The Margaret Code by Richard Hooton

Can you call something a cosy crime if the story revolves around a woman's struggle with dementia?  It's a tricky one to call, I think.  The story does have humour and warmth, yet at the same time there is the awareness that Margaret is struggling more and more with her memory, and it's only going to get worse.  But I enjoyed reading this, mostly because I liked Margaret and her relationship with her grandson, so I wanted to see how things would resolve.

From the crime side of things, I was disappointed that it wasn't more clever - when you find out Margaret's history, and where she worked with her husband during the war, I hoped that the puzzle would be difficult, and she would be the only one who can solve it, because of her experience, and it would be marvellous when she did!  So from that point of view I felt there was a waste of what could have been a really interesting, tricksy potential storyline.  But still, I was interested enough in Margaret to commit to the story, and I enjoyed the ride, even if the murder side of things wasn't all that.

With thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for my advanced copy.

To be published: April 2025

Foster by Claire Keegan

I saw this being returned to the library when I was manning the desk, and quickly checked it out myself!  This was lovely.  I do like Claire Keegan's writing, it feels so effortless and I feel like she captures so much within this short story.  I would have liked to have known more of what happened next, of course, but I still felt satisfied with the ending.

Title: Foster

Author: Claire Keegan

A thousand blues by Cheon Seon-ran

I knew nothing of the book when I started, so I was slightly surprised when I realised it was sci-fi!  But surprised in a good way.   I like a good robot book, and I very much enjoyed this one.  The translation felt sound.  I liked the idea for the story, and I really liked the various different characters.  I found it very readable, and whilst the switches in time and view occasionally jarred, I felt like the story held together well.  The only thing I didn't like (really didn't like) was the ending for Coli (the ending for the sisters was great).  Not just because of what happened, but also because I didn't really understand why that was the chosen ending.  But still, I'd enjoyed the rest of the book so I let it go and have imagined myself a different outcome!

Title: A thousand blues

Author: Cheon Seon-ran

ISBN: 9781529938029

The impossible thing by Belinda Bauer

I have only read one Belinda Bauer book previously - a dark thriller - but I enjoyed it, and I was keen to try another.  This one starts out in a very creepy, tense way.  I hadn't actually realised that the book was about egg collecting, so initially I thought I was reading about some awful child-killer being tracked!  So, having discovered the book wasn't quite about what I'd thought I had to readjust my expectations a little and initially it felt like a bit of a bump.  But then I was soon gripped by all the different characters in this complicated, inter-woven story.  I really liked Patrick and Nick as characters, and really that carried the book along for me.  Sometimes I enjoyed the flashbacks in time, and sometimes I felt they dragged a little, but ultimately I was completely caught up in Celie's life and what was going to happen alongside of Patrick and Nick's investigations.

Title: The impossible thing

Author: Belinda Bauer

ISBN: 978178630970

Due to be published: 27 Feb 2025

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I'm normally a bit wary of Booker prize winners, but I saw some of Harvey's acceptance speech and then really wanted to then see her writing. It wasn't a disappointment. She writes beautifully. I'm a fast reader but with this book I really slowed my pace and took my time, because I wanted to enjoy the language. I did have to let go of the fact that there isn't very much of a 'story'...though there are elements of a story, and it could have gone further, but I resigned myself early on to there being no completion for me in the book. It didn't matter. What I was enjoying was the experience of being on the space station, of looking down and observing the earth. There were aspects of space life I hadn't really thought about, and whilst I know this isn't a real life account, it felt believable, and I am sure she had done lots of research to get to the point of writing this. But it didn't feel research heavy. Nor did it feel like she was on any kind of bid to win a book award, which is something I sometimes sense with the prize winners. It just felt like a love letter to earth. And to space. And to language. I loved it.

Title: Orbital

Author: Samantha Harvey

ISBN: 9781529922936

188 words for rain by Alan Connor

This is an interesting little book. I moved around a fair bit as a child so I'm always conscious of the different ways 'locals' refer to different things, but I'd never really considered how weather words (specifically rain) can vary quite so much around the country!
I liked the way the book travels across Britain, going through different local terms and their origins. This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in language, especially local slang and etymology, but also anyone interested in the weather as it was interesting to learn about different weather systems across the country.

