Sunday 31st January 

It's been a good start to 2021 in terms of books if not in terms of the general situation - we're still in lockdown but at least the vaccine against Covid is being rolled out and we seem to be doing better in the UK than in many other places so light at the end of the tunnel?

I've already finished six books, three of them on Audible so I'm on track to meet my target of 72 for the year. To begin though, I'm going to focus on two of the audio books I've particularly enjoyed

Jessie Burton: The Confession

Rose has never known her mother who disappeared from a friend's apartment in New York when she was only a few months old.  Her father has told her very little so when he reveals a link to the novelist Connie Holden, Rose is determined to find out what happened.  Two stories of two women bound together by kinship and the novelist Connie Holden but thirty five years apart, this is a beautifully written exploration of people trying to find their way through life and the power that other individuals have over the decisions that we make.

Jo Spain: Six Wicked Reasons
When Adam returns home after a ten year absence during which he was presumed dead, his five siblings return to the family home at the insistence of their father, the obnoxious Fraser Latimer.  Then at the party to mark his engagement to Anna, their father ends up dead and they all have significant grievances against him. Told in short chapters, covering the present day and flashbacks to events in the past, we get the different perspectives of the six remaining Latimers and of the detective investigating the murder.  A cleverly worked plot showing the devastating impact a parent can have on his family and how vengeance is wrought, it keeps you guessing throughout as secrets are gradually revealed. A massive twist at the end makes for a satisfying read.

But my favourite book of the year so far is this next one:

Richard Osman: The Thursday Murder Club
Set in a retirement village built around an old convent this is a brilliantly crafted plot with great characters, lots of humour, some sad bits and a punchline that I just didn't see coming even though all the clues were there from the start. When dodgy builder Tony Curran is murdered, the Thursday Murder Club is determined to solve the puzzle and to figure out the significance of the old cemetery. Several red herrings distract the attention but never muddy the waters whilst Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Joyce successfully crack the case alongside DI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas. Clever and well observed in the best tradition of the whodunnit - I loved it.

 

Once again, I've put my thoughts about some of the books I've read into words then forgotten to post to my blog - doh!  So the following observations were written earlier this month.

8th January 2021

To round of my review of of 2020, I'd like to finish with three novels that really captured my imagination in different ways.

Diane Setterfield: Once Upon a River

In the tradition of all great fairy tales, Once Upon a River tells an epic story of heroes and villains where good triumphs over evil but it is peopled, not with princes, goblins and wicked witches, but with the ordinary folk who live near the banks of the Thames: an innkeeper, a photographer, a farmer, a nurse and a host of other characters just going about their daily business along the upper reaches of the river towards the end of the 19th Century. This is a beautifully written novel with characters, scenes and the river itself coming to life under Setterfield's deft touch; with a little bit of magic and hints of the supernatural mixed in, it is story telling at its very best. I loved it.

Tracey Chevalier: the Girl with a Pearl Earring

Beautifully imagined story of the girl behind Vermeer's evocative painting: Griet joins his household as a junior maid but quickly becomes involved in his work as she has the painter's instinctive eye for detail. She longs to remain close to him and to remain part of his world despite her blossoming relationship with Pieter, the handsome son of a local butcher but a jealous wife and a sly daughter conspire against her whilst Griet and the reader never know Vermeer's true feeling for her as Chevalier skilfully keeps us guessing as she brings the city of Delft to life whenever Griet ventures out. A novel as gorgeous as the pearl itself.

Kate Mosse: The Taxidermists Daughter

Determined to find out the truth behind the murder of a local woman whose body she discovers, Connie Gifford will also unlock the door to her own missing past, lost to her after a terrifying fall robbed her of her memory as a child. As her father and other notable 'gentlemen' go missing, Connie enlists the help of doctor's son Harry Woolston, her young maid and an even younger urchin who roams the salt marsh and knows most of its secrets, putting her own life in danger as a result. An atmospheric gothic novel featuring an admirable heroine, some graphic descriptions of taxidermy and some gruesome deaths, it's a thoroughly enjoyable read but not for the faint-hearted. 

A New Year it might be but the situation hasn't changed: Covid is still running riot and restrictions have been ramped up to try and bring it back under control but there is light at the end of the tunnel with not one, but two vaccines being rolled out by the NHS so hopefully by the spring/summer the picture will be looking a little brighter.

And so to books and a few short reviews of some crime novels which took me up to the end of 2020 - a year to remember and to forget!

Chris Whitaker: We Begin at the End

A tragic tale of broken people, broken families and the awful consequences that follow actions. Well written and gripping especially towards the end as Whitaker ups the pace but then leaves the reader with a sense of hope?

Harriet Tyce: Blood Orange

Dark and twisty tale of obsession, manipulation and sex with characters you love to hate as barrister Alison Wood engages in a 'rough' affair with a colleague whilst husband, Carl, a sex therapist, becomes less and less willing to engage with her at home - vicious!

CJ Tudor: The Taking of Annie Thorne

A creepy thriller with a supernatural flavour and a flawed but likeable hero in Joe Thorne who has lived most of his life with guilt about the disappearance of his little sister. A few surprising twists to keep the reader interested right up to the chilling conclusion but some supporting characters are under-developed. Did not really live up to its billing.

Alex Pavesi: Eight Detectives

A clever idea that has editor, Julia going through a series of short murder mysteries with the author ahead of publication. Each one features an anomaly which links back to a real murder but despite some interesting twists and turns along the way, it has a strangely flat denouement which is disappointing.

Claire McGowan: The Fall

A night out in a Jamaican club turns into a night-mare for Dan Stockbridge and his fiancee, Charlotte. Arrested for murder and remanded in custody until his trial, Dan all but gives up hope but Charlotte is determined to clear his name and forges an unlikely alliance with Keisha, whose boyfriend has a history of violence. Investigating the crime is Matt who is initially convinced of Dan's guilt but begins to question the evidence as he begins to fall for Charlotte. Told from their different perspectives, it rattles along at a good pace.