Category: books

Hello lovely reader!

February has come and gone, albeit slightly longer than usual. Without further ado, let’s jump in.

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Books read: 5

• Local: A search for Nearby Nature and Wildness, by Alastair Humphreys (own copy, Eye Books, pbk)
• Abroad in Japan: Ten Years In The Land Of The Rising Sun, by Chris Broad (Audible subscription, audiobook)
• The List of Suspicious Things, by Jennie Godfrey (own copy, Penguin, hardback)
• City On Fire, by Graham Bartlett (Allison & Busby, hard copy ARC)
• The Dog Sitter Detective Takes The Lead, by Antony Johnston (Audible subscription, audiobook)

All cracking reads. I had the pleasure of meeting Al Humphreys at a talk for his book at Alpkit in Hathersage. Great talk, great beer, cracking night out. Forgot to get a selfie, damnit. He’s still on tour so if you can get hold of a ticket, I’d highly recommend it. I also now have a spare signed copy to give away – will figure out when to do this very soon!

Abroad in Japan was based on a recommendation from @halfmanhalfb00k (thanks Paul!) and is gently entertaining with a great sense of humour. It wasn’t until about halfway through that I realised I’d actually watched some of his YouTube videos.

The List of Suspicious Things is a book that I’ve seen EVERYWHERE recently. I’d seen it fleetingly at Harrogate last year (I will stop banging on about that at some point, probably after Harrogate this year). I’m usually one to shy away from the hype, but a lot of trusted bookblogger friends had sung its praises so I picked up a copy when it finally came out. Lawks, it’s fabulous. So, so good. Full review later. Short review: go buy a copy now.

City on Fire is for a blog tour later this month, watch this space.

The Dog Sitter Detective Takes The Lead is the second book in Antony Johnston’s fabulous series (met him at Harrogate too). I’ve listened to the audiobook of both and Nicolette McKenzie is a brilliant voice for Gwinny Tuffel. Loved it.

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Books reviewed: 1

Local: A search for Nearby Nature and Wildness, by Alastair Humphreys (own copy, Eye Books, pbk)

See above. Though if you’ve got this far, you’ll already have done so. Read on!

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Books purchased: 2

• We Can’t Run Away From This, by Damian Hall (Vertebrate Publishing)
• The List of Suspicious Things, by Jennie Godfrey (own copy, Penguin, hardback)

Quite restrained this month. We Can’t Run Away From This has been on my list to read for ages, and the lovely Vertebrate Publishing had one in their excellent outlet, so picked it up for six quid. Bargain.

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Books received:4

• City On Fire, by Graham Bartlett (Allison & Busby, hard copy ARC, March 2024)
• The Stranger’s Companion, by Mary Horlock (Baskerville, hard copy ARC, June 20024)

Virtual bookpost (Netgalley/email):

• A Spy Like Me, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins, April 2024)
• The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley (Hodder, May 2024)

Reviews incoming, I’m sure.

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Currently reading:

• The Red Hollow, by Natalie Marlow (pbk ARC, Baskerville, 28th March 2024)

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So, five read, seven acquired. This beat the TBR list challenge is going SO WELL.

As ever, any books in there which take your fancy? Any you’ve read and loved? Any that you’ve read and not loved?

See you next month!

Dx

A search for nearby nature and wildness After years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the world traveller or satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration? Discovering more about the natural world than in all his years in remote environments, he learns the value of truly getting to know his neighbourhood. An ode to slowing down, Local is a celebration of curiosity and time spent outdoors, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.

I’ve been a fan of Alastair Humphreys for some time now. Ever since my Scout Leader days when he kindly sent us a video of instructions on how to make a little stove out of a drinks can, I’ve followed his adventures, blogs and various shenanigans with interest.

Late last year I was interested to see that he’d written a new book, Local. It took the idea of adventures and exploration, and asked the question of whether a single Ordnance Survey Explorer map would be enough adventure for a year.

