50 Books Challenge 2024 Part Five

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2024, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

If possible, please can you embolden your titles and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track.

Some of us bring over to the new thread lists of the books we've read so far, but again - this is your choice.

The first thread is here, the second one here , the third one here and the fourth one here

What are you reading?

@Southeastdweller thanks just purchased The Rachel Incident

Enlightenment the new Sarah Perry book is also on the daily deals for any fans of the Essex Serpent.

Just picked that up and Six of Crows for my teen which may happen to fall into my hands.

I grabbed Enlightenment as well.

That’s a great review - thanks @FuzzyCaoraDhubh. I love that you got the 1946 copy with all the stamps!

I have two Sarah Perry's I haven't read so felt like I shouldn't

43. Un lieu incertain: Fred Vargas.

This is the sixth book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series, but only the second one that I've read to date.

Adamsberg and his faithful henchman Danglard are assisting at an international police conference in London when their host Radstock is informed of a gruesome discovery at Highgate Cemetery; eighteen or so pairs of shoes and their respective feet have been lined up at the gate facing into the cemetery. Adamsberg and Danglard are only too relieved to not have to deal with this one but soon after they return to Paris, they are tasked with solving a very grisly murder that would render the most hardened detective squeamish; the elimination of an old wealthy, reclusive man.

The hunt for the murderer gets underway and follows its own haphazard course as per the unconventional methods of Le Commissaire who tends to go off piste and land in all kinds of trouble. Ultimately his instincts serve him well and he eventually gets close to solving the crime. Luck is on his side and he is also aided by his team who mostly support him. There is a weak link in the team who is in cahoots with a superior officer who wants to frame him and bring him down.

Adamsberg travels as far as Serbia into old vampire-slaying country on the quest of a revenge feud stretching back centuries. Here, the plot is reminiscent of John Connolly's 'Charlie Parker' series, leaning heavily on the supernatural and on man's darkest fears as a basis for murder. It is worth noting that Vergas is a historian as this is apparent in the book's rich detail. Credulity is stretched a bit thin plotwise, but the portrayal of the murderer is convincing and after all, madness takes many forms as Adamsberg tells his more sceptical team members.

This is an unconventional and offbeat police procedural. It is often darkly comical with some unexpected twists and turns, and it was entertaining and
well written. I enjoyed it and would read another one some time.

Thanks @Terpsichore . Yes, it was amazing.
I took a couple of photos...

64 Just Another Missing Person - Gillian McAllister

Now THAT, A A Chaudhuri, is how you nail a twist!

A solid bold. Even better than Wrong Place, Wrong Time by the same author - it doesn’t have the slightly supernatural element but is fully real world with well drawn characters and parent-child relationships.

DCI Julia Day is looking for a missing person named Olivia. This has parallels from a prior case when a woman named Sadie went missing, but Julia was too distracted by covering up a crime committed by her DD, Genevieve. Unfortunately, this leaves Julia open to blackmail…

So gripping that, although I am knackered, I pinched myself awake to finish it just now!

40 What About Men? - Caitlin Moran explores the topic of masculinity - amusing time-passer if you like her work, but not exactly an in-depth analysis, with her ‘research’ mostly seeming to consist of talking to her husband and his friends (Gen X men), while occasionally admitting that things might now be a bit different for Gen Z.

41 A Spell of Good Things - Ayobami Adebayo
This is outstanding - an exploration of modern Nigerian life, family pressures, poverty and political corruption told through the stories of Emiola, an impoverished schoolboy (when his parents can afford the fees and he isn’t being whipped out of class for debt), and Wuraola, a junior doctor trying to uphold her role as the golden girl in her privileged family’s dynamic. I learned so much about a culture of which I was shamefully ignorant, while being gripped by a narrative so compelling you couldn’t look away even when the cruelties being depicted might make you wish you could.

42 Divine Might - Natalie Haynes
An exploration of Greek Goddesses, from ancient myths to modern reinterpretations. I was disappointed that it only really covered written myth (so elite male narratives, really, apart from Sappho’s poetry) rather than the religious or practical experience of ancient worshippers, although I appreciate this is much harder to access. I’ve just seen that the subtitle is ‘Goddesses in Greek Myth’ though, so it is only doing what it says on the tin and I’m possibly being a bit unfair.

Now onto Mary Beard’s Emperor which I have higher hopes for.

That should be Eniola, apologies.

Elly Griffiths - The Man in Black and other short stories

A collection of shorts, some featuring regular characters from her books, Ruth and Nelson, Harbinder Kaur, Max Mephisto. Some have a nice slightly ghostly twist.

20- Such a fun age.
Been on my TBR list since it came out
Really brilliant I thought.

