2023 - 50 BOOK CHALLENGE

57-Ann Cleeves-Hidden Depths. This is a Vera story about 4 bird watchers and their families. When a young man's body is found dead in a bath with flowers floating on the water, everyone is under suspicion. This was full of surprises and most enjoyable. It helps if you're a fan of the TV series as you can almost hear the voices as you read.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time, turned out to be very good, once I got used to the time jumping.
Now just starting book 89, Nomad, by James Swallow. Nomad is the name of a branch of the secret service that hunts out terrorists.

#36. Unnatural Causes by PD James.

No. 51 The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

A good storyline but complicated with a number of different characters telling the story from their viewpoint, and also switching about in timelines. It's about babies that were switched at birth, adoptions and different families .... there were times when I was very tired and lost track of which baby was which.

Enjoying Nomad. It would make a brilliant Delta Force type film.

26 Red Strangers by Elspeth Huxley. An extraordinary novel about European colonisation of E Africa in the late 19th/early 20th C, told from the POV of a family of the Kikuyu tribe. It makes some of our Western practices seem utterly bizarre.

The author was raised in Kenya and obviously deeply researched her topic. The book came out in 1939, when she was only 35yo.

#37 Low Action Andrew Carmel.
Number 5 in the very entertaining Vinyl Detective series.

58-Ann Cleeves- The Darkest Evening. Another Vera story which delves into the Stanhope family history. When baby Thomas's mother is found murdered, the rumour is that Vera may be related to him. Keeps you guessing right to the end.

I remember watching that Vera episode on TV, Diggingdoris

Just finished Book 52 A Lie for a Lie by Julie Corbin. This is the first book of hers that I've read and will definitely read others.

A school nurse is accused of hitting a pupil - a troubled and difficult girl known to be a liar. The nurse is desperate to hold onto her career and reputation but before she can do this, the girl is found dead and suspicion mounts against her.

It's a great storyline with many twists along the way.

Sparklefizz, I’m glad you enjoyed A Lie for a Lie as much as I did. I found it completely unputdownable and the tension was almost unbearable at times.

Musicgirl Yes. I have been struggling with trying to watch the tennis and desperate to pick up my book I've just reserved another of her books from the library.

#37. Sidney Chambers and the Persistence Of Love by James Runcie.

I really did enjoy Nomad. Like I said earlier, it would make a brilliant film.
Have just started book 90, The Killing, by David Hewson. English author, but based on a Scandinavian TV series, set in Denmark.

38 After The Silence - Louise O'Neill

Set on the fictitious island of Inisrun, off the west coast of Ireland. The silence of the title refers to the silence that followed on from the unexplained and suspicious death of a girl who died ten years previously at a drink and drug fuelled party at the home of wealthy Henry and Keelin Kinsella. Her death was always deemed suspicious by the islanders but no one was ever convicted. To the island ten years after that fateful night, come a couple of Australian documentary makers who are seeking to make a true crime programme focusing on the unexplained. Through a series of interviews, the voices and perspectives of many characters who knew both the girl who died and the hosts, the reader gains some insight into the relationship dynamics between the family at the house and their interaction with the small community that live on the island. Predominantly we hear from Keelin, the wife and a native of the island married to wealthy Henry Kinsella, Irish roots, but an outsider, having spent most of his life in England. The plot is cleverly multi layered and relayed through chapters pertaining to the past and present interspersed with intermittent interviews and retrospective insights into personal past histories with themes of domestic violence and coercive control emerging as the book progresses. A good read I thought, I liked some of the Gaelic references that acclaimed Irish writer Louise O'Neill used in her book.

Book 43. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer.

Partly a romance but also the story of Wellington’s Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon. Army life’s described very vividly and the frustrations of the campaign are well described. If you like history I would strongly recommend.

Thanks teabagwoman I'll reserve at the library. It's been ages since I've read a Georgette Heyer so it will make a nice change.

Started Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver but just couldn't get into it and didn't enjoy the small amount I read, so have abandoned it. (Sorry to those who really liked it)

59-Vernon Coleman-Bilbury Grange. A lighthearted story of a Devon GP and the trials of buying a dilapidated old house. Some amusing anecdotes made this an easy read from an author I hadn't come across before. I've been given 3 more in this series which I will look forward to reading.

Oh Sparklefizz so sad Demon Copperhead my absolute number 1 this year. Never mind that's the nature of books often very subjective It's good to read varying opinions, always happy to agree to disagree, after all I didn't really like Exiles that much!

#48 was The Retreat by Sarah Pearse. This book is set on a brooding, sinister island off the Devon coast and is reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s famous book. The story weaves a present day murder mystery with roots in the past and ratchets up the suspense until it is almost unbearable. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

#38. Death Of An Expert Witness by PD James.

TerriBull

Oh Sparklefizz so sad Demon Copperhead my absolute number 1 this year. Never mind that's the nature of books often very subjective It's good to read varying opinions, always happy to agree to disagree, after all I didn't really like Exiles that much!

....whereas I thoroughly enjoyed Exiles TerriBull.
It's a good thing we're all different to keep book sales afloat

#38 The Good, The Bad and The History Jodi Taylor.
The latest title, 14th, in the wonderful St Mary's Chronicles. As always, a cracking read.
#39 The Unknown Ajax Georgette Heyer.
I have been a fan of Georgette Heyer's books for over fifty years and periodically return to them. This one is not in my top six but still pretty great.

27 The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shakaf. It was ok. The history is interesting but it seemed superficial, a bit of a tick box exercise in shovelling issues into the story.

That’s a shame Sparklefizz. I loved Demon Copperhead although it took me a good 50 pages to get into the way it was written. Once I did, I couldn’t wait to get back to reading each day.