Title: 188 words for rain

Author: Alan Connor

ISBN: 9781785948541

The Christmas stocking murders by Denzil Meyrick

I found this an easy-to-read, fairly light-hearted cosy crime that overall I enjoyed reading.  But it didn't score higher for me as I felt it was trying really hard to be a bit Bertie Wooster and just couldn't hit the spot.  I liked Grasby well enough, and perhaps if I already knew him from the first book I would like him more?  But I wasn't entirely sure who he was, and whether he had any skills as a police detective, or if he just stumbled into solutions by accident a lot of the time.  And the language is definitely on a Wodehouse incline, but it just lacked a bit of spark.

There are a lots of intriguing characters, and I wondered what was going on & so kept on reading, and then reading a bit more, to try to discover the ending.  I liked the post WW2 setting too, so it had lots of good elements.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Christmas Stocking Murders

Author: Denzil Meyrick

ISBN: 9780857506399

So thrilled for you by Holly Bourne

Gosh, this was good!  I was completely caught up in how relatable/awful/hilarious/tragic/selfish/outrageous these four women were...I'm probably quite a bit older than the target audience, but memory of the hell of giving birth to my first child is still there, and those awful, awful days (and nights) when she just wouldn't sleep, and I thought I might die from being so tired.  Lauren's parts are so raw that they are heart-breaking.  But I love Holly Bourne's honesty, as she really doesn't shy away from just how difficult it can be, whilst also sensitively understanding Charlotte's point of view too.  I really liked how I kept feeling differently about each woman as the story progressed, veering from hating them to loving them.  It was a real rollercoaster of emotions.  Anyway, I basically inhaled this book and whilst I didn't quite like how the reveal revealed, I was fully committed at that point to whatever happened and I loved the pace, the humour, and the truly dreadful baby shower!

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: So thrilled for you

Author: Holly Bourne

ISBN: 9781529301632

To be published: 16 January 2025

The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke

I came to Cornelia Funke's stories as a grown-up, when my daughter would borrow, and re-borrow, and borrow again 'Dragon Rider' and I wondered what had so captured her attention!  I enjoy her style of writing, and this new book didn't disappoint.  It's the story of Caspia, a young pre-teen who has to spend the summer in Brooklyn, much to her dismay, but she soon makes a host of friends after discovering a mysterious bundle of letters between two sisters from long ago.  They each contain a puzzle about a plant, and Caspia finds herself wandering across Brooklyn, trying to discover all of these plants, and putting down roots of her own along the way.

As someone who moved a lot as a child, I definitely identified with Caspia's feelings around living somewhere new.  I would have devoured this book as a child, and even as a grown-up I raced through it quickly and found it very enjoyable.  It's quite simply told, but the characters are interesting, and I liked all the puzzles around real plants, some of which I found easy to figure out and some less so.  It perhaps lacked some of the depth that Inkheart has, but it is still a really lovely story.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Green Kingdom

Author: Cornelia Funke

ISBN: 978 0241698020

To be published: 6 March 2025

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty

I can see that lots of people have really loved this book, and think it's a wonderful observation of grief, and also a clever play on cosy crime.  But I also, thankfully, saw one review describing it as a hot mess which was a response that chimed with my own.  I finished the book last night and immediately said 'What?!' out loud.  I was frustrated, and mystified.  What had I just finished, and what did it all mean?  This isn't to say that it was all bad - there were aspects I liked, the beginning of the book is good and I was intrigued and wanted to know what had happened.  But then it seems to turn into something else entirely, and honestly for me, it didn't work.

If those separate moments of Abigail's grief had been standalone I would have enjoyed them much more, because it is heart-breaking to watch her trying to make sense of what has happened.  But intertwined with the slightly bizarre golden age of crime murder mystery felt jarring.  And had that detective story been by itself I might have forgiven it - even if the detective seemed like a dolt who was just wildly guessing at every possible suspect.