You can buy an OS map centred on any location fairly cheaply (even better if there’s a sale on!). It covers roughly 20km to a side, broken up in to squares. Twenty squares to a side, 400 squares in total.

Alastair Humphreys set about exploring a square a week, using a random number generator to choose the square, with a couple of caveats. No square adjoining a square he’d already visited.

I bought my map early on (see the photo above), on the basis that maps are brilliant and I love a good map. Though I know where I live fairly well, having been here for a while, it was still a bit of a surprise to see how much of it was urban.

A bit like Alastair’s it turns out, albeit a bit further north than his.

However, the more I read of his book, and his exploration of his local area, the more determinted I became to explore my own area. As he says:

The more I pay attention, the more I notice. The more I notice, the. more I learn. The more I learn, the more I enjoy. The more I enjoy, the more I pay attention.

And I really enjoyed this book. Some squares are more interesting to visit – a discovery of deneholes in the woods being an early highlight. But even in the built-up areas our intrepid author visits, there’s always something fascinating or thought-provoking going on. And Alastair is as fond of a detour on the map as he is of a detour in the storytelling.

Interesting diversions abound in this book. We pause briefly to learn about Tulip Mania, when the price of the flowers rocketed and a bulb of Semper Augustus was valued at enough to buy a house in Amsterdam. Or to discover that the monkey puzzle tree hails from Chile.

I loved this:

You should sit in nature for twenty minutes every day, they say, unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.

And the idea of sitting on a log for an hour, out in the woods, just enjoying being there.

It’s a fascinating book, filled with tiny day-long adventures. There’s a spot of mudlarking, far too many ‘no entry’ signs (a topic on which he ruminates at length – our countryside is being blocked off from us by landowners when we need to be out in it more to appreciate and protect it), the odd burnt-out car and a lot of fly-tipping and litter.

But there’s so much good out there too. The little pockets of woodland, the cool churches on a hot summer’s day. The pub at the end of a long bike ride, the cool rivers to soak yourself in and watch the wildlife.

I might not get as far as exploring a square a week, but I’m determined to go and see some new places. I’ve started writing about tackling my seven local summits over on my Substack (though there are 13 on my local map, so might expand that a little!)

I went to the book launch talk that he did at Alpkit Hathersage last week and had the chance to say hello and get my book signed. Alastair is a fabulous speaker and presenter, so if you get the chance to see him in person, I highly recommend it.

I also ended up with a second signed copy, so will be doing a giveaway soon – watch this space!

As you can probably tell, this book falls into the highly recommended category. Get yourself a map and go exploring!

Local, by Alastair Humphreys is published by Eye Books and is out now. You can get a copy of Local here, and find Alastair online at https://alastairhumphreys.com

We made it through the 325 days of January! The days are getting longer, in theory they’re getting warmer too (though not much sign of that in Yorkshire at the moment) and Spring is definitely on the way.

My cunning plan to do a weekly roundup of books read/bought/etc seems to have fallen by the wayside, surprising absolutely no-one. Let’s look back at January then and see how it went.

Before I do though, I just want to say that this is very much not meant to be a ‘hey look at me and how many books I’ve read!’ thing. It’s not a competition – if you’ve read and enjoyed one book or thirty books then that’s fantastic! Or if you’re still reading a book from last year and it’ll be the only one you’ll read, that’s also great.

Reading is great. Books are great. Hopefully you might see one here that makes you go ‘oooh, that sounds great’ and read it and find out that it is, in fact, great.

If it turns out to not be great (unlikely, I know) then there are plenty of others out there.

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Books read: 10

Down from the 13 I read in January 2023 (I swear this is not a humblebrag, honest), but still a very good month, reading-wise.

• Halfway House, by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)
• The Drift, by CJ Tudor (own copy, kindle)
• Spook Street, by Mick Herron (John Murray, hard copy ARC)
• You Can Run, by Trevor Wood (own copy, kindle)
• Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Audible subscription, audiobook)
• The Guests, by Agnes Ravatn (Orenda Books, ebook ARC, out now I think)
• Other Ways to Win, by Lee Craigie (Vertebrate Publishing, own copy)
• All The Colours of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker (Orion, ebook ARC, July 2024)
• Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett (Audible subscription, audiobook)
• There Is No Wall, by Allie Bailey (Vertebrate Publishing, own copy)

I talked about the first four books in my now-abandoned cracking the TBR pile roundup. Yes, listening to audiobooks counts as reading. No, really it does.

