50 Books a Year - The 2025 Challenge

#19. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.

After reading Anthony Horowitz’s James Bond books, I have decided to read the originals in order.

Classics, I assume.

15 A Bird in Winter Louise Doughty.

I ripped through this in a couple of days, fast for me. I'd only ever read Louise Doughty's "Apple Tree Yard" previously which I remember I enjoyed. In this new one we meet the "Bird" of the story, a childhood nickname, for one Heather Berriman, a middle aged woman who walks out of her lucrative job abandoning everything familiar, to go on the run, stalked by shadowy pursuers, or is that just her paranoia? The story rewinds to give the reader an overview of both her personal and professional history, made up from a spell in the army before being recruited into the Secret Service her small department's quest, that of putting suspected "dirty spies" under surveillance Along the way we find out she has got herself into financial difficulties making her somewhat susceptible to being bailed out by her immediate boss, who she suspects of being rather corrupt and thereby, by extension making her own position vulnerable. .

Interspersed with childhood recollections, in particular relating to her father who was also recruited into the Secret Service during the war and her close friendship with army colleague, Flavia who Heather supports when Flavia abandoned by a not very nice senior Officer becomes a single mother.

Her immediate abandonment of her life in Birmingham where she has been posted from London takes her on a roller coaster cross country journey to the wilds of Scotland and beyond via some precarious sea voyages to the outreaches of parts of Scandinavia, the landscapes evoked in interesting detail, all the while with the tension of Heather being in danger from shadowy figures on her trail.

A really fast paced book with all the elements of a spy/thriller. Inspite of its rather inconclusive ending I did enjoy it.

Sparklefizz, yes definitely, I’m looking forward to reading it, I’ve ordered it from Waterstones

Sara1954

Sparklefizz , The Butcher’s Daughter sounds right up my street, love anything Cromwell, and I’m familiar with all the places mentioned
I’ve added it to my never ending list

We've shared comments about Cromwell in the past, Sara, so I think you would really enjoy it. I know all the places mentioned too, which makes a book even more enjoyable when you can picture them.

#11 was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.
It’s lockdown spring and Lara’s 3 adult daughters have returned to the family cherry orchard. As they harvest the cherries together, Lara tells her daughters of the summer she dated an actor who went on to become very famous. It is beautifully written as you’d expect from Ann Patchett, but the story didn’t grip me as much as I’d hoped. 7/10

Sparklefizz , The Butcher’s Daughter sounds right up my street, love anything Cromwell, and I’m familiar with all the places mentioned
I’ve added it to my never ending list

TerriBull ^13 Sunburn - Laura Lippman

I took up your recommendation Sparklefizz, and the book is as you described, a page turner.

So pleased you enjoyed it, TerriBull

Books 11 and 12 My Name is Nobody by Matthew Richardson - a book in the spy genre. Mysterious, several twists and turns. I would give it 8/10.

The Butcher's Daughter by Victoria Glendinning - I would highly recommend this for people who love reading about the Tudors - Thomas Cromwell etc. This book is set during Cromwell's Dissolution of the Monasteries and is narrated by Agnes, a teenage girl who is the daughter of a butcher in Bruton in the West Country, who has been sent to a convent (Shaftesbury Abbey) after getting pregnant while unmarried.

It is set around Shaftesbury and Sherborne Abbeys, and Bruton, and not long after her arrival at the abbey, Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church of England, and thus begins the purge of the religious houses.

Agnes and the other nuns are cast out of Shaftesbury Abbey and left to fend for themselves.

This book is well written and evocative. I give it 9/10, only losing a point because it didn't end the way I wanted it to!

16-The Dark Tide-Andrew Gross
This is a first from this author for me, though I have read some co-written with James Patterson.
A good story where a hedge fund manager is killed in a train bomb blast. Or is he?
I'm not a fan of chunky books, but this was worth working through the 598 pages.

Book 20, What I Love About You, by Rachel Gibson. This wasn`t my kind of book, but I felt duty bound to read it as it was lent to me. It was rather over loaded with sex scenes, but otherwise I quite enjoyed the actual story.

I didn't manage to record many books last year, but without a doubt, The Hunger Games trilogy was the best. I started to read the first book because it was my granddaughter's class novel. I was mesmerised by the the power of the writing. I could see every character and every place. The characters have stayed with me, as have the moral dilemmas posed by the story. I think there is a 4th book to come and also a prequel.

