a couple of good novels and all of Sean Duffy and Ruth Galloway, and others

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 2019. An entertaining retelling of the story of Achilles, half god, half man. Interesting. A novel.

Greenwood  by Michael Christie, 2019.  Good novel, long and lots of trees feature in it.  Big time leaps that don't connect that well, but good story.

Mark Billingham's new mystery, Cry Baby, 2020 is good but they used actors to read the parts and Mark to read the rest and found it irritating.  Prefer him to read the whole book.  But the plot was good, characters good.  It's a prequel for his main character.

And finished the 4th books by Abir Mukherjee, Death in the East, 2020 and it was very good.  Good characters, really interesting setting (India in the 20's, as in 1920s) and good plots.  Hope he writes more.

Listened again to all of the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty. Looking forward to a new  one.

The Chain was o.k, got tons of attention, but I like these books better.

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/sean-duffy/

The Cold, Cold Ground	(2012)
I Hear the Sirens in the Street	(2013)
In the Morning I'll Be Gone	(2014)
Gun Street Girl	(2015)
Rain Dogs	(2016)
Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly

 Also listened to all of Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway series again. Very enjoyable to hear again.

https://www.orderofbooks.com/characters/ruth-galloway/

The Crossing Places	(2009)
The Janus Stone	(2010)
The House at Sea's End	(2011)
A Room Full of Bones	(2012)
A Dying Fall	(2013)
The Outcast Dead	(2014)
The Ghost Fields	(2015)
The Woman in Blue	(2016)
The Chalk Pit	(2017)
The Dark Angel	(2018)
The Stone Circle	(2019)
The Lantern Men	(2020)

good novel, mediocre mystery and a pretty good mystery

The Untouchable by John Banville, 2009. Such a good writer. Not a light book, a bit dark but great character and so perceptive about people. And so well written.

Ian Rankin wrote a book a long time ago, and it was recently published. Westwind, 2020. Characters are forgettable, plot was ok, but writing not very good. Rebus books are much much better.

Bluff by Jane Stanton Hitchcock, 2020. good mystery, main character and older woman who could walk into busy hotel, shoot someone and walk out and no one would notice her. good plot.

good books

The Mirror and the Light, 2020, by Hilary Mantel. Oh my, poor Cromwell! Very long book but it's all conversations and really interesting. Certainly brings those people to life.

Six Months in Sudan, 2009, James Maskalyk. His first book, really good. Interesting writer, dealing with tough stuff.

Down Among the Dead, 2020, Damien Boyd. Good mystery, like the way he always remembers the dog - never left in a hot car, always walked and fed and left with the TV on.

The Driftwood Girls 2020, Mark Douglas-Home
ok mystery, don't remember much about it.

Gone By Midnight, Candice Fox, 2019. Book 3 in her series, starting out at the vets office - like the way she writes about animal care. Like the characters.


Middle England by Jonathan Coe, 2019. Really good novel. Brexit finally made a bit of sense to me, what the issues are, or some of them. Believable characters, well told story.

Soap and Water and Common Sense, Bonnie Henry, 2020 edition, originally writter ten years ago. Very interesting book about the bugs of the world, and how they mostly rule.

non fiction

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. She wrote it many years ago during WWII, it was not published for 30 years. Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. Lovely book, sort of plot less but it does not matter. An ode to her mountains.

The Peregrine by J.A Baker. He takes you along as he follows the birds, a meditation on birds and the land. Another lovely book.

medical book and mysteries

Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action; A Memoir , 2019, by David Fajgenbaum. A doctor in training who almost dies each time his disease reoccurs. Amazing survival, doing his own research to find a cure. Interesting book, a battle for survival. Interesting stats on research too.

The Driftwood Girls (The Sea Detective Book 4) by Mark Douglas-Home, 2020. Really like these sea-research mysteries. Another good one.



Good Girl Bad Girl, Michael Robatham, 2020. Good mystery, not his usual series, so a stand alone most likely.

Crypt Thief by Mark Pryor, second of a series, 2013. Set in Paris in the summer. The Bookseller was the first in the series, this one good as well.

a spinner/knitter

In the Footsteps of Sheep Tales of a Journey Through Scotland, Walking, Spinning, and Knitting Socks 2015 by Debbie Zawinski
Thought this book was going to be a bit flaky, but it is not. She writes well, as she travels and camps around Scotland one summer gathering wool from sheep that live on the land and loose their fleece naturally. A sock pattern for each area she goes to, beautiful photos of landscape. Interesting stories of the sheep.

My Sister the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 2019. Odd book, set in Nigeria, but good. Two sisters, one covers up the killings.

good mysteries

Peter Robinson's latest two DCI Banks books are very good. Careless Love, 2018 and Many Rivers to Cross 2019. interesting plots and likeable characters.

Golden Fleece, and a marshy mystery

The Golden Fleece by Esther Rutter, 2019. Non-fiction exploration of the history and social backgrounds of knitting around the UK. Delightful book, interesting to read and well researched. A good read.

