Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I didn’t review when I had writer’s block.

Published on by Margaret

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For the rules see her blog.

I’ve tweaked the topic this week, which is Books Too Good to Review Properly (I have no words!) and am highlighting 10 books I read over the last two years that I loved but didn’t write about because I had writer’s block. It certainly wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy them, nor because I didn’t have enough time. I just couldn’t find the words to describe how I felt about the books. It began during the first lockdown – need I say more?

Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson – Book 27 in the DCI Banks series. Crime fiction set in England and Moldova.

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville – historical fiction set in Australia in the late 18th century.

Enigma by Robert Harris – historical fiction about the code breakers at Bletchley Park during World War 2, probably the best book on this subject that I’ve read.

The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin – McIlvanney’s half-finished novel about DC Jack Laidlaw’s first case, finished by Ian Rankin.

Still Life by Val McDermid – a DCI Karen Pirie murder mystery with two cases to investigate.

The Dry by Jane Harper – crime fiction set in set in the Australian outback…amid the worst drought in a century!

A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin – Rebus in retirement, investigates the disappearance of his daughter’s husband in north east Scotland, whilst Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox investigate a murder in Edinburgh.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves – more crime fiction with Vera Stanhope in Northumberland, giving an insight into her family background.

Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh – the 5th Eddie Flynn book, a court room drama with estranged sisters both charged with murdering their father.

The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths – the 11th Ruth Galloway book, a mix of murder, baby abduction, archaeology and Norse mythology.

16 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I didn’t review when I had writer’s block.”

  4. Such great reads here, Margaret! I do like the Alan Banks series, and Elly Griffiths is so talented. I was happy to see a Kate Grenville here, too; I really do like her historical fiction. I think you had a great idea for a tweak to this meme!

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  9. I completely understand, the books I’ve read that through no fault of their own have not been reviewed are too many to list, this is a good way of giving them a shout out!

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  11. I loved The Dry, Still Life and Enigma too – haven’t read any of the rest. I’m too scared to read the Rankin/McIlvanney since I love them both so much and couldn’t bear the disappointment if I hated it! Maybe if you’d reviewed it you’d have changed my mind… 😉

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  12. I think you captured the prompt perfectly, no tweak needed. 😉 The Dry is a great one for this list. I could have had it on mine, as well.

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  13. So many of my favorite authors on this list (McDermid, Harper, Cleeves, Griffiths, Cavanagh) that I can certainly understand your writer’s block. When Steve Cavanagh came here to Phoenix on a book tour for Thirteen, he told us about Fifty Fifty, and I knew I had to read it. For some reason, the release of the US edition keeps being postponed, so when I saw it on your list, I decided that I’d stop waiting and order the UK edition.

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