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

#77 Burial of Ghosts by Ann Cleeves
This is not a Shetland or Vera book but a stand-alone crime book.

Lizzie Bartholomew was abandoned as a baby and spent her childhood moving between foster homes. She has been in trouble in the past and now a holiday in Morocco seems to be the perfect escape. She meets Philip, an older man, there and they have a short fling.

After she returns home, Lizzie finds a solicitor's letter waiting for her. Philip has died and has left her £15,000 in his will but with conditions attached .......

This book seemed very promising at first but I was disappointed in the ending which seemed ridiculous to me. I won't say more than that.

# 49. Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead.
Agree with previous comments. Epic tale. Beautifully written.

# 50. Nan Shepherd: The Living Mountain.
A slim volume, with an introduction by Robert Macfarlane, an afterword by Jeanette Winterson and a glossary of terms for those unfamiliar with Scots.
Hailed as a masterpiece of nature writing, this book testifies to the author's love of the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland and her knowledge of them in all their moods.
If you love reading, you'll love this book.

75 Dead Beat Val McDermid (Audible)

Val McDermid, is a crime writer who at her best is superb. I still think A Place of Execution was one of the best crime books I'd ever read. Generally I love the Karen Pirie novels, although not so keen on the last one. This is the first one in her Kate Brannigan series, a Manchester based private detective In which she takes on the case of a missing song writer. It was ok, written way back in the '90s, when she was a newly published author. Not a patch on the best of the Karen Pirie series, but not too bad either.

GeminiJen, I say this every time someone posts about Demon Copperhead, and at the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time, I just loved that book.

TerriBull I so agree.
And, re. Val McDermid......I've read every single one of her books....Even introduced her to my granddaughter with My Granny is a Pirate. Heard her speak too on a number of occasions: always entertaining. I guess that qualifies me as a fan

Book 181, A Judgement in Stone, by Ruth Rendell. I`ve never read any of her books before, and although this was OK, I won`t be rushing to read any more in a hurry.

Hello Girl her later ones are much better than her earlier ones. She also wrote under the name of Barbara Vine.

34. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I loved this gentle story, set in a remote township in Northern America. One of the main characters is an octopus but the tale is so well-told that that seems perfectly plausible!

Book 182, Under World, a Dalziel and Pascoe book by Reginald Hill. I quite enjoyed it.
Thank you TerriBull, I might give her another go.

Book 78 Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead.

Someone further back recommended this book - sorry I can't remember who - but I am pleased. It was a very enjoyable read centred around a family wedding and relationships of the young couple's parents and family members, bridesmaids, etc with broken hearts, disagreements, bad behaviour and social climbing all playing their part.

I would recommend it.

76 Love is Blind William Boyd

Another gorgeous book from one of my favourite authors, whilst not quite as good as The Romantic or Any Human Heart, nevertheless still a compulsive read.

The setting is the late 1890s right on the cusp of the dawning of the 20th century, following the fortunes of Brodie Moncur a Scottish piano tuner of some talent. Escaping his dour, tyrannical clergyman father. He is offered a job in Paris with an esteemed Parisian piano showroom. Whilst there his services are procured by a world renowned Irish pianist, John Kilbarron who is known as the "Irish Liszt" Kilbarron's muse and lover is a Russian soprano, Lika Blum who Brodie falls hopelessly in love with and she with him. They carry out their clandestine love affair, whilst moving around the concert halls of Europe and spending a couple of years in St Petersburg at the behest of a wealthy Russian benefactor. Eventually their affair is to be exposed by Kilbarron's malevolent brother Malachi leading to. John Kilbarron challenging Brodie to a duel. Unfortunately for Kilbarron in subverting the rules he finds himself fatally injured. Brodie and Lika flee for their lives pursued by the vengeful Malachi. Their travels take them back to Paris, Edinburgh and to the hotter southern reaches of France when Brodie plagued by TB has to intermittently seek rest and recuperation in warmer climates. Eventually, after the lovers are forced apart and Brodie still trying to elude the wrath and pursuit of the avenging brother, flees to the improbable outpost of The Adaman Island (I had to Google them, off the coast of southern India) where the book reaches its conclusion with the hope that at some time in the future Brodie will reunite with his great love Lika.. .

Hellogirl1

Book 182, Under World, a Dalziel and Pascoe book by Reginald Hill. I quite enjoyed it.
Thank you TerriBull, I might give her another go.

