Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with James Oswald

If you have visited this blog on a Friday over the last two years there is a better than high chance you have met one of my many amazing guest curators of my Decades Library. Each week I am joined by a new guest who has agreed to help me assemble a new library of amazing books. My Ultimate Library – the Decades Library.

I explain to my guests that I hope my Library will offer the very best selections of books to its visitors. I ask them to nominate their favourite books or books which they consider unmissable. But when making those selections I ask that they follow two rules:

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

Sounds easy? I am told narrowing down five books is tricky. I am then told choosing one per decade makes it vexing. I won’t repeat what I am told when I enforce the five “consecutive” decades part of the rules. But we DO get some wonderful reading recommendations.

This week it is my very great pleasure to welcome James Oswald to Grab This Book. My blog began in 2014 and the very first book I chose to review was James’s Natural Causes. I have reviewed quite a few more of his books since then and they always delight, I couldn’t wait to see what titles he may recommend I add to my Library shelves.

DECADES

Who am I to be recommending books for such an illustrious library? Well, the dull stuff is that I am the author of some twenty books to date, including twelve Inspector McLean and three Con Fairchild crime fiction novels. I’ve also written the five part epic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro, inspired by a decade living in mid Wales and learning about its history, mythology, language and culture. I self-published the first two Inspector McLean books because publishers didn’t like the mixing of Police Procedural with more supernatural overtones. They changed their minds when Natural Causes shifted a quarter of a million copies in eight months. The Penguin edition went on to be a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, and made the National Book Awards debut novel shortlist.

The less dull stuff is that when not writing, I run a 350 acre livestock farm in North East Fife, where I raise pedigree Highland cattle. You’ll find regular updates and videos of the coos on my twitter feed – @SirBenfro. Everything else is on my website – jamesoswald.co.uk – when I remember to update it.

And so to my recommendations…

50s – Paul Gallico – Jennie (1950)

I was loaned a copy of this book when I was about ten, while bored on a family holiday in Sutherland. I remember my mother being very insistent that I give it back once I was finished, so it’s slightly embarrassing to admit that forty-five years later I still have that very same copy. I can’t remember a lot of the details, save that it concerns a young boy who wakes up to find he has turned into a cat and is guided through the necessary learning of how to deal with this transformation by the eponymous Jennie. What I remember quite vividly is the feeling of being taken off to another world, such is the brilliance of Paul Gallico’s writing. The ending, which I won’t give away, was a painful return to dull reality. Perhaps my keeping a hold of the book was my subconscious not willing to completely let go of the fantasy, something I don’t think I ever really have done.

60s – Robert A Heinlein – Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)

Like most boys as they hit their teens, my reading dropped off a cliff. There were far too many more interesting things to do, and reading became tainted by the whiff of schoolwork, robbing it of much in the way of pleasure. Fortunately for me, I stumbled into reading comics, first with 2000AD and then what American comics I could lay my hands on. I also discovered SF novels, devouring the works of EE Doc Smith, Philip K Dick, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert and, of course, Robert A Heinlein. There are many books I could have chosen for the 60s, but Stranger in a Strange Land is such a masterpiece it really had to be the one.

70s – Various Authors – 2000AD (1977)

Does this count for the library? I hope so. I can remember when 2000AD first came out, back in 1977 (oddly enough, around about the same time I read Jennie). I wasn’t allowed to buy it very often, and didn’t have much pocket money to spare for such things anyway, but I did buy that first issue, and still have it (although the space spinner is long gone). It wasn’t until the early 80s that I managed to catch up with it properly. Judge Dredd, Strontium Dogs, Rogue Trooper, Tharg’s Future Shocks, what’s not to like about a weekly SF anthology that’s still going strong 45 years later?

And if I can’t have 2000AD, then my alternative choice for the 70s has to be James Herbert’s brilliant 1975 book, The Fog. Deeply disturbing to read as a 12 year old (a few years after it came out, if you’re worried about my maths), Herbert’s books were passed around at school like some kind of illicit currency. I recall how if you held them carefully by the spine, they would naturally drop open at the steamy sex scene. Some might criticize Herbert’s books for being a bit formulaic, but he was a master at bringing characters to life (and then often killing them in horribly inventive ways).

