When I first opened the doors to the Decades Library (back in January 2021) I had no idea that three and a half years later I’d still be welcoming guest curators to Grab This Book and inviting them to add their five reading recommendations to the Library shelves. Earlier this week I looked back over all the previous Decades selections which feature here on my blog and I was humbled and gobsmacked to learn that this week’s guest, Heather Critchlow, is the 92nd Decades Curator. That is a lot of booklove!

I never assume you have visited my Ultimate Library, my Decades Library, before today so I have written my 92nd explanation as to what on earth is going on.

Back in 2021 I pondered the question…If I was a Librarian and had a brand new library, with no books on any of the shelves. which books would I want to make available to the library visitors to ensure there was nothing but the very best books available for them to read?

I realised I could not answer that question alone as my own reading tastes were far too narrow. So I began to invite authors, bloggers, journalists and publishers to join me and I asked them to nominate some of their favourite books which they believed I should add to the shelves of my Ultimate Library. Now you may wonder why I refer to my Ultimate Library as my Decades Library…it’s due to the two rules I impose upon the selections people make.

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

Hence the Decades Library.

This week I am thrilled to be able to welcome Heather Critchlow to the Library. I first read one of Heather’s books ahead of its nomination for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and was not remotely surprised when Unsolved was shortlisted – I had been hooked. With the publication date of the third Cal Lovett book rapidly approaching I was delighted Heather had time to take on my Decades challenge and add five new books to the library shelves.  Over to Heather….

 

Heather Critchlow grew up in rural Aberdeenshire and trained as a business journalist after studying history and social science at Cambridge university. Published by Canelo in May 2023, her debut novel Unsolved was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and is the first in a series about true crime podcaster Cal Lovett.

Unsolved was followed by Unburied January 2024, while Unsound, the third in the series, is out in September. Heather’s first speculative crime thriller The Tomorrow Project will be published in hardback in Spring 2025.

Heather’s short stories are featured in Afraid of the Light, Afraid of the Christmas Lights and Afraid of the Shadows, collections of fiction written by crime writers. She lives in Hertfordshire. Heather can be found on twitter @h_critchlow and Instagram @heather.critchlow To sign up for her VIP Readers Club visit www.heathercritchlow.com

DECADES

1981

Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian

Classic 1980s children’s fiction that has stood the test of time. I read this at school, and have since read it to both of my children. Set during World War Two, it follows the fortunes of Willie Beech, an abused boy evacuated from London and placed with a curmudgeonly old man (Mr Tom). As Tom tends to Willie’s physical and psychological wounds, the boy’s presence unlocks the old man’s grief and changes his isolated life. But then Willie’s mother demands he go back… Goodnight Mr Tom is a tearjerker that deserves its place in the library.

 

 

 

 

1997

Into Thin Air – John Krakauer

This personal account of the Everest disaster that claimed the lives of five climbers is a must-read. Written by a journalist-mountaineer, it attempts to unpick the events of that day and understand how it went so horribly wrong. A reminder of the power and ferocity of the natural world and of the human desire to conquer it, Into the Air is a truly gripping tale of bravery, heroism, bad luck and errors of judgement. Krakauer doesn’t shy away from the guilt he feels over the expedition and the part he played. Haunting.

 

 

 

 

2000

After You’d Gone – Maggie O’Farrell

This is the book that had me stuck in the bus depot, late for work, after I sailed through several stops, utterly oblivious. Maggie O’Farrell’s debut novel is devastating and beautiful. Alice boards a train from London to Scotland, but when she arrives in Edinburgh she sees something so terrible she immediately returns to London. A few hours later, she’s lying in a coma after a possible suicide attempt. The story slips in and out of the past as her family gather around her and Alice drifts through consciousness. A perfectly drawn portrait of love and grief, After You’d Gone is an utter triumph and, rightly, cemented O’Farrell as a literary talent. I’m a fan of all her books (especially also I am, I am, I am and The Marriage Portrait) but this remains my favourite.

 

 

 

2012

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

An enchanting fantasy read about Le Cirque des Rêves – a Circus of Dreams that opens only at night. With its glittering acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, it bewitches all who enter. However, the circus is the setting for a terrible competition between two young magicians, Celia and Marco. Destined to duel, only one can survive – but then they fall in love. The Night Circus is a lyrical, transporting book, unlike anything I’ve read before or since. It’s hard to describe how incredible this read is. I devoured it while feeding a newborn in the middle of the night – an appropriate time for the Circus of Dreams – and the moments whipped past.

 

 

 

2021

The Stranding – Kate Sawyer

I’m a huge fan of dystopian fiction, and this tale of a British woman who crawls into the mouth of a beached whale with a stranger to survive the end of the world, is one of my absolute favourites. Travelling in New Zealand, Ruth emerges from the whale to an altered landscape and the reality that everything she loves is gone. The narrative switches between her efforts to survive in this new world, and the pre-apocalypse events that led to her leaving the UK. Heartbreakingly beautiful and poignant. On finishing it, I immediately turned back to the first page and started again.

 

 

 

 

My thanks to Heather for five brilliant additions to the Decades Library. I am particulary delighted to see The Night Circus make its way to the shelves as I was mesmerised and entranced by that story when I first read it back in 2012. I’m really feeling the urge to revisit that book again – my TBR will cry in anguish.

This evening, as I prepare to share Heather’s selections, I’m aware she is counting down the days to the publication date of Unsound – the third Cal Lovett mystery.

Unsound releases on Thursday 5 September on digital format with the paperback showing a release date of Tuesday 10 September. You can order your copy using this super handy link – https://www.waterstones.com/book/unsound/heather-critchlow/9781804362624?_gl=1*1x8yyh3*_up*MQ..*_ga*ODM4NjM4Nzc0LjE3MjUyMjIyNTM.*_ga_P4C39TQPV3*MTcyNTIyMjI1Mi4xLjEuMTcyNTIyMjI1OC4wLjAuMA..

The first two books in the series were terrific read and I’m really looking forward to reading Unsound, I’ve included the cover and blurb below and (as you undoubtably know) pre-orders are a huge boost to all authors in the days and weeks leading up to publication so I’d encourage everyone to grab this book nice and early.

He left for university… and never came back

Arran went missing in Edinburgh fourteen years ago. The last time his parents saw him he was withdrawn and on edge where he’d once been happy and carefree. Still searching for their son, they turn to their last hope, true crime podcaster Cal Lovett.

Cal begins looking for answers, but is distracted by his sister’s murder trial. He’s so close to getting the justice Margot deserves. Can he finally leave the past – and Margot – behind?

As Cal unearths disturbing evidence about Arran’s fate, he suspects the young man’s close-knit group of university friends are keeping secrets to protect each other. It seems old loyalties don’t die easily. But they can’t all stay silent forever…

 

 

 

 

 

 

DECADES WILL RETURN