2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

#40. Till Death Do Us Part by Jack Cartwright.

31 Elmet Fiona Mozley

A book club read. The title of the book takes it name from an area that is now known as the West Riding of Yorkshire but centuries ago was the mystical Celtic/Romano Kingdom of Elmet. An unusual story, beautifully written particularly in evoking the landscape, reminded me a bit of Claire Fuller's Unsettled Ground, insomuch it features a family, living off grid. In this it's a house built with their own hands in a woodland clearing.Like the family in Claire Fuller's book, the family exist outside the parameters of normal society. In previous times, when the children lived with their granny before she died they received some elementary schooling. Now as young teens, Daniel and Cathy live with their father a bare knuckle fighter, their mother a shadowy figure alluded to in flashbacks, no longer part of the group, having experienced some sort of a breakdown. In spite of living his life through fighting, "Daddy" as he is always referred to by the children is a gentle paternalistic influence in his children's lives, although given to disappearing for days, he's taught his children to be at one with nature and imbued them with many survival skills, living off the land and hunting humanely. Diametrically opposed to their way of life and the rural poverty so many of the locals experiences, comes the arch antagonist, Mr Price, exploitative capitalist landowner and multiple landlord to so many of the local inhabitants also asserting his rights to the forest land where the family live. Tensions over land rights and worker exploitation bring the book to a violent conclusion.

Book 16: Murder on the Coast by Sadie Norman
Book 17: The Perranporth Murders by Jack Christie
Book 18 : The Bodmin Moor Murders by Jack Christie
Book 19: Death of a Stranger by John Pilkington

32 High and Low Amanda Craig

Amanda Craig is my absolute favourite writer of state of the nation novels ever since I read her "Lie of the Land". She presents the burning issues of the day such as Brexit and immigration illustrating both sides laced with her own brand of caustic satire. Characters in varying scenarios forced to confront their differences, namely advantages and disadvantages.

All those ingredients are here in this latest one, where several of her characters have featured in her previous works. Unfortunately this one fell a bit flat for me, although reading it I could almost see it on a stage setting.

Set over a single day in a North London cafe, there is rioting on the streets, there is gunfire and there is encroaching menace as a brutal gang seek a young Syrian immigrant boy caught up in County Lines. These are the streets of the have and have nots, leafy squares of restored old houses, intermingled with nearby council estates and a group of asylum seekers housed in their midst, the all too familiar demonstrations and counter demonstrations a feature of the times. The cafe is home to a group of writers all working on their latest to be published book, trapped there along with a cast of characters that define the mixed fortunes of the neighbourhood . As they take cover from the shady, malevolence intruding on their sanctuary. The issues of the day come to the fore, social division and personal prejudices, immigration, un- affordable rents, being priced out of housing, declining public services. The latter illustrated by the besieged's feeling of abandonment by both the police and later the paramedics when the gang war fare enters their domain and the injuries pile up.

42-Other People's Houses-Clare Mackintosh
#3 in the Detective Ffion Morgan series. A cold murder case, a series of burglaries and a body found in a kayak all have a link to an exclusive cul-de-sac of expensive homes. One for the little grey cells to work out!

18. Agatha Christie, Lucy Worsley

Talking of little grey cells…

I enjoyed this, but must admit I found it took me a while to finish. It was meticulously researched, but there was perhaps just too much fine detail for my small brain, and I kept dipping in and out. I like Lucy Worsley though, and could imagine her voice reading the story. The book did make me want to pick up an Agatha Christie, something that I haven’t done for years.

Sounds interesting Maggiemaybe, I saw her programme about Agatha Christie, who had many varied experiences in her life that inspired her books. I read them all years ago, many in my teens, but I often feel like revisiting them.

Funnily enough, the only one I can find on my bookshelves is Elephants Can Remember, described by Lucy as not one of AC’s best. I don’t know why I kept it. I have read every one of her books, but like you, many years ago. I think I’ll look out for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I can remember the ending, so it’s definitely a good one!

I’ve now just finished the audiobook version of

19. Don’t Let Him In, Lisa Jewell

A recently-bereaved widow starts a relationship with someone who seems to be the perfect man. But her daughter is suspicious of his motives and it soon transpires that he’s not what he seems. I always enjoy a Lisa Jewell and this was no exception. The audio book was particularly good because it had a cast of six or so doing the narration, which is very unusual.

I always enjoy Lisa Jewell, Maggiemaybe. I must try that one

#41. Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.

33 Look What You Made Me Do John Lanchester

I loved "Capital" by JL, but found this latest book disappointing. Kate and her husband Jack are Baby Boomers, having met at university, in the ensuing years reaped success in their respective careers that afforded them prosperous lives as part of the North London metropolitan elite, until Jack unexpectedly drops dead. The book's focus then switches to Phoebe, an acerbic millennial screen writer who has launched a highly successful tv show "Cheating" the talk of the moment. Kate becomes convinced that aspects of her marriage have been revealed in this, highly personal and only known between the two of them. How could Pheobe possibly know about their private life and what, if any, was her connection to Jack. I put this book down half way through when "London Falling" became available at my library. I picked it up again without too much enthusiasm finding it somewhat lackluster

#33 Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
I read this years ago, but enjoyed it so much I kept it (I don’t keep many). I decided I should reread it after visiting the plague village Eyam where it’s set, in 2021 during the immediate post-covid period. I finally got around to it and I am glad I did, it’s a wonderful book.
It’s a fictionalised account of the year 1665-1666 when the village cut itself off from the world with no one leaving and no one entering, because plague had arrived there, but nowhere else in the district. 10/10

#34 Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
I think this has been discussed here previously. The author finds a very tiny day old leveret which she thinks has been abandoned and takes it home. She succeeds in raising it to maturity but it, despite her best efforts not to domesticate it and to keep its wild nature, a fascinating bond develops over the next few years. At times there were more historical references regarding hares than I really wanted, but it was a very touching story and a fascinating insight into the lives of hares. 8/10