Decades: Compiling The Ultimate Library with Heather J. Fitt

It was this very week in 2021 that I launched my Decades quest. So before we go any further I’d like to wish the Decades Library a very happy second birthday. Little did I suspect my quest to compile one of the best digital libraries would still be ongoing after all this time. Despite a couple of unplanned breaks in the second half of last year (demands of the day job) I have been honoured to host so many incredible guests here at Grab This Book – each prepared to give up some of their time to talk about the books they love. I am beyond grateful for their kindness and the time they gave to keep the Decades Library growing.

But perhaps this is your first visit to the Decades Library? You are very welcome, please let me explain what’s about to happen. I set myself a challenge two years ago. If I had a brand new library which had no books on any of its empty shelves, which books should I bring to the Library to ensure it only offered the very best books to readers?

I quickly realised that I could not answer that question alone so I enlisted some help. Authors, bloggers, publishers, journalists have joined me over the last two years and nominated their favourite “unmissable” books which they think the very best library should offer. But I don’t just ask them to pick books at random – I made up rules. Two rules to be exact and this is why I refer to my library as the Decades Library.

1 – Pick Any Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade Over Any Five Consecutive Decades

Easy! Or is it? Have a go at making your five selections and see how quickly you can nail down all five from five consecutive decades. It’s not by accident that after two years I still haven’t managed to make my own five choices.

But enough of my rambling, it is time for me to give way and allow my first guest of 2023 to take the floor. This week sees the publication of Heather J. Fitt’s second novel (The Flight) so what better time to let Heather tell you about five of her favourite books….

Heather was born in Scotland and after moving around Europe with her parents and sister, settled in Hampshire where she met her husband, Stuart.

After leaving the rat-race in 2018, Heather re-trained as an editor and proof-reader and entered the world of publishing. These days she works as a part-time freelancer and a part-time Commissioning Advisor for Bloodhound.

Heather was inspired to start writing her novel by the authors who have become her closest friends. Now the ideas are flowing she has plans to write several more over the coming years.

Her debut novel, Open Your Eyes, was published in 2022 by Bloodhound Books, and her latest, The Flight, was published on 26^th January 2023.

You can get Heather’s books here:

Open Your Eyes geni.us/OpenYourEyes_

The Flight https://geni.us/TheFlightCover

And Heather is online at all these places:

Twitter: @HeatherJFitt

Instagram: @heatherjfitt

Facebook: Heather J. Fitt Author

TikTok: @heatherjfitt

DECADES

1980s – The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

This is a book I borrowed from someone at school, and, despite its length, I devoured. It’s also one of the few books I’ve read several times over.

1990s – 13 More Tales of Horror by Various Authors

This is a bit of a cheat. I was a teenager is the 1990s – well, for most of them – and I LOVED all of the Point Horror books, so this anthology really represents all of them!

2000s – On Writing by Stephen King

I read this one in the last few years. I’m sure many people will have picked it, but it really is an excellent book and it’s not just for writers.

2010s – Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

To me, this is one of the best and most important fiction books that discusses domestic violence. To this day, the character Lee terrifies me.

2020s – Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby

Shawn Cosby is a fairly new author on the block, but when I read this last year I knew I was going to read everything he ever wrote. I would say it’s a book of our time, and don’t forget, “love is love”.

Brilliant! Five great selections to kick off the new season of Decades. I am always delighted to see horror stories added to the Library shelves (and we don’t have many short story collections) so the Point Horror collection made me happy.

My memory is awful but is this the first time a book has made it into the Library which was written by a former Library Curator? Elizabeth Haynes made her five selections last year and now Into The Darkest Corner has found its way onto the Library shelves. I would be greatful if someone with a better memory than mine can tell me if this is indeed the first time this has happened. Then I look at Razorblade Tears and it reminds me that Mr Cosby is very high on my wishlist of future guests – he just doesn’t know it yet. Does anyone want to warn him?

My thanks to Heather for these wonderful reading recommendaitions. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of her brand new book The Flight – published this very week: The Flight https://geni.us/TheFlightCover

DECADES WILL RETURN

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January 16

The Library Suicides – Fflur Dafydd

`You can get in. But you can’t get out. Welcome to the library…

Twins Ana and Nan are lost after the death of their mother. Everyone knows who drove Elena, the renowned novelist, to suicide – her long-term literary critic, Eben. But the twins need proof if they’re going to get revenge.

Desperate to clear his name, Eben requests access to Elena’s diaries at the National Library where the twins work, and they see an opportunity. With careful planning, the twins lock down the labyrinthine building, trapping their colleagues, the public and most importantly Eben inside. But as a rogue security guard starts freeing hostages, the plan unravels. And what began as a single-minded act of revenge blooms into a complex unravelling of loyalties, motives and what it is that makes us who we are.

Hauntingly written, with a fresh, captivating voice, The Library Suicides is an intensely memorable and provocative literary read for fans of high concept thrillers that break the mould, and books about books and the concept of the written word.

I received a review copy of The Library Suicides from the publishers via Netgalley.

The Library Suicides was described on Waterstones website as a “captivating locked-room psychological thriller” those words made me think of a much darker tale than Fflur Dafydd’s excellent story. The description quoted above describes it as “an intensely memorable and provacative literary read” – yes to this. It’s quirky, clever and wonderfully constructed. I tend not to read books which get classed as “literary” as I don’t feel I am their target audience and I don’t have the depth of knowledge to compare these reads to other offerings. In the case of The Library Suicides, I had fun with the story and thought the characters were marvellous – I particularly enjoyed how easily they became real for me.

