The Not So New 2024 50 Books a Year - Thread 2

69-Faith-Peter James- Wow what a story! I couldn't put it down. Ross Ransome, one of the richest plastic surgeons in the business is shaken when his perfect wife becomes ill, but seeks alternative therapy. This is a terrifying thriller, but utterly believable.

Book 42: Murder at St Anne's by J.R.Ellis
Book 43: Pompeii by Robert Harris-I couldn't put this book down! It is the story of the last few days of Pompeii before Vesuvius blew. Marius Attilius Primus the new aquarius has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta and is trying to work out what happened to his predecessor while also dodging the hostility of the local landowners, navigating social situations and trying to work out what on earth is killing fish and draining the fountains.
I loved the tension as the story escalated; the local people really did have little idea of what was happening, and Harris has really done his research; It is a terrifying thought that people came back after that first initial blast, thinking it was just another quake, and then got killed by the pyroclastic flow that engulfed and preserved the city. The lives of the characters, although fictional, have enough tiny details to make the book fascinating and the story definitely readable. I loved the history and the investigation in the story. I will look for more books by this author.

Book 44
Piglet - Lottie Hazell
Read this really quickly, hard to put down,
Piglet is an editor in a company which publishes cookery books, her passion is cooking, she loves good food and feeding people.
The story begins with Piglet two weeks away from her wedding, the wedding which will make everything perfect, the handsome husband, rich in-laws, the new house, the whole package
Then one night Kit confesses to something, we never know what, but we are lead to believe it pretty terrible, can Piglet lose it all now, or can they put it behind them.
The wedding is to be huge and prestigious with Kits parents throwing money at it, whilst Piglet’s working class parents really insist upon buying their daughters wedding dress, only to beyond shocked that a dress can cost £3000
I won’t spoil anything by going into too much detail, but it deals with some difficult issues, the class system, and eating disorders.
Kit is a bit two dimensional, we don’t know a lot about him, but Piglets sister is a likeable character, as are her female friends.
Would definitely recommend.

Sparklefizz, I read that book a couple of weeks ago, I agree that it was a good read.
Book 140, A Mother`s Secret, by Katie Flynn. A lighter read, but enjoyable, set during WW2.

Sparklefizz

Just finished my latest book No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara. It was un-put-downable!!

A young mum is struggling with 3 young children at the Tube station, ages 6, 2 and a baby in a buggy. The train comes in and the doors open, and the 6 year old and 2 year old climb in, but the doors close before the mum with baby buggy can get in!!!! The train pulls away leaving her behind, frantic on the platform.

At the next stop, there is only one child!!!!! Has the other daughter got lost or been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home.

This book is a real page-turner and I have already researched the library to find other books by this author.

Yes I read it a while back Sparklefizz, as you say a definite page turner!

I like the sound of your latest, Sparklefizz!

38. Next in Line, Jeffrey Archer

I think I’ve only ever read one Jeffrey Archer, Kane and Abel, which I also enjoyed watching on TV. I picked this one up in a charity shop - as far as I can see it’s about the international criminal world and a suspicion of treachery in the royal protection team. I haven’t got far though, because I’m not keen on Diane Princess of Wales being slotted in as a main character, and also a bit put off by the over “cutesy” depiction of a couple of child characters who keep popping up. It’s not gripping me so I’m giving up - I’ve too many books, too little time to persevere with one I’m not keen on.

Just finished my latest book No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara. It was un-put-downable!!

A young mum is struggling with 3 young children at the Tube station, ages 6, 2 and a baby in a buggy. The train comes in and the doors open, and the 6 year old and 2 year old climb in, but the doors close before the mum with baby buggy can get in!!!! The train pulls away leaving her behind, frantic on the platform.

At the next stop, there is only one child!!!!! Has the other daughter got lost or been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home.

This book is a real page-turner and I have already researched the library to find other books by this author.

I have just finished the latest book by one of my favourite authors - Coffin Island by Kate's Ellis. This is #27. This book, as is the case for all in this series, which features her detective DI Wesley Peterson, is set in South Devon and very cleverly combines a present day murder mystery with a historical crime and archeology. I can thoroughly recommend this series.

Book 139, The Lost Evacuee, by Cathy Sharp. A tale of orphaned children in WW2 being shipped off to Canada to find new families. A good read.

@Terribull, l have read several of the George Cross books and enjoyed them all. They are very well written

46 The Dentist - Tim Sullivan (Audible)

There was a thread a while ago recommending Tim Sullivan's crime books. This is my first book of his in this series, I'd definitely give it the thumbs up. DS George Cross has Asperger's Syndrome, his pedantic nature doesn't make him an easy workmate, often mistaken for being obtuse and just damn right awkward, nevertheless his unfailing logic is put to good use in looking beyond the obvious. In this, the crime is the death of a homeless man savagely beaten by a supposed friend, an ex serviceman with issues, who is also eking out an existence on the streets. Cross is first to spot discrepancies and when he digs deeper into the victim's past, he discovers a previous comfortable life he had as a dentist. The crux of this case is why did the murdered man abandoned that existence to live rough. Was it connected to a former cold case unsolved from 15 years ago.

