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.