I didn’t get the gritty darkness I had expected from The Library Suicides and I think that’s taken some of the shine off the story for me which is a real shame as these characters do get the chance to shine under the care of Fflur Dafydd.

Twins Nan and Ana are a complex duo who have a plan. They are going to their place of work, the National Library, they will lock down the building, they will hold their colleagues hostage and – most importantly – they will have literary critic Eben Prytherch trapped inside with them. Exactly where they want him.

Nan and Ana’s mother, Elena, was a famous novelist but Eben was one of her fiercest critics – irrationally so. When Elena took her own life the blame was placed firmly at Eben’s door. Now Eben has been granted access to Elena’s diaries (all stored in an archive in the National Library) and he wants to tell her story, perhaps to absolve himself of some personal guilt? Or perhaps to find a reason to shift the blame on Elena’s death onto someone or something else? Irrespective of his motives it comes as a surprise when the Twins agree to allow Eben to read their late mother’s words. But the reader comes to understand the true reason for their motivation.

Not mentioned in the book description is the backdrop to The Library Suicides. The story is set in a time after a great disease has taken a toll on much of the population. There is a great fuss made when one character touches a stranger. Books and paper are no longer in use. Libraries are digitising and destroying as paper can transmit disease. I found the unexpected dystopian twist to the setting to be a real plus point in my enjoyment of the story.

You can tell I found this tricky to review. Many positive elements, humour and quirky characters which kept my attention long past the point I would have set aside a book which I felt “wasn’t really for me”. I had a real desire to find out how the twins would execute their plan (as it were) and once the stoned, ex-con security guard started to show a bit of initiatve and a desire to do the right thing I was totally onboard for the rest of the journey.

Not my normal read and a very different type of story than I had expected (that’s on me) great characters, moral dilemmas and a fascinating build up to…well to something I hadn’t expected…this book will shine and delight many readers.

The Library Suicides publishes in hardback on 19 January 2023 and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-library-suicides/fflur-dafydd/9781399711074

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January 4

Mirrorland – Carole Johnstone

One twin ran. The other vanished. Neither escaped…

DON’T TRUST ANYONE
Cat’s twin sister El has disappeared. But there’s one thing Cat is sure of: her sister isn’t dead. She would have felt it. She would have known.

DON’T TRUST YOUR MEMORIES
To find her sister, Cat must return to their dark, crumbling childhood home and confront the horrors that wait there. Because it’s all coming back to Cat now: all the things she has buried, all the secrets she’s been running from.

DON’T TRUST THIS STORY…
The closer Cat comes to the truth, the closer to danger she is. Some things are better left in the past…

I received a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley

In 2022 I read and reviewed fewer books than I wanted. I began 2023 with a determination to read some of the titles I hadn’t managed to get to last year and make sure I reviewed them too! Doesn’t seem too much to ask for a bookblogger…

As the New Year bells rang out I was finishing Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone. Scottish based, a dark and twisty story (gothic is a word which I have seen used more than once in connection with this story) and extensive use of flashback chapters to a time when twins Cat and El were children.

Their childhood is very much central to the story set in current times (2018 as it turns out) as the characteristics of each twin is embedded during their troubled formative years and when we first meet Cat in 2018 the sisters have not spoken for many years, Cat is living in America while El has remained in Scotland and is married to their childhood friend Ross. But Cat is finally making the return trip to Scotland as El has taken her boat out to sea and both El and the boat are missing.

Cat is utterly convinced that El is alive. As a twin she would know if something had happened to her sister. When she returns to her childhood home (where El and Ross now live) she starts receiving strange messages – warnings – and then emails begin to arrive each seem to be from El who is sending Cat on “treasure hunts” similar to those the girls played many years before. Cat believes the language and the clues can only have come from her sister, so where is she and why is she hiding from her husband and twin?

Carole Johnstone makes excellent use of flashbacks to past events to reveal more and more about the relationship between El and Cat, El and Ross and Ross and Cat. But pivotal to the story is Mirrorland. The place where the girls spent their childhood – a fantasy construct within their house and garden where clowns, pirates were real, they could hide from The Witch in their house and live out the stories they enjoyed.

If truth be told I did sometimes lose track of what was a fantasy memory and what was Cat on a present day treasure hunt – reading in a busy Christmas house was not condusive to keeping firm hold of the story thread. It got to the point where I was doubting everything all the characters were saying, I doubted their actions were genuine and I second guessed everything as it happened. This is what I want from a thriller – that uncertainty and the need to find out what actually happens kept me coming back for chapter after chapter.

A good start to my reading year as I had fun with Mirrorland.

Mirrorland is published by HarperCollins and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/mirrorland/carole-johnstone/9780008361426

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December 29

My Top Ten Favourite Reads of 2022

The end of another year of blogging and I look back on all the books I read this year so I can pick out ten of my favourites. It will be ten books, as I can’t keep adding more and more titles into the end of year wrap-up it becomes unweildy and a nightmare to tag everyone on Twitter.

Behind the scenes here at Grab This Book it has been a tricky 2022. There has been #Decades (which I thank everyone for) but far fewer reviews than I would like. I look forward to 2023 with a vow to do better and share more reviews – I did what I could to champion those unreviewed books on Twitter and Facebook but I would have preferred to caputre that enthusiasm here too.