Think most people have read Yellowface already but I just got round to it. I did enjoy it. I liked her riff on the unreliable (and unlikeable) narrator. Whilst I read it quite quickly I did sometimes find its pacing off and thought it was a bit light on plot. Some the little sentences that reveal how deeply in denial but undeniably racist June actually is are quite clever.

I found the sections about the publishing industry tiresome and I think it could have been edited to remove them, but the editor probably thought all this detail was fascinating!

Yes, I thought those bits were self indulgent.

118 Killing Thatcher- Rory Carroll
The Guardian journalist’s retelling of the events that led to the Brighton bombing, the bombing itself and the operation to catch the perpetrators. A lot of the first section was background I’m already familiar with so dragged a bit. The story and detail on the bombing itself is horrific and the police operation is well written and tense and injected with a lot of humanity.

119 See Them Run- Marion Todd
Another recommendation from someone on here. This one is a Scottish police procedural. DI Clare Mackay has recently moved to St Andrews where she investigates the hit and run of the brother of the bride at a wedding. The why part is fairly evident from early on but Mackay is a likeable character. I listened on audio and it’s read by the author who is just okay. They are available on Libby though so I will probably listen to more- I find that mysteries work well for me on audio along with classics and non-fiction.

120 Of Darkness and Light- Ryan Cahill
This is the second installment in a self-published epic fantasy. It’s pretty traditional good vs evil, elves and orcs and dragons. The first part of this was only okay but this second really stepped up in quality- both in character and writing. Loads of POVs and action. Great fun.

121 Daughter of the River Country by Diane O’Brien
The memoir of ‘Aunty’ Di an indigenous Australian and part of the stolen generation- she was adopted out to white parents who never told her she was adopted or that she was indigenous. She reels from tragedy to tragedy. This is overwhelmingly depressing- it’s nearly too much to read. It does fit the misery memoir label and we don’t ever really get below the surface of what is happening to Diane or how she feels about it.

122 The Murders in the Rue Morgue- Edgar Allen Poe/ Cut and Thirst- Margaret Atwood and Lovers in the Museum- Isabelle Allende
I’m counting these three as one as they were all very quick reads. In the first a smug Sherlock Holmes prototype solves a locked room mystery with a preposterous conclusion. It was not helped by the long philosophical dirge at the start. Dross.
The second and third were free kindle first reads- both were quite amusing. The Atwood has lots of jabs at academia, society and misogyny and is clever and funny. The Allende is as preposterous as the Poe, but not so Poe-faced! I wa surprised as my only interaction with Allende before was the Winona Ryder movie of House of the Spirits which I remember as being very sombre.

165. Halfmoon Lane. Paula Hillman
     Nina befriends the busker who busks near her office. Then he turns up at her house and they spend a weekend together. He turns up dead and Nina was the last person to see him alive. A "good" thriller but I'm not giving away the twist.

166. The Diary at the Last House Before the Sea. Liz Eeles
     This is book 7(?) In a series that I haven't read, but was fine as a standalone. Lord of The Manor is going to have to sell up. Unless they can save a decades old mystery about why his step Mum walked into the sea and died, and where her diamond necklace went.

167. Gallows Wood. Louisa Scarr A bold for me. The first in a new police procedural series about police dog handler Lucy Halliday.

168. The Swan's Nest. Laura McNeal. The story of the romance between poets Emily Barrett and Robert Browning. I'm probably the only person on the planet who didn't know they were married!

169. Killing Nan and other crime short stories. Keith Wright. Short crime stories. They were funny in places. I'm not a massive short story fan because everything is so rushed.

170. The Croaking Raven. Guy Hale
     Another bold. Set in Stratford-upon-Avon in the 1970s. Actor Oliver Lawerence is back and he's got an axe to grind. Being a Shakespearean actor he takes his revenge Hamlet style and murders a few people. I'm a massive fan of Guys writing already and this book lived up to my expectations.

171. Catalyst. Cameron Phoenix
     Lots of violence and murder, mixed with a bit of sci-fi hybrid human/monsters.

172. Destiny of a Free Spirit. Stephen Ford Although this isn't anywhere near the best book I've read in terms of style, it was a bold purely for the concept. In a post nuclear war future, the world is split into Economica where technology is king, but knowledge is largly banned to avoid another nuclear war. And ecologica where humans are reduced to cave men and wooly mammoths have been bought back. Peter finds a way to travel between the 2 worlds and ends up living between the 2. It became a fascinating thought experience about humanity and which would I would choose.

173. All in Monte Carlo. Anna Shilling. I got quite bored by the end of this one. Set in Monte Carlo it's about a load of rich women getting revenge on their shitty partners/other women. Apparently it's based on true events. Sadly there wasn't enough revenge for me.

