A small northern coastal town in Germany 1943 is a microcosm for the internal conflict of the country as the police inspector clashes with the famous resident artist, former friends the ban on degenerate art splits them apart as well as family + friends. Narrated 10 yrs later by the son of the officer , Siggi, from a juvenile facility, this is an absorbing book that explores how Nazism tore the nation apart. Been on my shelf for ages, great read.

4th booker shortlisted book + another excellent read. The narrator is a woman impacted by the death of her parents + after a short 1st visit moves to live in an Australian priory where she recounts life with the nuns but also her memories which are peppered with curious tales. Covid, an infestation of mice, the return of the bones of a murdered nun, + their escort a nun the narrator recalls from school add to the hypnotic fascination of the tale.

2nd bk from a series curated by bernadine evaristo of modern black Br writers. This was a compelling legal thriller set in the 90s abt a talented black female criminal barrister from a working class background. When a lucrative corporate fraud bruef is given to her, she is subject to prejudice from members of the bar but of more concern an affluent client who seems too good to be true. A page turner. Will look for more from the author + the series

This may be my favourite of the booker shortlist so far (3 read) and was an intricate story of two women in 1961 Netherlands. Isabel lives on her own in the house her family moved into during the war, but her life is impacted when her older br leaves his girlfriend staying there while he works away. Ava is a dizzy, vibrant woman who grates on isabel. As the plot reveals itself as a reader, I was absorbed and ultimately moved by what was revealed

The 5th Rebecka Martinsson book, and this is now one of my favourite series with great characters and plots in the North Swedish Town of Kiruna. Here, a body is found + hidden in the victim's frightened grandson. There is also a plot from the early 1900s around the mine owner who built the town and his affair with a young woman. As Rebecka is pushed out of the investigation by an old foe, she sets off to look into things herself. A page turner

The 1st half as Teresa's father escapes Eng with his dtr to India, is a romp with curious characters + vivid descriptions of life on a ship but more vividly the sights,smells,+ sounds of bombay. The 2nd half finds the pair on T's half sisters tea plantation, a story then of strained family + marriage. Good read
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I'd love to visit India but this passage transported me to a busy Bombay street as 14 year old Teresa strikes out on her own, escaping her dreadful father Mr Digby who is travelling half the world to spite his ex wife. Another enjoyable read in #persephoneclub
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A bk abt the death of a domineering father finds one sister Beth waiting for her yngr sibling Anita to come home. The story of their life + dead twin sister Greta slowly emerges, and as a reader, every new revelation is shocking and distressing. I was absorbed by this novel, which was beautifully written as it pulled apart the cruelty and love of siblings and the complexity of family. An intro from Bernadette Evaristo added to the read.

My irl group discussed this bk this evening. Great discussion of a story that explores cultural expectations of women, weight, + food in Japan. Told by reporter Rika, who interviews Kajii, apparent female serial killer of older men. Kajii is a gloriously manipulative character who twists Rika + her best friend Reiko round + round. A fascinating look at Japan, a country I'd love to visit. Overlong, no murders, but enjoyable + grt for a bk grp

A book that made me feel dizzy with the description of a space station orbiting the earth as the astronauts contemplate their lives and families on earth who pass repeatedly in the blink of an eye. But also dizzy with prose describing the beauty of a unique planet seen from blinking lights of cities tounending oceans of blue. It was a short read, but it took me some time to absorb it all. I enjoyed it + feel it needs a reread.

A farcical story about a middle age man Douglas who tells his wife he is going to Scotland fishing but sets of on an artistic groups visit to Moscow with his lover the flamboyant actress Nina, who then appears to be permanently avoiding him. His journey around 1980s Russia with the other members and the authoritive olga makes for a strange tale of misadventures. Enjoyable, strange ending, as ever Bainbridge is a great storyteller but not my fave

Catching up from last weekends reading and I'd enjoyed the birdwatcher so much I picked up the next in the series in which DS Culpidi takes centre stage. She is a single mum police officer transferred from te met to Kent police and is a great character as are those surrounding her. The plot features migrant workers and their exploitation by gang members. Definitely a series I will be going back to soon.