Hello Girl, I'm not surprised one of Ruth Rendell's early books didn't grab you, I think I read a couple of those initially, and like you thought they were just ok. Having read some of her later ones, and particularly those she wrote under the name of Barbara Vine, she became one of my favourite crime writers many of her books have such a unique quality. I'd recommend any of these, A Dark Adapted Eye, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, Asta's Book, Going Wrong, The Minotaur off the top of my head, but yes the earlier ones not so good.

113-Find You First-Linwood Barclay.
An unusual plot to this thriller, as it starts with a sperm donor clinic. One of it's donors from 20 years ago is searching for any children he may have fathered as he has health issues he feels they should know about.
Enjoyed this but had to keep notes as it gets complicated.

I too, am reading the Shardlake series for a second time. They are very good books and I have recommended them to friends and family. There was a TV adaptation of the first book . I think it was on one of the streaming channels, I can't remember which one. It was OK but not a patch on the book.

Precipice by Robert Harris is a very interesting read. It is set in 1914 and relates the infatuation and relationship that Asquith, the Prime Minister at the time, had with his young mistress Venetia Stanley. He wrote to her every day, at least once, sharing very sensitive state secrets.
The Sunday Times review describes the book as ' A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession.'

Book 57: The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan not my cup of tea. It is like a women's magazine story.

emmagee I am about to re read the last two Shardlake books. They are great. I haven't seen the TV adaption but I usually find that adaptions spoil the book for me.
The Robert Harris book Precipice is on my to read list. I recently read his book Pompeii which was brilliant.

35. See Them Run by Marion Todd. The first in a crime series set in St Andrew’s, which I know fairly well. I’m not a crime fan but the author came to speak at a meeting I went to so I thought I’d give it a whirl. I enjoyed my ‘time’ in St Andrew’s though I probably won’t read another as it’s not my bag.

65. Murder by Candlelight, Cecile Gayford
66. Midwinter Murder, Agatha Christie

Both audiobooks, collections of short mysteries set at Christmas. I just wanted something on a festive theme to listen to. I didn’t finish either of them, just dipped in and out. The first was really quite poor and the second fun, but predictable.

I then went for something a bit meatier,

67. The Women Behind the Door, Roddy Doyle

I read the other two Paula Spencer books years ago. This one took us to 2020, with Paula finally living her own life, but struggling with the restrictions of lockdown, various family problems, and her own traumatic memories of her abusive marriage. It’s a book that’ll stay with me - very funny in parts, tragic in others, sometimes even tedious. Not at all festive.

DiggingDoris Enjoyed this but had to keep notes as it gets complicated.

Glad it's not just me who does this!

Nonny The Robert Harris book Precipice is on my to read list. I recently read his book Pompeii which was brilliant.

"Precipice" is going to be my next book.
I loved his book Pompeii and would rate that as his best, possibly because I've been to Pompeii and have always been fascinated by it.

#95. The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz.

Book 79 The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini

A woman falls to her death from a 25th floor roof terrace. You're arrested for her murder but you've got nothing to do with this tragedy and you're clearly being framed. No one seems to believe you, not even your lawyer.

But you've lied to the police and it soon becomes obvious you're keeping secrets.

I would give this 7/10.

114-The Witch of Wyckhadden-M C Beaton
Another lighthearted murder mystery for Agatha Raisin to solve. No complicated plot to concentrate on, so a relaxed read.

Sparklefizz I like to mark my reads out of 10. I keep a spreadsheet with all the details on. Been doing it for years. My friends think I'm crackers!

Sparklefizz I read The Woman on a Ledge a couple of months ago, I thought it was quite good.

Definitely want to read Precipice next year it sounds interesting, I've have had Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris lying on my shelve for a year or two, I'll read that in the next couple of months first.

I don't think you're crackers Diggindoris, I keep a record of my books read on my phone, I commit them to memory as to what I've thought of them, but sometimes I forget if they haven't really resonated. Your method sounds best.

68. The Trial, Rob Rinder

I loved this, the first of Rob Rinder’s novels set in the justice system. It’s well written, pacy, and kept me guessing right till the end, even though I’d seen the massive spoiler about it that really should never have appeared in his second book. A respected senior police officer who’s seen as a hero by the public, dies suddenly in the witness stand at the Old Bailey. A career criminal is immediately arrested and the evidence against him is mounting up. Adam Green is a young pupil solicitor assigned to the defence team, knowing the outcome will make or break his career. A third book’s due out in Spring - I’m looking forward to it already.