2022 50 BOOKS - OR AS MANY AS YOU CAN MANAGE

#36. Wish You Were Dead by Peter James. (Quick read).

Just finished book 63, The Naked Face, by Sidney Sheldon, about to start book 64, Darkest Fear, by Harlan Coben.

#37. Want You Dead by Peter James.

I loved Darkest Fear. It`s a Myron Bolitar story, but Myron isn`t being flippant in this one.

Just started book 65, An Unsuitable Job For a Woman, by P.D.James. Finding it a bit boring and dated, but will stick with it.

Just finished 'The Red Tent', by Anita Diamant, for Reading Group. Recommended by someone who hadn't read it.
Dire.

Sorry, cannot read 18 pages. But if it hasn’t been mentioned I love William Boyd, currently enjoying Waiting for Sunrise.

#41 Plan For The Worst Jodi Taylor.
One of my favourite authors. This is number 11 in the Chronicles of St Mary's. Really good.
#42 Foxglove Summer Ben Aaronovitch.
Another good read. Number 5 in a series about a Metropolitan Police constable and trainee wizard.

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex about the disappearance of some lighthouse men. Not always easy to follow as it jumps back and forth and there is a bit of twist at the end. I wouldn't read it again.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. I loved this book and read it every spare moment. All about the dustbowl of Texas and the trek to California. Like The Grapes of Wrath.

The Giver of Stars by Jo Jo Moyes.I can see why it is a best seller.

Bigfoot Mountain by Roderick O'Grady. This is a charming book written for children, with a touch of The Three Bears and The Famous Five. About the Sasquatch bears in
California.

Maigret Travels
Maigret's Revolver
Maigret Doubts by Georges
Simenon.

I'm halfway through Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell. all about the whaling and fishing community near Whitby in the last century. Picked up on a Tesco charity bookshelf. Interesting reading. Sylvia has two men interested in her. I don't know yet who she chooses.

Fairfraise, I'm reading The Lamplighters right now, I'm about a third of the way in, I can't say it's living up to all the praise it has had heaped on it, for me at any rate, not bad. I imagine I'll reach the same conclusion as you have done once I've finished it.

I didn't find it gripping at all. As you say it didn't live up to its name. Interesting though in the detail of day to day routine in the lighthouse.

I read The Lamplighters last year and found it was not particularly well written or gripping. There were some fairly glaring anachronisms, too, and it was obvious that the author was not well versed in the time it was supposed to be set.

Book 66 is going to be a collection of true crime stories, called Professional Killers.

#38. The Palace Papers by Tina Brown.

Haven’t finished number #37, but had to collect this from library, a big waiting list, so decided to crack on with it and return to my Roy Grace book when I’ve (hopefully) read this.

Calandargirl
I enjoyed the Palace Papers, no big surprises, but little details I didn’t know.
It certainly changed my mind about one or two Royals,
I love The Royal Family, but boy, are they dysfunctional.

14 Cecily Blench : The Long Journey Home. Set at end of WW2. Good story.
15: Anita Shreve: All He Ever Wanted.
16: David Baldacci: Daylight. OK story, was expecting better.
17 : Lisa Jewell: The Family Upstairs. Excellent.
18: Lisa Jewell : The Third Wife. I love this author, always gripping stories.
19:Jane Harper. Force of Nature. Another favourite author, always set in Australia.
20 Elizabeth Buchan: The New Mrs Clifton. Set post WW2 . Intriguing storyline.
21: Anna Burns : Milkman. Didn't finish.Not keen on style of writing.
22:Ian Rankin: INA a House of Flies. Enjoyed this, like his books.
23: James Bowen: A Streetcat Named Bob. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Hadn't seen the film so no preconceived ideas.
24:Diane Settlefield: The Thirteenth Tale. A ghost story. Nor my usual type of book but enjoyed it.
25 Cath Stancliffe: The Kindest Thing. Short book but good story of a woman accused of helping her terminally illl husband end his life.

Ignore my previous post. I decided not to read about gratuitous killings, so book 66 is now Others, by James Herbert.

#52 was The Silent Child by Claire Sheldon. I enjoyed this thriller about the world of undercover policing.
#53 was The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor. This was a feel-good book set in rural Yorkshire in 1962 and was ok but not the best book l have read this year.
#54 was The Girl With No Name by Reine Andrieu. This is one of my favourite books of the year so far. It is a French book translated into English about a girl in 1946, who has amnesia. It intertwines with the events of the Second World War which led up to it. It is beautifully written and I learned a lot about France in the Occupation and the courage of the members of the French Resistance through it.

#36 ‘Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line’ by Deepa Anappara. A story told by a 9yo narrator, about child disappearances in his Indian slum. Strangely I looked forward to reading it each night - believable characters and community, engrossing storytelling.

Others was a good read, but a bit creepy. Book 67 is going to be Tell Me Your Dreams, by Sidney Sheldon.

Tell Me Your Dreams was a good tale, book 68 not decided yet.

Book 68 is Haunted, by James Herbert, it`s a bit creepy.

#43 Another Time, Another Place Jodi Taylor.
Number 12 of the wonderful St Mary's Chronicles series. I am tempted to go straight on to the next (most recent) in the series but I think I'm going to save it and read something else.

Book 69 is Witch Hunt, by Ian Rankin. It`s OK, but not thrilling me overmuch.

#44 Death In The Sunshine Steph Broadribb.
One from my pile of free Kindle books. Four ex police officers, three Brits one American, living in a retirement community in Florida investigate a murder. Despite the superficial similarity this is not a Thursday Murder Club ripoff, I almost wish it was at least there would be some humour. It is intended to be the first in a series but I shan't bother with any more, I struggled to finish this one.