Frank

Sol Stein (whose editorial credentials are impeccable) brings to this guide to writing are real humility in the face of the authors with whom he has worked, and a real understanding of the dynamics of creating characters, developing plot and fleshing out themes and ideas. He manages to be precise without being pedantic, structured without ever being formulaic. For the novice writer, his insights, ideas and principles are invaluable

In her later books, P. D. James tends to Adam Dalgleish away from contemporary London to investigate some gothic murder in a closed environment, chipping away slowly at the warped psychology of a small group of suspects. In many was it is in such quasi 'locked room' mysteries that she is at her best - her books have never been procedurals, more meditations on human iniquity with Dalgleish as a flawed Gabriel. Though this is not quite as good as "Original Sin", James slowly weaves a dense, suspenseful narrative - unpeeling the onion layers of secrets, lies and sinfulness which bind the characters. The denouement is a little abrupt, but Michael Jayston, as always, is a magnificent narrator

I love P.D. James (Phyllis to her friends) - this is not one my favourite (The Murder Room, The Lighthouse, Devices and Desires contest that title), but it is finely wrought and well told, best of all Michael Jayston (who has recorded most of her work) is a wonderful narrator

Routledge's language series (and I've previously used the Dutch and Portuguese books/tapes) are intelligently composed. This introduction to Turkish offers a quick command of basics but - more importantly - also gives a real insight into how the language is constructed, how to build sentences - rather than simply parrot phrases, and therefore sets you on the road to creating and articulating ideas

What I enjoy most about Minette Walters books is the depth of characterisation - often (Fox Evil, Dark Room) the plotting or the payoff has disappointed me - but her precision in drawing characters, her dialogue and her insight into human emotion is excellent. This is well plotted and very well read - the three stars merely indicates that I feel that, unabridged, it would be richer and more resonant

Not perhaps Christie's best, being the earliest of the Miss Marple mysteries, but the puzzle is neatly constructed, and Joan HIckson is the perfect narrator - not simply because she IS Miss Marple, but because she can handle the range of voices, characters and scenes with extraordinary effectiveness

I rather liked The Poet but Conelly's books have left me rather cold since then - there's something ersatz about everything - the characters, their problems, the dialogue - most of all the overly contrived prose and plotting. If he's trying for modern day Chandler, he's not making it. For those who like his stuff, I have nothing against the audiobook - it's very well read: it's the underlying book I found tedious