Merry Christmas 2024

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Reading at the end of the year

As we are holidaying with family in Tampa, I am not going to even attempt to write my usual reviews for the books I’ve read. 

I will just list them with a rating, so that I have a record of them. 

I will update this page until December 31.

By the time we left on December 18 I had read 139 books this year so I will create a numbered list to make it easy to see the number achieved by the end of the year.

140. 4.5, WHAT TO DO WHEN SOMEONE DIES, Nicci French, 7/12/2024

141. 4.8, THE GREY WOLF, Louise Penny. Someone is threatening Montreal’s water supply. 18/12/2024

142. 4.4. ELEVATOR PITCH, Linwood Barclay. A truly creepy tale when the lifts in New York City buildings begin to misbehave. 20/12/2024

143. 4.5. MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY, Faith Martin. #2 in the Hillary Greene series. I have downloaded about 6 in the series onto my Kindle. Seems worthwhile pursuing. 22/12/2024

Review: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL, Faith Martin

• 
  This edition available as an e-book from Amazon on Kindle
  
• first published 2004
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0763RXLRV
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime, thriller and mystery (1 October 2017)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 249 pages
• DI Hillary Greene #1 

Synopsis (Amazon)

 Looking for a brilliant murder mystery with a feisty female detective?

DISCOVER THE MILLION-SELLING SERIES NOW. MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.

Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.

Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.

Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from beginning to end.

MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL is the first in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire.

My Take

I'm really looking forward to reading this series (in order of course) - interesting scenarios, topical plots, well drawn characters, relatively short books.

In this first in the series, we've already been introduced to a range of characters whom I expect will reappear in ensuing books. The central character, Hillary Greene, recently bereaved, is middle aged, feisty, and an intuitive detective. She is third in the chain of command, and it seems relatively easy for her superiors to claim credit for her accomplishments. Which prompts Hillary to think outside the box and also to take action without authority.

My rating: 4.5

The series

   1. Murder on the Oxford Canal (2004)
     aka A Narrow Escape
   2. Murder at the University (2005)
     aka On the Straight and Narrow
   3. Murder of the Bride (2006)
     aka Narrow Is the Way
   4. Murder in the Village (2006)
     aka By a Narrow Majority
   5. Murder in the Family (2007)
     aka Through a Narrow Door
   6. Murder at Home (2007)
     aka With a Narrow Blade
   7. Murder in the Meadow (2008)
     aka Beside a Narrow Stream
   8. Murder in the Mansion (2008)
     aka Down a Narrow Path
   9. Murder in the Garden (2009)
     aka Across the Narrow Blue Line
   10. Murder by Fire (2010)
     aka A Narrow Point of View
   11. Murder at Work (2011)
     aka A Narrow Exit
   12. Murder Never Retires (2012)
     aka A Narrow Return
   13. Murder of a Lover (2013)
     aka A Narrow Margin of Error
   14. Murder Never Misses (2013)
     aka Walk a Narrow Mile
   15. Murder at Midnight (2015)
     aka A Narrow Victory
   16. Murder in Mind (2015)
     aka The Work of a Narrow Mind
   17. Hillary's Final Case (2016)
     aka A Narrow Trajectory
   18. Hillary's Back! (2020)
   19. Murder Now and Then (2021)
   20. Murder in the Parish (2023)
   21. Murder On the Train (2024)

Review: DEATH AT MORNING HOUSE, Maureen Johnson

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Published by HarperTeen, 2024
• ISBN: 9780063255975
• ISBN 10: 0063255979
• Pages: 384
• Age: From 14 years  

Synopsis (publisher)

From the bestselling author of the Truly Devious books, Maureen Johnson, comes a new stand-alone YA about a teen who uncovers a mystery while working as a tour guide on an island and must solve it before history repeats itself.

The fire wasn’t Marlowe Wexler’s fault. Dates should be hot, but not hot enough to warrant literal firefighters. Akilah, the girl Marlowe has been in love with for years, will never go out with her again. No one dates an accidental arsonist.

