The Three Kates

An absolutely disgusting day today! Cloud down to the ground, wet, dark and miserable. Glad to be home? Huh!

It was practically dark before I got round to thinking about a Blip, but by then it was going to be an indoor one. I had been piling up a few books and noticed that the authors of these three were all named Kate! Here's the Blip then!

Kate Atkinson is a well-known author of detecetive fiction, a genre to which I'm rather partial. I've read one of her books before and have a feeling that I struggled with it. Some authors suit you, others don't. I didn't get far with 'One Good Turn', set in the Edinburgh Festival, which is unusual. I seem to remember thinking that writing the biographies of some of the characters at the beginning of the book wasn't a good idea. I prefer the lives of the characters to be divulged over time. I'll try again some time.

Kate Ellis however, suits me well. Another author of detective fiction, her books, or at least this group of her books, are set in Devon, and feature Devon's only coloured policeman, a man originally from the Met. I've read several of her books and probably have a few on the shelves somewhere. It must be difficult for authors to come up with novelty detectives - it's the same with TV detectives. Some have dirty raincoats, some are in wheelchairs, some are rude and outspoken, some quiet and polite. This one is intelligent, polite and kind, just as they should be!

The third Kate of the day is Kate Adie. I really enjoyed this book, the story of her early career and her moving into war reporting - a woman working in a man's world. I sometimes think that war reporters like the idea of strutting about in flak jackets, but she does it well!