Let's begin with:
The Hallmarked Man - Robert Galbraith
The latest in the series that follows the cases at the Strike Ellacott detective agency. A man’s disfigured body is found in the safe of a Masonic silver shop; who is he? Keen to prove it is the body of her partner and father of her baby, a woman hires the agency which leads them into connecting dots between the theft of a family heirloom, other missing people and a network of unsavoury characters. Always great to read, pacy with developing flirtations between Cormoran and Robin. I didn’t feel that the storyline was as robust as previous books but it was enjoyable and I read that the next book is already in the pipeline. Bring it on.
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
A well-written fictional look at Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson and his early days as a writer trying to get a big break.
Theirs was a relationship so obviously doomed from the beginning with one taking everything and the other letting it happen. Not one person is likeable in this book with Hemingway treating everyone around him appallingly. The man was well known for being an almighty nightmare and this book just reinforces that. No one that I would enjoyed.
Dracula - Bram Stoker
This was my first reading of Dracula; I am the biggest wimp when it comes to anything remotely close to horror, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing; I immersed myself into Bram Stoker’s world, his writing is terrific and the storyline is a complete hook, I could hardly put it down! The only drawback was that I was only able to read this during daylight hours, I definitely found it too scary for bedtime reading. That ending!!
Raising Hare - Chloe Dalton
You’d have to be living under a rock (or a bush) to not have heard of this book, everyone is raving about it. While the descriptions of the colouring of the hare’s fur are alive and beautiful, and there is lots to admire about the prose, I have issues with the actions.
Look, she took the hare, she didn’t find it and know that the mother was definitely dead so we all need to stop thinking that she rescued/saved it. She raised it with minimal contact so that she could preserve its natural instincts and honour nature. If that was the case then she shouldn’t have taken it, rather let nature do its thing. And once she had decided to raise it herself, cuddle the damn thing. Who could resist stroking such a lovely creature? I could not. Overall, I found the book to be frustrating and lacking emotion, Chloe Dalton seemed so cold and disconnected. It was a difficult one for me to finish.
Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers
You can rely on Clare Chambers to write a good story with keenly observed characters and emotions and this book is no exception. Helen is an art therapist working at a psychiatric hospital in 1964 and has been having a long-standing affair with a married man who is a doctor at the hospital. Crossing their paths comes William who has been living indoors with this aunts for so long that his neighbours had never seen him and his hair and beard are waist length. He is also an exceptional artist but is withdrawn and chooses not to speak until a school friend and his mum come forward and help in his rehabilitation. It’s all tied up nicely in the end and the journey to get there was pleasing. I liked it, but not as much as Small Pleasures.
His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnet
THIS is a book! It’s set in 1869 and 17-year-old Roddy Macrae has been accused of the murder of three people, two children and their father, in his small village on the Applecross Peninsula in the Highlands. This fictional book examines all of the historical documents of the case including Roddy’s diary and statements and takes us through the court proceedings. It’s such an original idea, it’s fabulously written and a book that I would recommend over and over again.
The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon
Set in the unforgiving landscape of Maine in 1789, midwife Martha Ballard is called upon to examine the body of a man found entombed in ice. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by the dead man and has to fight to have the findings of her investigation taken seriously. Based on Martha’s historical diaries, this book highlights the misogyny and the plight of women in the 18th century and there are some lovely insights into the family dynamics of that time. It’s a fascinating book.
Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie
Well, it’s Agatha Christie so expect an outstandingly crafted and enjoyable, edge-of-the-seat story. Death on the Nile is a classic and one of her most popular works with Poirot taking on the case of a mysterious death aboard a cruise boat. With Egypt as an exotic backdrop, an eclectic group, each with their own secrets, are all suspects in this ‘closed circle’ mystery. Themes of greed, love and deception are quintessentially Christie and I would recommend this book very strongly. It’s as good as Murder on the Orient Express, which is my favourite novel of hers, that I have read.
