After her parents’ untimely death in a car
accident, Siobhan O’Sullivan is trying to keep the family’s bistro afloat and
her siblings under control when a man is found sitting in the bistro with pink
scissors protruding from his chest. When her brother is accused of the murder,
Siobhan decides to investigate. I liked the book well enough but didn’t love
it. For starters, it could have done with an extra round of editing. It also
read like a book written specifically for the American market. The Irishness of
the characters and the language they use felt like a parody.
A RECIPE FOR MURDER by G.S. Revel Burroughs (5*)
A clever, well-written, and captivating
mystery. I enjoyed the book from start to finish and found it difficult to put
my Kindle down.
A SUNLIT WEAPON (Maisie Dobbs #17) by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5*)
Much more than ‘just’ a mystery as what starts
out as a local investigation into somebody taking potshots at spitfires and
shooting at least one out of the sky meets international intrigue involving
Eleanor Roosevelt. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed this Maisie Dobbs story.
ONE BAD APPLE by Jo Jakeman (4.5*)
I thoroughly
enjoyed this book. The writing is smooth, and the story captured my attention
from the start. The characters in this book were recognisable as were the
interactions between them. At times reading the book was a little like watching
a car crash in slow motion as slowly but steadily relationships and reputations
unravel. All of it kept me captivated from the opening paragraphs until the
surprising and unconventional ending.
A FRONT-PAGE MURDER (Poppy Danby Investigates #1) by Fiona Veitch Smith (4*)
Previously published under the title The Jazz Files. While this
is more a crime caper than a mystery and I did roll my eyes on quite a few
occasions while reading A Front Page Murder, I had a hard time
putting this book down. This story is pure entertainment for anybody who enjoys
their mysteries with a generous helping of shenanigans. And while I think I
prefer the Miss Clara Vale mysteries by this author, I’m pretty sure I’ll return
to Poppy Denby’s adventures before too long.
FRIENDS OF DOROTHY by Sandi Toksvig (5+*)
I adored this book. It’s almost certainly going to be (one of) my
favourite book(s) this year and goes straight to my ‘extra-special’ list. There
is so much to love on these pages. Quirky and charming characters, lively
dialogue, and not a boring moment, make this a memorable read. Friends of
Dorothy is a delightful book! So much so that I
want to live in Grimaldi Square, be part of that world, and become one of Dorothy’s
friends.
WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart (4*)
A story about four teenagers told by one of them, Cadence, as she tries to remember what happened two years previously. As the title of the book indicates, we’re dealing with an unreliable narrator; one who isn’t telling the (whole) truth, even to herself because her memory fails her. When the truth eventually emerges it comes as a huge shock, both to Cadence and to the reader. The writing was a bit flowery and over-descriptive to my liking at times but, given that the story is written from a teenager’s perspective and that teenagers are prone to exaggerating, I guess it fits the story.
GA JE ER OVER SCHRIJVEN? (ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ABOUT IT?) by Herman Koch (4.5*)
A memoir/autobiography inspired by the author’s
diagnosis with terminal prostate cancer but about so much more than just the
disease and how he deals with it. I recognised a lot in what he wrote and not
just in the passages about cancer but also in those about his parents, grief,
and writing to name but a few.