174. Seven Summers. Paige Toon. A very long running (7 year) on-off romance. Fairly standard chick-lit/romance.

175. The Consciousness Company. M.N Rosen. Set in the near future, an app has been developed that records your thoughts as you think them. Over time it's found that people's neural pathways are actually rewired as a result which throws up ethical questions about the long term effects of such an app. Another one that threw up Moral and ethical dilemmas for me. Which I like between the easy reads.

188 1980: A Year In The Life of Keith Diamond by Jason Ayres

The titular character gets sent back in time to live through 1980 again and has to stop various things happening while he’s there. Writing is a bit clunky but story is quite good if you like this sort of thing.

189 1981: A Year In The Life of Nick Taylor by Jason Ayres

More of the same!

190 Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Reread of the first Chronicles of St Mary’s book - love this series.

191 A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

The second in the St Mary’s series - more madcap time travel antics.

192 Girl Friends by Alex Dahl

Psychological thriller about two women who become friends and it all gets very intense and then someone ends up dead. All rather silly and not recommended.

193 A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor

3rd in the St Mary’s series - this is probably my least favourite because I don’t like what she does at the end of it (still love the series though!)

194 One Wrong Turn by C M Ewan

Ben and Abi are driving home in the middle of the night when they miss their turning and then stop to help a young family that have broken down - which might just turn out to be a massive mistake. Really enjoyed this and read it in a day!

47. Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie This month's challenge book. In the small, insular village of Warmsley Vale, the Cloade family are reeling from the unexpected death of family philanthropist Gordan who died shortly after his marriage to a much younger woman before having a chance to write his new will. This means his young widow gets everything and the Cloade's are left trying to stand on their own two feet for the first time ever. But there appears to be some question over the death of the widow's first husband and soon a mysterious man appears in the village and people start dropping like flies. Enter Poirot

I really didn't enjoy this one much. There were too many Cloade's to get to know any of them so they just blended into one blue of greed. Poirot got involved too late and the ending was frankly frustrating. Lynn definitely made the wrong choice. There was a strong element of glorifying domestic violence as a romantic gesture which made me very uncomfortable

Nearly caught up on reviews, and very much enjoying everyone else's. I'm off on holiday next weekend and am planning to pull together a reading list tomorrow based on all your recommendations.

60 Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
I was so looking forward to this, which I was hoping was going to be everything I love in a novel. Lots of people, interconnected plots, insights into human nature. And it did have all of these, and I can see it was well executed, but it just didn’t quite land with me. I think it needed to be read immersively, probably on holiday and with time to spare, rather than in a piecemeal way. It’s definitely got a touch of Dickens – London at its best and worst, a range of characters from all levels of society, set pieces, dread and so on. And the central arc of the main character was extremely compelling – it just needed more attention than I was able to give it.

59 23 by NJ Miller
This was really weird. If you’re going to write a mummy-lit book where a slightly overweight heroine with eccentric parents drinks too much and stresses about her family life, do that. If you’re going to write a book about people smuggling, do that. I don’t think doing both together is something that most authors can pull off and NJ Miller really didn’t pull it off. If I pretended it was two separate books that I was reading at the same time, it worked reasonably well, but I couldn’t really be arsed.

58 Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
I have owned this for years and never read it, despite knowing that everyone who had read it had only good things to say. Brittain was 18 when the First World War broke out, and had just arrived at Oxford to take a much longed for and fought for degree. Her life, like everyone’s, was turned upside down when her brother, her fiancée and two of her very close friends were sent to fight and she left Oxford to become a nurse. Over the course of the war, all of the young men were killed, and she became increasingly angry and disillusioned. There’s so much beauty and pain in this book and the sheer waste of life and potential is set out more clearly than in anything else I’ve read.

57 Reyjkjavik by Ragnar Jonasson and Katrin Jakobsdottir
When a young girl goes missing from an island off the coast of Iceland, it makes headlines. 30 years later, the case is revisited by a young journalist hoping to make a breakthrough. Good on the way in which small societies hide bigger secrets than large ones, but the device of setting the action in the 1980s meant a lot of tedious decade-splaining for the modern reader which wasn’t really necessary. Either set it in the modern era and focus on the story, or commit to the 1980s and assume we can work out the fact that print media may be starting to decline and there aren’t mobile phones for ourselves.

Hi Pepe, I like the sound of 'Testament of Youth'. Enjoy your holiday!

Testament of Youth is heartbreaking.

I’ve been clearing out my bookshelves - off to a National Trust bookshop this afternoon. I will NOT come back with more books.

I’ve said that before, @BestIsWest 😀

Looking forward to the book haul later @BestIsWest 😜

Bon Courage BestIsWest 😄