Blood on the Tracks – Guy Hale

Jimmy Wayne is headed for LA to make the new album that will hopefully make him a star. In a quiet, deserted canyon a few miles outside Blackjack lie the bodies of his victims who inspired each song – all his secrets are buried in that dry and arid ground. Can he leave his past behind or will the ghosts of his past come back to haunt him?

I received a review copy from the publishers and was invited to join the blog tour by Anne at Random Things Blog Tours

Blood on the Tracks may sound like Guy Hale is taking us on a train journey but the Tracks in this book are musical, he is taking us into the recording studio. We join Jimmy Wayne and his band as Jimmy prepares his big comeback after around two decades of being in the music wilderness. But there’s a dark secret behind Jimmy’s songwriting success, the tracks which seem to be destined to propel him back up the music charts only get written when Jimmy is responsible for someone’s death.

In the first book in this series (Killing Me Softly) it appears Jimmy managed to wipe out a few bad guys. Their lives ending meant Jimmy had enough songs written which allows him to get an album together. Though Jimmy isn’t overly upset at killing a few people who deserves to die he also accidentally is responsible for his girlfriend’s death. But, despite being dead, Wendy still manages to appear in ghostly form beside Jimmy to chat with him and provide useful information on what his enemies are up to.

You don’t get much of a clue from the book’s blurb as to what to expect from Blood on the Tracks so I was quite surprised to see Jimmy chatting to a ghost, two former Scandanavian “special forces” playing an integral part in the story, a heavily guarded (but secret) goldmine hidden in the mountains outside Las Vegas, a psychopathic 74 year-old and her mob boss son plus a mystery man who brings calm and compassion everywhere he goes – he’s determined to see Jimmy succeed and nobody is going to stop this all-seeing stranger from getting Jimmy where he wants him to be.

The bad guys want Jimmy dead. Maybe. If he does well then they may actually make some money off his success. So maybe they will let him live a bit longer. But if he flops then there’s an expectation that the mob boss will pass Jimmy to his mother so she can violently end his life – she feels he deserves to die as Jimmy has slighted her family honour. People just don’t get away with that – even if their record could net them a healthy investment return.

The best way to enjoy Blood on the Tracks is very much to let Guy Hale have fun with his cast. Some people will die, some comedy characters will pop up to make you laugh then the bad guys will plot for more bad things to happen. Jimmy’s dead girlfriend will keep him in the loop as to how his enemies are out to get him and the mysterious stranger will just keep being mysterious but highly entertaining at the same time. It all sounds a bit surreal at times but it’s surprisingly readable and I found myself enjoying the story more and more.

One cool bonus which I only spotted as I was preparing my review; there’s a QR code at the start of the book which you can scan and the wonders of technology will let you hear Jimmy’s song – a nice touch to give the reader a feel for the music we read so much about.

Blood on the Tracks – decidedly quirky, often unexptected, lots of fun.

Blood on the Tracks is published by Whitefox and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/blood-on-the-tracks-2/guy-hale/9781915036810

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February 24

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ed James

It’s been two weeks since our last visit to the Decades Library and I’d like to apologise for the unexpected interruption – though someone did contact me to say their TBR had breathed a small sigh of relief! What happened? Well I was having a super busy week at the day job and got half way through Thursday when I realised it was actually Friday and that I’d totally lost track of the days.

Rather than cut someone’s week short I decided to hang off for a week before passing Ed James the Library curators hat.

As ever I am mindful that this could be your first visit to the Decades Library so I’ll quickly explain why we are here. I am assembling the Ulitmate Library of books. I want my Decades Library to only house books which are loved by other readers. Each week I am joined by a new guest and I invite them to add more books to my library shelves. I ask that when they make their selections that they follow two rules:

1 – You Can Choose Any Five Books
2 – You Can Only Choose One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades.

Easy! Or so it may seem but I haven’t tried to select my own five choices (yet) so I can’t speak from experience.

This week I am delighted to welcome Ed James to my Decades Library. I reviewed Ed’s new book The Turning of Our Bones earlier this week (it’s almost like I try to plan these things) it’s a real corker – great twist on a serial killer story. You can read my review here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=7166 Over to Ed now – he’s why you’re here today….

