The very real dangers of detective fiction

Waiting for my train last night I very nearly missed my departure - my nose in a book and only pages from the end I didn't notice the train pull in to the station. Fortunately I still made it into my splendid wagon lit and finished my book in bed. Phew! Almost as exciting as the book itself : Tess Geritsen's The Bone Garden, one of several books I picked up from the Cyprus hotel's left behind books library. It's a good railway or airport read.

Meanwhile, in terms of more serious reading, Suzanne MCcarthy has notedthat the Frankfurt book fair has a focus on Turkey this year and invited Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk to open the fair, with a speech critical of the Turkish government. Writing is not just about entertainment but also about telling the truth and that can be much more dangerous than just missing your train.