Review: WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT, Nicci French

• 
  This edition published by Simon & Schuster 2026
• ISBN 978-1-3985-2419-4
• 434 pages  

Synopsis (publisher) 

After nearly thirty years in prison for the murder of his university friend Leo Bauer, Tyler Green is finally free. Meeting up with the group of friends who were there the night that Leo died, Tyler is looking to reconnect – but he’s also looking for answers. When another friend is found dead that night, his new found freedom is put in jeopardy. Detective Maud O’Connor is called to investigate – but can she discover the truth, or is Tyler Green never going to be free?

My Take

Tyler Green, young university student, convicted of murdering one of his friends, spends nearly 30 years in gaol as a result. He knows he didn't commit the murder which means that one of the others did. Now, nearly 30 years later, he has been freed under licence and he is determined to find out who did.

He arranges to meet everyone at dinner and to confront them all at once. At the very least he wants them to understand what losing 30 years of his life has been like.  And then he wants to wash his hands of them. But things don't go well and before the night is out another is killed in the same way, each of his friends has been confronted by some home-truths, and Tyler is back in prison.

Detective Maude O'Connor is under a lot of pressure to solve this murder quickly and it takes all of her intuition to get it done. The story moves at a cracking pace.

Highly recommended. 

My rating: 5.0

I've also read

4.3, BLUE MONDAY

4.5, TUESDAY'S GONE

4.7, WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY

4.7, FRIDAY ON MY MIND

4.7, THE LYING ROOM

4.5, DAY OF THE DEAD

4.7, SECRET SMILE

4.6, THE UNHEARD 

4.8, THE FAVOUR

5..0, HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER?

5.0. THE LAST DAYS OF KIRA MULLAN 

 

Review: WOLF HOUR, Jo Nesbo

• 
  This edition published by Harvill Secker 2025
  
• ISBN 9781787303775
• Translated from the Norwegian by Robert Ferguson
• 417 pages  

Synopsis (publisher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2016. When a small-time criminal and gun dealer is shot down in the street, all signs point to Tomas Gomez, a quiet man with a mysterious past—and deep connections to a notorious gang—who has seemingly vanished into thin air. Other murders soon follow, and it appears Gomez is only getting started. Meanwhile, Bob Oz, a down-and-out suspended police officer with a dubious past of his own, becomes fascinated by the case: he is obsessed with the notion of hunting down a serial killer who only he can understand, a killer with a story as tragic as his own.  

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2022. An enigmatic Norwegian man with ties to Minneapolis—a self-described crime writer—has traveled to the United States to research the Gomez case, in the hopes of writing a book about it. But as his investigation progresses, the writer’s seemingly neutral position reveals itself to be more complicated than the reader is initially led to believe.

Wolf Hour is a twisty and unforgettable thriller in classic Jo Nesbø style, which bears out Vanity Fair’s observation that “Nesbø explores the darkest criminal minds with grim delight and puts his killers where you least expect to find them. . . . His novels are maddeningly addictive.” 

My Take

As always, Jo Nesbo provides an intriguing challenge for the reader with a time frame spread over at least six years, at least two "voices", and multiple plot threads. Clues to each of these are plentiful but you have to keep your wits about you.  By about mid-way I suspected I had solved the "puzzle" but that was not confirmed until nearly the end, and I wasn't totally right. This is a book that you will want to keep reading.  

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• NEMESIS
• THE REDEEMER
• 5.0, THE SNOWMAN
• 4.8, THE LEOPARD
• 4.7, HEADHUNTERS
• 4.7, PHANTOM
• 4.7, THE BAT
• 4.7, POLICE
• 5.0, THE SON
• 4.4, BLOOD ON SNOW
• 4.8, THE THIRST
• 4.4, MIDNIGHT SUN: BLOOD ON THE SNOW 2
• 4.3, MACBETH
• 4.6, THE KINGDOM  

Review: THE GIRLS IN THE GLEN, Lynne McEwan

• 
  This book read as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• ISBN: 9798217263943
• Published May 18, 2023 by Canelo
• Pages 352
• #3 in the DI Shona Oliver series 

 Synopsis (publisher)

If the dead could speak, what secrets would they tell?

With her daughter on an archaeological dig, the only bodies DI Shona Oliver expects to find are long-dead. But when a corpse from the 1980s is unearthed, Shona quickly realises that it may be one of the missing “Girls in the Glen”, victim of a notorious serial killer.

Shona’s superiors want her to stop looking to the past, and focus on a fresher crime scene. The attempted shooting of a local politician who likes to stoke controversy.

As Shona finds herself pulled between crimes past and present, she soon realises that the secrets buried on Beild Moss are reaching into the present day.

But when even her own officers are keeping things from her, who can she trust? Especially when more lives may be at stake

My Take

This story brings together a number of themes: the Border reivers and the Debatable Lands between England and Scotland; the resentment of locals to those they consider "outsiders"; archaeology, as well as unsolved cold-case crimes. In addition there are the personal matters involving Shona's husband Rob under investigation for financial mismanagement, her relationship with her daughter Becca, a rather prickly teenager, as well as local political issues. 