Where the Crawdad's Sing, Delia Owens 2018. A novel, but the main plot is not believable - the setting is fascinating, the marsh and the coast and the whole environment. But I don't believe a child could bring herself up with no money living in a shack in the marshland. A good ending to the book, and it was entertaining. But not great.

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters Ursula K. Le Guin Dec 5 2017
Really enjoyed this book. very thoughtful and interesting. and funny :-)

books

What Comes Next and How to Like It, by Abigail Thomas, 2016. Memoir. Very good book, very honest and flawed person.
It's also very funny. And she likes dogs.

The Body A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson, 2019. Really interesting, easy to follow and informative with good references.
Good book, worth reading.

Your House Will Pay, 2019, by Steph Cha. Listed as a mystery but really a good novel. She write about race and living in LA and she is very perceptive and forgiving of her characters. Good book, good writing.

The Godmother,
by Hannelore Cayre , 2019. Translation. Did not like this book at all - the reader was very irritating. The story not interesting.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan, 2019. A novel, but based on fact. Interesting book, interesting woman.

The Ministry of Truth, The biography of George Orwell's 1984 by Dorian Lyndkey, 2019. Very interesting book, about how he wrote it. It took many years, and all the links to things that were happening in his life and in the world. Good book.

We the Survivors, by Tash Aw. Very good novel. 2019. as they say on Amazon "A murderer's confession--devastating, unblinking, poignant, unforgettable--which reveals a story of class, education, and the inescapable workings of destiny." interesting perspectives, good characters.

Agent Running in the Fiels John le Carre 2019. The best mystery writer, it is so much more. my favourite quote from the book "It is my considered opinion that for Britain and Europe, and for liberal democracy across the entire world as a whole, Britain’s departure from the European Union in the time of Donald Trump, and Britain’s consequent unqualified dependence on the United States in an era when the US is heading straight down the road to institutional racism and neo-fascism, is an unmitigated clusterfuck bar none." Very good book

James Oswald Nothing to Hide, 2019. Book two of his new series. Constance Fairchild. pretty good, but think I prefer his Maclean series.

mediocre mystery and great novel

The Taking of Annie Thorne by C J Tudor, 2019. Not a likeable character in the book. Engaging plot, but that's about it. Dark and dreary mystery. Glad it's over.

Great novel by Australian writer, Trent Dalton, Boy Swallows Universe, 2019. Characters you love, story told from the heart. Really good book. Fallible people dealing with life in Brisbane as best they can. Told from the main character's perspective, Eli Bell, age 12 to start with.

2 non fiction books

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home, 2018, by Nora Krug. Interesting graphic novel, she investigates her family, tries to find out how guilty any of them may have been of being linked to Nazi activities. Interesting perspective, honest investigation. Worth reading.

Forgiveness, 2015, by Mark Sakamoto. Very interesting content, two families and how they were mistreated in the war, but badly written. Very patchy, much left out it feels like half a book.

excellent non fiction

Land of Lost Border: Out of Bound on the Silk Road, 2018, Kate Harris. Riding in snow and rain on awful roads, 11 months with one friend, an amazing journey. But the best parts of the book are her thoughts on the environment, on the meaning or lack of meaning in the borders we create. Very good book, deserved to win the award she won, The Taylor Award.

Stiff,by Mary Roach. 2004. Very interesting book about corpses, what people do with them, how they are used, historically where they came from. She's a witty writer and finds out interesting things.

Thick and other essays, 2019, by Tressie McMillan Cottom. Good writer, great essays, written by a scholar, author and sociologist with a decade-long track record of exceptional work. Amazon reviewer says these essays are "crammed full of striking observations about America’s current and historical racial/economic/class schisms," And they are.

Cara Hunter, In the Dark, 2019. Pretty good mystery. not much more to say

Peter May, I'll Keep you Safe, 2019. Not as good as his many other books, but very descriptive of the Hebrides, and weaving and textiles and the business behind it all. Interesting to read about looms and weavers. The murder not so interesting.

James Oswald, Cold as the Grave, 2019. #9 of his Inspector McLean series, very good mystery.

Elly Griffiths, The Stone Circle, 2019. Another very good mystery in her Ruth Galloway series, with DCI Nelson. Thoroughly enjoyable characters, great setting, good mystery.

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza 2018. Very good novel. How a family deals with life in America. Good writer.

The wife Between Us, 2019 by Greer Hendricks (Author), Sarah Pekkanen . Irritating mystery. Women too flaky for me. inventive plot, and not badly written but not a single character I liked at all.

2 good non-fictions and many mysteries

Birdology: Adventures with Hip Hop Parrots, Cantankerous Cassowaries, Crabby Crows, Peripatetic Pigeons, Hens, Hawks, and Hummingbirds by Sy Montgomery, 2011. A great book. Half way through it and finding it very interesting. Good writer, good information.