I’m Ed James, the writer of *checks notes* over forty police procedural books over the last eleven years. While I’ve worked with some publishers over that time (Headline, Bookouture and Thomas & Mercer), I’m now focused entirely on being an indie author, which gives me much greater control over what I write and publish.And what I do write and publish is a few series set in different locations. The DI Fenchurch books are set on the gritty streets of East London, and further afield, starring a detective whose own daughter was abducted. Vicky Dodds is a single mother solving crimes in Dundee and Tayside, where I grew up. Recently, I merged the eight-book Scott Cullen, three-book Craig Hunter and six-book Cullen & Bain series into Police Scotland, my attempt at a precinct series with multiple starring cops. And this year sees the launch of the DI Rob Marshall series, with THE TURNING OF OUR BONES on the 1st February marking my first new series in seven(!) years, with another three to come this year.

DECADES

FiftiesCOP HATER by Ed McBainThere’s probably a massive article that could be written about this, but in my opinion this book is where the police procedural started. Sure, there were detective books before this and there were books about cops before this, but the genre – as we know it – roots all its tropes in this series. The 87th Precinct novels are set in Isola, as NYC as Gotham or Metropolis are, and had a huge influence on the TV flavour of police procedurals as well as selling a gazillion novels. The series is a tour de force, running to fifty-five books published between this beauty in 1956 until 2005. If I manage anything like that, I’ll still be publishing books in 2061!COP HATER is a sharp shock. A cop dies and Detective Steve Carella leads the chase to find the killer. As more cops die, McBain weaves in other POV characters, all fully fleshed out, and curiously incorporates genuine police documentation (forms, filled out for the fictional case). One of the ways this book is intriguing is in the way the hero, Carella, doesn’t appear in the second novel – what a way to show that this is an ensemble series. The writing is crisp and feels modern, with a few caveats. Also, the first twenty or so are pretty lean 30-40k jobs, so as easy to read in a sitting or two as a Maigret, say. And I’ve read them all.

SixtiesPOST OFFICE by Charles BukowskiOkay, so this might’ve been published in the 70s but it was written in 1969 so I’m claiming that for this decade. Bukowski’s loosely fictional Henry Chinaski is a low-life. His life is grim and the people he associates with even grimmer. He’s an alcoholic and a womaniser. There is nothing redemptive about his story; he gets worse, if anything, and descends in the sequels. But the writing is so spare and propulsive that you want to revel in the misery of late 60s LA. Chinaski returned for all of Bukowski’s novels, save for the surreal PULP, and each has the same grim beauty as this.

SeventiesLAIDLAW by William McIlvanneyOn this side of the Atlantic, McIlvanney’s LAIDLAW lay the roots for Tartan Noir. (Again, arguably, but let’s not have that argument just now, eh?) It’s all here – a driven detective in a gritty city investigating a brutal murder, but what McIlvanney does, that few others have done, is focus on the effect of the murder on the community. This is character over plot and the ripples of the plot throughout them, each rounded out and human. If you analyse it, you see that the titular hero only appears in a handful of the opening twenty chapters – compare that with the modern model of a victim/killer prologue and everything seen through the eyes of detectives, with some latitude for an additional victim to add a ticking clock. His lyrical flourishes are second to none, sharp and precise in their beauty. He could’ve written one of these a year and been rich, but he only finished another two (in 1983 and 1991 vs this in 1977 with a partial prequel completed during lockdown by Ian Rankin) and the success of Taggart on STV could easily have been his. But he chose another path.

EightiesTHE WASP FACTORY by Iain BanksAn absolutely mind-bending debut from yet another author tragically no longer with us. In its short page count, THE WASP FACTORY creates a tiny world, isolated from the rest of Scotland but beautifully realised. One of the few authors who I read absolutely everything by, this and the CROW ROAD are truly national treasures. His sci-fi novels bend the mind in other ways. Curious and economical, debuts don’t come better than this.

NinetiesBLACK AND BLUE by Ian RankinThis was the first police procedural novel I ever read. I picked up a copy my mum had got out of the library and didn’t set it down until I finished. Legend has it that this is Rankin’s breakthrough and you can see why – it’s got the highest of high concepts; Bible John, a real-life serial killer, comes back to hunt down a copycat. While its pages focus mainly on Rebus, that dour but drily witty detective who investigates while his private life is in tatters, the snatches from Bible John’s POV add a dimension that shows the high concept is met by high execution. I won’t spoil it here (even though it did come out almost 25 years ago…) but the twist ending is incredibly brave for a break-through novel and probably contributed to the success.