80s – Terry Pratchett – Guards! Guards! (1989)

I stumbled upon the works of the late, great PTerry when at university in Aberdeen in the late 80s. John Menzies newsagents in the St Nicholas centre had a large bookshop upstairs where, looking for something to feed my SF addiction, I found a copy of his early novel Strata. Not the best Pratchett book, but still good enough to send me scurrying back for everything else he had in print at the time. It’s a toss-up between the Sam Vimes books and the Witches books as to which are my favourite of the Discworld novels, but frankly they are all brilliant.

90s – Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Apprentice (1995)

My partner picked this up when we were living in Wales in the early oughts, read it very swiftly and handed it straight to me. The first in what would turn out to be a long saga concerning Fitzchivalry Farseer (Fitz) and the Fool, it’s a brilliantly dark slice of medieval-style fantasy. Game of Thrones might have got everyone interested in the genre again, but it was Robin Hobb who inspired me to write my own epic fantasy series. It has much better dragons, too.

As you can see I have allowed James the opporunty to add both of his 1970’s selections to the Library shelves. He didn’t try to flex the rules but made two selections on the chance his first choice didn’t meet the rules. That kind consideration means he gets to include an extra book. Also, I am a huge fan of comic books and of James Herbert books (except Ash which is still the worst book I have ever read) and I am not keen to remove either of the choices from my Library.

Sam Vimes is my favourite fictional officer of the law – my thanks to James for his time, his terrific selections and for bringing Ankh Morpork’s finest into my Decades Library.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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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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November 23

The Pain Tourist – Paul Cleave

A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People

How do you catch a killer…When the only evidence is a dream?

James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.

But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help. Especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the blog tour for The Pain Tourist. I was provided with a review copy by the publishers, Orenda Books, but I am reviewing a copy I purchased through Kobo.

I picked up The Pain Tourist and read the blurb. A coma patient who has a dream-world from the time he was seemingly oblivious to events which were unfolding around him. Pain, Coma, Medical Bracelet on the cover and I am strapping myself in for a medical thriller. Reader I was totally wrong with my first assumption (which became a theme when I started trying to second=guess where Paul Cleave was taking the story) this is a dark crime story with killers, liars, cheats and ne’er-do-wells. Everything you want from a good crime thriller really – oh and there is actually a doctor too so a little bit of the medical thriller I had expected.

Central to all the events is James Garrett. He wakes one night as masked men have entered his family home and are holding his parents at gunpoint. James scrambles to alert his older sister and she manages to get out a window to try and summon help. Sadly for the other family members the gunmen aren’t happy at the prospect of leaving the Garrett home with nothing to show for their energies. James and his parents are all shot before the men leave the house – only James will survive but it takes extensive medical intervention to keep him alive and his small body goes into a coma for nine years.

Paul Cleave opens The Pain Tourist with the gripping account of the Garrett family plight. We then spin forward nine years to the point James starts coming out the coma. Many things have changed, the police officer investigating the original attach on the Garrett home has retired from active service. Younger colleagues need to pick up the threads of the investigation but the killers are still out there and it doesn’t take long for them to learn James is awake and he could be considered a threat if he can help police to identify his attackers.

Another seemingly dormant investigation is about to cause police a headache though. Initallly it looks like a notorious serial killer who escaped the police may have started killing again. However, a copycat murderer seems more likely and this creates a whole new problem. If someone wants to imitate a killer how far will they go to get the thrill or satisfaction they seek? Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is caught up in both cases and her attention will be stretched as she is run ragged by both cases.

With two big cases to juggle Paul Cleave keeps the reader hooked with a canny use of short, punchy chapters. There’s always a new drama or trigger point arising in one of the cases and as we get deeper into the stories new layers of intrigue are unpeeled which draws the reader deeper into events. It is a difficult book to put down – each chapter seems to end with a need to keep you reading and with over one hundred and forty chapters there is a lot of story to be told.