Tim Sullivan has created an unconventional protagonist in DC Cross, highly recommended for those who like the twists and turns of the police procedural crime genre. I'll definitely read some more in the series.

#38 Dark Matter Blake Crouch.
Really exciting and thought provoking book about choices and the possibility of multiverses. Jason was a brilliant experimental physicist, Dani a talented artist who when a baby comes along choose to make a happy family life with their son. One day Jason is abducted and rendered unconscious by a strangely familiar figure. He wakes in a world where he didn't marry Dani, he didn't have a son or become a high school physics teacher. Instead he is an acclaimed physicist who has discovered and proved the existence of multiverses and has built a box enabling travel to limitless possibilities. The book is about his efforts to find amongst those possibilities, 'his world', his adversary himself. I really enjoyed it.

I'm halfway through The Touch by Colleen McCullough and am thinking of abandoning it because I feel uncomfortable at how many times the author refers to a baby born with special needs as "mental".... sometimes twice on just one page, and repeatedly saying "a child who's mental"., "Oh, she's mental...", "She can't do that because she's mental...."

It's horrible.

I checked to see when it was written as that is such a dated description (published 2003). I accept that the story is set in the latter half of the 19th century and times were different, but even so ......

I'm not liking the characters much either, so although I envisaged the prospect of reading about a family saga set in the Australian goldfields being an enjoyable read, I think I will skip the rest. I've read 278 pages and there are at least another 250 pages to go.

I'm disappointed.

37. The Long and Winding Road, Alan Johnson

Following on from This Boy and Please Mr Postman, this continues the autobiographical journey of Alan Johnson, and centres on his political career in the Blair/Brown governments. Very enjoyable, and informative too.

Book 43
Eileen - Ottessa moshfegh
This book literally made me feel grubby, the author seems to delight in placing her characters in revolting environments, too much talk of bowel evacuation, and a lot of poor hygiene.
Our leading lady is Eileen, a twenty four year old virgin, living with, and caring for her alcoholic ex cop father.
She is plain and scrawny, and wears her dead mother’s clothes. She goes to work in a boys prison, where she spends her days gazing at the crotch of one of the guards, and her evenings stalking him.
When a stunning female teacher joins the staff, Eileen transfers her crush to her, and dreams of a close and intimate friendship.
From here on it loses credibility, the climax, in yet, another filthy house seems improbable and silly.
Not really for me.

45 The Feast - Margaret Kennedy

I think I read a review of this book in a Sunday supplement and it immediately appealed to me, although I'd never heard of the author, which isn't surprising as she's long dead! A real vintage gem published in 1950. The setting is a family run hotel in Cornwall, the year is 1947 against a backdrop of the new Labour Government, post war austerity and ration books that guest had to submit to the hotel, so catering was restricted. The hotel is situated under an over -reach of a cliff, which has recently been found unstable due to cracks. A government surveyor has written to proprietor Mr Siddal advising evacuation, but he tends to not bother reading his mail, preferring instead to just bung any post in the bin. The residents a moley crew of assorted individuals, a hellfire and brimstone clergyman with his cowed daughter, a bohemian writer with her younger good looking male chauffeur and assistant, a quartet of star crossed lovers who are made up of guests and staff, two unhappily married couples, worrying how they can shield their assets from the new Labour administration, seven children from two combined families, representing both ends of the wealth spectrum, a malevolent housekeeper and a good natured, popular maid. Amongst these varying individuals are those whose characters encompass one of the seven deadly sins. The hotel is managed by the put upon wife of Sloth aka Mr Siddel. When the story reaches it's final scenario of the hotel being obliterated by the collapsing cliff, some of the characters are inside and some are spared as they are outside having a picnic which the children have organised under the guise of "The Feast"

Great holiday read, especially if you happen to be in Cornwall, preferably not under a hazardous cliff that's about to subside.

Book 93 The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley - one of the Seven Sisters Series.

Thanks sara1954 I’ll definitely read some more.

Another vote for Longbourn by Jo Baker.

Ladygaga, I really enjoy John Irving books, they are all quirky with some great characters.

Now reading The World According to Garp by John Irwin. It’s a quirky book about a strong, independent but flawed woman who becomes pregnant with Garp by a turret gunner she nurses while he dies. It’s a bit strange but I’m finding it a real page turner, as there’s no way of guessing what’s going to happen next. Just finished Long Island by Colm Toibin. A beautifully written book but the disappointing ending spoiled it for me. It sort of just came to a halt, and left so many unanswered questions.

The Cut by Chris Brookmyre who is one of my favourite authors.

I also read Longbourn a few years ago and remember really enjoying it.

#58 was Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings.
Cath takes a job on Wall Street when her older husband becomes seriously ill and they need the medical insurance benefits. It’s set in the late 1990s and it’s obviously a horrible working environment, especially for a woman. It’s a short book, only 170 pages, but it was too full of Wall Street jargon and bad management for me. Where the story focused on Cath and her husband Bailey it was excellent, but for me, this was overshot too much Wall Street. 5/10

granfromafar I read Longbourn a few years and enjoyed it. It was a refreshing take on the story of the Bennett family.