Review: A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill

A Killing Kindness: Featuring Dalziel and Pascoe by Reginald Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is quite possibly the best of the Dalziel and Pascoe novels that I've read so far. It's a very well paced police procedural with enough twists and turns to keep you hooked until the very end. If you haven't tried this series before, this book would be a good place to start; it's an excellent example of most of the things the series does right.



One thing that particularly impressed me about this book is how it deals with a lot of difficult subject matter. There is a serial killer who is murdering young women; there is a nearby encampment of Romany, some of whom fall under suspicion for the crime; there's the return of the radical feminist group we first met in A Pinch of Snuff; and there are some moments when the police resort to some decidedly dodgy tactics to get their evidence. The opportunities for the author to do something cringeworthy in relation to ethnicity or gender are numerous, as are the moments where I might expect another author to deliver a crude political rant. Hill evades these pitfalls. His characters, although they can be pretty extreme, never seem like stereotypes to me. The world Hill depicts can be pretty ugly, but you never feel like he's stacking the deck to make a point.





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Audio Review: Doctor Who: Relative Dimensions

Relative Dimensions by Marc Platt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Marc Platt delivers a fun Christmas story that sheds a bit of new light on the Doctor's character and throws another unexpected twist into the ongoing 8th Doctor storyline.

( Spoilers for the current 8th Doctor series and Relative Dimensions below... )

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Some fitness links for the new year

I seem to make my major resolutions in July/August rather than at the turn of the year. Which means that I'm either amazingly ahead of schedule or a terrible procrastinator. But since I know that lots of people will be making resolutions to get fit in the new year, I thought I'd share a few things that I've found useful in getting fit:

• First up has to be the Podrunner workout mixes. I know I've posted about these before, but they're really great. The Podrunner Intervals First Day to 5K set of workout mixes helped me go from being someone who couldn't run to the end of the block to someone who runs 5Ks...and likes it. If running isn't your thing, you can use the Podrunner mixes on the elliptical trainer, stationary bike, or with any other activity where you'd like a high energy electronic dance music to propel you along. (Of the non-interval mixes, my current favorite is the slightly dangerously named "Runnerfunker" mix at 149 bpm.)


• A more recent fitness podcast discovery for me is Skip Orem's Get Fit Pod. There are a number of workouts available in the archives for different activities and ability levels, and they feature a more eclectic range of music than the Podrunner workouts. I've been particularly enjoying the interval workouts. If you want a 30 minute workout that will absolutely kick your butt, try the Surf the Treadmill Workout. Skip also produces informational episodes with tips on all sorts of aspects of fitness from nutrition to workout gear, so the podcast is a great resource if you're just getting started.


• Finally, if you're doing any kind of exercise that really makes you sweat, I just want to plug workout gear made of moisture-wicking fabric, because I was amazed when I discovered how much of a difference it makes. I know that plenty of people get by just fine in ordinary cotton T-shirts, but if you hate the sticky overheated feeling that your skin gets when it's saturated with sweat, a moisture-wicking T-shirt (and sports bra if anatomically appropriate) will whisk that sweat off your skin and make you feel much more comfortable. And a moisture-wicking hat or headband is great if you have a problem with sweat running into your eyes when you work out. I wear mostly UnderArmour "heatgear", because that was the first brand I happened to try and fell in love with, but just about every major manufacturer of sports apparel makes moisture-wicking stuff. (Worth noting because this stuff can be pricy: UnderArmour, and some of the other manufacturers, have an outlet section on their website where you can generally get last year's styles at a discount. Generally, last year's tank top performs just as well as this year's, although you often won't get a full choice of colors.)