As with all good stories it is the characters which will determine if you lose yourself to events. James Garrett is a fascinating one. He spent nine years in a coma and during this time he seems to have constructed a new world (coma world) where his family follow a very different path than the tragedy they faced in our world. But when James comes out of his coma his doctor realises the two worlds may overlap and where they do a murderer hides.

This may seem a fantastical construct but the author grounds the premise with some scientific explanation. Now these explanations may, or may not, be true science facts – but in a crime story I am more than happy to roll with what I am reading. It sounded legit! It also let me buy into the contribution that James makes to the investigations which are central to the story.

The Pain Tourist is a novel I will find easy to recommend, engaging multi-layered story and strong characters you want to read about. Plus finding out what The Pain Tourist from the title actually refers to was a real mind-blown moment. Dark.

The Pain Tourist is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-pain-tourist/paul-cleave/9781914585487

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November 11

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Abi Silver

I am trying to assemble the Ultimate Library. In January 2021 I began my mission to put together the very best collection of books. I only wanted to include books which were recommended and loved by booklovers. Each week I invite an author, blogger, journalist or blogger to join me here at Grab This Book and I invite them to add some new books to the shelves of my Decades Library.

Why is it a Decades Library? Well that is down to the second of the two rules I impose upon my guest’s choices. When selecting the books to be added to the shelves of the Decades Library my guests are asked to:

1 – Pick Any Five Books
2 – Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

It sounded a simple task when I started inviting guests to make their choices. Apparently when you sit down to pick five books it becomes a real trial to narrow down just five books and even more of a challenge to get one per decade from five consecutive decades.

Fortunately my guest this week is no stranger to real trials (see what I did there?) and has picked five terrific books which I shall be adding to the Library shelves. I am thrilled to be able to pass the Decades Library curator’s hat to Abi Silver, author of the fabulous Burton and Lamb books. If you use that handy wee search function (over on the right) you can find my reviews of some of Abi’s books. If you have high powered binoculars and a view into my house you may be able to see my TBR bookcase where Abi also features – once again I find I am losing the battle of “time to read” over “books I want to read”.

Time to let Abi take over…

Abi Silver grew up in Yorkshire, travelled widely and now lives in a village in Hertfordshire with her family. She is a practising lawyer and the author of the Burton & Lamb legal thriller series, featuring two defence lawyers, Judith Burton and Constance Lamb. Her legal duo are very much equals but opposites in their approach to life and the pursuit of justice… and whodunnit.

Abi’s first novel, The Pinocchio Brief, with its ‘lie-detecting software’, invited the question, who is a better judge of truth, man or machine? The thread running through her five subsequent stories (covering themes as wide-ranging as driverless cars and online gaming) is mankind’s constant quest for new and better ways of doing things. Her latest book, The Ambrosia Project (published in October and available here ), focuses on the world of food and what we should all be eating.

You can find out more about Abi’s work on her website www.abisilver.co.uk or follow her as Abi Silver (@abisilver16) / Twitter or Abi Silver, Author | Facebook

DECADES

1950 to 1960

My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell

July had been blown out like a candle by a biting wind that ushered in a leaden August sky.

Decades before the TV series brought this autobiographical story of chaotic family life in Corfu in the 1930s to the attention of millions, an impressionable 10-year old (aka me) lapped it up and clamoured for more. Was it the escapist element? I mean, who wouldn’t want to leave behind grey Yorkshire days filled with mizzle for Mediterranean sunshine? Or be free to run barefoot through the countryside and fill every conceivable space with a menagerie? Although I’m not sure I would have wanted to change places with Gerry when it came to his siblings, however hilariously he described them. This book (and the rest of the series) were housed on my sister’s bookshelf and she was very possessive. I read it secretly, adding to the thrill of turning each page.

