30. Death of a Bookseller, Alice Slater
Narrated alternately by two young women who work in a bookshop - one is drawn to the other while the other is repelled. It's set up like a psychological thriller, but it felt like the author had more literary ambitions and wasn't quite sticking to the formula. The author has herself worked in Waterstones and the account of day-to-day work in the bookshop was the part I enjoyed most.
31. The Frozen People, Elly Griffith
Crime fiction meets time travel. Engaging modern heroine goes back to the Victorian era to make some enquiries. Felt like the author was having fun with this and I found it reasonably enjoyable.
32. The Novice's Tale, Ann Swifen
Second in series set in fourteenth century Oxford. Previously, our hero encountered a beautiful young woman who was being forced to take the veil. Would she be able to escape? This sequel is entirely predictable but a pleasant sojourn in the world it creates.
33. Lost and Never Found, Simon Mason
Third in the police procedural series set in Oxford and featuring the two Di Wilkins. A socialite dies - does the reason lie in her past? Good misdirection and enjoyable characters.
34. Sometimes People Die, Simon Stephenson
A young doctor describes the vicissitudes of life on the hospital wards as the question begins to be asked as to whether someone on the staff is killing people off. One reviewer says it's as if This is Going to Hurt took a turn into crime fiction, which sounds right to me. In genre terms, it's slow-paced for crime fiction, but I was utterly enthralled by the account of life as a junior doctor - the author trained as a doctor and has created a convincing world.
35. Inheritocracy: It's Time to Talk about the Bank of Mum and Dad, Eliza Filby
I'm convinced by the author's argument - how well you do in life has a lot to do with the help you get from your parents in early adult life, not just money but a place to stay and/childcare help. Not sure she brings a lot to bear on the subject though - a few anecdotes and a few surveys.
36. Miss Silver Intervenes, Patricia Wentworth
Published in 1944, this is traditional stuff - an old lady is the unlikely detective who unravels whodunnit following a murder in a block of flats, where all the residents seem to have motives. Nothing particularly special but soothing and of its era.
37. Bookish, Lucy Mangan
I liked this bibliomemoir but again, I didn't think it was anything special. She talks about her early adult life in terms of the books she encountered and used to soothe herself - through Cambridge, her relationship with her new husband, early motherhood (which seems to have been really tough for her) and lockdown. I relate to a lot of it and I liked it, but there was nothing there that made me look at things from a new angle. It's in that unflashy, easy-to-read prose style of a working journalist where there are no especially memorable phrases.
38. The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, Henry Gee
Author reckons humans might be gone in 10,000 years. Takes a jaunt through human evolution, the Green Revolution of the 60s, the projected decline in population over the next century, and suggests that we focus our efforts on colonising space. It's all rather cheery considering the subject - very much looks at the macro picture rather than micro considerations of individual suffering from climate change etc.
39. Missing Person: Alice, Simon Mason
Away from the romp of his DS Wilkins series, this is a different series by the same author focusing on an Iraqi-born "finder" who acts as a police consultant to investigations involving individuals who went missing a long time ago. The narrator is bookish, and in this book he's reading "What Maisie Knew" in his downtime, and thinking about how we fail our children. It's a more muted tone, but still very appealing.