But you’re here for the books and I want to get to them too. Ten of them. Not in any order for nine of the ten. But one title did stand out for me and I have recommended it to more people than any other book this year so that will be the last book I mention below and that book will be my favourite book of 2022. All the books I detail are the stories I enjoyed the most as I read them. They may not have won awards, you may disagree (we can’t all love the same books) but these ten books stuck with me as the months slipped by. If you read any of these then I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Dark Objects – Simon Toyne

Dark Objects, dark storytelling. The best feeling for a reader is to get drawn into the story and just want to keep those pages turning. This book stands out as one of the best thrillers I read this year and I remember reading it extremely late into the night, reluctant to leave the world which Simon Toyne had spun around me.

My review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6594

Demon – Matt Wesolowski

The Six Stories series is a firm favourite and if you’re ever looking for a terrific audiobook experience then Matt Wesolowski’s books should be your first port of call. All the stories are dark adventures but Demon got into my head more than the previous books – haunting.

My review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6280

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill – Craig Robertson

One of the first books I read in 2022 and, despite my goldfish memory, Grace’s story is not one I will forget in a hurry. I feel guilty for not shouting about this book as much as I should have done at the time but it has quite a few trigger issues which hit close to home. The fact I hold this book in such high regard, despite it putting me through emotional turmoil, is clear indication as to how good it is.

My review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6260

The Junction – Norm Konyu

A graphic novel? Absolutely! This book blew me away when I read it. Norm Konyu’s artwork is absolutely stunning and the story is a thing of beauty – I hadn’t cried at a comicbook since Amazing Spider-Man 400 (Aunt May died) but I came damned close to seeping tears at The Junction.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6609

Up Close and Fatal – Fergus McNeil

A serial killer road trip? Yes Please!

When I picked up this book I was intrigued by the prospect of a journalist receiving a list of murder victims then being drawn into a race against time to try to catch a killer. But once I started reading I was totally hooked. The words flowed past like miles under the wheels of a car as Fergus McNeil served up one of the most readable thrillers I have read for a long, long time. I had such fun with this book.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6685

Old Bones Lie – Marion Todd

As a reader with a terrible memory for remembering character names I like nothing more than getting stuck into a series of books where recurring characters return for multiple adventures – I feel I get to know these characters so well and I look forward to seeing what may lie in store for them in the next book. One of the best new series is the Clare Mackay books by Marion Todd – the stories are set in and around St Andrews and in Old Bones Lie there is a cracking opening scenario which grabbed me from the outset. I read this with a huge grin on my face.

My review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6739

The Blood Tide – Neil Lancaster

Keeping the recurring characters and police thriller theme going my next selection is this fabulous new adventure featuring DS Max Cragie. Neil Lancaster has his lead character on the hunt for corruption within Police Scotland and when you know you can’t trust any of the cops in a story how can you not be glued to every interaction? How can you not try to second guess every decision taken by the characters? The story takes the reader all around Scotland and that just makes it even better. Don’t miss these books.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6509

Truly, Darkly, Deeply – Victoria Selman

Every good list of books (and every list of good books) needs at least one title where you can’t reveal too much about the story as the revelations and discovery as the chapters fly by must be discovered for the first time only when the author deems it necessary. That book in 2022 was Truly, Darkly, Deeply. If you’re in the market for a cracking serial killer story then grab this book and don’t read too much into the plot before you start reading.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6763

Dead Rich – G W Shaw

Although most of my year finds me reading crime/detective stories, Dead Rich is a book I’d place into the Adventure category. But there’s loads of crime going on between the covers here and G W Shaw delivers an absolutely riproaring thriller which I described as a Hollywood Summer Blockbuster in a novel.

Terror on the high seas and a lead character you cannot help but root for – I read this early in the year and loved seeing other readers discovering how much fun was to be had from Dead Rich as the year unfolded.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6513

Vine Street – Dominic Nolan

I began 2022 listening to Vine Street on Audible. I was utterly captivated by this story and for the last twelve months I have suggested Vine Street to anyone who is looking for a new book to read. I tried to review it and I don’t think I did it justice. I saw Dominic Nolan at Aye Write and again at Bloody Scotland, each time he shared more detail about writing Vine Street which made me appreciate just how much detail was included in the story. I first described Vine Street as a serial killer story which spanned decades but at Aye Write Mr Nolan said he had wanted to write about the clubs of Soho in the 1920s – I felt had totally missed the purpose of the story but there’s just so much going on that I took in the Soho clubs as I looked for the killer among those dark streets.

My favourite book of 2022 – I wish I could have the chance to read it for the first time all over again.

My Review: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=6479

And that’s a wrap on 2022. Ten books I loved. If you haven’t read all these stories then you may wish to seek them out. If you do (and you enjoy them) then please take a minute to let the author know. You don’t need a blog to share the booklove – leave a wee review on a website (Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones, Kobo). Just saying “I enjoyed this book” will help the author, may encourage another reader to pick up the book too and it may even give the author the motivation they need to finish just one more chaper of a new novel.

