For the first time the Trojan War made sense to me. They do everything, from feeding and washing and healing the men who fight, to being the unwitting cause of the whole war (thanks Eris) when Paris picks Helen.

And actually, who gives a flying fuck about any of the poor trapped victims? Apart from the Tabloids. Diana was a fascinating character to write about and her rebellion was a genuine threat to the Weird Family but this lot aren’t very interesting. The only problem (shh) is that they are boring. One of my favourite stories from one of my favourite authors. All The Secrets of the World Steve Almondįamilies and scorpions. Highsmith is brilliant, and I think foremost in her field, in conveying the stresses and strains inside a marriage. Possibly due to the fact that no one could quite believe Ben wouldn’t shag her…. A very tolerant husband, who loves snails, turns a blind eye on his wife’s adultery, which leaves him vulnerable. When she is raped and murdered both twist in “a limbo of tension and doubt.” Living with the possibility that one of them is a killer. Here we’re in Switzerland, there we’re in Tunisia and Italy and … A Game for The Living (1958) Patricia Highsmith I so love how much she changes the set and settings of her novels. It opens in Zurich in a bar with a brutal murder. The faithful husband wishes his wife dead. Mexico, Tunisia, Italy… The Blunderer (1954) Patricia Highsmith I love the way she completely changes the settings of her stories. From Rome to Venice where Ray is both the hunter and the hunted. A grieving husband is assaulted by his father in law. Those Who Walk Away (1967) Patricia Highsmith

I love it, since I lived in Tunisia a short while. Set in Tunisia, an American writer, is drawn into something murderous. “Highsmith’s finest novel” says Graham Greene. The Tremor of Forgery (1969) Patricia Highsmith Strangers on A Train (1950) Patricia Highsmith These are fascinating areas and quite new in novel writing. She knows perfectly well how women can manipulate men. I think what she gets is the ability of people to appear one way and yet underneath be totally monsters. I have to confess I haven’t written my reading blog for ages, though I have been reading.

Fool's Proof by Eva Sandor