1960 to 1970

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

This story dealing with race and the loss of innocence, set in 1930s Alabama and narrated by six-year old ‘Scout’ Finch, is a magnificent read. Her father, Atticus, a lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape, is portrayed as a man of tremendous courage and integrity. (I’m sure I’m not alone in admitting that he is one of the reasons I became a lawyer – another was Granada TV’s Crown Court.) But the book goes so much further, covering class and gender and tolerance and its messages are often heightened by being written (delightfully) from a child’s perspective and with a wonderful fluid style.

1970 to 1980

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

Boggis, Bunce and Bean

One fat, one short, one lean…

This is the first book I read independently and I embraced it over and over again. Yes it had striking illustrations to help me along the way, but it was the story of heroic Mr Fox, the underdog, pitting his wits against the combined power of farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean, which stole the show. The gluttony of the men (Boggis eats three boiled chickens and dumplings for breakfast) is contrasted masterfully with the moderation exhibited by the family of foxes, who eat only to survive. It’s not difficult to predict who will come out on top.

1980 to 1990

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

To understand just one life you have to swallow the world … do you wonder, then, that I was a heavy child?

Midnight’s Children accompanied me on my travels around India in the early 1990s. I still have the very same (precious and resilient) dog-eared copy, which survived collisions, attempted theft and numerous soakings and yet remained intact.

It tells the story of Salim Sinai born at midnight, on the day in 1947 when India gained its independence. He is one of many children who arrive into the world in that witching hour, before 1am, imbued with magical powers. Their stories and those of his family mirror real life events.

I have never read a book like this before or since. It is almost impossible to describe succinctly because it encompasses so many things. But I think what struck me most, on the first read, was the pace. I careered through the story carried by the richness of the language (much as its hero does) and I loved it.

1990 to 2000

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

The past is a cupboard full of light and all you have to do is find the key that opens the door.

Set in York (a promising start) the novel tells the story of Ruby Lennox, in her own words. She lives above a pet shop together with her (dysfunctional) parents and sisters. In between Ruby’s narration, there are flashbacks through her family history, going right back to her great grandmother, Alice’s, encounter with a passing photographer. Despite covering incredibly sad and difficult topics, including the tragedies associated with war, this is a hilariously funny, warm read, packed with brilliant observations on life.

A briliant mix of titles which caters for all ages. Abi quoted the song from Fantastic Mr Fox “Boggis and Bunce and Bean.” I had the audiobook for Fantastic Mr Fox when I was a child – I listened to it on loop for hours and can still sing this song in full…happy days. Huge thanks to Abi for taking the time to collate her Library selections. All five books have been added to the Decades Library shelves.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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November 8

Hold My Place – Cassondra Windwalker

When librarian Sigrun falls head-over-heels for the sophisticated and very married Edgar Leyward, she never expects to find herself in his bed—or his heart. Nevertheless, when his enigmatic wife Octavia dies from a sudden illness, Sigrun finds herself caught up in a whirlwind romance worthy of the most lurid novels on her bookshelves.

Sigrun soon discovers Octavia wasn’t Edgar’s first lost love, or even his second. Three women Edgar has loved met early deaths. As she delves into her beloved’s past through a trove of discovered letters, the edges of Sigrun identity begin to disappear, fading into the women of the past. Sigrun tells herself it’s impossible for any dark magic to be at play—that the dead can’t possibly inhabit the bodies of the living—but something shadowy stalks the halls of the Leyward house and the lines between the love of the present and the obsessions of the past become increasingly blurred—and bloody.

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

Hold My Place was recommended to me by Jamie at Black Crow PR. It’s been in my TBR for a while but I rembember reading the blurb when it first released and thinking it definately sounded like a story I could get behind. It hardly needs said but Jamie knows her stuff as this punchy wee story was a great read and I really liked the lead character Sigrun.

Nailing the opening of a story is a sure-fire way to grab my attention early and keep me reading. Cassondra Windwalker did just that with a powerful opening to Hold My Place which immediately brought a smile ot my face and ensured I was sticking with this story to see how Sigrun got herself to the place where we first meet her.

