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

#48 was North River by Pete Hamill. Set in New York, 1934, deep in the Depression. On a snowy New Year’s Day, Dr James Delaney finds his 2 year old grandson Carlito abandoned on his doorstep. He hires Rose, a Sicilian woman, to help look after the boy and to keep house for them. As Rose and Carlito bring new life and warmth to the house, everything in the doctor’s life begins to change.
This was a wonderful book, the relationship between the doctor and his grandson was a pleasure. 8/10 (close to 9/10).

#57. The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson.

55-The Payback-Simon Kernick- A bit like a Bond movie this one. Detective Inspector Tina Boyd goes to Manila to hunt down the hit man who killed her lover. She's determined to bring him to justice-even if it kills her. So it's payback time!

Thank you Terribull. Bit caught up at the moment writing my own ……but I just might

Another one for my Waterstones basket Maggie, trouble is my TBR pile is enormous, and I don’t like to cheat, so heaven knows when I’ll get around to reading it

31. Day One, Abigail Dean

This is the second book by the author of Girl A, and if anything I thought it even better.

It starts with a horrific shooting at a primary school in the Lake District. Eleven people are killed, but a conspiracy theory soon emerges that it didn’t even happen, and that the victims in the media photos are just actors. Inconsistencies in one of the witness statements fuel the suspicions. It’s a real page turner, the story told from different perspectives and over several timelines. The only criticism I would have is that the motives of the gunman aren’t clear (to me, anyway). The author doesn’t seem to flesh out his character as she does (very effectively) that of the main “truther”. Overall though, it’s an excellent, and thought provoking, read.

I have ordered it so will give you my review when I have read it, I often order what you recommend, we seem to have similar tastes.

Bridie and Sarah, if you do read it, I'd be interested to know what you both think of it.

TerriBull, Strange Sally Diamond sounds really interesting, I shall pop it into my Waterstones basket

Sounds good Terribull, I shall order it, just started Father's Day by Richard Madeley and hoping it picks up a bit .

JamesandJon33

Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell me what the numbers, as in book118, signify?

Hi JamesandJon, this is the "50 Books a year challenge" so as we go we number which book we've just finished. As you can see, we all read at different rates, hares and tortoises. It's not a problem though, Although we started at the beginning of January, feel free to join in if books are your thing.

Glad you're back Urmstongran

37 Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent

Heavens! what a book! Brilliant, extraordinary, disturbing and quite unique, I've never read anything quite like it.

We first meet Sally Diamond of the title when she's putting her recently deceased father out with the rubbish to be burnt in an incinerator, because that's what he asked her to do, and she is very, very literal. What she suffers from isn't really autism, her strange behaviour and nature are rooted in her past, her very early years, of which her memories have been suppressed. As a grown woman Sally's behaviour is bizarre and odd, wishing to live in isolation and shunning human contact. Nevertheless as the story progresses, Sally is a character who it was easy to warm to in spite of her lack of social filters, her backstory is shocking and as the book moves on it is easy to empathise with her and how she presents to those around her. An absolute page turner, it would give too much away to reveal the central plot which involves several victims, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, forced criminal coercion and fragmented familial ties. Just for once given it's Ireland, the abuse doesn't involve either nuns or priests, that I can say!

The story opens in a village nearby Roscommon, a decade or so ago and unwinds back to the early '70s before moving off into New Zealand through the '80s and '90s, finally reaching its heartbreaking conclusion where the loose ends cantilever together in Ireland around the time of Covid..

This book for me was completely original, I often find the crime/psychological genre a well trodden path where some plots have a predictability about them, not so here an absolute 5 star read imo, I couldn't put it down. I definitely want to read the other books Liz Nugent has written, but this would be a hard act to follow.

Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell me what the numbers, as in book118, signify?

Hello everyone 👋
Just popping in to share what (as a reader) I think is wonderful. I’ve only recently worked this out and maybe many of you more intelligent readers already do what I’m sharing!

When I read my kindle I used to highlight sentences or points of interest. To look up later, but I never did. I just forgot, or couldn’t be bothered checking my highlights.

But then serendipity! I realised I could highlight something and actually choose the ‘send’ option … and send it to my Hotmail! Blimey the difference this has made (to me) is brilliant. Waiting in my inbox are messages from my Kindle. It means as I’m reading a book and still interested in the subject at hand, I look things up in more detail AS I GO ALONG with the book.

Honestly it’s made reading so much more pleasurable for me - as I now check out things instead of ‘intending to’.

I hope I’ve explained this well enough! 😁

54-Strictly between us-Jane Fallon-This story is a lesson in how not to interfere in a friends marital problems. I found it a bit too wordy, which made it rather slow.
I've not read this author before, and probably won't again, but had to give it a try as it was given to me by a friend.

Book 119, The Big Man Upstairs, by J D Kirk, another DCI Logan book. The title can be taken either as God, or a murder suspect.

53-Death of a Valentine-M C Beaton-Another light hearted Hamish Macbeth mystery. A young policewoman is assigned to work with Hamish, when a beauty queen is murdered. She falls hopelessly in love with Hamish and causes lots more problems when she cooks up a plan to make him marry her.

Book 118, Resurrection Walk, by Michael Connelly. One of the Harry Bosch series, Harry`s getting on a bit now, no longer in the police, but still involved in legal matters.

Thank you, Sara1954.

#31 The Unknown Ajax Georgette Heyer.
I am re reading a G H book a month in 2024, this is July's. Due to the untimely death of his eldest son and heir and his son, elderly irascible Lord Darracott is forced to summon Major Hugo Darracott who is now his heir. Due to Hugo's father marrying 'beneath' him and being estranged Hugo (or the "weaver's brat") is unknown to the rest of the family who are also summoned to meet him, and in the case of the unwilling Andrea marry him. A gloriously over the top ensemble performance.

Parsley, no, they are stand alone novels, and all definitely worth reading.

Book 35
The Island Hideaway - Louise Candlish
Not what I was expecting to be honest
Basically chick lit, gorgeous Sicilian island, a Bridget Jones type character, Eleanor goes in search of her ex and his new stunningly gorgeous girlfriend.
It’s silly and full of stereotypes, it was okay as a light read, but wouldn’t recommend it

I hadn't heard of the author Sue Gee before reading this thread. Do I need to read her books in any particular order?

Book 35: The Trail of Blood by A.K.Nairn -A rather gory story set in the early 16th century, in the border country between Scotland and England when the Reivers "ruled ." Interesting to learn about this subjest but sometimes difficult to follow possibly because there were a lot of characters!