Perfect evening on the deck. Enjoying this beautifully written, well-observed murder mystery set in the theatre world.
Perfect evening on the deck. Enjoying this beautifully written, well-observed murder mystery set in the theatre world.
A really fun murder mystery, with a knowing wink to Agatha Christie and the genre. I loved the tone, sense of humour and contemporary references, not least Dorothy who is a failed presidential candidate, leaving the reader to guess who inspired her character. I found it hard to believe she would investigate the murders & I‘m still curious about the bodyguard but otherwise a light, engaging read with setting, twists & elements of classic crime.
Recommended by Sophie Hannah as her favourite Christie and did not disappoint. A classic set-up with a dysfunctional family in a huge manor house returning from a funeral, another death & Poirot investigating. And a clever solution. As always I love the light touch, characters who are sketched so deftly you can see & hear them & the gentle poking fun at the wealthy family and their quirks. And clues that keep me guessing. A perfect mystery.
An eye-opening read that encompassed more than I expected. The supply chain to (US) supermarkets includes the trucking industry, farming and slave labour. The marketing tactics & the way suppliers are beholden to major chains is also tough. I really enjoyed the writing style, prose & humour reminiscent of Michael Lewis. A deep investigation & example of Cal Newport‘s Slow Productivity. Makes me want to buy all my food at the farmers market.
A brilliant history of Ancient Rome. Mary Beard has a mastery of her subject and an engaging writing style that makes this a pleasure to read. I came to this knowing very little so it‘s a lot to absorb and probably more comprehensive that I need (as a casual lay reader). But it‘s accessible as an introduction & would be super rewarding for those who have a particular interest. New material is still coming to light. Essential if you like history.
I enjoyed this novel set in Venice. A delightful love story with 2 enigmatic characters and a wonderful, rich sense of place. Lots of textures of the art, streets and history of Venice. It‘s gently paced & lacks the suspense of conventional mysteries but makes up for it with the erudite tone & wit. The dinner party scenes are wonderfully satirical & the characters well drawn. The solution was risky & well handled. A great read for Venice travel.
Excellent, sharp thriller about a publicist in Hollywood who ends up in a murder investigation. A strong sense of place evokes the smells, textures & diversity of LA while the knowing tone gives an insight into the tough, ruthless culture. Mae is a great character. Lots of details & references drawn from Jordan Harper‘s time in Hollywood. Fast-paced & the scenes spring to life.
A great, suspenseful crime novel. I was glued to the page and invested in the characters. I love the genre of ‘smart, put-together woman slowly unravels‘ and this was structured well, with dual timelines & fraught sessions with her therapist adding backstory as she grapples with a tragic death from her past. The depiction of wealthy New Yorkers & journalism is on point. The student friendships feel real as does Charlie‘s trauma.
I like the wry humour & art references. There‘s a fun dynamic between Jonathan Argyll and detective Flavia. But the action is slow, it lacks suspense and the tone & dialogue feel English, even though the characters & setting are supposedly (in part) Italian & Spanish. The mismatch between the English sensibility & European story was jarring. I didn‘t mind it as a nice, escapist read but not compelled to finish.
An interesting study of creativity. Albert Read looks at our imagination from different angles: observation; how existing art inspires new ideas; time to let our brain free associate; walking and nature & the importance of clusters for sparking ideas. These are things we can all practise: the ‘muscle‘ is a good analogy. I would have liked even more practical tips. Surprising he doesn‘t include meditation as this ties in with some if his themes.
I really this novel about a man sentenced to read aloud to the elderly & disabled. Wonderful, eccentric characters & a great sense of place in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The narrator‘s love & frustration with his home town infuse the story & add texture. His struggles feel real, including the backdrop of violence. His growth & relationships with other characters create tension & propel us forward with delightful poetic references woven in. Masterful.
A comprehensive history of modern Greece, well-written. I learnt much about where Greece sits in the wider context, including that it hasn‘t existed as a country until relatively recently - whereas there is a strong conceit of the Hellenic (or Greek) ancient history & culture. For a country that invented democracy, it seems to have been a hot mess for the last 200+ years. So many coups, periods of no government and reliance on imperial countries.
This didn‘t work for me. It succeeds in that it‘s an original take on a murder mystery, with a crime writer & mathematician as a framing device showing the rules of mysteries using maths & Venn diagrams. The eight stories are unsatisfying as we don‘t get to know the characters as with a novel, & they‘re vehicles for the formula. And the framing mystery happens at the end with a twist I didn‘t care about as I hadn‘t engaged with those characters .