But the repetition was frustrating, of quite long passages where pretty much all the text is the same until there is some small change.  It felt like a literary device, and I had bad flashbacks to trying to read James Joyce's Ulysses.  Perhaps that was the point, the interruption of the story, the unsettling nature of the two plot lines twisting against each other.  But I didn't like it.  I didn't understand where the book was going, or what the point of the new detective was and the change in setting and scene, and so at the end I felt worn out by the stupid detective who had guessed everyone did it, and whilst I understand the humour of that because in a Christie novel there is an element of it could possibly be any one of the characters.  But at the same time, it sad strangely, for me, with Abigail's grief.  I kept wondering if the whole thing was part of it being a murder mystery game and we would find that the suicide wasn't a suicide and was interwoven in the party game - that would have made a little sense with the title and the cover of the book perhaps?  But no.  The title doesn't seem to make much sense, and I really don't know why the cover looks like that, which also bothered me!

Anyway, lots of other people really like this book, so give it a try if you're intrigued.  But for me, it didn't work.

Title: Fair Play

Author: Louise Hegarty

ISBN: 9781035036134

To be published on: 3 April 2025

Hope Street by Mike Gayle

This is a gentle, sweet story with a bit of a mystery, some moments of peril, and a central character I became very fond of.  It encompasses quite a lot of storylines, and I wasn't always sure that everything worked or was necessary, but the central story of Connor and his missing mum, and the threat to their home, is engaging and I enjoyed seeing Lila trying to help him.  I enjoyed the way it slowly unfurled Connor's mum's story...I hadn't guessed at all what had happened.  And of course I was rooting for Connor the whole way through.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Hope Street

Author: Mike Gayle

ISBN: 9781399724494

To be published on: 6 Feb 2025

Death comes to Pemberley by PD James

I really wanted to like this.  P&P is fresh in my mind as my daughter spent several months watching the BBC series on repeat, but from the moment I started the book I kept almost squawking out loud 'what?!'  Did PD James actually read P&P before starting?  I certainly don't think she enjoyed it, because she didn't seem to know who anyone was, or what they were like.  And the mystery within the book was really quite dull, and oh, the court drags on and on.

I was so desperate for Darcy and Elizabeth to be smart.  And funny.  And to just have a nice husband and wife conversation even.  But they felt stilted, and the tone was all wrong and ugh.

I'm glad I read it, because I've thought about reading it for several years now.  But I'm also glad that I am very good at forgetting about books, because it was pretty terrible!

Title: Death Comes to Pemberley

Author: PD James

ISBN: 9780571379699

Death and the penguin by Andrey Kurkov

What a strange little book!  I enjoyed it, and found it quite readable until just perhaps the last quarter, which I felt wasn't as good as the earlier parts.  The penguin is, obviously, the best bit.  I was slightly disappointed that the penguin and the writer were not an unlikely detective duo.  That's what I'd initially hoped for on seeing the title.  Instead this seems to be about communism, the mafia, and the oddities of life.  Still, it was quirky, and an interesting read, so I'm glad I gave it a go.

(This was the second book I received from my subscription to Mr B's Emporium Bookshop).

Title: Death and the penguin

Author: Andrey Kurkov

ISBN: 9781860469459

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

I was lured into reading this with the Japanese setting, and as I started it I thought it might be a bit of an interesting sci fi type story.  Had I known it was magical realism, I might not have bothered (do we call this speculative fiction now?  I don't really know...) but anyway, suddenly people are jumping through puddles into an alternate world (I think) and I got nervous.

It actually wasn't as bad as I'd thought...I decided to let the whole thing wash over me and not worry about what was going on.  Even when someone got folded into origami to travel somewhere else I just la la la'd my way through.  Mainly because of the physicist character, who I liked, and who I wanted to know more about.  I like Kei more and more, and Hana less and less.