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December 12

A Deadly Covenant – Michael Stanley

When a human skeleton is discovered at the site of a controversial new dam in remote northern Botswana, rookie Detective Kubu is drawn into a terrifying local feud, and discovers a deadly covenant that could change everything…

While building a pipeline near the Okavango Delta, a contractor unearths the remains of a long-dead Bushman. Rookie Detective David ‘Kubu’ Bengu of Botswana CID and Scottish pathologist, Ian MacGregor, are sent to investigate, and MacGregor discovers eight more skeletons.

Shortly after the gruesome discoveries, the elder of a nearby village is murdered in his home. The local police are convinced it was a robbery, but Kubu isn’t so sure … and neither is the strange woman who claims that an angry river spirit caused the elder’s death.

As accusations of corruption are levelled and international outrage builds over the massacre of the Bushman families, Kubu and his colleagues uncover a deadly covenant, and begin to fear that their own lives may be in mortal danger…

My thanks to Orenda Books for the digital review copy I received of A Deadly Covenant. Thanks also to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the blog tour.

As I write my review of A Deadly Covenant there is snow on the ground outside my window, this book transported me to the heat of Botswana and let me forget the creeping which was descending over Scotland. Though I was startled by a brief mention of a small Scottish village just fifteen minutes from my house – a good story really can take you around the world!

I say the story transported me because the scene setting and locations play such an important role in the Detective Kubu books. I am constantly amazed I can have a clear image in my mind of what Kubu is seeing and the places he visits, despite the fact I have never been anywhere near Botswana. The authors seem to always excel at weaving Kubu’s world around me and I never fail to become caught up in the story.

A Deadly Covenant takes the readers back to the days of “young Kubu”. It is a few months since the success of his first case and Kubu is very much still finding his feet and learning the ropes. Having first encountered an older and wiser Kubu I am very much enjoying this more cautious and vulnerable period in his life and it gives the books a very different feel too.

In the story Kubu is travelling far from home to a remote corner of the country where a controversial water pipeline is being laid. The construction has temporarily paused due to the discovery of a human skull as the ground was dug away to lay pipes. Kubu and a well-travelled Scottish pathologist (Dr Macgregor) are sent to investigate. Under the instruction of the doctor; the skull and other human remains are excavated with care so he can begin his examination of the remains. However, it soon becomes apparent there are bones of more than one person buried in the sands – multiple deaths will bring multiple headaches.

The bodies appear to have been buried for at least a decade, perhaps longer, and Kubu and Mcgregor will be challenged to investigate events which none of the locals claim to have any knowledge of and are happy to assume was a sad accident or happened many years before they were born. No facts support these claims but disassociation and denial is rife.

The pipeline promises opportunity for the towns residents who will benefit from more water reaching their land. It’s a large project and has European funding money behind it too. As is the same the world over – money and local politics will make for dangerous bedfellows and tensions are rising between old friends and neighbours. Not long after Kubu arrives the problems start to come to a head and an influential member of the community is killed in his bed as he rested.

A Deadly Covenant brings us another methodical investigation by Detective Kubu and it’s always a real treat to follow his progress (or lack of it) as he doggedly chases down clues. In these earlier years much of his legwork is done under the instruction of his boss who guides Kubu and helps highlight the skills he needs to develop to become better at his job. It is very much a refreshing angle as so many of the police stories I read focus on the experienced investigators; seeing our lead character make mistakes and have those mistakes pointed out to him makes for good reading.

I never fail to enjoy a Detective Kubu book and A Deadly Covenant is another cracker. Loved it.

A Deadly Covenant is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B4Z2GC4Z/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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November 24

The Coming Darkness – Greg Mosse

Paris, 2037. Global warming and pandemics have torn through the fabric of society. And Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.

In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing the coming darkness…

I was invited to join the blog tour by Midas PR and I received a review copy from the publishers for the purpose of sharing this review.

I never quite know how to label books correctly, this is a cracking thriller which is set a few years into our future, it references actual people from our past and has spy story elements, action sequences and global consequences. Is it speculative fiction? A futuristic thriller? Dystopian even? I genuinely don’t know – but what I can say is that I would class it as “highly recommended” fiction as I had a blast reading The Coming Darkness.

Our main focus through the story is Alexander Lamarque (Alex). He works for a division of the French security services and early in the story he confronts two suspected terrorists, trying to stop them reaching their intended target and to dissuade them from continuing their dangerous mission. Dangerous to the establishment that is. Beleiving he can talk sense into the pair Alex finds events get away from him and the couple are more than just a pair of idealistic children. Blood is shed and lives lost. Alex is shaken by the incident and questions his current role.

Alex decides he wants to get away from his life and change careers, however, his employes place too much value on his skills – it seems they feel he has an extraordinary talent for identifying problems or opportunities. It’s almost a supernatural intuition he brings to his role so his employers do not wish to lose that skill. Alex is asked to assess the networks which connect the world – can he find weak points which could be targeted and determine where problems may arise. It will bring problems even Alex could not have foreseen. But he does know there is a darkness coming…something looms. Something bad.

One of the elements I enjoyed most about this book was the development of the characters around Alex. His relationship with his mother is a big factor to his peace of mind but she doesn’t seem well. There is talk of viruses which sweep the city and when Alex goes to visit her she is showing signs of ill health. He asks a friend to look after her but the pair have history and their relationship is another fascinating focal point through the story.

I found The Coming Darkness to be an engaging read. The story nips along at a good pace and there are pleny of action points to keep readers engaged with the story. The overlap with fictional (hopefully fictional) future events and the reality of the world we know was smoothly done and made me a little fearful for where the world may be heading. There are sinister forces working in the background of this book and their actions will pit them against Alex. You can see the two forces on a crash course and you want to know how it pans out.