Three stories featuring Peter Wimsey. These were fun to read with engaging characters and mysteries at their heart. I enjoy seeing how Wimsey relates to the world (including disciplining children in one of the stories). I prefer novels as a way of getting to know characters and trying to solve the mystery, but these were fun, easy reading. Another classic cover!
I loved this classic mystery set in an English country village. Adam Grant is a wonderfully warm, intelligent detective so it was fun to be in his company solving the disappearance of the Hollywood photographer Leslie. Great characters, nuanced relationships and it feels modern despite being published in 1950. Clean, strong writing with a sense of humour & well-paced. A simple story with rich layers underneath.
My first Ngaio Marsh. I loved the writing - witty & elegant - and fun cast of characters. Great, satirical portrayals of characters who work in the theatre (the deep voices, command of space). And a married couple as protagonists - artist Agatha (Troy) & her police husband. It felt long to read, with the murder happening halfway through. Almost more of a comedy of manners than gripping mystery. I enjoyed it. Not sure about the cover though!
I absolutely loved this classic mystery. Sophie Hannah recommended it as (one of) her favourite Christie books and I can see why. It has all the elements: Poirot, seaside resort, characters with intrigue and a murder where everyone has a motive. And Christie‘s wit and light touch. The solution is pretty tricky (almost too much) but a fun read, masterfully done.
I enjoyed this mix of murder mystery and feel-good up-lit. It has Eleanor Oliohant vibes with a socially awkward protagonist, but I found her annoying at times and the tone a little sentimental or almost condescending (to her) and she‘s portrayed as quite clueless. But overall an engaging feel-good story, the uplit part works better than the whodunnit given we know the culprits early on (notwithstanding the late twist). Love a matching bookmark!
A fun, clever heist novel. Two podcasters search for a missing woman & a stolen antique, with eccentric shady characters joining them along the way. Featuring an old chateau & obscure hobby of breaking into old houses without stealing, it has great pace, dialogue & depth of character. Mina‘s writing is crisp & alive. I was unsure who the protagonists were (& how they knew each other) but that didn‘t matter once I got into it. A good plane read.
I enjoyed this novel about Bob, a retired librarian who meets a new group of friends. The beginning section had me laughing out loud - I love deWitt‘s deadpan humour. The middle about Bob‘s marriage is affecting & characters are true to life. I find deWitt‘s matter of fact style comforting. His wit & mastery of character keep it interesting but it‘s understated & calm at the same time. It didn‘t sustain the energy of the beginning but a fun read.
A brilliantly written and comprehensive account of America‘s wars in Pakistan and Afghanistan (as it says in the title). I bought this when America pulled out of Afghanistan & it‘s taken me this long to pick it up - part of reading my TBR this year. It‘s a great insight into the different arms of govt, their struggles with other cultures, arrogance at times, the complex relationship with Pakistan as a nuclear state & the need for a clear purpose.
I loved Memorial so was eager to read this one. It has similar ingredients that I loved: a Houston setting that feels ethnically diverse with Korean-American families & gay characters authentically portrayed, & food as a motif. I loved how Cam & TJ make space for themselves & their (found) families. It felt slower & more downbeat with casual sex, drug use & grief. I enjoyed Memorial more but this is complex & accomplished w trademark raw honesty.
I loved this sweeping novel about family & friendship. At its heart is the mystery of the disappearance of Martin‘s wife, Cecilia. Rich with art & literature references, intricate as we follow Martin from youth to present day & full of Gothenburg & Antibes atmosphere. Complex characters & thought-provoking re Cecilia‘s absence. Erudite like The Hummingbird & compulsive as the Ferrante novels. Loved the satire of the (failing) art monster.
A great exposé of how the super-rich and corrupt politicians avoid tax and the countries who help them. Bankers, lawyers, real estate agents and the tax haven bureaucrats turn a blind eye as they take commissions on dirty transactions. The scale of offshore wealth is disturbing. Well-written & relevant to much of what‘s happening in the world today.
A good flight read. Pitched as miss Marple meets Succession. I would say it‘s more Succession meets SoHo House with a Fyre Festival vibe. Like reading breathless vanity Fair article. But well done & full of knowing details that feel authentic & evoke the world of Annabel‘s, SoHo House & those exclusive hotels in the forests of England. I enjoyed the fly on the wall feel but the characters were hard to like.
