F. M. Stockdale

Fascinating, 13 April 2013

A wonderful book, full of the most interesting (and reassuring) information about dogs, and how they developed from wolves to the loyal and loving pets we all treasure.
One very odd thing: the 2 earlier reviews that say the book ends halfway through. I can't make sense of this. It's got 285 pages of absorbing but easy-to-read text, followed by 45 pages of detailed notes and a 12 page (very helpful) index.
Halfway?? Who knows? Who cares?
This is a thoroughly entertaining book for anyone interested in their dog. I learnt a lot from it, not just about dogs, but also about bonobos, silver-haired Siberian foxes and the whole worldwide community of animal psychologists. A very good… Read more

Gripping, 5 April 2013

Another great read from Taylor, exciting, touching, totally believable. As usual with him, I was sorry when it ended. A most interesting riff on the varieties of loyalty.
My problem is that I am always hoping he will return to his wonderful Lydford series. Maybe he's right not to, but they were so mesmerisingly good that I pine for another.

A travesty, 31 Mar 2013

No, I'm sorry, this is a dreadful series. Worst point? The incomprehensible changing of the stories by the scriptwriters, presumably out of vanity, or a desire for royalties? Example: the chauffeur and the secretary are made to sleep in the butcher's Bentley rather than their flat, deeply implausible and wrecking a key point of Simenon's plot. No sign of Mme Maigret, Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, Meurs, and even Maigret's character has been changed, now given to irrational violence against innocent witnesses (Maigret at school).
Avoid at all cost. It's impossible to compare with the fondly remembered Rupert Davies episodes, but Michael Gambon is uniformly excellent with a fine supporting… Read more