This book took me a little out my comfort/familiarity zone but I had a great time with it and suspect you would enjoy it too.

The Coming Darkness is published by Moonflower Publishing and is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-coming-darkness/greg-mosse/9781919618753

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October 24

Marple: Twelve New Stories

A brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.

The first print run will be a true collector’s edition with a gold foiled design on the cover board

This collection of twelve original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery.

Naomi Alderman
Leigh Bardugo
Alyssa Cole
Lucy Foley
Elly Griffiths
Natalie Haynes
Jean Kwok
Val McDermid
Karen M. McManus
Dreda Say Mitchell
Kate Mosse
Ruth Ware

Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.

I received a review copy from the publishers (Harper Collins) via Netgalley

In 1989 Queen released an album called The Miracle. They were the only band I would really listen to at that time in my life and I remember it clearly. At the same time I was on an Agatha Christie reading marathon. I had borrowed an Agatha Christie novel from my favourite aunt and it sparked my love for Poirot, Jane Marple, Tommy and Tuppence and all the other characters that crop up over the dozens of books. I remember those years very fondly.

Spin forward to 2022 and I am listening to a brand new Queen song (which had been left off The Miracle album by the band in 1989) and I am reading twelve new Miss Marple stories. Pinch me – I may be dreaming! Never would I have thought either of these things would have been possible.

As much as I enjoyed the new Queen single, reading Marple was the better of the two experiences.

If there is an Agatha Christie fan in your family then this book is an essential read for them – casts an eye towards Christmas here. I had a good look at the hardback copy before I posted my review and it is absolutely stunning – under the dust jacket are all the signatures of the contributing authors (in gold) which almost makes me want to display that on my shelves rather than the cover depicted above.

I have never found a collection of short stories where I have enjoyed every single story. In this collection of twelve Marple tales there are some contributions I enjoyed more than others and there was only one where was irked by the outcome. That’s a fantastic return for me as I don’t normally enjoy a short story collection. But in the case of Marple the continuity of the central character negated my normal frustration. I find a collection of individual (random) stories being too “bitty” to fully embrace for any length of time.

I’ve no intention to run through each of the stories and break down my thoughts on each – this review would run out of control if I tried that. What I will say is Jane Marple finds herself overseas in the theatres of USA, on a cruise ship and she frequently nips around the UK visiting friends and relatives or dining at University tables. Everywhere she goes those “twinkling blue eyes” see problems, upset and (most importantly) to the truth behind some shocking incidents. This is what we all wanted to see in these stories and fans will not be disappointed.

Not every case involves a murder, I did wonder if that would be the case, and it was pleasing to see not all the authors bumped off a character. Each story gives a good demonstration of the famous Jane Marple observation powers and more than once she will place herself in danger when a murderer realises this seemingly harmless old woman could expose their cleverly concealed criminal activites.

There is fun to be found in Marple – the idea of a second Murder at the Vicarage made me laugh out loud. The determination of Miss Marple and her friends to indulge in many a sherry (why not?) crops up in more than one tale. And there were many mentions of the nephew Raymond who seems to delight or frustrate in equal measure. While I am not sure if Marple would be a great introduction to the character – there are quite a few nods to the source material – for existing fans the opportuinty to read new stories featuring Jane Marple is an unexpected delight and I am extremely grateful to all the contributing authors for making that possible.

Marple is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/marple-twelve-new-stories/agatha-christie/naomi-alderman/9780008467319

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October 11

Wolf Pack – Will Dean

When there’s a pack on the hunt, nobody’s safe

A closed community

Rose Farm is home to a group of survivalists, completely cut off from the outside world. Until now.

A missing person

A young woman goes missing within the perimeter of the farm compound. Can Tuva talk her way inside the tight-knit group to find her story?

A frantic search

As Tuva attempts to unmask the culprit, she gains unique access to the residents. But soon she finds herself in danger of the pack turning against her – will she make her way back to safety so she can expose the truth?

Will Dean’s most heart-pounding Tuva Moodyson thriller yet takes Tuva to her absolute limits in exposing a heinous crime, and in her own personal life. Can she, and will she, do the right thing?

My thanks to Point Blank Crime for the review copy of Wolf Pack and to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this spot on the Wolf Pack blog tour.

A Tuva Moodyson book from Will Dean means a return to the wilds of Sweden, and stories which are set in a small town which feels lost in a big landscape. Despite the miles and miles of woodland which surround Tuva’s home town Mr Dean always manages to make these stories feel claustrophobic.

If you are new to these stories then you’ve missed some great books and I would highly recommend taking some time to catch up on the earlier titles. But if Wolf Pack is your introduction to Tuva’s world then you can rip straight into this book and not worry too much about what has gone before as the story is a self contained thriller. There is one significant incident in the previous books which casts a long shadow over Tuva’s situation but it is addressed in depth during Wolf Pack so you get all the information you need to follow the story. Beyond that Tuva is a journalist in a small town. She is deaf, tenatious, persistent and one of the best new protagonists to enter crime fiction in the last few years.