Two absolutely cracking books from Vertebrate Publishing here – Other Ways to Win, by Lee Craigie and There Is No Wall, by Allie Bailey. Both very different, both well worth your time. Bikes and running and two incredible people.

Also got to shout about All The Colours of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker. Regular readers will know how much I love Chris’s books, and this one is no exception. Previously I’ve read each in a day (albeit until silly o’clock in the morning) but the new one clocks in at 600+ pages so it took me two days. And it’s absolutely worth savouring. Buy this book. Don’t tell Chris how much I loved it though, cos he’ll get a big head.

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Books reviewed: 2

• Halfway House, by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)
• Yule Island, by Johana Gustawsson (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)

Shocking behaviour. Stop reading books (but they’re great! see above) and write up some reviews, you slacker.

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Books purchased: 10 (oops)

• The Drift, by CJ Tudor (kindle)
• A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee (kindle)
• Never Saw Me Coming, by Vera Kurian (pbk)
• True Crime Story, by Joseph Knox (pbk, Waterstones sale)
• The Dog Sitter Detective Takes The Lead, by Antony Johnston (Audible subscription)
• Harrow The Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Audible subscription)
• Dragonfall, by LR Lam (kindle)
• Abroad in Japan, by Chris Broad (Audible subscription)
• Empire Of The Damned, by Jay Kristoff (Goldsboro Books signed edition pre-order)
• The Road Book 2023, edited by Ned Boulting (birthday present to myself)

This whole ‘reduce your TBR pile’ is going really well, innit? In my defence, three were from credits on my Audible subscription and one was a birthday present to myself, bought with money from my mam. So shouldn’t really count.

And Empire Of The Damned, by Jay Kristoff was a pre-order to match the signed, numbered copy of Empire Of The Vampire that I got from them last year. Which I still haven’t got round to reading on account of it being HUGE and HEAVY and OMG SO MANY WORDS. However one of my bookish goals this year is to read some of the chonky books on my shelves, so maybe I’ll blast through Vampire and Damned when it arrives.

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Books received:

Ah, the return of #bookpost! There was a time a while back when it was a regular occurrence in these parts, but those days are pretty much gone as publicists move on, and publishers (quite understandably) move to ebook proof copies.

So it was lovely to get some actual bookpost this month! All out in March 2024

The Red Hollow, by Natalie Marlow (Baskerville, pbk). Followup to the superb Needless Alley, I am very much looking forward to this.

In The Shadow Of Their Dying, by Michael R. Fletcher & Anna Smith Spark (Grimdark Magazine, pbk), which I’ve already read and it’s brilliant and you should read it. The third best assassin, a second-rate mercenary crew and one terrifying demon. It fairly rattles along and I loved it.

The War Widow, by Tara Moss (Verve, pbk) which looks fabulous and right up my street

Virtual bookpost (Netgalley/email):

• The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez (Rebellion, 14th March 2024)
• The Hungry Dark, by Jen Williams (HarperCollins, 11th April 2024)
• Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage, 9th May 2024)
• All The Colours Of The Dark, by Chris Whitaker (Orion, 16th July 2024)

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Currently reading:

• Local, by Alastair Humphreys (pbk, own copy)
• Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (ebook ARC)
• Voyage of the Damned, by Frances White (ebook ARC)
• Abroad in Japan, by Chris Broad (Audible audiobook)

Yes, I’m reading four books. Did I mention how great books are? One hard copy for reading out and about, couple of different kindle books for curled up on the sofa in the evening, and an audiobook for the car/dog walks.