It's a strange, magical fantasy romance.  I'm not sure about the ending.  I wasn't sure about some of the middle.  Some of it is great, and some of it was dull, but it kept me reading.

Title: Water Moon

Author: Samantha Sotto Yambao

ISBN: 9780857505330

To be published 16th January 2025

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant

Miss Hortense is an interesting character to read about.  Having emigrated from Jamaica, she has lived her life here in the greyness of the UK, working as a nurse for over thirty years, and helping her community through the pardner.  I'd never heard of pardner schemes before the book, so it was interesting to learn about how it worked, and still works, as a way of helping communities build up funds.

There is quite the cast of characters, and it was sometimes difficult to keep track of who was who (especially when they weren't who everyone thought they were...)  But I mostly managed to keep up!  I liked hypochondriac, talkative Blossom.  And the book builds a real sense of the community that Miss Hortense has been living in for so long.  You get a sense of each person as you read, and the slang helps build the picture and feel of the community too.

I would have liked perhaps a little more Miss Hortense herself - she is a little like Sherlock in that we see some of the things she does, but we're not privvy to all the thinking and working out she is doing.  I had no idea what was going to play out in the book, and it finishes with rather a grand all-in-the-room reveal (a la Christie) where the plot was layered upon layer.  If you asked me to explain what had happened, I'm not sure I'd give a very clear account of all of the ins and outs, because it did keep twisting and turning.  But I don't think that matters too much!  It was enjoyable to read, and I'd very happily come back to see what mystery Miss Hortense solves next.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: A Murder for Miss Hortense

Author: Mel Pennant

ISBN: 978-1399814379

Due to be published: 12 June 2025

Time of the Child by Niall Williams

I read, and loved, several books by this author back in the 90's and early 2000's, and I was interested to see how I would fare with this most recent offering.  The beginning almost defeated me.  I couldn't seem to grasp the phrasing, or the characters, or the feel and flow for what was happening.  I'm not sure why that was - it felt sometimes as if the sentences were sometimes jumbled, or the words were out of order.  But it was a struggle.  I persevered, because I kept thinking about how I had loved his early books, and I was sure there must be something more to come, and I'm really glad I did.  Perhaps I started to hear the Irish lilt in the language, or perhaps I just became attuned, or it just got better?  But suddenly I did find I was completely caught up in the story, and the lives of the characters.  I started to remember that what I'd loved about Williams' books before was the intense emotional pull of the writing.  And here, in this story, I was completely caught up in the doctor's life.  The cast of characters is broad, and you get a feel for many of them, as they come and go in the story.  There is the ever present sense of dread, hanging over everything, and the more you read, the more you know the people you're reading about, and the more emotional it gets.

So, a slow start I felt, but definitely worth it.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Time of the Child

Author: Niall Williams

ISBN: 9781526675163

Due to be published: 24 October 2024

The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-Ryeong

I think this is mis-described as a feminist thriller...I kept thinking we were going to veer off into some gory murder at some point, but that never happened!  Instead, it's more of a look at Korean marital, sexual and gender expectations.  I found it quite a thoughtful story, though at times it was a little difficult to follow quite what was going on.  The idea of the marriage agency was interesting, and I loved how Inji refers to her husband as 'the husband' throughout.  

There are interesting strands of story - parts that were funny, with the Granny and the coffee machine, and parts that were moving, with Inji's two school friends and their history.  There was a creepy guy, but I couldn't quite judge just how creepy he was meant to be (he didn't seem that awful to me), and what happens to him seems pretty horiffic...perhaps that was meant to be the thriller side of things.

I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I felt like it got more interesting as I went along.  I mostly wanted to know a bit more...it felt like a glimpse into societal expectations in Korea which I don't know much about, but I felt I needed more information.  But ultimately, I wasn't sure what the message of the book was, and the ending was just a little odd.

The translation, though, was very good - it felt very natural, and I was interested to read at the end that it had been done collaboratively which is an interesting idea.

Title: The Trunk

Author: Kim Ryeo-Ryeong

ISBN: 9781529949353

Eat, Slay, Love by Julie Mae Cohen

[Disclaimer: I am friends with Julie!]