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, 2019. Very interesting and funny too, he's very clear and fair. Good book.

Australian writer, Candice Fox, has written 3 mysteries so far in a series. Read the first two and am waiting for the third. Good books, with the added benefit of creatures; a family geese, 11 cats (from one pregnant cat) and added at the end of book 2 is Celine, the dog, who howls to Celine Dion. Who wouldn't like these characters who rescue creatures?
1.Crimson Lake 2017
2.Redemption Point: A Crimson Lake Novel, 2018
3. Gone by Midnight 2019

Hope she writes more about these eccentric characters.

Kingdom of the Blind: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louse Penny, 2019. More on the Three Pines with Armand Gamache, another good mystery. When his colleague was shot before, she writes:
"The old poet’s bony hands holding Isabelle’s. Her voice unwavering as she whispered to Isabelle over and over again the only thing that mattered.
That she was loved.
Isabelle would never remember that, and Armand would never forget it."

A Tiding of Magpies by Steve Burrows, 2018 The fifth birder mystery, set in Norfolk along with Elly Griffith's books. The protagonist is Canadian, working in the UK, which doesn't really make sense but doesn't really matter. Good mystery.

2 non fictions and a novel

Alas, the Booker novel for this year. Forced myself to finish it, but it did not improve. Milkman, 2018, by Anna Burns. A little interesting to get an adolescent perspective of the Troubles, but a very tedious book. Glad it's over

Immigrant Montana 2018 by Amitava Kumar . Am quitting half way through this one. Very irritating book, author full of himself and not intriguing in the slightest.

Precious Cargo, 2016 by Craig Davidson. A great book, thank heavens. Very enjoyable book about Craig driving a special needs bus for a year in Calgary and the 5 kids he took back and forth.

many mysteries

A need for escapism, read 4 of the China mystery series by Peter May. A good series, with interesting things to learn about China and good characters. I will read the remaining two of this series.
Firemaker. 2005

The Fourth Sacrifice, 2007

The Killing Room, 2008

Snake head, 2009

he writes well, and I like the series.

Elly Griffiths new stand alone mystery is very good. The Stranger Diaries, 2018. Interesting characters, good plot. and a good dog :-)

3 good novels

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, 2018 by Gail Honeyman. Her first novel, very good Absorbing characters, and the tale is revealed slowly so very engaging story. Good book.

Transcription by Kate Atkinson, 2018. Main character is believable, interesting, jumps time periods, from 1940, to early 50s to 81. A sort of a spy novel but not really, more the story of Julie. Very good novel, love the way she follows Julie's train of thought, all the unsaid things.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, 2018, by Heather Morris. Australian writer. Based on the true story of two Slovakian people, Lale and Gita, but the tale is Lale's. Really interesting book. The author and the son both write afterwords, also very interesting. She interviewed Lale for a long time before writing the book. Well worth reading

so-so mystery, good novel, great non-fiction

The mystery, The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey, 2018, Australian. Plot was fine, but protagonist was annoying - find people who need to withhold information or live in fantasy of boring affairs tedious. The mystery itself was fine. The ending was OK, thank goodness.

Good novel, by very good writer Miriam Toews, Women Talking, 2018, based on a dreadful story of drugged and abused Mennonite women living in Bolivia. The novel takes place after the fact, whew, and the women talking are interesting, funny, worth listening to.

Handywoman, 2018, by Kate Davies. Her story, her stroke, her steps to recovery, her knitting, her dog, her writing, her family. Very well written and interesting and thoughtful book. Self published.

some good books

Birds, Art, Life by Kyo Maclear, 2018. Non fiction, sort of an extended essay, on looking at the world of art and life whilst looking at birds as a beginner birder. Interesting book, thoughtful.

New mystery by james Oswald, No Time To Cry, 2018, with a new set of characters. He works another inoffensive entertaining ghost into the works as well. I don't usually like ghosts, but Oswald does them well. A good mystery, good new heroine, good plot. A promising beginning to a new series.

Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon, 2018. Good book, dementia captured in a unique way. Lovely characters and good story.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark, 1961. never read this book, and am glad to have now. An interesting take on a single woman, how critical the world is of single women, how much the same now

good mysteries

Clare Mackintosh, Let Me Lie, 2018. unexpected turns in the plot, a good mystery. good characters and a realistic ending.

The Intrusions, Stav Sherez. 2018. Have not read this author before, may go back and read the earlier books. Great ending to this mystery. Some realistic digital invasions of privacy portrayed.

Robert Goddard, Into the Blue. Read this years ago, and it's long winded but good story telling and was glad to re-read it.

Thirteen, 2018, Steve Cavanagh. Bit creepy, get tired of serial killer stories, but it's well done.

The Vanishing Box, Elly Griffiths, 2017, Book 4 of Magic Men series, very enjoyable, interesting characters.