I’ve read four of Ed’s five selections and I loved each of them. If ever there was a sign that I need to read Charles Bukowski’s Post Office then this is it! Huge thanks to Ed for taking the time to make his selections, any time I get to feature an 87th Precinct book on the blog is a good day!

DECADES WILL RETURN

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February 23

Paris Requiem – Chris Lloyd

‘You have a choice which way you go in this war…’

Paris, September 1940.

After three months under Nazi Occupation, not much can shock Detective Eddie Giral. That is, until he finds a murder victim who was supposed to be in prison. Eddie knows, because he put him there. The dead man is not the first or the last criminal being let loose onto the streets. But who is pulling the strings, and why?

This question will take Eddie from jazz clubs to opera halls, from old flames to new friends, from the lights of Paris to the darkest countryside – pursued by a most troubling truth: sometimes to do the right thing, you have to join the wrong side…

My thanks to Orion for the opportunity to read an review copy of Paris Requiem

In late 202o I listened to the audiobook of The Unwanted Dead. It introduced Eddie Giral, the police officer who was determined to investigate a crime which nobody else wanted him to investigate. I absolutely loved the story, raved about it A LOT on Twitter and I was delighted to see it win the CWA Gold Crown for best novel of the year.

I have been patiently waiting for Giral’s return (well quite patiently) and when Paris Requiem landed on my doormat it went straight to the front of my reading queue. I know I shouldn’t have favourites but as much as I loved The Unwanted Dead, I think Paris Requiem takes this series to greater heights. Paris Requiem – five stars and if I could give it more I would.

What’s it about then?

Detective Eddie Giral is a member of the Paris police force. It is 1940 and the Germans have occupied the city. The police are still to enforce the law but they must do so working alongside the Germans who have their own control over the city. It’s a fractious dynamic and Eddie is far from happy with the current state of affairs. Although we first met Eddie in the award-winning The Unwanted Dead. You don’t need to read the stories in order to enjoy Paris Requiem but as I adored The Unwanted Dead I would strongly encourage you to seek it out.

We meet Eddie in a closed down Jazz Club. He is a big fan of jazz but not such a big fan of empty clubs which house a dead body. Unfortunately for Eddie the reason he is in a closed down club is because there is a dead body which needs his attention. Bound to a chair and left to be found, the victim has had their mouth sewn shut with twine. A message? But who could it be for? And an even bigger headache for Eddie is that he knows the victim…he arrested him some months earlier and the man should still be in prison – so why is he dead in a club?

Eddie’s boss, Commissionaire Dax, has paired him up with the irritating Boniface. Potentially a decent cop but Eddie feels Boniface spends more time chasing women than he does chasing crooks. Together the pair try to find out why a convicted criminal was walking the streets before he met his untimely and unpleasant death. Worse still it seems he may not be the only criminal no longer serving their sentence – some of the crooks the pair helped capture will hold a grudge too.

Unfortunately for Eddie there are other matters to contend with. His son is trying to escape France, Eddie has not seen him for several months but someone else knows of his flight to freedom and is trying to use this knowledge to get some leverage with Eddie. Will Eddie be able to assist an enemy if it means safe passage for his son? There’s another son to worry about too – not his own but an old friend is looking for Eddie to help find her son. A soldier on the run and hiding from the German army will not have it easy, but when the soldier has black skin it gets even more complicated. Even Eddie’s connections with Major Hochstetter – the German officer who “assists” Eddie and the French police will not use his influential support to track down a missing soldier.

There’s a lot going on in Eddie’s life but Chris Lloyd manages to keep three or four different story threads constantly weaving around the reader. Even when there’s not a crime to occupy his mind Eddie can be found trying to encourage his local butcher to let him have a slightly larger cut of meat or begging his baker to give him a single loaf of bread despite Eddie not having his ration book. Life in occupied Paris still goes on and Lloyd shows the day to day problems all Parisians faced – sourcing fresh meat and bread being one of them.

It’s the wonderful blend of historical fact, crime fiction and sheer reading enjoyment which made me love the time I spent with Paris Requiem. Chris Lloyd breathes life into history and has created a compelling cast of characters. The murders, the escaped criminals, Eddie’s need to appease his boss, appease the Germans and keep himself safe while unknown forces try to kill him – you will be drawn into this story and will not want to stop reading. Especially when you hear about Capeluche – he’s a scary one.