It's been a while since I was in the parisian world of commisaire Adamsberg, the enigmatic parisian detective who relies on his intuition. In this one, a crime from his childhood obsesses him with murder by stabbing with a trident. The plot takes him to Ottawa, where crimes follow him. Enjoyable series 3* and will read next at some point.

Loved this story of 16yr old Robert who in 1945 sets of walking from his Durham home + ends up at Robin Hoods Bay where he makes an unlikely friendship with Dulcie, an eccentric woman with a secret unearthed through their bonding. Beautiful prose immersed me in the characters + landscape by an author who is becoming a favourite writer. Also contains a mystery that will have you searching an unknown German poet. A book abt class, art, life,love 5*

I enjoyed this story about a friendship between a teenage boy at the start of ww1 and the great artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh who, together with his wife, had moved to the Suffolk Town of Southwold. Using this nugget of truth, the author creates an imagined tale that expands to describe Tom, his family, and the inhabitants of the town. The book had me searching about Mackintosh + his artist wife Margaret as well as his subsequent arrest.

Written in 1971, I can definitely see how influential this novel must have been on many of the recent noir revival in American crime. Fizzing with witty dialogue this is the story of how Eddie is at the centre of gun running for various criminal gangs, including those involved in cross state border bank heists, while there is also ref to black panthers and hippy gangs. The book also features fbi officers hunting the crims. Short but v satisfying

I'm back to work tomorrow, so I'm catching up on my holiday reading reviews with this bonkers, over complicated but enjoyable story. If Agatha Christie and H G Wells had thought of writing a crime story together, this would have been the result. Perfect for a holiday read, but I'm not sure it lived up to my expectations.

Back from hols + Barney's relieved back in our favourite reading spot. Anyway, I took away with me Muriel Sparks' 1st novel, a curious story breaking the author/character wall as Caroline hears a typewriter repeating her words as she thinks them. With threads into diabolic black masses & Catholicism, this is a strange tale that definitely has that spark feel, but perhaps lacks the later subtlety & dark edge, but for me, she can do little wrong.

Local newspaper columnist Thomas Hart is given a map of the stars + starts an obsession with a local woman who disappeared 100yrs before after recording an unknown comet. Sarah Perry weaves a story of unrequited love + loss of friendship, over 20 yrs from 97 to 2017, centered around the Bethesda Church Community of an Essex Town. I enjoyed this multi layered tale as T negotiates relationships including his yng friend Grace, + the long dead Maria.

It's been a while since I visited the world of Charlie Parker and I am now wondering why I left it two years as I immersed myself back into the world in which gritty crime merges with supernatural horror. In this one we learn more about Charlie's origins and the story of his father. It leaves threads open for futures books and I can't wait to read onwards.

Another enjoyable read from the persephone catalogue. Some great villains from Miss legge threatening to separate the children, to the dreadful DV, but strangest of all the curious Miss Blake + companion who Alice visits. All in all, Sue was remarkable. Good fun.
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A curious read. The opening story drew me into the tale of a young ww1 soldier and how he meets his wife before we see their life post-war. I expected to follow the characters, but the subsequent tales jumped back and forth through the next 100 years, telling tales of love, loss, and war. Lovely writing, but I felt that I missed one life story or at least a connection. I'd be interested to read it again, as well as rereading fugitive pieces.

The 1st thing that struck me as I started this book was whether I had gone back in time and was picking up my mums old secret seven books when visiting my nanas. Then I looked up the illustrator and went down a worm hole reading about Mary Gernat.
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A really good trilogy, + hats off to the author for limiting it to 3 books when I could read these characters for several more books, which puts homeless men as the principal characters in the crime stories. Jimmy Mullen is the focus of the book, but it finds one of the triumvirate of our heroes arrested for murder. The bk then tells us how Gadge ended up on the streets. I really enjoyed these books + am looking fwd to reading more by the author

This very moving book begins with a terrible act of violence. 20 plus yrs later, a young man returns to a remote Scottish island, and what follows is a gentle but compulsive story of his interaction with his very quiet uncle who has to confront the past, as well as the few residents dusturbed by his return. Beautifully written, this will be one of my books of the year.