All makes for an engrossing many faceted tale. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.7, IN DARK WATER - #1 

4.6. DEAD MAN DEEP - #2

Review: BIDDING FOR REVENGE, Victoria Tait

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09VQWZJGW
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kanga Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 19 August 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 220 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915413031
• Book 3 of 12 ‏ : ‎ A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery  

Synopsis  (Amazon)  

Stolen antiques. An unexplained death. Can an amateur sleuth tell a fake from the real deal before a deadly scam claims another victim?

Trainee antiques expert Dotty Sayers is thrilled but apprehensive when she’s trusted to source period furniture for a local celebrity. Buoyed by the opportunity, she agrees to join her company’s triathlon team during the quiet summer months in Britain’s picturesque Cotswolds. But the race turns deadly when a fellow competitor collapses and dies.

With only a young sergeant willing to question whether the athletic woman’s death was accidental, Dotty turns her attention to rumours of counterfeit furniture and a high-stakes antiques scam. She alerts the police to a suspicious phone call, only to be horrified when her tip places an innocent life in danger.

Can Dotty see through the sham and appraise the evidence to ensure justice is served?

Bidding for Revenge is a British cozy mystery featuring a trainee antiques expert turned reluctant sleuth, a charity triathlon that ends in tragedy, and a counterfeit furniture scam in the heart of the Cotswolds. It blends small‑village charm, gentle humour, and intriguing fraud as the novice investigator juggles workplace loyalties, police scepticism, and determined bidders while following clues others overlook. Ideal for readers who enjoy amateur sleuths, community‑centred mysteries, and puzzles tied to art, antiques and village life.

My Take

This series is developing nicely. Dotty, whom I thought was a bit weak as a sleuth in the first book in the series has become more assertive, observant, and outspoken. There are a number of sub-plots as well as characters who re-appear. It is almost as if a whole landscape is gradually being revealed. 

The antiques theme is being well developed. 

You really do need to read the series from the beginning. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.3, FAKE DEATH - #1 

4.4, VALUED FOR MURDER - #2

Review: THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read on my tablet as a free downloadable pdf 
• Originally published 1931
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046REG94
• this edition Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (October 14, 2010)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
• AKA THE MURDER AT HAZELMOOR (title for USA publication)
• My original review (2009)  and then another in 2022

Synopsis 

A seance in a snowbound Dartmoor house predicts a grisly murder…

In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a small table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: ‘Captain Trevelyan… dead… murder.’

Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snow drifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot… 

My Take

I am re-reading this novel with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading Group and look forward to discussing it with them. I think it works quite well as a stand-alone mystery that has some romantic elements thrown in.

So here are some of the elements in the novel we will discuss

• The role of the seance as the harbinger of death. How did that work? Who was it that told the gathering that the message was for Major Burnaby?
• What are the relationships between the various characters? (How did they keep track of the characters? There are a lot of them)
• Why have Miss Willett and Mrs Willett really taken Captain Trevelyan's house?
• What is the role of Emily Trefusis in solving the murder?
• How effective is Inspector Narracott and what is the role of Mr Duke?
• Who are the most memorable characters? What makes them so?
  
• Which are the most effective red herrings?
• This novel is a stand-alone, although I think at this stage Agatha Christie was still looking for a suitable sleuth. Will Inspector Narracott appear in future novels do you think?
• What does the isolation of Sittaford House make you think of? What about the escaped convict scenario?
• How credible is the secondary plot (the Willett scenario)
• What did you think of Charles Enderby? How good is he as a journalist?
• Why did the murderer commit the murder? Is the reason given plausible?
• Why did ITV decide to turn it into a Marple rather than leave it as a stand-alone. How does changing the plot for television make it more attractive? 

We usually watch a television version of it after our discussion but of course the ITV version is a Miss Marple, with a very much altered plot. I have put that at the bottom of this page in case you don't want to know the details. I am not sure whether the group will want to watch this as it is so dissimilar to the original.

One of the things we are finding as a reading group is how difficult it is to borrow an Agatha Christie novel (a printed book rather than an e-copy). 

My rating: 4.5

All my Agatha Christie Reviews. 

The Television version

The Sittaford Mystery is the fourth episode of the second series of Agatha Christie's Marple. It was broadcast on ITV by Granada Television on 30 April 2006. The screenplay was written by Stephen Churchett and the episode was directed by Paul Unwin. It was an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name although originally Miss Marple was not involved. 