It turns out she got to this shocking place by going to a cooking class. Sigrun is a goth, she enjoys not looking like the other women in the cookery class and doesn’t feel like she belongs there either. But all eyes in the class are taking in the chef (and tutor) Edgar. He is extremely easy on the eyes and sets hearts a fluttering round his kitchen all the students want Edgar to linger. Unfortunately Edgar also has a gorgeous and deeply loved wife – his students aren’t getting a look in. Or are they? Sigrun seems to have caught his eye and when invited to join him for a drink after class she isn’t going to say no.

Thus begins a complex and secretive series of meetings and flirtations. Sigrun becomes obsessed and can’t get the thought of Edgar out of her head. Cassondra Windwalker really does a marvellous job layering their blooming relationship and the frustrations Sigrun is experiencing. I was waiting for the darkness to descend and I was getting a love story – but I kept reading as this is compelling reading.

Suddenly the world changes. COVID arrives and any secret meetings are very much not going to happen. What will happen when the world can leave their homes again? What will a house-bound librarian do? What does a restaurant owner do if he can’t open his restaurant? Will love (or lust) find a way and what on earth takes Sigrun to that shocking place which began the story?

The love story does yield to a dark tale with that creepy twist I had been craving. It’s a quick read which delivers on emotional chills and brings some terrifying moments for Sigrun.

Kindle Unlimited readers can pick up Hold My Place as part of their Unlimited membership – otherwise you can grab a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B092BG6WW5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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November 4

Decades – Compiling the Ultimate Library with Judith O’Reilly

Welcome back to the Decades Library. It’s an ongoing quest to curate the ultimate collection of “unmissable” books and each week I invite a guest to join me and nominate some of their favouite books to my Decades Library.

The Library came into being back in January 2021 when I challenged debut author Sharon Bairden to put five of her favourite books into my new library. The shelves were bare and she could select ANY five books but she could only select one book per decade from five consecutive decades. Sharon made five brilliant selections (you can make use of the search function on the right of the page to check them out). The Decades Library was up and running. Next up was Dr Heather Martin (author of the definitive biography on Lee Child) who picked her five favourite books from a different five decades than Sharon used. That was 22 months ago and we haven’t looked back.

This week I am delighted to welcome Judith O’Reilly to the Decades Library. I am currently reading Sleep When You’re Dead which is the third in Judith’s excellent Michael North series (written under the name Jude O’Reilly). I have reviewed the first two books here on Grab This Book and you can expect a review of Sleep in due course (mini-spoiler…I am loving it).

Check out all Judith’s books here and if you haven’t encountered the Michael North books yet then you need to get onto Killing State immediately!

Time to pass the Decades Curator Hat to Judith and let her introduce her five recommended reads…

Judith O’Reilly is the author of Wife in the North and A Year of Doing Good (both published by Viking Penguin, 2008 and 2013 respectively). Wife in the North reached number three in the UK bestsellers’ chart and was in the top ten for five weeks. It was also a top ten bestseller in Germany. It sold into ten countries, was serialised by The Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and was based on Judith’s eponymous blog which was named as one of the top 100 blogs in the world by The Sunday Times. Judith’s blog is credited with kicking off the popularity of domestic blogging in the UK.

Wife in the North and A Year of Doing Good were both non-fiction. Killing State is a commercial political thriller and Judith’s first novel. At least the first one she’s allowed to leave the house without her.

Judith is a former political producer with BBC 2’s Newsnight and ITN’s Channel 4 News, and a former education correspondent with The Sunday Times where she also covered politics, undercover reporting and general news. She still occasionally writes for The Sunday Times.