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I’m still doing @runalongwomble’s 2024 TBR Reduction Challenge, and for January they had:

Randomly Choose A Book by Someone You’ve Never Read Before

I’d spotted The Guests by Agnes Ravatn on various social media things and I’m fairly sure I’ve not read any of their books before. Done.

with a stretch goal of read the last book to enter your TBR pile of last year

That would be You Can Run, by Trevor Wood. I think. It’s hard to keep track.

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Phew. That was about as long as January, I think. Any books in there which take your fancy? Any you’ve read and loved? Any that you’ve read and not loved?

See you next month!

Dx

Morning gang

(insert appropriate time-related greeting here)

Well, we got through the first week in January. Well done everyone. Quick catchup on the bookish situation so far:

Books read: 4

• Halfway House, by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)
• The Drift, by CJ Tudor (own copy, kindle)
• Spook Street, by Mick Herron (John Murray, hard copy ARC)
• You Can Run, by Trevor Wood (own copy, kindle)

Spook Street was a late choice, but I’d just finished watching series 3 of the excellent Slow Horses on Apple TV and they had a trailer for series 4 and I was all ooh can’t wait, then realised I had book 4 on the shelves, so read that. Jolly good it was too.

The Drift was one I’d been meaning to read since hearing CJ Tudor talk about it at Bay Tales last year. Spotted it on sale so snapped it up. Really enjoyed it, review incoming.

You Can Run was recommended to me by Dan Stubbings over on Twitter (cheers Dan!) and was another fast-paced thriller. Great stuff.

Bit of a crime/thriller start to the year, it seems.

Books reviewed: 2

• Halfway House, by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)
• Yule Island, by Johana Gustawsson (Orenda Books, ebook ARC)

Books purchased: 4

• The Drift, by CJ Tudor (kindle)
• A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee (kindle)
• Never Saw Me Coming, by Vera Kurian (pbk)
• True Crime Story, by Joseph Knox (pbk, Waterstones sale)

Ah, that pesky Waterstone’s sale. Oops. Again, full of crime/thriller books.

Currently reading:

• Never Saw Me Coming, by Vera Kurian (pbk)
• Gideon The Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Audible audiobook)

I’ve read Gideon The Ninth before in hardback when it first came out and loved it. I was casting about for a new audiobook and someone said the narrator on this is fantastic. They were right. Moira Quirk is just absolutely superb and nails the snark of Gideon and Harrow to a tee. I’ve got about four hours left of this near 17 hour book and would happily listen to it for longer. Oh wait, they also do Harrow The Ninth and Nona The Ninth? Splendid. I have the hardbacks, but the audio is just SO GOOD.

So the TBR reduction project is at net zero this week. It’s early days though

How’s your January reading going?

Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.

Emma must work alone, and the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?

As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.

When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?

Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…

The perfect book to curl up on the sofa with when it’s cold outside, Johana Gustawsson’s Yule Island is a gothic treat. An art expert called to appraise a collection on the island of Storholmen in Stockholm soon discovers more than she was expecting. The reclusive family in the creepy old manor house (seriously, who doesn’t love a creepy old manor house?) have set a strict schedule for her, only allowing access for a few hours a day. But why? What are they hiding? And what other secrets does the house hold?

Dark, creepy, and utterly mesmerising. I loved this book and I know it’s a cliche, but couldn’t put it down! Trying to figure out the clues along the way, and how the story of a dead girl found hanging in a tree with a pair of scissors around her neck and her toes tied together linked the different storylines was just too enticing.

Hat tip as ever to the translator – David Warriner has done a splendid job here and the story fair zings along. French writer Gustawwson (Queen of French Noir) has relocated to Sweden, and it’s very much Scandinavia’s gain! Great story, intriguing mystery, superb characters, it’s got the lot.

Highly recommended.

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson (translated by David Warriner) is published by Orenda Books and is out now. Thanks as always go to Karen at Orenda Books for the advance ebook copy for review.

When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.

Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…

And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.

I really enjoyed the last book I read of Helen Fitzgerald’s (Worst Case Scenario). I recall that it took me a little while to get into as I wasn’t sure if I could cope with the main character Mary, with her in-your-face approach to life. But she quickly grew on me and I loved the book.