Don’t miss these books. Get to know Eddie Giral. He’s having a rough old time of it but you’ll root for him from first page to last.

Paris Requiem is available now in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/paris-requiem/chris-lloyd/9781409190301

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February 21

The Turning of Our Bones – Ed James (audiobook)

The serial killer he couldn’t catch is dead….

Can DI Rob Marshall save his last victim before she dies too?

Met cop DI Rob Marshall is hot on the trail of the serial killer known as the Chameleon, who has abducted, tortured, and killed a series of young women in Northwest London. As they close in, the Chameleon—who switches identity to get close to his victims—shoots Marshall’s partner and escapes.

But when the Chameleon’s body is found two years later, Marshall must return to his home town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders and face the tragedy that’s haunted him for 20 years and made him leave in the first place.

The Chameleon’s final victim is still missing–can Marshall unpick the Chameleon’s latest identity in time to save her from a lonely death?

I am grateful to Ed James for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of The Turning of our Bones.

The Turning of Our Bones is the first book in a new series for Ed James. A perfect time to discover an author you may not have read in the past and for returning fans it is a chance to get to know some new characters and know this is an author who will put these characters through the emotional turmoil we seem to love to read about.

The story starts in London, a woman returning home late at night after a long shift finds her path is bloked by a large van. As she navigates her way around it she is attacked and becomes the next victim of a serial killer who has, thus far, managed to elude the police.

One of the key investigators is DI Rob Marshall. He has been working on a profile of the killer and believes he may have made a breakthrough but while a surveillance operation is underway the killer confronts Marshall and his partner. He draws a gun on the pair and opens fire. Faced with the choice of saving his partner’s life or chasing down the gunman Marshall has no real time to weigh up the options he makes his choice and has to live with the consequences of his actions.

Spin forward two years and Marshall is no longer working on apprehending killers for the Met Police. He has been moved to a role in traffic collisions and is counting down the days until he leaves the force. But an unexpected development sees Marshall leaving London to head to the Scottish Borders – the killer has been found. Despite escaping capture in London the man who haunted Marshall’s dreams has turned up in Scotland. Dead.

Marshall is heading to the Borders, he is heading home to confirm the body the police recovered is indeed that of the killer he had been hunting. When he arrives Marshall finds himself drawn into the world he thought he had left behind years ago. Old friends and family are all around him and new colleagues, challenging new colleagues, need to be won over if Marshall is to have any involvement in wrapping up the loose ends of his long-running investigation before he heads back to London.

I’d been enjoying the story while it was a London tale but when the action shifted to the Scottish Borders (a much overlooked location in crime fiction) I loved this book even more. Places I have visited but don’t really know came to life as Ed James thrust Marshall into the land of his childhood. Towns I’d considered to be part of a sleepy, rugby country suddenly took on life and a dynamic feel that I’d not associated with the area. Even better there was a frantic race against time predicament for the police to solve and a hidden enemy for the readers to puzzle over.

The crimes which are committed in The Turning of Our Bones are firmly in the dark and gritty side of crime fiction – this is the type of story I enjoy the most so it absolutely ticked all my boxes and I’ve already been recommending it to other readers.

I can’t wrap up the review without first giving the audiobook narrator, Angus King, the plaudits he deserves for his role in my enjoyment of The Turning of Our Bones. I’ve heard a fair few books which Mr King has worked on and he always delivers an enagaging performance. One of the most trusted names in my Audible Library, seeing Angus’s name on an audiobook will help sway me towards buying it. In the case of The Turning of Our Bones he has already shaped the characters for me and given them the life outwith the page, he is a joy to listen to when the action ramps up. And it ramped up to great effect in this book.

As I said at the outset of this review – a great opportunity to get into a brand new series. You can read The Turning of Our Bones and you’ll be ready for more DI Marshall stories as soon as they become available. Fabulous listening and a cracking read.

The Turning of Our Bones is available as an audiobook and also in digital and physical book versions. You can order a copy on your format of choice here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BKR181C3/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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February 10

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ross MacKay

In January 2021 I threw open the doors to my Decades Library. At that time there were no books in the Library but I knew I wanted to fill those empty shelves with the very best reads for the Library visitors to enjoy. But how to ensure the best books were represented?

Filling the shelves with amazing and unmissable books was not a task I could take on alone, I didn’t have the depth of reading knowledge that I knew would be needed. So I decided to ask for help. Each week I am joined by a new guest (a guest curator) who adds new books to the library shelves and helps me ensure the selection of titles on offer is as good as it can be.