Book 19, Liza`s England, by Pat Barker. Liza is 84, she was born on the first day of 1900. The story goes back and forth between 1910 and 1984, and is mostly about Liza`s life and family, but also that of her social worker Stephen. Not a bad read.

After the horror of Ask Not, about the Kennedy clan, I went for something a bit lighter. The Good Daughter by Sara Edgehill was an excellent read. It captured the dilemma of trying to juggle work while supporting an ageing parent and a teenage daughter. It wasn't sentimental and felt like it had captured the problems of modern life. I read it very quickly a good sign that I enjoyed it.

I read everyday . Have over 400 books all my favourite authors and love re reading them takes me a few years . I love reading books in order of the series . Just finished reading Panther Prowling by Yasmine Galenorn I was able to buy the rest of the series in paperback except the next book after Panther Prowling which is Darkness Raging. I like to buy books new as I re read them . But I have tried everywhere even my local book shop and they can't order it as it's not available. So it means I can't finish the 21 books in the series.

Do other people have this problem they find a series they love but can't finish reading it because they can't get a book?

Book 11
Insomnia - Sarah Pinborough
Emma has it all, husband, lovely children, and a high flying career as a lawyer. But Emma can’t sleep, as her fortieth birthday approaches, her past seems to be taking over her present, is she going mad? Or is it actually something more sinister?

I enjoyed it, I raced through it, but I felt the end to be slightly disappointing.

I can definitely see this being turned into a Netflix series, it’s got all the right ingredients.

Book 18, The Stranger House, by Reginald Hill. So far, I`ve only read Dalziel and Pascoe stories by this author, so this made a good change. A bit slow in places, but not a bad read.

Crikey. I’ve just started book 5 of the Stormlight Archives which is 1350 pages (after completing a re-read of the first four similarly long books).
I read regularly and quickly but do love a long book in a long series.

4) Brownsville by Oscar Casares- A short story collection set near the US/Mexico border.

3) Tomorrow There Will be Sun by Dana Reinhardt- A bit too “commercial” for my tastes but set in Mexico, which is why I chose it.

2) Puerto Vallarta Squeeze by Robert James Waller. This is by the author of The Bridges of Madison County, before he became famous. It turned into a shoot ‘em up, which is not really my kind of thing but I am interested in Mexico (and the American southwest) right now, which is why I chose it.

Okay, I’ll play. So far in 2025:

1) Loteria by Mario Alberta Zambrano

A short, sad, quirky novel about a pre-teen Mexican girl in Texas, whose family implodes. The chapters are arranged by Loteria cards, a Mexican card game, with each card having an image on it and each chapter relating to that image in some way. I liked it.

#18. What She Said by DS Butler.

Hellogirl1

I hope I didn`t come over as criticizing, it wasn`t meant that way.

Not at all 😊

#11- Freeze Frame by Peter May. I hadn’t realised this was part of a series when I picked it up, but it was fine as a standalone. I probably didn’t fully understand the main character’s relationship with his partner, but the crime to be solved kept me guessing to the end, it was a good story set on an island off of the coast of Brittany.

Sparklefizz

Book 6 Sunburn by Laura Lippman

This book is terrific. I am not sure whether it was recommended here or in the Times books section. If recommended by someone here, thank you so much.

What kind of woman walks out on her family? Gregg knows. The kind of woman he picked up in a bar 3 years ago precisely because she had that sort of wildcat energy. And now she's vanished.

How many times has she disappeared before? Who are the people so interested in her whereabouts, and why?

This is a book with several twists, a romance and people telling lies. Who to believe?

I couldn't put it down, and give it 10/10.

13 Sunburn - Laura Lippman

I took up your recommendation Sparklefizz, and the book is as you described, a page turner.

14 The Margate Murders - Tom Hofland (Audible)

This was a free listen on Audible, fairly short, at just over 3 hours and delivered in the form of a podcast. An investigation into a serial killer who murders once every decade. The various female characters of journalist, potential victim/ survivor and detective are easily recognisable, voiced by Sheridan Smith and Joanne Froggatt. I thought it was well done and quite tense.