It's some time since I read the 1st in this series 'six stories' about a true crime podcaster, and I had forgotten how well the writer merges different media into an enjoyable crime story. Here, Scott King talks to a young woman who killed her family in 2014, but as he delves, he finds strands that take him into modern urban myths and the dark Web. Kept my interest and well done. I am looking forward to the next book.

Gwendoline Rileys work profoundly explores human relationships + I enjoyed both of her last 2 books. In this earlier novel, the focus is on a young woman in Manchester who makes a trip to N Carolina to meet an old lover Joshua. In a run-down motel, they are intimate emotionally and physically as the author also describes encounters between them and strangers in the town. Intriguing, this short book absorbed me + made me want reread her other work

The story of a naive young woman who finds herself at London University + is quickly adopted by her tutor, jacob Goldmans bizarre family. As the story unfolds, we follow love affairs and a 6 year life in Italy. An enjoyable read, but at the end, I put it down not entirely sure that I will remember it for very long. I recall preferring the travelling hornplayer though suspect may have been more the timing of reading rather than the book itself.

6th in the reverend merrily Watkins series finds her and her teenage daughter drawn into a mystery set in an apparently haunted hotel on the welsh/English border where Arthur conan doyle was reputed to have stayed. Merrily diocesan exorcist is an enjoyable character, + the book has 2 threads, but lord at over 600 pages long I felt at times it could have done with a heavy edit. But as I enjoy these stories, I'll definitely be back for more.

A difficult rd as the trauma of civil war is evoked thru the voice of Sashi,a medical student, whose brothers +childhood friend K join the tamal tigers fight against the Sri Lankan govt.Over 10 years, she struggles thru the horrors of war as she treats victims at the same time as studying. The personal losses are told well, particularly her uni mentor whose own fight against inhumanity is cruelly revenged. Well deserved women's prize winner.

The author doesnt avoid the horror of ww1 + the experience in the trenches of yng men, in this moving story of a forbidden love between Gaunt + Ellwood, boys who meet at school + enlist when war starts. The research, referenced in the afterword, draws on real accounts only compounding the distress as we are drawn to the characters' lives. A much plauded book, + well deserved. Watching the d day memorial, I can't imagine at 18 facing such horror.

This short book tells the story of an unnamed young woman, wife of a distant North East Scottish farmer. When 3 Italian pow's are posted on the farmland she builds a relationship with them. Beautifully told but also sparse in substance this was a bk I enjoyed + suspect needs a reread. Was recommended when I was on a janice Galloway 3 bk session + I heard her rave about it. I'd recommend for a gentle read with lots to think abt + writing to enjoy

14th and penultimate book in archaeologist Ruth Galloway series finds an investigation halted in 2020 by the covid lockdown. The story around the pandemic is done well evoking that surreal period in everyone's lives and through one of the regular characters the physical effect of the virus. I'll be sorry to finish the final tale.

Another enjoyable outing for Washington poe and Till Bradshaw. In this one someone is poisoning reprehensible public figures by unique poisoning while poes favourite pathologist Estelle Doyle is arrested as suspect in a classic locked room murder.
Great storytelling, a page turner.

A gentle story of a young couple moving into the 1st married home. Felicity + Ian navigate the minor bumps in early life in their 'small' home (worth a look at Walpole St on which it's based!). I was happily esconsed in the small dramas so loved to finale abt Daphne.
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A very readable book about the N Irish conflict that destroyed lives and split a society in half. The bk focuses on the 'disappearance' of a Belfast mother by the IRA +follows the protagonists over the subsequent decades incl 2 particular members . It also reflects on the role of politicians esp Gerry Adams. A page turner + v informative but I'm unsure if the horror took 2nd place in favour of a thrilling read. An interesting reading experience.

Another in the series about journalist Rebecca Connolly. In this story, a mother, with a poor view of the press, asks for Rebecca's help to clear her son convicted of killing his lover, a prominent Scottish lawyer. The reach of organised criminal gangs and dodgy police peppers this book, which is an enjoyable page turner, and I enjoy a crime novel that moves away from the traditional character clichés.

