include Where Chefs Eat
(l), from high-end publisher
Phaidon. The nearly 1,200-page
guide features more than 3,000
recommendations involving
roughly 4,500 restaurants and
some 70 countries, with
recommendations from around
660 of the world’s best chefs. With
a new international slate of
editors, this third version is more
comprehensive than ever.
Kompromat (p) leads off this month’s Soltalk Hotlist of titles,
some entirely new, others moving into small paperback format
for the first time or being reissued, sometimes after years out
of print. All are due for publication on dates in March, with
availability in print this month or in early April. The Soltalk
Hotlist helps readers to plan and budget for book ordering.
With the growing and welcome
Scandinavian presence in the
Axarquía, more of us are
becoming aware of daily rituals in
Sweden. The Little Book Of Fika
(l), by US food writer Lynda
Balslev, refers to the ‘fika’ coffee
break or breaks - including facts,
quotes, tips, and 20 sweet and
savoury recipes. Part of Sweden’s
‘lagom’ lifestyle, fika is the simple
art of taking a break – sometimes
more than once a day – to enjoy a
warm beverage and sweet treats
with friends.
The Spain-based thriller, The
Dead (p), by Mark Oldfield,
moves into paperback as the final
part of the Vengeance of Memory
trilogy. In Madrid, in 1982,
Comandante Leopoldo Guzmán
decides to disappear, there being
no place in the new Spain for the
former head of its secret police.
Money is no object. Blackmail
comes easy to him; he knows
where the bodies are – he buried
them. Nearly 30 years later, a trail
of the dead leads forensic
investigator Ana Maria Galíndez
to Guzmán.
Or try Open Sandwiches (l), in
which Trine Hahnemann presents
Scandi single-slice snacks. Here
are 50 recipes for delicious, healthy, open sandwiches that are
beautiful enough to serve at a dinner party or simply make a
quick and filling snack making good use of leftovers. From the
classic gravad laks, to tomatmad and blue cheese with apple,
every recipe is accompanied by a photograph.
Other thrillers worth considering
include: Love Like Blood (p), by
Mark Billingham; The Killing Of
Butterfly Joe (l), by Rhidian
Brook; The Burial Hour (p), by
Jeffery Deaver; Devil’s Wolf (p),
by Paul Doherty; The
Punishment She Deserves (l), by
Elizabeth George; Panic Room (l),
by Robert Goddard; The Night
Ferry (p), by Lotte Hammer;
Every Man A Menace (p), by
Patrick Hoffman; Mississippi
Blood (p), by Greg Iles; Fearless
(l), by Jessie Keane; The Killing
House (p), by Claire McGowan;
While You Sleep (l), by Stephanie Merritt; Lightning Men (p),
by Thomas Mullen; The Canal (p), by Cormac O’Keeffe; and,
Night Of The Lightbringer (p), by Peter Tremayne.
Continuing the health theme,
Nina Olsson’s Veggie Burger
Atelier (l) is packed with
extraordinary recipes for
nourishing and flavoursome
plant-based burgers, as well as
buns/rolls, condiments, and
sweets. Olsson shares her
thoughts on the anatomy of the
perfect veggie burger when it
comes to texture, flavour,
firmness and juiciness. She also
passes on her wisdom on
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