DECADES

1930s

Rebecca (1938) by Daphne Du Maurier

The pull of Rebecca is a strange one I always think. I remember reading it as a teenager waiting desperately to meet the elusive, charismatic and dead Rebecca. And, of course, you never do. Even though the book is named for her. I remember not being able to drag myself away from it, but also the intense frustration as I closed the covers and put it down. It may be the first novel that made me go back and re-read it – questioning exactly what it was I was reading. But that’s part of the genius. We feel the same fascination with this dead wife as our poor narrator. A narrator who doesn’t even get a name, poor dear. (I’m not counting Mrs de Winter. We all know there was only one Mrs de Winter!) It’s a book that’s never been out of print. For a reason. It’s brilliant. Even now when we read it knowing what Maxim did – the murder, what he did with the body, the fact in the long run he got away with it. I mean, what’s that about? A man murders his wife and we’re okay with that because she was a bitch? There is so much wrong with this picture. But nonetheless, we allow ourselves to be swept up in the gothic romance of it all. And such a simple premise – a dead wife, a new wife, a tragic accident that turns out to be a cover for murder. You make the dead wife compelling and the new wife obsessed. You set it an old house by the sea. Which allows for shipwrecks. There’s a costume ball. Mix in a little romance and a lot of guilt and jealousy and the desire for revenge. Ramp up the sinister and set it against a frisson of unspoken desires. Talking of which – enter Mrs Danvers! Even writing about ‘Danny’ makes me question whether I will ever manage to create any character as sinister as the housekeeper from Hell.

1940s

Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell

I always associate Animal Farm with being 11 and in the first year of grammar school. We studied it. We took it apart and looked at it from every angle. It was a revelation for me. That you didn’t just read a book on your own in your bedroom, and enjoy the story. It was more than that. It was magic. Because the book meant something. It didn’t merely entertain you. It educated you. The writer had a purpose in the story telling. A political purpose moreover. Yes, it’s about animals who take over the farm, but it’s also about the Russian revolution and power. It’s a political allegory. It blew my mind. And you know what – I studied politics at university and then became a political correspondent and a political producer with Channel 4 News and Newsnight. I’m still a Labour party member today and track politics as if my life depended on it. (By the way, your life does depend on politics.) Is the book I read at 11 the reason why? I’d say it is undoubtedly part of it.

At 11 then, courtesy of George Orwell, I woke up to the realities of the haves and have nots, of revolution, of the totalitarian regime, of suffering. I wasn’t from a political family. But we listened to the news every day on the radio when my grocer dad came home from work and we sat down to a tea of Findus savoury mince pancakes and chips. I wasn’t from a political family but my dad got made redundant – twice. I wasn’t from a political family, but everything – as Orwell would tell you himself – is political.

1950s

Madame Serpent (1951) by Jean Plaidy

In Madame Serpent, Catherine de Medici is 14 and about to marry Henry of Orleans, second son of the King of France. Her husband however is in love with another woman. Catherine is humiliated and embittered by Henry’s treatment of her in favour of his mistress Diane de Poitiers. The stage is set for revenge.

I didn’t have books in my house aside from the Bible and the odd condensed Readers’ Digest passed on by an aunt. But I did go to the local library every fortnight and the school library. I also bought graphic novels the size of my hand from a kiosk in the bus station, and I bought second hand books from the bookstall in Leeds market which I passed through on my way home from school. For an avid reader who went through her library books faster than she could change them, it was a great system. Every time you brought the book back to the stall, you got half what you paid for it in exchange, which you promptly spent on books, which you’d return and get back half the money, and so it went on. It was this bookstall that introduced me to Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt and Philippa Carr – all noms de plumes of Eleanor Hibbert. Madame Serpent is the first in a trilogy about Catherine de Medici. All of Plaidy’s works were rigorously researched and introduced the readers to history in an accessible and real way. I’ve always enjoyed history and the Jean Plaidy novels brought it alive. Not least in how they put women at the centre of history in a way I didn’t see reflected in the textbooks I studied at school.

1960s

Master and Commander (1969) Patrick O’Brian

There are two types of people in this world. Those who have read Patrick O’Brian and those who don’t know what they’re missing and should stop what they are doing immediately and go buy a copy. It doesn’t sound like a book that anyone other than a nautical history buff would love, but in Captain Jack Aubrey and ship’s doctor Stephen Maturin, we have one of the best tag teams in literature. Master and Commander is set during the Napoleonic wars and by the time you’ve read your way through the 20-strong series of Aubrey-Maturin books, you too could sale a sloop-of-war into battle against the damnable French. Aubrey is brave, Maturin is brilliant. Both men are honorable to the core and make my cut of guests I would most like to have to an imaginary dinner party (which also includes Raymond Chandler and Philip Marlowe by the way). Their vividness is due in part to O’Brian’s research into original sources such as official letters and logbooks from the time. Their humanity, intelligence and charm down to O’Brian himself.