I liked this satire of middle-class white liberal attitude to race. Elmira, at the centre of the story, is a black woman lost in life role post college, a nanny for an affluent family, caught in a racist incident at a local shop. As the book progresses, we find her pulled in separate ways by Alix, her employer + her white boyfriend. The qn is whether she is viewed as an individual or as a trophy for a middle class society unsure how to manage race

4th in the excellent Rebecca martinsson series finds the lawyer involved in an investigation about a young diver discovered in suspicious circumstances. The focus centres on 2 brothers whose parents were involved in helping the nazi regime in Swedens neutral status. A good start to #20in4 @andrew65 hope all well Andrew

Home after a lovely weekend in Durham, where, like the monks in 995, having carried the coffin of cuthbert around the north of England to escape viking plunderers before finding a home, i brought this wonderful book to Cuddy's funal resting place.Telling the story of the journey, + the Saint it is inventive + poetic in prose style evoking the devotion to the legend a remarkable man. It was fascinating seeing the cathedral having read the book.

I have a couple of days of work so we went to the pub for a lunch of cheese, more cheese, pate and a pork pie. All went down well as I finished the fourth in this police procedural set in 1974 Glasgow where Detective Harry McCoy has to deal with a spate of bombings, a missing American sailor, + his criminal friend Steve Cooper causing mayhem. It is a really enjoyable series that captures the 70s well.

This is the story of 2 Australian sisters who are orphaned + move with their half-sister to England. The story stretches from the late 1940s to the 70s as we follow mainly Caro's love life and Grace's marriage. It is intricately told with precise + beautiful writing. The ending is a shock as a secret is revealed, which changes the readers' views on well drawn characters. This is my 1st Shirley Hazzard, and I loved the story and her wonderful prose

Told with brutal honesty + dark humour, comedian Fern Brady considers her troubled life so far, having received as an adult diagnosis of autism. For many adolescent girls with autism they are often labelled difficult, angry, or promiscuous when their diagnosis would have helped both the individual + their families and teachers. I found this book both funny and sad, the comedy masks experiences which must have been very painful. A brilliant memoir.

A dark love story of 2 yng people whose paths cross in London where property is unobtainable. Lauren, a HR consultant from a troubled Leeds background, is searching for a flat.Callum looks after property for an agency, is adopted by a wealthy aged art expert from a Hungarian background, has a difficult family story. When they meet their paths lead to dramatic results. A well told dark tale, which I really enjoyed, a modern fable of London life.

I plunged into this fascinating book 4w ago + was absorbed in the world of an E European Jewish messiah who creates a cultist group who convert to Catholicism. The themes of anti semitism, charismatic abusive leaders, nation states, + the power of religion echo across the centuries with the final pages bringing us to the 20th century.Jacob Frank is unlikeable as we view him through multiple viewers eyes. Daunting, dense, but worth the effort

My 5th whipple, + there is something comforting abt life in middle class 1920s England. Her characters are v well drawn, evoking the conflicting emotions in families as aging, trust, + ambition create the perfect soup of a novel, + of course a perfect villain.
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Yes, I think I have just found my drink of choice," barley wine, bovril, black beer, and port." I wonder if I could substitute marmite as I don't think I've had bovril since I don't know when.
#persephoneclub
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In 1943 173 people died when seeking shelter from a bombing raid in Bethnal Green tube station in a crush caused by a woman falling on the stairs. The bk imagines a family's experience of the disaster as they lose their youngest daughter, + 30 years later, a journalist interviews the chair of the enquiry about his report. This is a tale told in a matter of fact way but which exposes the dislike of jewish refugees at the time. Interesting but sad.

In 1944, a bomb destroyed a South London woolworths. Among the 168 who died, the author has imagined 5 young children's lives at 15-year intervals until 2009. The life that might have been for each one is absorbing as we follow their various highs + lows + in parts is very moving. The book ends with a reminder not to dwell on paths not taken, and I put it down wishing there was more and wiping away moisture from my eye.

In a small town in the Donbas, 2 remaining residents, Sergeyich + Pashka,frenemies, live a codependent life as bombing between russia + ukraine rains over them.Summer arrives + S drives his beehive south to find somewhere for his bees to pollinate, with curious encounters along the way. Set after 2014, this is a gentle but darkly profound bk given the current war. Sergeyich is a remarkable character+his response to life make a compelling story⬇️