Synopsis

When Clive Trevelyan - Member of Parliament, war hero and heir apparent to Prime Minister Winston Churchill - is killed, Miss Marple sets about to solve the case. Trevelyan has made his fortune many years before in Egypt having secretly uncovered a lost tomb. He is killed during a major snowstorm when there are no police available. There are several possible suspects including Trevelyan's ward, James Pearson and his fiancée Emily Trefusis; his political agent, John Enderby; a journalist Charles Burnaby; a visiting American Martin Zimmerman; and several other apparently disinterested parties. A convict has also escaped from Dartmoor prison. Miss Marple concludes that Trevelyan's murder is related to his days in Egypt and sets about to identify the murderer. 

Comparison with the original story

The Sittaford Mystery was not originally a Miss Marple book. Some plot elements from the original are retained but spun together differently to result in a totally new story. Most of the characters are new and even the few who have some part of the original names now have totally different backstories.

•     The identity of the killer is not the same as in the novel.
•     Several characters have different names than in the novel.
•     Several characters are omitted or changed.

Review: VALUED FOR MURDER, Victoria Tait

• 
  Read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09TRXWWNG
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kanga Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 10 June 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 194 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915413000
• Book 2 of 12 ‏ : ‎ A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery  

Synopsis (Amazon)

An antique TV show. A dead celebrity expert. Can a shy amateur sleuth step into the lime-light and expose a murderer?

Dotty Sayers is enjoying her job in a Cotswold auction house. When she’s offered a place on an antique TV show, she nervously agrees to a makeover and is surprised by the admiring glances she receives. But working at a historic country hotel, she realises the production is in jeopardy when, at the bottom of the circular staircase, one of the experts is found dead.

Dotty can’t help wondering if the death was accidental or if someone else was involved. She promises to stay in the background and leave the investigation to the police, but this amateur detective can’t help uncovering clues. When she returns from viewing a priceless sculpture, and finds her British blue cat missing, she knows she’ll struggle to keep the show on the road.

Can Dotty emerge from behind the scenes and identify the killer?

Valued for Murder is a British cozy mystery featuring a shy but determined amateur sleuth, a behind‑the‑scenes antique TV show, a suspicious “accidental” death in a country‑house hotel, and a missing beloved cat. It blends small‑village charm, light humour, and a slow‑burn personal journey as Dotty steps out of the shadows, navigates prickly TV personalities and nosy locals, and pieces together clues the professionals overlook. Perfect for readers who enjoy closed-circle whodunits, gentle peril rather than gore, and character‑driven mysteries set against quintessentially English, Cotswold scenery.

My Take

As you can see, I have persisted with this series and I have found this outing marginally better that the previous one FAKE DEATH. Dotty is showing potential and is a stronger character. The plot has a couple of nice elements.

So I will be reading more. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

4.3, FAKE DEATH - #1

Review: FAKE DEATH, Victoria Tait

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09TLDS3G1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kanga Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 8 April 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 198 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1838436100
• Book 1 of 12 ‏ : ‎ A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery 

Synopsis  (Amazon)

One dead body. Multiple identities. Can an amateur sleuth see through the charade before she becomes the next victim?

Young widow Dotty Sayers is delighted with her new auction house job in Britain’s picturesque Cotswolds, until she discovers she’s about to lose her home and her chance at a fresh start. Disguising her disappointment, she reluctantly takes part in an autumn parade, but the day’s pageantry is tarnished when an unknown man is found dead.

The police ask Dotty to appraise items from the victim’s home, but rather than learning his name, she uncovers a trail of false identities. When one of them leads to a client, her search for the truth takes a fatal turn.

Can Dotty unmask the killer before she becomes the next victim?

Fake Death is the first book in the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, a British cozy set in the Cotswolds among an auction house and close-knit village community. Featuring a young military widow turned amateur sleuth who is still finding her feet and building a found family, it delivers a clue driven mystery with multiple identities and no graphic content, perfect for readers who enjoy traditional whodunnits, antiques, and small town secrets with a modern, character focused touch. 

My Take

This novel has all the hallmarks of the beginning of the series - a lot of characters, heaps of information to absorb. For me, the name of the main character took a bit of getting over (see my note elsewhere about coat-tails) and I also found her a bit "soft" as a character. Straightening out who is who and who does what in the antiques firm that Dotty has joined was a challenge. So in reality it is a series that you really need to read from the beginning, one where accumulated knowledge will be an advantage.

The setting seems rather loosely based on those television shows we all watch like Antiques Road Show and Bargain Hunt. The extra element of a crime or two happening in this setting has potential but to be honest Dotty is going to have to get stronger to be a satisfactory sleuth.

In addition a number of the other characters seem to have extensive background stories attached to them, only partially revealed, and at times I had the feeling of having come in in mid-conversation. 

My rating: 4.3

About the author - website

Victoria Tait was born and raised in Yorkshire, England, where she developed a lifelong love of tea and British traditions. Inspired by the works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Murder, She Wrote, she writes cozy mysteries infused with her signature British charm.

Her determined and hard-working female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and her settings are vivid and evocative. With intrigue, surprises, and gentle humour, Victoria’s page-turning stories are the perfect blend of mystery and charm—best enjoyed with a cup of tea and a slice of cake.