France

Thanks Hayley, just bought it!

I really like detective fiction set in India particularly Abhir Mukherjee, which takes place in the 1920's, and have repeatedly come across comments about Vaseem Khan's Malabar House series being as good, if not better. No, it isn't if Midnight at Malabar House is anything to go by. It starts in Bombay at New Year 1950, three years after the horror of Partition and Persis Walida, India's first female detective and a member of the team at Malabar House where the city's unwanted and most useless officers get dumped gets a call to investigate the murder of an important Englishman. The idea is quite good, the plot isn't bad but the writing is pedestrian to say the least, things keep being repeated as if the reader can't be trusted to assimilate simple facts (could be true with this one who was constantly wondering if she could be bothered to go on) but worst was Persis who was both unlikely and unlikable. Vaseem Khan is not one of those men who can write women it seems, his idea of a driven woman is to have her chippy and rude, she graduated at the top of her class in the police academy yet seems to be a bit vague about some of the basics of detecting. In general I felt it lacked a sense of period or what it would actually have been like for them if there had been women detectives in India in the 1950's - no sense of the gossip there would have been each time she went out on a case with a male officer for instance. Three's much better out there, try Abir Mukherjee or Sujata Massey for a more believable female pioneer.

I enjoyed this one more than Little Fires Everywhere though I get the feeling that I'm swimming against the tide there.

All regular comfort reads for me!

Dogs, cats, coffee and books - defi_niitely some of my favourite thinngs!

Rose Tremaine is one of those writers I'll read automatically without bothering to know what it's about, she doesn't always succeed but when she does it's sublime (The Gustave Sonata for instance). Absolutely and Forever is about first love, Marianne is 15 and the 60's are about to happen when she falls in love with Simon - she tells her mother who replies 'Nobody falls in love at your age, Marianne. What they get are "crushes" on people. You've just manufactured a little crush on Simon.' It's a very short novel, almost a novella about Marianne's passion for Simon, disillusionment and finally growing up. As ever Tremaine's writing is fabulous, it might be about love but it's not in the least sentimental and it's very readable. There is one major drawback though, horses have a major role in the story, riding was one if the few times Marianne was content as a teenager but Rose Tremain doesn't appear to know much about them. There are a couple of 'this just wouldn't happen' incidents - for instance Marianne's friend Pet rides a stallion at the local riding school where they go for lessons from school. Apart from that it was excellent.

I can remember a WTF reaction when I read this about 5 years ago and being rather disappointed too.

I've got this on my wish list - it was in a round up of the best books of 2023 and sounded terrific.

Moby Dick?

That's great! Rest and look after yourself.

After a pretty epic (in my opinion) fail with her last book Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling has bounced right back with The Running Grave, which, in my opinion, is the best of her Cormoran Strike books to date. This time Strike and Robin are asked to investigate a cult by the father of someone who vanished into it and so Robin joins the 'church', the UHC, and becomes an apparently dedicated cult member. The book has its faults, number one being that it really is far too long, JK is in love with words and it shows at times as does the sheer amount of research shes done but the sum of the parts really outweigh the lesser bits, making it a truly exciting read. I know a small amount about cults, when I was in my 20s there was a spate of 'self-improvement' seminars which were not unlike the UHC in the book though more openly about making money and nothing like so sinister. Rake in those who are feeling there's something missing from their life, make them feel they are being carefully selected and lucky to be allowed to join (they took anyone with a chequebook), exercise control by restricting access to the loo, to food, sleep and so on. There would even be a very pared version of the Revelation new recruits to the UHC have to go through which was not a pleasant experience. JK got the cult mentality absolutely on and it was spine chilling. There were a few places in the book that got so tense that I could feel my heart racing. All in all an excellent read.

He's got a new book coming out this spring.

Oh goodness! You really are going through the wringer! So glad that the sepsis was recognised in time.

