Books read in Spring

From April to June (that's the solstice, in case you're thinking that June isn't over yet).

Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri

If you’re a fan of Inspector Montalbano it’s one where Montalbano bumps into a body in the sea, which is actually one of my worst nightmares so I tried to gloss over that part. If you have not come across Montalbano before, some of the dialogue is plain silly, they are Italians, you see. So it’s quite funny, but this also does deal with a very serious subject: illegal people trafficking, and the lengths that the people making money from this will go to. So it’s heavy stuff but it does have comic relief.

Saving Agnes by Rachel Cusk

Poor Agnes is bewildered by the world. She cannot understand the people around her and other’s actions are confusing. Can we all empathise with her? Are there times when we just don’t understand what’s in other people’s heads? If the answer is yes, then you might find Agnes a sympathetic character. Somehow she manages to get through the days and have relationships and hold jobs but she doesn’t know how it happens. She has values that no-one else seems to adhere to. She feels lost. I think we are all Agnes sometimes.

A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

The first book of the Rowland Sinclair series. The consecutive novels are more polished and more engaging but this is an interesting first foray. Fascism is rising before the first world war and there is talk of stopping the communists; Hitler is in full throttle. It is uncomfortable reading in these times and might feel a bit more close to the bone than reading it a few years ago when the history links were a distant memory. The central characters make their mark - except for Edna who misses the mark wildly whilst blindly shooting but everyone is thankful. We know that she will never be trusted with a gun.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

The first in the Brother Cadfael series, this one begins in 1137. If you think you might like some historical fiction, and maybe you don’t know where to start, this might be a good one. There is no heavy history as such and the story is much more character driven though the setting does give it an interesting context. This is set mostly outside of the monastery on a pilgrimage to retrieve the bones of Saint Winifred. The Brothers have no easy time of it as they meet resistance from the Welsh community where Winifred’s bones lay. Nor are all of the Brothers easy in their religious vocation. Gentle medieval politics and diplomacy, and a bit of hoodwinking where necessary.

Knave of Diamonds by Laurie R. King

Newest in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Homes series. A very different feel to previous instalments - this one is written from differing points of perspective. I’m not quite sure I get on with Mary’s rogue Uncle who is a the centre of this caper about lost Irish Crown jewels (a case Homes solved years ago but no-one took any notice). I never really warm to him and I find he’s just a bit tiresome, seeming on the brink of absconding any minute. There are points in the story when I wish he would, just to get on with it. And there is a newcomer, and the hint of future stories.

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum

Alan Anderson is the king of capitalism. He can sell you your Granny. His wife Vivian is intent on spending money as fast as he can make the multi-million dollar deals. Her current project is to be accepted into the hallowed ‘Annes’ of the enclosed town where they live which seems to be modelled on Stepford wives. It’s sad but acceptance into the Annes means for Vivian a belonging she has never really felt. There’s a dent in the metal though. Alan has seen the light.

After the loss of a contract which meant he would have been able to retire he is looking at life differently. Is Alan suffering a “menty b” as his daughters call it, or has he finally realised that there is a different way of living? Either way, Alan is having dramatic way of finding out, and Vivian does not like it. She has her Stepford wives to think about and standards to meet, and a garden pool to build.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this - it was a great read.

The Boat Party by MA Hunter

This was a sunny garden read, I did not expect much, but turning the pages on a lazy summer afternoon it was surprisingly addictive - and although not a massive surprise in the end, it was a bit of a twisty turn of a variation of the locked room murder mystery. A group of friends reunite for a stag party on a boat - what can possibly go wrong? It’s clear that not all of the party even like each other so that is the first intrigue, as is the ’secret’ of years ago from when they were all students. A cliche maybe, but not a bad one.

The Vacation by Kathryn Croft

You’re getting the idea that this is the summer reading section aren’t you? Yes, it was, and it has to be said, this was a regrettable one. A family with problems go on what is possibly the last family holiday as the children are growing up and leaving home. The children are moody, the parents are forcibly bright or in turns sulky. And then there turns out to the surprise neighbours, nobody has bargained for them, and they mean business. It was a shame, this could have been a great story, and in a way it is, but the parent characters I found just too ‘overdone’, too many of the kind I have read before. I nearly gave up but it’s not a long book so I persevered.

Hagitude by Sharon Blackie,

I wasn’t really in the right head space for Blackie’s first book, ‘If Women Rose Rooted’ so I’m not sure I knew what to expect with this, the second one. It’s a long read, so get comfy - if you’re listening it’s some 10 hours. It’s honest and personal and an exploration of mythology and stories relating to women in the second half of life. Blackie’s perspective might help to give some context to the meaning of it all if as a middle aged or older woman. I certainly found her take on life refreshing and perhaps I was ready to hear more this time around. She includes some of her own experience with serious illness and her struggles around this, reflecting on a loss of identity at a time of life when identity is already being questioned. I would recommend to other women seeking a more spiritual leaning in life.