The story in Wolf Pack begins with a missing girl: Elsa Nyberg. She is twenty years old and works at Rose Farm which is an isoloated community where visitors are not welcomed and the residents are survivalists with no time or interest for things beyond their walls. Rose Farm has a dark history too which only serves to give the community and their settlement a dark vibe – it’s best avoided. Tuva, however, is not looking to avoid Rose Farm. She has been asked to look out for the Elsa and that will involve going to Rose Farm and asking questions.

As Wolf Pack is such a tight story it is hard to give too much detail about how the story unfolds without getting too far into spoiler territory. Suffice to say Tuva’s questions will start to uncover incidents and events which some people would prefer did not become common knowledge. She will put herself into danger in a pursuit for the truth but as Tuva doesn’t know who presents a danger to her it keeps her (and the reader) in a tense state as events unfold.

Will Dean always delivers with his Tuva Moodyson books and Wolf Pack is no exception. Once you step back into Tuva’s world there is no getting out until the author has told his story – it will shock, thrill and entertain. More of these please, always such fun.

Wolf Pack is available from Point Blank Crime in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09XN8GBBB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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September 30

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Guy Morpuss

Try to imagine being tasked with the responsibility of filing the shelves of a brand new library. You can add any books to the shelves but you want to ensure only the very best titles are available to readers. That was the challenge I set myself back in January 2021. It didn’t take long for me to realise I could not possibly fill a library without enlisting some help – the Decades Library was born.

Each week I am joined by a guest curator who is asked to nominate five books which I add to the Library shelves. My guests are authors, publishers, bloggers and journalists – all booklovers. There are just two rules governing the selections:

1 – You Can Select ANY Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

Rule two is why my library is called the Decades Library – apparently restricing choices to one book per decade over (any) fifty year publication span causes some head scratching. The end results are always fascinating.

This week I am delighted to welcome Guy Morpuss to the Decades Library. I loved Guy’s debut novel (Five Minds) which was published in 2021. Five Minds blew my mind with the fabulous concept of multiple people sharing a body, each of the people get their own window of awareness over the course of a day. It’s one of the most memorable books I have featured in 8 years of blogging.

Time to pass the curators hat to Guy and let him introduce his selections….

Guy writes speculative crime fiction: twisting one aspect of the real world, adding a dead body, and playing with the consequences.

His first novel, Five Minds (2021), is about five people sharing one body, one of whom is trying to murder the others. It was a Financial Times Book of the Year and a Kindle Number 1 Bestseller in Technothrillers and Post-Apocalyptic SF. Translation rights have been sold in seven territories.

His recently-published second novel, Black Lake Manor (2022), is a locked room murder mystery set on Vancouver Island, where the killer can unwind time – which makes it difficult for the detective trying (repeatedly) to solve the murder. It was a Financial Times Book of the Month.

Before taking up full-time writing Guy practised as a barrister/QC in London.

DECADES

In adding to the Decades Library I have chosen books that inspired me to read – and ultimately, therefore, to write. I started out with my father’s library of fast-paced detective stories and thrillers; and then I branched out into science-fiction.

Sadly, though, I have no space for some fantastic authors that I grew up reading: Alistair MacLean, Captain W.E. Johns, Desmond Bagley, Mary Shelley, Arthur Conan Doyle, Baroness Orczy, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Iain M Banks.

Although, curiously no Agatha Christie, which didn’t feature on my father’s bookshelves. It was only after Viper Books offered me a publishing deal that I confessed to my editor that I had never read any of her books – an omission which I have since corrected.

I have chosen the 1920s to the 1960s, as the end of the classic crime era and the rise of science-fiction neatly mark my journey as a reader.

1920s

The Door With Seven Locks (1926) – Edgar Wallace

Although probably best known now as a co-author of King Kong, Edgar Wallace was one of the most prolific crime writers of the early twentieth century. His output was prodigious, with many of his novels being written over two or three days. It is said that a friend phoned him once to be told that he was in the middle of writing a book, and responded: ‘I’ll hang on till he’s finished it.’

I was tempted to add Room 13 – the first outing of his brilliant detective JG Reeder – but in the end opted for The Door With Seven Locks, written in a year when he published more than one book per month.

The intriguing title also sums up the premise of the book: a Scotland Yard detective is told by a small-time criminal of his failed attempts to open the door in a tomb which has seven locks. The lock-picker is murdered, and the detective gets caught up in a search for the seven keys. This is typical Edgar Wallace: fast-paced, easy to read, a crime thriller with a dash of romance thrown in.

1930s

Adele & Co (1931) – Dornford Yates

One of the first books I ever read on my own was Blind Corner by Dornford Yates: a chase across Europe in the hunt for treasure hidden in a secret chamber at the bottom of a castle well.

However, I have opted to include Adele & Co, which neatly combines the two sides of Yates’s writing: on the one hand the ‘Chandos’ books (such as Blind Corner) – fast-paced thrillers often compared to the works of John Buchan; on the other the ‘Berry’ books – humorous laments to the declining fortunes of the English upper-classes after the First World War. I remember reading Berry & Co in class once, and being unable to stop laughing out loud.

In Adele & Co Major Bertram Pleydell (Berry) and his family wake in Paris to discover that they have been drugged and had their jewellery stolen. There follows a chase across France which culminates in the Pyrenees. It is both tense and funny, best showcasing Yates’s skill as a writer.

As with Edgar Wallace, Dornford Yates was a very popular author whose books have largely fallen out of favour: partly, it has to be said, because of some of the attitudes displayed particularly in his later books. But they were part of my childhood – and I firmly believe that we can learn from other writers even if we don’t agree with everything they said.