With her house-sitting career up in flames, it seems the universe owes Marlowe a new summer job, and that’s how she ends up at Morning House, a mansion built on an island in the 1920s and abandoned shortly thereafter. It’s easy enough, giving tours. Low risk of fire. High chance of getting bored talking about stained glass and nut cutlets and Prohibition.

Oh, and the deaths. Did anyone mention the deaths?

Maybe this job isn’t such a gift after all. Morning House has a horrific secret that’s been buried for decades, and now the person who brought her here is missing.

All it takes is one clue to set off a catastrophic chain of events. One small detail, just like a spark, could burn it all down—if someone doesn’t bury Marlowe first.

My Take

A murder mystery set in two time frames: the present and nearly a century ago. 

Marlowe Wexler has accidentally set fire to a house with an exploding candle and now her reputation as a pyromaniac precedes her.  She is offered a job on a river island as a tour guide for the summer and it seems a good opportunity for a fresh start.

But now there is murder and mystery to investigate for it appears that nearly 100 years ago a boy and his older sister died on this island. And just before Marlow arrived, there was another death.

Well written with interesting characters.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Maureen Johnson is the bestselling author of several novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, the Truly Devious series, the Suite Scarlett series, and the Shades of London series. She has also written collaborative works such as Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle and the Bane Chronicles with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. Maureen lives in New York and online on Twitter @maureenjohnson or at maureenjohnsonbooks.com. 

Review: ONE DOWN, Diana Wilkinson

• 
   this edition provided by my local library
  
• published by Boldwood Books 2023,
• large print edition,
• ISBN 978-1-83751-006-1
• 494 pages 
• aka THE COUPLE IN APARTMENT C
  

Synopsis (publisher)

A twisty unputdownable thriller from Diana Wilkinson, author of the Number One bestseller The Girl in Seat 2A

I’m not being paranoid. It’s all there in the crossword clues…in black and white. There’s no doubt the threat is real. Today, the answers spell out my murder.

Is Nathan, my estranged crossword-setter husband, really planning to kill me? Or is it someone closer to home?

I check the door is bolted, slither to the ground, and count down the seconds to noon. There’s nothing left to do, and no one I can call. Who’d believe me anyway? The lady on the ground floor has already left the building, and my new boyfriend is on holiday. Or is he?

A tread of footsteps. A rap at the door, and I close my eyes, hold my breath…

A smart and unsettling psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and Claire Douglas

My Take

I'm not much good at cryptic crossword puzzles so the bits in here where the author appeared to be trying to teach me how to interpret the clues just sort of left me cold. But nevertheless the plot is very creepy. Someone does appear to be trying to scare the life out of Amanda by personalising the clues in the daily cryptic crossword. Her estranged husband Nathan is one of the anonymous setters of the puzzles in the local paper and certainly she knows that a number of the clues are ones that he has created. But is he trying to kill her?

Amanda has other problems too - she is an alcoholic, she has been responsible for a child's death, she seems to be emotionally unstable. All of which makes for a good read.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.7. THE GIRL IN SEAT 2A
• 4.6, YOU ARE MINE
• 4.5, 4 RIVERSIDE CLOSE

Review: PHEASANTS NEST, Louise Milligan

• 
  this large print edition provided by my local library
• published by Allen & Unwin 2024
• ISBN 978-1-03876-825-4
  
• 317 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

She wonders if they have discovered her missing yet. Has it broken in the news? Who has been assigned to cover her story? Have they started spooling through her social media and pulling out photographs? Constructing a narrative about who she is and what possible reason any person has to kidnap or (let's be frank) kill her? She tries not to let out the whimper that's building in her sternum, at the thought that he might. Kill her, that is. He might kill her.

Kate Delaney has made the biggest mistake of her life. She picked the wrong guy to humiliate on a girls' night out and now she is living every woman's worst nightmare. Kate finds herself brutalised, bound and gagged in the back of a car being driven god knows where by a man whose name she doesn't know, and she is petrified about what's in store for her.