Beautifully written story of a Ghanaian-British young man coming of age in London. A sense of yearning & melancholy pervades the book as his life is touched by violence, racism & grief. He cautiously embraces moments of comfort, friendships & the joy in music & dancing. Poetic & compassionate, a little slow for me but authentic & full of insights & heart.
I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the series. Great plotting, engaging characters and Osman‘s dry sense of humour. A cosy, comforting read with a fun puzzle to keep you guessing. Skilfully done. I highly recommend if you like murder mysteries with a British sensibility.
Excellent. A biography of George Orwell‘s wife Eileen that challenges our view of his treatment of her, the role of wives (or artists) in history and the form a biography can take. I love Funder‘s clean prose and her clarity of thought. She includes fictional vignettes that are imagined based on Eileen‘s letters & source documents. She explicitly brings it into the modern day with reflections on her own experience. Great for book clubs.
I really enjoyed this. It‘s beautifully conceived, thoughtful and pacey. I was invested in the characters so kept turning the pages to see what happened to them. I loved how Nović integrated sign language and the story was immersed in deaf culture. It‘s drawn from her lived experience so feels authentic rather than tokenistic. Whilst there‘s a ‘message‘ it‘s not too preachy & made me think. The closure of special schools is topical in Oz now too.
I love Orhan Pamuk‘s work so this was an auto-buy for me, but I can‘t finish it. The long sections of (partly made up) history feel remote and the characters wooden. It‘s set on a fictional island, Mingheria, so has elements of fantasy that I found hard to connect to and lacks the sense of place usually strong in Pamuk‘s work. And I don‘t want to read about plagues & quarantines. I like the playful tone but It‘s 680 pages so I had to make a call.
A compulsive suspense novel, I couldn‘t put this down. Tightly written, Emma cline gives wonderful (but minimal, carefully selected) details of life in the Hampton among the wealthy holiday-makers. Told from the point of view of Alex, who doesn‘t belong and is an unreliable narrator, gives it an edge. Cline has created a protagonist who is dishonest & unliveable but interesting: you care what happens to her. A great, stylish holiday read.
I loved this. Great story-telling with characters who feel real. You care what happens to them even though they‘re flawed and often cranky. I really enjoyed the dry wit. Herron is masterful in writing funny one-liners & comical situations that stay above farce. Sophisticated writing that doesn‘t take itself too seriously. Great ear for dialogue and sense of place - the un-flashy parts of London where Slough House operates. Escapist, smart and fun.
I really enjoyed this. A world history using trade routes as the thread pulling it together (so to speak 😉). It put a lot of events into context for me (eg the birth of various religions ; WW1; 9/11). While still Anglo and UK centred he also draws on non-white sources to give a wider perspective on many issues. It shows the effects of imperialism eg re oil. Engaging & well written, he has a good sense of narrative so it reads like a story.
I loved this and kept wanting to get back to it when I wasn‘t reading. The prose is so clean and there‘s something about the intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that makes you feel close to the characters. I was invested and cared what happened to each of them, which gave the story tension. I loved the ‘relay‘ style passing from one character to the next. Thoughtful and on point. Beautifully explores both the state of our society & relationships.
Beautifully written with rhythm and musicality. I could feel the sea air and loved the eccentric characters. A slow burn. Deserving of its Booker long listing. Love to know what others thought of this one! Our discussion is up now on Books On The Go pod. 🎧
A brilliant book about Rudi Vrba‘s escape from Auschwitz with Fred Wetzler and their attempt to tell the world about the Final Solution. Highly engaging despite the harrowing material, I could not put this down. Gives a sense of the Europe-wide nature of the program & the deception & secrecy involved. And humans‘ refusal to believe even when told. Our discussion up now on Books On The Go 🎧.
Loved this Australian novel. Beautifully written in vivid, spare prose. Complex characters in artist Frances and larger than life ‘art royalty‘ Clem, their relationship has echoes of Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes or Celia Paul/Lucien Freud. It has an Australian sensibility - earthy, fresh & direct. A knowing & satirical insight into the glittering art world of Sydney rings true & contrasts with Frances‘ quiet work in the hills. Recommended.
I enjoyed this collection of stories. They feel personal, which makes them more intriguing. Exquisite on music, slightly problematic on women (still portrayed as objects of desire or not rather than equals, friends or colleagues) but always interesting. I love his easy, conversational writing style & the way it turns from mundane to dreamy & raises questions about human nature. The sense of curiosity and love of music & baseball are endearing.