Well, I've been looking forward to reading this for quite some time and I loved it!  (I mean, it has a librarian in it, a mention of Anne of Green Gables and a hamster, so what's not to love?!)

But seriously, I loved that it brings together Julie's awesome, funny, smart way of writing about women's lives and mashes it all into a pretty gory thriller.  I had no idea where it was going to go, and I was gripped, with these three women who, initially, I wasn't particularly drawn but who gradually became three wonderful, dear people who I was totally rooting for.  I loved the biting child, and the matter-of-factness of the women and everything that they deal with.  And the dead grandma!  It manages to encompass huge issues alongside day to day issues covering everything from coercive control, domestic abuse, adultery, fraud, Patriarchy, feminism, MLM/pyramid schemes, childcare, hamsters, friendship, cooking...

I started to read faster and faster the closer I got to the end, as I was so eager to see what would happen - it was worth it, the whole ending upon ending is fabulous.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Eat, Slay, Love

Author: Julie Mae Cohen

ISBN: 9781804182970

To be published on 24th October 2024

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

 

I have to confess, I haven't read the first book in the series.  I did watch the TV adaptation.  That isn't how I would normally do things, but I stumbled across it by accident and before I knew it my son and I were gripped and trying to figure out whodunnit.  So I feel a bit sneaky now reading the second adventure for Judith, Suzie and Becks when I still haven't read the first one but never mind.  I have those characters firmly in my head now!

This was a good story, very readable, and I was engaged throughout.  It's a locked room mystery, and I liked all the layering of story that went on.  I really like Becks and her deduction skills, and whilst Suzie annoys me a bit she works as part of the trio.   

The only thing is...the murder!  I have spent quite a bit of time thinking over the actual 'how' of the explanation, and it just left me a unsatisfied.  So much effort went into the story, but I just keep thinking about whether or not it actually holds together.  I don't want to give spoilers, so can't really say much more than that, but I've googled a lot, and thought a lot, and I'm just not sure.  I'm probably over-thinking it, but I'd committed to the story so it felt confusing and unsettling at the end when I suddenly wasn't sure if I believed in any of it.

Anyway, even with that bit of a bump, I would like to read more from the three sleuths, and perhaps they'll adapt this story too and I can see whether the murder works or not!

Title: Death Comes to Marlow

Author: Robert Thorogood

ISBN: 9780008476519

A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith

Excitingly, I am going to a talk from AMS this autumn, so I thought I'd better get a move on and catch up with this series.  I'd been saving them, as they are always such a pleasure to read, but then I read them so quickly and I'm sad that I've finished!

This one certainly didn't disappoint.  I devoured it, and it made me laugh aloud several times as I was reading it (especially Mma Makutsi's behaviour at the start!).  It was everything I had hoped for - a lovely, gentle time with familiar friends.  Don't start with this one, if you haven't read any before.  This is number 23 in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and you should definitely start at the beginning!

Title: A Song of Comfortable Chairs

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN: 9780349144818

Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, illustrations by Miho Satake

This was the first book in my Mr B's Emporium book subscription (a lovely gift, from a lovely friend) and what a good pick for me it was!  If you don't know about their book subscription service, you can sign up for a delivery of hand-picked books, and after filling in a questionnaire, they will hunt out authors and books that they think you might enjoy.  This one hit a lot of spots for me - it's a children's book, it's a Japanese translation, it's funny and mysterious...

It's a good translation, I felt - sometimes works translated from Japanese can feel a bit stilted somehow, but this one flowed well, and most especially in the 'Daisy' section, where I would never have guessed it was a translation.

The 'Daisy' sections were my favourite parts, and I was completely gripped reading the story.  I had a small book of similarly styled fairy tales when I was growing up, which I used to read over and over, and this section very much had the feel of that book, and I loved the illustrations alongside of it too.