As a journalist who is haunted by the crimes she's had to report over her career, Kate is terrifyingly familiar with the statistics about women who go missing—and the fear and trauma behind the headlines. She knows only too well how those stories usually end.

Kate can only hope the police will find her before it's too late, but she's aware a random crime is hardest to solve. As the clock ticks down, she tries to keep herself sane by thinking about her beloved boyfriend and friends, escaping into memories of love and happy times together. She knows she cannot give way to despair.

As the suspense escalates, Kate's boyfriend Liam is left behind, struggling with his shock, fear and desperation as the police establish a major investigation. The detectives face their own feelings of anguish and futility as they reflect on the cases they didn't solve in time and the victims they couldn't save. They know Kate's chances of survival diminish with every passing hour.

Acclaimed and award-winning writer and journalist Louise Milligan has written a stunning and surprising thriller with a gigantic heart: a gripping, propulsive and brilliantly original debut. 

My Take

Kate Delaney is snatched on her way home from a night out with the girls. At first no-one knows that she has been taken, and then where she is and who she is with: essential clues for solving an abduction.

So tension builds for we the readers know what has happened to her and the question is whether she will be found in time. Where is his abductor taking her, and how will he resolve this situation? Meanwhile her boyfriend, and then the police are looking for her. How much time will they waste in following false leads, before they get to what needs to be done?.

I had some of the puzzle solved by over half way through,and had in mind who would be instrumental in solving the puzzle. Even so, there was some doubt about whether Kate's rescue would come in time.

For my liking the blurb on the back of this book told the reader a little too much of the story.

My rating: 4.4

About the author

Louise Milligan is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist for ABC TV's Four Corners, the Australian national broadcaster's flagship current affairs documentary program. She is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books: Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice. Her books have been awarded multiple prizes, including the Walkley Book Award, the Davitt Awards Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, the Melbourne Prize for Literature People's Choice Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award's People's Choice prize, the Sir Owen Dixon Chambers Law Reporter of the Year Award, a Press Freedom Medal and a shortlisting for the Stella Prize. Louise's journalism, particularly her coverage of historical institutional child abuse and the experience of women in the criminal justice system and parliament, has broken national and international news, sparked government inquiries and led to profound cultural change and law reform. She started her career in newspapers and is a former High Court correspondent and political reporter. Born in Ireland to an Irish mother and Scottish father, Louise moved to Australia as a child. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. Pheasants Nest is Louise's first novel.

Review: 4 RIVERSIDE CLOSE, Diana Wilkinson

• 
  this edition provided by my local library
  
• published 2020 by Bloodhound Books
• ISBN 978-1-913419-43-1
• 304 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

A seemingly innocent social network draws residents of a North London cul-de-sac into a web of manipulation and murder in this psychological thriller.

How well do you know your neighbors? . . .

From the outside, Caroline and Jason Swinton have an idyllic life. But when the cracks start to appear, the residents of Riverside Close are drawn into a dangerous game.

When Jason’s body is discovered in a house on the Close, everyone becomes a suspect. Could his lovely wife be responsible for his murder? Or do the neighbors have a motive for wanting him dead?

As the secret lives of those living on the Close are gradually revealed, it becomes clear that someone is hiding something they will stop at nothing to protect . . .

My Take

This is the third novel I've read by this author whom I discovered a few weeks ago, and I guess you could say I'm hooked.

There are only 4 houses in Riverside Close and No. 4 is up for sale. Most of the characters come from the close but there is one couple Caroline and Jason, the founders of Join Me?, who live nearby. On the surface Join Me? is an innocent idea, offering activities particularly for bored housewives or people who have plenty of time on their hands, but also, plenty of money. But Caroline and Jason's intentions are not so innocent.

Very good read.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.7. THE GIRL IN SEAT 2A
• 4.6, YOU ARE MINE