A brilliant, epic novel. Beautifully written with such an engaging voice & rich story, I could not put this down. It‘s a relief to read a book that whilst it does address an ‘issue‘ (in this case, poverty & the opioid crisis) is more interested in telling you a great story with memorable characters who you care about & who stay in your mind after you finish reading. A perfect mix of subject & author as Kingsolver lives in Appalachia. Loved it.
I love Shirley Hazzard and re-read this for the Books On The Go podcast. A beautiful novel, it reminded me why I love her work. She was an erudite & astute writer. Elegant prose, clear & rational as she reveals a character‘s thought process - & illuminates the ways humans act, the nature of desire & effects of war - but also poetic. Rich details of HK & Japan and great sense of time & place. Interesting love story reads differently today.
A stunning collection of poems that you‘ll want to re-read. The first section addresses her father‘s illness & death and is honest, unflinching and beautiful. Other poems look at relationships & life in Italy, America, Morocco. I loved the feel of travelling, her ability to convey much with one or two observations & the clear language. Unshowy, elegant and fresh.
I really enjoyed this. Crewe gives us an intimate look at the lives of two men in 1894 England who challenge the status quo. Told in beautiful, assured prose, I loved the feel of being London during this time, with all the sounds, smells & textures. Frank & sensual, it shows different ways of living & how oppressive society was especially for women & the laws against homosexuality. Love endures despite this, in poignant scenes that resonate today.
A good murder mystery set on a cruise ship & described as Christie-esque, but I didn‘t love it. I can see the comparisons: the setting & some plot points follow Christie‘s style, but it lacks her humour. I think I didn‘t quite believe that Lena would be so gullible as to sail to NYC & spend every moment on the ship with a rich family she‘s never met. And the ending didn‘t seem believable. But there was lots to enjoy & interesting issues raised.
A fun, feminist re-telling of the myth of Medusa. Natalie Haynes is an expert on the Classics intimately & her deep knowledge infuses & enriches the story but is worn lightly. She pokes fun at Perseus who beheaded Medusa only after much help from the Gods. The writing is warm & engaging. The god(desse)s come to life & we see them with fresh eyes. Successfully weaves different strands & myths together to reach the tragic conclusion.
My first Ann Cleves. This was a slow burn but I really liked it by the end. The time we spend with the characters & landscape pays off as they feel real & I was invested in them as the mystery took shape. I‘ve heard Cleves doesn‘t plot so I wonder if that‘s why the book starts gently & doesn‘t feel like it has a strong direction until part-way through. The community & relationships rang true. A satisfying read.
Great, pacey story of a marriage that is shaken when a woman dies near their house. Their loyalty to each other as soulmates is tested & each revelation about the past changes how we see them now. Masterfully done with twists & turns & a wry sense of humour. I couldn‘t pot it down.
This did not work for me. It felt over-explained (eg the first scene in a spaceship at pains to tell us it‘s in the future) & preaching the message that books are good & can be life-changing. Action slowly unfolds in nicely written scenes with no dramatic tension. Favours written books over oral story-telling traditions. Ending felt contrived. Too earnest for my taste. Many have loved it so don‘t let me put you off. 😉
A good debut novel set in Cabramatta, Sydney. This area has a large Vietnamese refugee community & had a heroin epidemic in the 90s. Lien grew up there so her characters & sense of place feel authentic, w rich details that come from lived experience. She shows the parents‘ trauma & children caught between 2 cultures, facing pressure to succeed & racism. The story around Denny‘s murder lacked tension for me, but a great insight & slice of life.
A great re-telling of the myth of Troy. Stephen Fry brings the gods and goddesses to life with great humour, knowledge and sense of story-telling. One of the reasons the myths endure & continue to resonate is the human traits the god(desse)s display & this is wonderfully exemplified by Fry‘s books. (Zeus & Hera as a fiesty married couple are my faves). I recommend them all on audio too as he narrates them. A fun, informative read.
Brilliant and comprehensive biography of a legendary playwright. Lee gives a real sense of Tom Stoppard including his late discovery of his Jewish roots and understanding of his privilege growing up in England. There is great detail of the plays (some of which I skimmed as I‘m not familiar with them all), humorous anecdotes & a sense of a vital, hardworking, witty & generous man who wears his status lightly.