It has some funny moments, and often has the feel of a Ghibli movie.  I could see it working really well as an animation, especially the fractious relationship between Kazu and an elderly lady in the story.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read, and probably not something I would have come across by myself as I think so I'm really glad it was sent to me.  I'm very much looking forward to my next book from Mr B's!

Title: Temple Alley Summer

Author: Sachiko Kashiwaba

Translator: Avery Fischer Udagawa

Illustrations by Miho Satake

ISBN: 9781632063052

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

This is a slow burn of a novel, but at least for the first half it held my attention well.  I was interested in the artist, Vanessa, and I could sense the layers of mystery beneath her life, and I was intrigued by Becker too and his obsession with her art.  But then it did start to drag a little, and I found myself liking Becker less and less, and nobody in the story was very nice at all...I did like the way the story was told though, in bits and pieces and fragments of letters and diaries.  It conjured up that feeling of wading through an archive, or mooching through someone's personal correspondence and uncovering truths about their life.

It's certainly atmospheric as well, especially the parts about the island, Eris.  But I felt let down by the ending.  I had guessed much of it, but had been hoping for a big twist that didn't come.  I was left with lots of unanswered questions, so mixed opinions overall - I read it fairly easily, I was interested in the art and the artist's life, but it ultimately left me dissatisfied.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Blue Hour

Author: Paula Hawkins

ISBN: 9781529938067

Due to be published: 10th October 2024

The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi, translated by Cat Anderson

 I've read a number of these magical realism / magic cafe / Japanese cat stories in translation lately...there seems to be a trend of publishing them, though they are very mixed in quality.  This is one that I enjoyed reading, and I thought the translation was good.  It's quite a moving story this time, with people visiting the restaurant in order to have one last meal with the ghost of their loved one.  I liked the idea, and I also really liked the inclusion of the recipes mentioned in the story.  There is a cat (which seems almost obligatory for these books too!) but the cat doesn't play an enormous part.  I liked the gentle pace of the book, and I could feel my mouth watering at the descriptions of the food!  Overall, a sweet little book.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: The Chibineko Kitchen

Author: Yuta Takahashi, translated by Cat Anderson

ISBN: 978-1399817622
To be published on 7th November 2024

Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig

I haven't read any of Sandi Toksvig's writing before, and I enjoyed her style.  This was an enjoyable, fun story that was perfect for my holiday reading.  The central idea, of an elderly lady refusing to leave her house after it is sold manages to be both tragic and, with Sandi's writing, very funny.  I really liked Dorothy, and I was intrigued as to what was going on and how Amber and Stevie were going to manage the situation.

We're introduced to a good range of characters, all of whom are interesting in different ways, and have their own little stories along the way.  I was intrigued throughout as to what Dorothy's story was going to be, but I wasn't sure that it evolved as I would have liked it to, so that was a little disappointing.  Things do get wrapped up nicely, but I think I had just been hoping for a different rounding out of Dorothy and what was happening to her.

But there were lots of little moments that I really enjoyed - especially the builders who come to work on the house, and the extremely painful parental Christmas visit (and I was very happy about Stevie's mum at the end!)  

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Friends of Dorothy

Author: Sandi Toksvig

ISBN: 978-0349019017

To be published: 26 September 2024

Frankie by Graham Norton

I loved Frankie from the start.  I was completely caught up in her life, and I felt like I was living every moment alongside of her.  The book has such an enormous scope, in trying to tell us her life story.  I hadn't read anything about the story before I started and I'm glad that I didn't know anything because it was good to discover things alongside of Frankie.  By the time I got to the end, it did somehow feel that Frankie's early life had been something I'd read years ago!

The art world described within the story is intriguing, and I enjoyed the wide range of characters, events and situations.  If I had any criticism, it would only be that I felt the conclusion to Frankie's story wrapped itself up a little too quickly.  I wanted to know more of her life at the end, and I would have happily read another 100 pages to find that out properly.  Maybe I was just enjoying the book too much, and I didn't want it to end.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Title: Frankie

Author: Graham Norton

ISBN: 978-1529391442

Publisher: Coronet

To be published 12 September 2024

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