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I've been away for a few days and had a lot of reading time on trains and in hotel rooms, so a few books read:
"Tiger in the Smoke", by Margery Allingham. The 14th book in the "Campion" series. Campion goes up against a ruthless killer who is determined to get his hands on a treasure hidden in WWII. I think this is probably the best book in the series so far. Absolutely excellent and highly recommended.
"Resurgence", by Charles Sheffield, bought from Baen in 2002. The 5th and final book in the "Heritage Universe" series. A direct continuation of the story from the first four books, and very good hard SF. Unfortunately the story is left incomplete, and this is the final book in the series, due to the author's death from a brain tumour in the year that this book was published. An extremely enjoyable series, even incomplete.
"The Shape of Water", by Andrea Camilleri. The first book in the "Inspector Montalbano" series, set in Sicily. I've long enjoyed the TV adaptation of this author's books, which are shown on BBC TV subtitled from the original Italian, but this is the first book in the series that I've read. I enjoyed it very much; the book is well-written and very witty, too. This book is about the apparently natural death of a local politician, which Montalbano thinks is not as straightforward as it first appears. Again, highly recommended.
"Skylock", by Paul Koverski", again bought from Baen in 2002. Military SF, set in a mid-21st America in which civilisation has collapsed due to a change in the Sun's output. I really didn't particularly enjoy this one, although it wasn't bad enough for me to abandon it. The political stereotyping is crude, with a Soviet army officer consistently referred to as "The Red", which I found distasteful. Not recommended.
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