And now we meet Lou, a woman looking for a new start in Scotland. Lou is another larger-than-life character who takes a little while to warm to, but you’ll find yourself cheering her on as the story progresses. It’s got a lovely, if slightly unsettling at times, vein of dark humour running through the book as Lou takes up her new job as a night worker at a halfway house for offenders.

A splendid cast of characters accompany Lou on her… adventures in Edinburgh, from her well-meaning cousin Becks who welcomes the Fringe’s waifs and strays into their home, to the five offenders resident in the halfway house of the title, with their own strange and unpleasant ways.

Suspense, atmospheric, funny and tragic, Halfway House is well worth a visit.

Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald is published by Orenda Books and is out now. Thanks as always go to Karen at Orenda Books for the advance ebook copy for review.

Well, we’ve had part 1 and part 2 of my favourite fiction books of the year, so thoughts turn to the non-fiction that I’ve read.

It’s a much shorter list, don’t worry.

First up is Failure is an Option by Matt Whyman. My first non-fiction and audiobook of the year. Matt Whyman goes from being an average runner taking on the Saturday morning 5k parkrun to someone who runs ultras, and ultimately taking on the famed Dragon’s Back Race, a six-day event some consider to be amongst the toughest. Funny, honest, and told with a wry sense of wit, I loved this book. Though I think I’ll stick to parkrun and the weekend trail run through the woods, I must admit I did look at a couple of longer running events…

Then we’ve got a couple of books by Emily Chappell, former cycle courier, long-distance tourer, and ultra-endurance racer.

What Goes Around: A London Cycle Courier’s Story had been on my wishlist for a LONG time, and I finally got around to picking up a copy. Loved it, the stories of Emily’s time as a cycle courier zipping through the streets, delivering packages, the club-like feel of the courier’s world, all brilliantly told. London is a huge character in this book, and there’s a real love that shines through.

Where There’s a Will: Hope, Grief and Endurance in a Cycle Race Across a Continent follows Emily’s move from being a cycle courier to a trans-continental bike racer. The Transcon is a race across Europe, unsupported, in the shortest time possible. She won the women’s event on her second attempt, covering almost 4,000 miles in 13 days and ten hours. It’s a wonderful memoir, with extraordinary challenges, highs and lows along the way both physically and emotionally. Fabulous book. I can also highly recommend Emily’s newsletter on Substack.

Last but by no means least, there’s Coffee First, Then the World: One Woman’s Record-Breaking Pedal Around the Planet by Jenny Graham (no relation). I went along to Jenny’s talk in Leeds and got her to sign my copy of her book

Fabulous book about her challenge to become the fastest woman to cycle around the world unsupported. I also picked up the audiobook, narrated by Jenny herself and can highly recommend it. It’s funny and honest and scary in places, and with a wit and joy to the adventure that is just so enjoyable to read.

Told you it was a shorter list! All about bikes and adventures and fabulous people doing incredible things.

Stay tuned for the last part of my list – some 2024 titles to look out for!

Following hot on the heels of part 1 of my favourite books of the year, we have (you’ve guessed it!) part 2! Another even dozen, some more excellent books I’ve read and enjoyed this year.

Ready? Let’s gooooo.

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron. Look, I’m a huge fan of the Slow Horses books. And the TV series with Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb is just *chef’s kiss*. If you’re with me, you’ll read this anyway. If you’ve not caught up with the gang at Slough House, this is book is kind of adjacent to that story. Great writing, superb characters, Herron is ridiculously talented and by all accounts, a thoroughly nice chap. Read it.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

I bumped into Alison Hennessey from Raven Books at Harrogate this year and she very kindly gave me a copy of this book, which she described as “fantastically clever and original and has an ending that makes some people very happy and some very angry”. It’s quirky and slightly weird and… audacious. I loved it. I put the book down with a big stupid grin on my face and resolved to pester as many people to read it as possible.