I have been joined by authors, bloggers and publishers – booklovers – and they each bring a fresh perspective on which books I should make available to Library visitors. But when I invite my guests to make their reading recommendations I set two rules which they need to follow (there’s gotta be rules):

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

Easy? Have a go at making your own selections and see if you can nail down five books which were published over a fifty year publication span. The oldest book in the Decades Library was first published in the 1860’s – there have been many books released since then so coming up with five should not be too tricky!

But time to introduce Ross MacKay. Ross released his debut novel at the end of last year and is shortly due to appear at the Paisley Book Festival (more on this below). He had an extremely busy end of year at Cumbernauld’s Lantern Theatre as his adaptation of a classic story delighted audiences and he is officially one of the most supportive people I have met in all my years of blogging. He also picks great reading recommendations so this is where I had over to Ross….

Ross was the recipient of the William Soutar Award for Poetry 2020.

His debut novel, Will and The Whisp was published in 2022 to critical acclaim.

His plays have been performed across Scotland and his adaptation of Treasure Island premiered in Cumbernauld over the festive period.

Ross previously worked in theatre as the artistic director of Tortoise in a Nutshell. His productions toured across the world. His shows have received numerous prestigious awards including a Scotsman Fringe First for New Writing and a Critic’s Pick from The New York Times.

On the 19^th Feb, Ross is appearing at Paisley Book Festival with his novel, Will and The Whisp. This unique theatrical event will bring Will and The Whisp to life. Ross will read some of the most dramatic moments of the book while accompanied by an immersive soundscape, especially composed for the event by award winning musician, Jim Harbourne. Tickets can be bought here: https://paisleybookfest.com/programme/will-and-the-whisp/

DECADES

1970- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carré

I had known of John or Carré’s books for a long time before I ever picked one up. They seemed quite bulky and serious and frankly a bit too Oxbridge for my tastes. But then I saw the film The Constant Gardener and was amazed to see it was based on a Le Carré novel. I first read it and then found Tinker Tailor. And it is long and dusty and very Oxbridge – my presumptions weren’t wrong but my tastes had changed. I got lost in the world. There is something sort of dangerously charming about a bunch of adults so institutionalised by their private education that they basically extend that worldview into the high stakes of espionage.

1980 – Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco

For me Umberto Eco is the absolute master. He is one of the few authors I re-read. I take months to read his work. I find it dense, layered and slippery. Just when I think I have it in my grasp I find the heart of the story has shifted while I wasn’t looking. Its like playing whack-a-mole with all the big ideas of the 20th century. And all the while he’s telling a story that is riveting too.

1990 – Northern Lights, Philip Pullman

Ahhh my heart. For a lot of children now my age, Harry Potter was the pinnacle. But for me it was Northern Lights. As a kid who loved bible stories and the idea of going to church (I know I was an odd one), I found Pullman much more exciting, dangerous and though-provoking than Rowling. I still do. And the ending to Northern Lights is still most vividly imaginative thing I’ve ever read.

2000 – Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

Hilary Mantel does this thing where she sort of plumps someone with 21st century ideals into the past. Here she uses Thomas Cromwell as a sort of promethean figure bearing witness to and shaping British history. So what becomes compelling is how she uses this device to draw you ever closer to her subject. By the end of the trilogy I felt I knew the character inside out and yet was still perplexed by him.

I listened to this on audiobook and I vividly recall rewinding moments to hear them again.

2010- The Lie Tree, Frances Hardringe

So, remember two decades ago when I was waxing lyrical about Pullman. This book is the closest I have come to feeling that again. It is a brilliant book. Imaginative and brilliantly feminist without ever feeling preachy. I have kept this book on my bookshelf but I know as soon as my son is old enough i’m going to move it to his. I can’t wait to read it to him.

I really love the mix of fantasy, espionage and history which Ross has brought to the Decades Library. I am all too often tempted by recommendations and this week it is The Lie Tree which will be added to my future reading lists – it sounds like a dark warning wrapped in a novel.

I shared the link to Ross’s panel at the forthcoming Paisley Book Festival, there’s a really interesting programme from 16th to 19th February so if you’re in the area you may want to check it out: https://paisleybookfest.com/

DECADES WILL RETURN

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February 3

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Anna Mazzola

Welcome back to Decades as a new guest curator joins me to add new books to the shelves of my ultimate library. This is a project which began back in January 2021 and if you look back through the past two years of my blog posts you will find dozens and dozens of amazing book recommendations – as suggested by authors, bloggers and publishers.