1970s

A Woman of Substance (1979) Barbara Taylor Bradford.

I first read this book when I was 15 and was gripped by the grit, resilience and ambition of its feisty Yorkshire heroine. The tale of Emma Harte, a housemaid turned millionaire retail entrepreneur. A wronged woman who refused to be defined and judged by society. Emma Harte told a generation of women it was okay to want something better and to work to get it. The book is sweeping and glorious, and as her own website describes it, is “a triumphant novel of an unforgettable woman.” It’s a multi million pound juggernaut for a reason, involving illegitimacy, betrayal, great love, suicide, money, more betrayal, and revenge. Love it. I had tea with Taylor Bradford years ago in the Dorchester, having bid for the privilege in a literary auction. You know they say never meet your heroes. Totally not true. She was glorious. I said it was lonely being a writer. She corrected me and said it was a ‘solitary’ occupation. She was interested in all of us (I took two mates along) and when she inscribed a book for me wrote: “Judith, wishing you the best of luck with your writing career, Barbara T. Bradford.” I am 100% being buried with it. She’s 89, every now and then she auctions off her jewellery or Hermes handbags, if she ever auctions off her typewriters or pen collection, I am so in.

I have read Judith’s thoughts on Animal Farm three or four times over the last half hour. I loved reading the impact this book had – this is why I want people to read Decades each week. The thought of someone picking up a book they may not have read and having an experience akin to Judith’s is the dream.

I’d like to thank Judith again for taking time to make her selections. Five big, big books which I am delighted to add to the Decades Library shelves for others to enjoy.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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November 3

The Silent Dead – Marnie Riches

She was lying as if asleep on the wooden kitchen floor, beneath the fridge covered with a child’s colourful crayon drawings. But her frozen expression showed she would never wake again…

When Detective Jackie Cooke is called out to the scene, she’s expecting a routine check. The bottle of pills on the kitchen table, next to the note with the single word SORRY written in a shaky hand, make it seem obvious what’s happened. But Jackie is shocked when she recognises her old schoolfriend Claire – and she is convinced Claire would never take her own life.

Determined to dig deeper, Jackie soon discovers evidence that proves her right: a roll of notes has been thrust down the victim’s throat. And when she finds another woman killed in the same way, she realises someone may be targeting lonely single mothers. As Jackie talks to Claire’s distraught children, one of them too young to understand his mummy is never coming home, she vows to find answers.

Both victims were in touch with someone calling himself Nice Guy – could he be the killer? Pursuing every clue, Jackie is sure she’s found a match in dead-eyed Tyler, part of a dark world of men intent on silencing women for daring to reject them. But just as she makes the arrest, another single mother is found dead – a woman who never dated at all.

Forced to re-evaluate every lead she has, with her boss pressuring her to make a case against the obvious suspect, Jackie knows she is running out of time before another innocent woman is murdered. And, as a single mother herself, she cannot help but wonder if she is in the killer’s sights. Can she uncover his true motivation and put an end to his deadly game… or will he find her first?

I received a review copy ahead of the blog tour but I read my own purchased copy. Thanks to Sarah Hardy and Bookouture for the opportunity to take part in the tour for The Silent Dead.

I’m going to cut to the chase – The Silent Dead is terrific. I raced through the story and got totally lost in Jackie Cooke’s life as she finds herself investigating the death of an old school friend.

Readers join the story as a mother drops her young son at nursery for the day. The teary parting from the boy and the heartwrench for his mum will be all too familiar for many parents and it’s an early indication of how Marnie Riches is going to play on our emotions over daily challenges and experiences. Grounding the backdrop to a murder story with elements of daily life, which we can all relate to, made everything seem more personal in The Silent Dead. After leaving her son in the care of his nursery teacher we follow Claire back to her house – it’s the last journey she will make as death awaits her.