1. The Black Friar S J Maclean ++++1/2 2. The Running Grave - Robert Galbraith +++++ 3. Absolutely and Forever - Rose Tremain ++++1/2 4. Yarned and dangerous - Sadie Hartwell +++1/2 5. The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman ++++ 6. The Bookseller of Inverness - S J Maclean +++++ 7. Midnight at Malabar House - Vasheem Khan ++ 8. My Sister the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite ++++1/2 9. The Broken Afternoon - Simon Mason +++1/2 10. Grave Expectations - Alice Bell - lost interest at 50% 11. The Secret Hours - Mick Herron +++++ 12. Cover the Bones - Chris Hammer +++++ 13. The Red Notebook - Antoine Laurian +++++ 14. The Wedding Dress Repair Shop - Trisha Ashley ++ 15. Fairy Tale - Stephen King °°°°1/2 16. Iron Lake - William Kent Kreuger ++++ 17. The Frequency of Us - Keith Stuart ++++1/2 18. The House of Special Purpose - John Boyne ++ 19. Everyone Here is Lying - Shari Lapena ++++ 20. Destroying Angel - S J Maclean +++++ 21. Recipe for a Perfect Wife - Karma Brown ++++ 22. Fatal Legacy - Lindsay Davies +++1/2 23. Ink Black Heart - Robert Galbraith +++++ 24. A Stranger in the family - Jane Casey +++++ 25. Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros +++++ 26. The Fake Wife - Sharon Bolton ++++1/2 27. Hell Bent - Leigh Bardugo ++++ 28. Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter - Nicci French ++++ 29. The House of Lamentations - S J Maclean ++++1/2 30. Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros ++++1/2 31. Knife Skills for Beginners - Orlando Murrin ++++1/2 32. Slow Horses - Mick Herron ****1/2 33. Red Side Story - Jasper fforde ***** 34. The Stone Circle ' Ely Griffiths +++++ 35. Dead Lions - Mick Herron ++++ 36. An Inheritance of Magic - Benedict Jacka ++++1/2 37. The Golden Bridge - Amy Chu ++ 38. Romantic Comedy -Curtis Sittenfeld ++++ 39. Spook Street - Mick Herron ++++1/2 40. Tom Lake - Ann Patchett +++++ 41. The Trial - Rob Rinder ++ 42. London Rules - Mick Herron ++++1/2 43. The Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison ++++ 44. The Paris Novel - Ruth Reichl +++ 45. The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley ++++1/2 45. The Night Hawks - Elly Griffiths ++++1/2 46. The Warm Hands of Ghosts - Katherine Arden ++++1/2 47. The Mars House - Natasha Pulley + 48. The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer ++++ 49. Joe Country - Mick Herron +++ 50. The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands - Sarah Books ++++1/2 51. Venetian Legacy - Philip Gwynne Jones ++++ 52. The Last Murder at the End of the World - Stuart Turton ++++1//2 53. Killing With Confetti - Peter Lovesey ++++ 54. Clara Reads Proust - Stephane Cartier ++++ 55. The October Man - Ben Aaronovitch ++++1/2 56. Hattie Brings the House Down - Patrick Gleeson ++++ 57. One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson ++++3/4 58. Walking the Night - Kate Ellis *** 59. Bonjour Sophie - Elizabeth Buchan ** 60. The Crow Trap - Anne Cleeves ***1/2 61. The Glass Room - Ann Cleeves **** 62. The >Beekeeper of Aleppo - Christy Lefeteri *** -". Harbour Street -Ann Cleeves ***1/2 64 When will there be Good News - Kate Atkinson ****1/2 65. French Exit - Patrick Dewitt *** 1/2 66. The Outcast Dead - Elly Grithiths**** 67. Day One Abigail Dean *** 68. Killing Time - Jodie Taylor ***** 69. The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett **** 70. All The Colours of the Dark -Chrs Whiitaker ****1/2 71. The Offing - Benjamin Myers ***** 72. Pompeii - Robert Harris ** 73. The Moth Catcher - Ann Cleeves **** 74. A Day of Fire - Kate Quinn and others **** 75. The Seagull -Ann Cleeves **** 76. The Darkest Evening - Anne Cleeves ****1/2 77. The Broken River -Chris Hammer ****1/2 è_. Small Bomb at Dimperley - Lissa Evans ***** 79. The Winter List - Shona Maclean ****3/4 80. The Ballard of Smallhope and Pennyroyal - Jodie Taylor ***1/2 81. The Secrets of Blythwood Square - Sara Sheridan **** 82. Slough House - Mick Herron **** 83< The Blackwater Lighthouse - Coim Toibin ****1/2 84. The Glassmaker - Tracy Chevalier ***1/2 85. Helle and Death - Oskar Jensen ****1/2 86. Bad Actors - Mick Herron

I'm that much older than you, my early 20's for me!

I presume you're comparing The Monk to the Mysteries of Udolpho? I quite agree with you, it's a long time since I read Udolpho but I remember it as a rollicking good read, The Monk along with Vathek and The Castle of Otranto was an A level book (our English mistress selected our books on the basis we'd never read them from choice - she was certainly right there).

I like both of those!

For the record I've added to my wish list: The Mars House - Natasha Pulley The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo Long Island - Colm Toibin The Warm Hands of Ghosts - Katherine Arden (I should think Luna will be falling on this too!) The Last Murder at the End of the World - Stuart Turton The City of Stardust - Georgia Summers The Ministry of Time _ Kaliane Bradley Table for Two - Amor Towles And of course Jasper fforde is finally publishing Red Side Story next month

A few lists of books being published in 2024 - my can't-wait-to-read list has just grown considerably! Has anyone found other really good lists? These ones are fairly random and usually have just one or two that I'm interested in though the BBC one is packed with goodies. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67646676 https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/best-fiction-2024/849482 https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2023/12/discover-the-must-read-books-of-2024 https://www.ft.com/content/e7aa3d18-6ed3-44c6-8fae-76cdf3165765

I've read ,it twice, once when I was about 18 then about 7 years ago for a book club and enjoyed it enormously. I must admit though that having an incredibly well-read Russian leading the book club discussion was a huge bonus as she could explain the background to the satire etc.

What was The River We Remember like? Apart from you obviously enjoying it. It's on my wish list.

Just like the day after today clue. They are pictorial hints, some a lot more obscure than others. You can go online to get some hints, I think I'm up to 7 now, I've been away so will get back and see if I can get some more.

Brilliant! So pleased for you.

https://hiddenbooks.nationalbooktokens.com/ Has anyone tried this year's game yet. I'm completely useless at this sort of thing but enjoy trying!

I agree. I think that why they are still in print and gather new readers continually is that the world she describes may have changed radically but the type of person she describes has not. Lady Boxe may belong to the past but her modern equivalent of the wealthy personage who assumes they have a right to dominate is alive and kicking. And the comments about books are timeless!