1940s

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) – George Orwell

I was torn between this and Animal Farm, but the dystopian themes of Nineteen Eighty-Four make it the better book in my view.

As someone who will try pretty much any genre one of my frustrations is people who say: ‘I don’t read science-fiction.’ For me Nineteen Eighty-Four is the perfect illustration of what they are missing. It changes the world in a way that only science-fiction/speculative fiction can do – by imagining a future in which political ideas have been taken to a more extreme, but entirely plausible, level. It then explores the consequences in a way that sheds light on our own world.

It is an eye-opening and ultimately rather depressing book. But still, to my mind, a must-read, especially for those who think they won’t like science-fiction.

1950s

Flowers for Algernon (1959) – Daniel Keyes

Algernon is a laboratory mouse who is super-intelligent following experimental surgery. When Charlie, a janitor with low IQ, has the same surgery, his IQ triples. At first this seems like a good thing, but his newfound genius brings its own problems.

And then Algernon starts to decline.

This is another book which is ultimately sad. However, it raises profound issues of mental illness, happiness, scientific ethics, and foreseeing one’s own end.

Flowers for Algernon was first published as a short story in the 1950s, then expanded to a novel in the 1960s. Whilst both are worth reading, for me in many ways the short story is better: it deals with all the same issues as the novel, but even more succinctly.

1960s

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966) – Philip K Dick

I can’t remember the first book by Philip K Dick that I read, but once I’d found one I wanted to read them all. At the heart of his writing is the question: ‘What is real?’

Many of his books are now better known by their film titles: Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, The Adjustment Bureau. The books are often very different – and generally better.

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (the inspiration for Total Recall) challenges the reliability of memory, and questions identity. It also neatly turns the classic boyhood dream – ‘I want to be James Bond’ – into reality. The protagonist, an office worker with a desire to visit Mars, discovers that he is actually a secret agent who used to work there.

I like the idea of playing with the human mind, and it is something I have tried to explore in my own novels. If you can’t trust your mind and memories, what can you trust?

My thanks to Guy for these fantastic additions to the Decades Library. I suspect Flowers For Algernon will trigger some strong memories for many readers. And I feel I should have known Philip K Dick wrote the story behind Total Recall – this is why I could not be trusted to make the Decades selections alone.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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September 23

Decades – Compiling the Ultimate Library with Chris Curran

Imagine you had a brand new library but you didn’t have any books yet. Rows and rows of empty shelves all demanding books to fill them. But which books? This was the question I first asked back in January 2021. If you could assemble a new library of nothing but the very best books where would you start?

I knew I could not answer that question alone so each week I invite a booklover (authors, publishers, journalists or bloggers) to add new books to my Ultimate Library. I call it my Decades Library for reasons I shall soon explain.

Each week my guest is asked to nominate five books which I will then add to my Decades Library. There are just two rules which govern their choices but it can apparently cause a bit of head scratching…

1 – You Can Choose ANY Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

This is why my collection is called the Decades Library.

This week I am thrilled to be able to pass the Decades curator hat to Chris Curran. Chris has selected five brand new reading recommendations for the Decades Library and I know you’re going to love them as much as I do.

Chris Curran’s sixth psychological suspense novel, When the Lights Go Out, publishes on December 2^nd. Chris also writes as Abbie Frost and her latest under that name is The Guesthouse. Her books have been praised in the media as: truly gripping (Sunday Express), dark, claustrophobic and full of suspense (The Courier) addictive and fun (Daily Mail), addictive (The Sun), chilling (Waitrose Magazine) thrilling (Sublime Horror)

Best selling author, Alex Lake, describes The Guesthouse as a: full of suspense…gripping mystery. And Edgar Award winner Alex Marwood calls When the Lights Go Out: wonderfully mystifying and claustrophobic; and sad and thoughtful to boot.

Chris also writes short stories and has twice been shortlisted for the CWA Margery Allingham award.

Find out more about Chris/Abbie and all her writing:

on Twitter: @FrostyAbbie

Instagram: Chris Curran (@chriscurranwriter) • Instagram photos and videos

Website: https://chriscurranauthor.com/

DECADES

1950s

Tom’s Midnight Garden – Philippa Pearce

I had to start with the 1950s in order to mention this one because it could well be my favourite book of all, surpassing even Rebecca which I adore. I taught young children and when people discovered that I also wrote stories, they always assumed these were for children. The truth is that, while I love children’s books, I have never tried to write one because the best of them are just so good! And the best are definitely not only for children.

I’ve read Tom’s Midnight Garden many times and it never fails to enthral me and to leave me thinking, smiling and crying all at the same time. As I grow older the tears flow more easily and I find more and more things in the story that speak to me. Like all great children’s books, it is both simple and profound. In a tale of two lonely children, playing together in a garden, Pearce manages to illuminate some of the great mysteries of life and living. She capitalises the word Time throughout the book, as well as Past, Present and Future because at its heart the story is about the passage of time. About childhood and aging, love and loss and how time alters us completely and yet leaves us the same.

Tom Long is forced to spend the summer with an aunt and uncle he barely knows in a flat, that, although part of a once grand house, has no garden. Banished from home because his brother is ill with measles, Tom is distraught at the loss of his playmate and of all the adventures they had planned together for the school holidays. But when the clock down in the entrance hall strikes thirteen one night he discovers a door to the wonderful midnight garden. Here he meets another lonely child, an orphan called Hatty. They spend nights exploring the garden and its surroundings as Time behaves as mysteriously as the appearing and disappearing garden.