When Detective Jackie Cooke responds to the call of a suicide she is shocked to see an old friend from her school days. She finds it hard to believe her friend would take her own life and Jackie has suspicions there may be more to Claire’s death than initially meets the eye. Jackie raises these concerns and finds her combatative boss is less than keen to read too much into matters. The evidence is a single parent with money worries who she left a note to say “sorry”. But Jackie isn’t convinced and wants to dig a little deeper. It turns out she had reason to be suspicious.

The Silent Dead takes Jackie and her colleagues deep into an investigation which will see them bashing heads with objectional ex-husbands, working girls, internet dating sites and facing the problem of the angry incels who live online and seek others who listen to their hateful rantings. Marnie Riches is very good at bringing disturbing and problematic people into her stories and showing the damage they can do when left unchecked. She shines a light on the worst of human nature and weaves compelling crime thrillers around the darker elements many of us choose to ignore (if we even know they are out there).

When not taking on the dark forces Jackie has her work more than cut out for her at home. She is a new mum who also has two older twins causing chaose at home. Returning to work early from her maternity leave, following the sudden breakdown in her marriage, Jackie is juggling work and family commitments. She is stressed, hormonal, frustrated and permanently exhausted – she felt one of the most realistic lead characters I have encountered for some time. Everyday problems ARE problems, not enough hours in the day, missing her kids, unable to get full parental support at parents night – all so relatable to many of us. This recognisable human dynamic of the day to day grind does add to the realism of the story and everyone wants to get behind Jackie and see her pull through and get some respite. If only it were that simple!

As I said at the start of this review – I really enjoyed The Silent Dead. I keep coming back to read more and more of the books Marnie Riches writes as I find them so readable. Pacing is fantastic, characters can be fun, serious and deadly dangerous and the story just flows. More of these will be very welcome.

The Silent Dead is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B3DQDSJ4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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November 1

Urgent Matters – Paula Rodriguez

The Yankees are more astute when it comes to matters like these. They say “not guilty”. They don’t say “innocent”. Because as far as innocence goes, no one can make that claim.

A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.

Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions – and, he hopes, his identity – among bodies mangled beyond all recognition.

As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he’s on Hugo’s tail. But he hasn’t banked on everything from the media to Hugo’s mother-in-law getting in the way.

I received a review copy from the publishers, Pushkin Press, via Netgalley

Urgent Matters opens with a train crash – within the wreckage is Hugo and we get into the story spending time in his company as the considers the carnage around him. Initially trapped within the body of the train there is a period of contemplation and reflection while Hugo waits to be rescued and hauled (through an improbably tight space) back into the Argentinian evening. It’s a fascinating way to begin a story and I was a fan of the way author, Paula Rodriguez, dwelt more on the aftermath of the crash than on the events leading up to the incident.

But Hugo isn’t the only focus for this story and the narrative will flick between him, his mother-in-law (and what a character she is), also Hugo’s partner and their daughter will feature. I used the term “flick” as there is a fast pace to the story and events do rapidly move focus from one player to the next. On one page Hugo may be seen being hauled from a train, then we are with young Evelyn who is trying to hide a mobile phone but next to her mother Marta who is fleeing her home (daughter at her heels) to reunite with the rest of her family while the police want to speak to her about Hugo.

Lots to take in but with a good dose of humour lifting the tension of the respective plights that Marta and Hugo face. While Urgent Matters isn’t the longest book I have read this year it does pack in lots of story and the fast pacing keeps you focused.

The stand out elements of the story was the fabulous character development. All the key players feel like they are pushing their way out of the book into my world. The most fascinating being young Evelyn who is a kid caught up in a frenetic situation which she cannot contribute to. Upsettingly for Evelyn she has her own problems which are causing her a fair amount of distress but she has nobody to confide in and I just wanted someone to take time to help her!

It is always a pleasure to read out of my comfort zone and Urgent Matters took me to new locations and explored different cultures than I am used to reading about. Fascinating and fun in equal measure.

Urgent Matters is published by Pushkin Press and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BFGCSJGW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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