This is my Decades Library. There were no books on my library shelves when I first started my mission to compile the ultimate reading library. I only wanted the best books to be found on the library shelves, books other people had read and loved – the books they would recommend to other booklovers. Each week a guest joins me and I ask them to nominate new books to be added to the Decades Library. But they can’t just select books at random, I have set two rules which they must follow…

1: You Can Select Any Five Books
2: You Can Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

Easy? Have a go at choosing which five books you would pick. Which fifty year span do you think best reflects your favourite reading?

This week I am delighted to welcome Anna Mazzola to Grab This Book. I finally got to the opporutnity to meet Anna at Bloody Scotland last year – her panel with previous Decades curators, Douglas Skelton and D.V. Bishop, was one of my festival highlights. She was chatting about her latest book (The Clockwork Girl) and there was also lots of distrubing facts about nuns – you really had to be there.

Before I hand over to Anna to share her five Decades selections I shall draw your attention to this handy wee link which lets you browse and buy Anna’s books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anna-Mazzola/e/B01D4XL42M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Anna is a writer of historical thrillers and Gothic fiction. Her third novel, The Clockwork Girl, set in Paris in 1750, is a Sunday Times Historical Fiction pick for 2022 and reached number 11 in the Sunday Times Bestseller list. Her debut novel, The Unseeing, won an Edgar Allan Poe award. Her fourth novel, The House of Whispers, is a ghost story set in Fascist Italy and will be published in April 2023. Anna also writes legal thrillers under the name Anna Sharpe, the first of which will be published in 2024.

When not writing or tutoring for The Novelry, Anna is a human rights and criminal justice solicitor, working with victims of crime. She lives in Camberwell, South London, with her husband, their two children, a snake and a cat.

DECADES

My Cousin Rachel, Daphne Du Maurier, 1951

I’ve never been able to decide which is my favourite: My Cousin Rachel, or Rebecca. They are both dark and exquisite and explore similar themes. My Cousin Rachel is perhaps the most haunting, however. It was written in 1951 when Du Maurier was at the height of her powers, and while it might on its surface be a romantic novel set amid beautiful Cornish estates, it is in fact a novel about female sexuality, poisoning and power.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson, 1961

The Haunting of Hill House is the more famous novel, but We Have Always Lived is, to my mind, Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece. Jackson wrote the book towards the end of her rather troubled life. The novel’s two female lead characters combine what Jackson’s biographer Judy Oppenheimer calls the ‘yin and yang of Shirley’s own inner self’. Constance embodies the domestic, while Merricat is strange, headstrong, murderous. A devastating and often darkly amusing exploration of everyday evil. One of my favourite books of all time.

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, 1972

Surfacing was one of Margaret Atwood’s early works and remains one of her most unsettling. It tells the story of a young Canadian woman returning to her childhood wilderness home with her boyfriend and two friends to investigate the disappearance of her father. As the story progresses, we see the island exert an increasing pull on Atwood’s heroine, leading her into ever growing wildness.

Beloved by Toni Morrison, 1987

(Also loved Jazz, 1992). A huge, gripping, searing novel. I first read it when I was eighteen and it has stayed with me ever since. Beloved begins: ‘124 was spiteful.’ 124 is a house in Cincinnati in 1873 and it is spiteful because it is haunted by the fury of a baby whose throat was cut to make her safe from slavery. Not an easy read by any means, but an essential one.

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, 1992

Another huge and often bloody masterpiece, but this one is set during the French Revolution. Mantel’s main characters are the leaders of the Revolution – Danton, Robespierre and Camille Desmouslins, but we also see their wives and other lesser known characters. Complex, witty and brilliant. It was the first novel she wrote, though not the first to be published. Thank goodness she didn’t give up.

Huge thanks to Anna for these mighty selections. Some weeks I prepare the Decades list and I recognise for or five of the books as titles I have read and loved. Other weeks (including this week) I am reminded of why I need to invite guests to help me identify the best books to include in the Decades Library – big, powerful stories which I haven’t read but fully appreciate why they are held in such high regard.

I am adding We Have Always Lived in the Castle to my Audible library. Decades grows my TBR once again – the best outcome for me.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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