Tom gradually comes to believe that Hatty must be a ghost, but is surprised to find that to her it’s he who is the phantom. They discover the truth during a resolution that is poignant perfection.

1960s

The Ivy Tree – Mary Stewart

Mary Stewart had huge success in the ‘50s and ‘60s, with her sparkling thrillers, but seems to have been forgotten by many readers today. I could choose any of her novels as a favourite, and her first, Madam Will You Talk? encapsulates everything I love about her books. But that was written in the 1950s so I’ve gone for The Ivy Tree from 1961. The books are often called romantic thrillers, but I think this is misleading. Whilst they all contain at least a hint of romance, along with beautiful settings, what matters is the adventure. And it’s always the heroine who pushes the story onward, not in pursuit of a man, but in her determination to solve the mystery. She faces the dangers independently, relying on her own courage and ingenuity.

The Ivy Tree is darker than many of its predecessors and, instead of the exotic locations (for the time) that Stewart often used, it’s set in the Northumberland countryside, which was deeply familiar to Stewart. The book is in the tradition of Josephine Tey’s Brat Farrar (and Stewart acknowledges her debt) and Du Maurier’s The Scapegoat, where a lookalike is persuaded to take the place of a missing person from a wealthy family.

Annabel was the much-loved granddaughter and heir of Matthew Winslow and, with Matthew close to death, Annabel’s cousin, Connor, persuades Mary Grey, a Canadian visiting England, to impersonate Annabel and claim the inheritance. But can Mary convince those who loved Anabel that she has indeed returned?

When it becomes clear that Connor and his loyal sister, Lisa, who have trained Mary to mimic Annabel, are ignorant of important aspects of Annabel’s life, Mary realises their plan is in jeopardy. Anabel’s other young cousin, Julie, reveals that Anabel had an adulterous affair with local landowner, Adam Forrest. Both Julie and Adam loved Annabel so will they, or her grandfather, see through the subterfuge?

As Mary’s suspicions about what actually happened to Annabel grow more disturbing, she fears there is no one she can trust. But can any of them trust her? Stewart keeps us guessing until the thrilling ending.

1970s

The Walking Stick – Winston Graham.

Most well-known nowadays for his Poldark series, Graham also wrote amazing psychological suspense and The Walking Stick, is a twisted love story. Deborah Dainton has a withered leg as a result of childhood polio and, as the daughter of two high-powered doctors, she fears her parents see her as their failure. She is attractive, but her lack of confidence means she can only watch as the men swarm around her two beautiful sisters.

On the surface she is resigned to a life without romance and focused on her job in a renowned auction house. But in reality Deborah longs for love and begins to believe she has found it with unsuccessful artist, Leigh Hartley. He’s a bit rough around the edges for her family and even Deborah can see that he has some dubious friends, but she warms to his vulnerability and his tenderness towards her is irresistible.

Leigh lives in a bohemian warehouse apartment in London’s Docklands (a great portrait of that area before gentrification) and when they are there the fairy tale feels utterly real for Deborah. So real that she is willing to compromise all her principles to keep it alive. This is no murder mystery, but the crime scenes, when they come, are nail-biting.

1980s

A Dark Adapted Eye – Barbara Vine

How could I leave out Ruth Rendell’s brilliant alter ego? The title is inspired, but I have to wonder if modern algorithms would warn publishers against it!

The book begins on the morning of an execution before moving back to explore the events that led to the murder. It’s the story of an intense, and in the end unhealthy, relationship between two sisters – staid Vera and glamourous, flighty Eden. Over the years romances, marriages and children, as well as WW2, intervene to complicate their lives and their powerful bond sours. When they get into a fight for the custody of young Jamie, each claiming to be his birth mother, the stage is set for tragedy.

Years later their niece, Faith, tries to unravel the complexities of their relationship and discover the truth about Jamie’s parentage.

1990s

Affinity – Sarah Waters

There seems to be a theme developing here, because Sarah Waters Affinity also deals with misguided love and betrayal. Waters third novel, Fingersmith, reveals her as the mistress of the OMG twist that is nevertheless totally convincing. In her second, Affinity, the twist is more subtle, but the book is a masterpiece of suspense.

The setting is a Victorian women’s prison, where inmates are kept in almost total isolation, seeing only their warders and occasional lady visitors. Unhappy spinster, Margaret Prior, is one such visitor. She becomes fascinated by disgraced medium, Selina Dawes, who was sentenced for apparently bringing about the death of a woman attending one of her seances.

As the women grow closer, the tension tightens so much that it becomes almost impossible to breathe as you wait and hope for the ending they both long for. When it finally comes the devastating twist is gasp-inducing, but almost a relief after the nerve-jangling wait.

I am extremely grateful to Chris for taking time to make these fantastic selections. I am even more grateful for her patience while we experienced repeated and frustrating tech issues – these selections arrived in the third email account I use. It makes me worry I may have missed other messages and be oblivious to the fact they have been sent.

One thought did strike me about Chris’s choices – in 18 months of Decades there has not been a Ruth Rendall book yet. Still many big name authors awaiting their Decades debut. It is a good job I can promise

DECADES WILL RETURN

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