2023 - Book Challenge - Second thread

Book 145, The Dead of Winter, by Stuart McBride. OK, but not as good as his Inspector Logan books.

Book 56
The Visitor- Lee Child
A reliably good read, never disappoints, a fast paced story of a serial killer with a twist, hard to put down once you’ve started.

Book 57
Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield
A badly injured man carrying a drowned child appears at an inn one winter solstice, but all is not as it seems.
A bit slow to get going, but once you’re gripped it’s a real page turner.
A cast of wonderful warm characters, a bit of evil, and more than a bit of the unexplained.
A very atmospheric story, about a river, a little girl, and a community
Loved it

#63. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith.

A re-read of the 2nd Strike novel. Just fancied a bit of Cormoran nostalgia.

99-Still Dark-Alex Gray. Set in Glasgow this thriller starts with a cop suffering from PTSD after a awful murder inquiry. Then he sees a face on a TV news item and knows this is the person he has been searching for in relation to murdering old people for money. He is excited and wants badly to get back to hunting him down. I hadn't read anything from this author before and it took me a little while to appreciate her style, but soon got hooked.

#67 A Death in the Parish Rev'd Richard Cole.
Number two in what I hope will be a series. It is set in the 1980s and features Canon Richard Clement, his feisty mother, the residents and gentry of a rural high Anglican parish community and a shocking murder. Unfortunately I broke my habit of not reading books out of order and did not read Death Before Evensong first. I won't do so now as the sequel makes a lot of references to the previous murder. Recommended.

Book 88 Everyone is Still Alive by Cathy Rentzenbrink I really enjoyed this. It's a tale of marriages of 4 couples with children living on Magnolia Road. Amusing in places, poignant in others.

Book 144, Simply Lies, by David Baldacci, I really do like his books, always a good read.

No. 87 Little Deaths by Emma Flint. I thoroughly enjoyed her book Other Women, but Little Deaths not so much, which is more of a slow starter, although still good.

Set in 1965 in Queens, New York, Ruth Malone discovers that her 2 young children are missing. The misogynist local detectives judge Ruth because of her provocative clothing and lifestyle and leap to convenient conclusions, fuelled by neighbourhood gossip and speculation. Is she capable of murder?

I loved Georgette Heyer in my teens! Read them all, really ought to give them another go.

#66 The Corinthian Georgette Heyer.
I first read this author's books in my teens, over fifty years ago, and still return to them frequently.

Book 143, A Very Special Christmas, by Anna Jacobs. I`m more used to her historical novels, this was set in the present day, but I liked it.

No. 86 A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve.

I abandoned this as it was not what I was expecting and turned out to be quite depressing and rather grim. I don't really need this sort of book at the moment.

98-Too good to be true-Ann Cleeves. A quick read short story ideal on a kindle for a journey. Jimmy Perez is asked by his ex-wife to help clear the name of her new husband. Did he murder the schoolteacher?

97-Thin Air-Ann Cleeves. When three couples travel north for a wedding and a woman goes missing everyone is suspicious of one another. Then sightings of the ghost of a child who drowned many years ago puts the visitors on edge. Detective Jimmy Perez works his magic as always in his quiet thoughtful way. A bit complicated in places but the setting of the Shetland isles is always captivating.

#65 Slow Horses Mick Herron.
First in the Slough House series. It is about the murky world of British intelligence and centres around Slough House where disgraced operatives are sent. It is presided over by a wonderfully written Jackson Lamb, a fat, unhygienic, terminally rude character who was a star 'agent' before his banishment. I really enjoyed it.
I believe there is a TV series starring Gary Oldman but it is on a streaming service I don't have.

Book 142, Winter`s Orphan, by Katie Flynn. A bit lighter read, and a lovely story.

#62. Death In Holy Orders by PD James.

Book 141, Deadline, by Campbell Armstrong. OK, but not great.

Thank you Sparkefizz apart from cold like symptoms I feel more fatigued than usual, husband has morphed into Fred Barker with his continual coughing. As you say, a lot of horrible viruses at the moment.

I've loved the Ruth Galloways having read them all now. Not sure why she felt it was time to wind the series up. The Brighton series doesn't the same appeal whatsoever.

Sorry you're not well, TerriBull and hope you soon feel better. There are some nasty viruses going round and I have one of them myself. Been coughing for 4 weeks and feeling rough but have tested negative for Covid.

Book 85 - I ran out of books to read due to feeling too ill to get to the library so re-read one of my Elly Griffiths books - her last one in the Ruth Galloway series The Last Remains.

I have loved this series and I like all of the characters with their quirks, and especially Ruth and Nelson.

For anyone who has not discovered the Dr Ruth Galloway series, I can recommend them. You need to read them in order starting with The Crossing Places.

67 Past Lying - Val McDermid

Karen Pirie's back!

The year is 2020 and she and her colleagues are in the midst of Lock down. The plot is centred around a missing, aspiring young female writer. Meanwhile a famous crime writer has recently died and from the outline of an unpublished manuscript it appears that he had written about an almost identical character as the missing, murdered woman, in which he places his one time chess playing friend and newly successful crime writer whose sales are in the ascendancy, whilst his own are declining, in the frame for the murder. The preamble did draw me in but as it progressed I found the pace slow moving and the conclusion somewhat predictable. Sadly, unlike the other books in this series it didn't really engage me, too many laboured points made about the whole Covid debacle. However, it didn't help that whilst reading the book, and having what I perceived to be a cold, due to feeling very tired, I tested myself for Covid which proved to be positive. so maybe a message there is not to read a book about Covid if you think you may have Covid! Not one of her best for me though.

Book 140, Skin and Bone, by Kathryn Fox. Enjoyed it.

96-Tintagel Fantasy-Susan Brewer. I found this short story in the village swap kiosk and as a fan of Tintagel in Cornwall I thought I'd give it a read. It is set in medieval times and although it has a romantic theme it is really an insight to what life would have been like living in those times. Arthur and Guinevere are living in the castle and of course Merlin advises. With several mentions of places I have visited many times I found this an enjoyable little read.

No 48 Instructions for a Heat Wave by Maggie O*Farrell. It gets excellent reviews but it didn’t do much for me.

at your mental imagine of Lucy Worsley, Maggiemaybe.

Book 139 was Scalpel, by Paul Carson, murder story set in and around a hospital. Very good.