Upstairs at The Beresford – Will Carver

The Beresford is a very… odd place, filled with very odd people. And people tend to die a lot in The Beresford, a seemingly harmless old building just on the edge of town. Well they die once, I suppose, but there are a lot of them… Upstairs at The Beresford is a prequel, where we find out a little bit more about the odd goings-on. Carver has a very very dark mind. If you loved The Beresford, finding out what went on upstairs has to be your very top priority. Loved it.

The Hunters by David Wragg

I read this over the summer on a long hot day and loved very minute of it. As you might guess from the title, it’s a chase novel, packed with equal measures of mayhem, magic and humour, and with a bunch of characters that you’ll come to love. I loved it from the first page to the last.

Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar was recommended to me over the summer (apologies, I forget by who) and I found a copy whilst mooching around London. Took it back home and lost myself in a world of jazz and gangsters in 1930s Harlem. Hard-boiled noir of the finest kind, Viper’s Dream is a short book which packs a mean punch. Very much recommended.

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

I saw Jo Callaghan talk at Bay Tales in Whitley Bay at the start of the year, and her book, about a hologram AI detective joining the force. I really enjoyed this. Callaghan has taken the police procedural and given it a great new twist. The dynamic between the cold, logical, almost Spock-like AI and the all too human Kat Frank, still grieving for the loss of her husband is played out really well. Looking forward to book 2!

Case Sensitive by AK Turner. Book 3 in the Cassie Raven series, which I just adore. Cassie is a mortuary technician who could sense the last thoughts of the dead in her charge, but here she’s struggling with losing her gift. Fantastic series, which I highly recommend.

The Dog Sitter Detective by Antony Johnston I picked up on audiobook after meeting Antony at Harrogate (apols for the name dropping). I’ve become quite fond of cosy crime this year, and The Dog Sitter Detective is fantastic. Highly recommend the audio, brilliantly read by Nicolette McKenzie who just lifts the already great story to new heights.

Good Girls Die Last by  Natali Simmonds is the story of Em, whose day starts badly and just keeps getting worse. A serial killer and a killer heatwave come together with a gridlocked London where you can just feel the sticky heat coming off the pages. It’s dark and savage and brutal and utterly unforgettable. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Bridge by Lauren Beukes. Massive massive fan of Lauren’s books from the early days of Zoo City (check it out) to The Shining Girls (ditto) and Broken Monsters (ditto again). And now Bridge. The story of Bridget, a woman in search of her mother, wrapped in the grief of her loss to brain cancer. But her mother Jo was a scientist in search of wilder things, of a dreamworm that would let you visit alternate realities, albeit briefly, swapping places with her other selves in search of… something. One of my favourite authors at the top of their game.

The Beaver Theory by Antti Tuomainen is the third and final (sob!) book in his Rabbit Factor trilogy. There’s a glorious vein of dark Finnish humour running through these books which I just adore. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it once again here – Antti Tuomainen is one of my favourite authors and I will gladly put everything to one side to spend a couple of hours in the worlds he creates. Tuomainen is on top form as ever, with a cast of brilliantly odd characters playing out their lives against the background of the YouMeFun adventure park.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister is another audiobook that I’ve enjoyed this year. It starts with a murder, a mother watches as her son kills a man in the street at the changing of the clocks in October. But then she wakes up the previous morning and has to figure out what happens before her son will kill the man later. Hugely enjoyed this book and trying to figure out the clues as we bounce back further and further into the past, each new day revealing a tiny bit more about what happens in the now.

The Burning Air by Erin Kelly. A latecomer to the list! I happened to mention that I’d not read any of Erin Kelly’s books before and Liz Barnsley (who is NEVER wrong) said omg you have to read The Burning Air. I immediately went to buy it only to discover to my shame that I’d bought it FIVE YEARS ago (probably at Liz’s suggestion). Promptly read it. Liz was not wrong. It’s brilliant!

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Phew. That should keep you all busy for a while. Stay tuned for the list of favourite non-fiction books, and a look ahead to a few 2024 titles I had the privilege of getting my hands on early!