Twisted Wing (Ruth Newman)

I ought to declare an interest here. Ruth is an old friend from college and I read her book before it was published. I'm told one of the characters is me. I'm not sure which one, although everyone else says it's obvious.

It's just come out in English, having been published in various translations first. I bought a copy for Ruth to sign, and read it, for the third time, last night.

It's very good! It's about a series of killings in Cambridge, at a (very thinly disguised) King's College, where we were both students.

I don't usually read detective fiction, but I would if it was all like this. It's been impossible to put down on all three occasions that I've read it. I started at about 10pm last night, and finished it at about 3am. As a result I'm completely knackered today. I recommend starting it just after tea on a quiet night.

This despite the fact that I already knew what was going to happen.

The plot twists violently and intriguingly, which I think is why you can't stop reading. The sense of the rather claustrophobic student life is spot on. It's heart-rending to see the characters forming the same sorts of life-long friendships that we made, only to see them ruined by the actions of a maniac.

The villian is the most terrifyingly evil character I've ever read about. I don't know if that's a commonplace of crime novels, but it scares all hell out of me.