Beating About the Bush (Agatha Raisin #30) by M.C. Beaton

“Agatha stole a glance towards Toni. She really was a very pretty young thing, she mused. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a trim figure.”

As usual, Agatha is jealous of Toni but she is about to make the acquaintance of a rather interesting donkey. You heard me correctly. Agatha and the donkey will make national news and of course there's a rather meaty mystery involving a factory involved also.
My feelings for Sir Charles Fraith ebbed and flowed just as much as Agatha's in this one.
A severed leg, an ornery donkey and a battery factory that might just be up to something dodgy, sounds like just the kind of setting for murder, mayhem and reading till the wee hours.
Unfortunately I finished this way too quickly and now I have to wait until the next story is released which is later this year. M.C.Beaton is a legend and I love her creation.

 5 out of 5 legs in a bush are always a surprise.

Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer (Agatha Raisin #29) by M.C. Beaton

“And there were no bell ringers more dedicated than Mavis and Millicent Dupin. They dressed alike in twinsets:  baggy tweed skirts and brogues.”

Bell ringers, it would appear, are a strange breed. Given that they're dragging heavy ropes up and down in rhythmic patterns and enduring loud noises, I imagine things might get a little strange. The impending visit of the rather good looking new bishop's visit sets the bellringers in a frenzy and when one turns up dead, you just now our delightful detective will be back on the case.

The bishop himself has a back story - a former fiancee went missing - could he be the killer? An increasing body count will have Agatha and her friends busy detecting and this reader happily ensconced in the outcome.

5 out of 5 - ding dong.

Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree (Agatha Raisin #28) by M.C. Beaton

"To hell with both of them, she thought, as she settled down in front of the fire in her cottage with a large gin and tonic in one hand and a cigarette in the other."

A creepy start to this cosy cottage murder mystery when an old lady is found swinging from the 'witches tree'. Charles is his unreliable best in this one, where a coven plays a major role in the proceedings, mind you that won't stop hi from having a roll in the hay with the eponymous Agatha. Eerie as ever, the body count mounts and the intrigue builds and as always our favourite detective's life is endangered.

Agatha also brings her extensive public relations talents to bear to help Sir Charles with his financial woes. Perhaps this wasn't the best of the series, and yet it remains a delightful outing for this fan.

5 our of 5 scary witches might not be the worst problem.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

"The hook for me was that the case seemed solvable."

I'd first heard about this book quite some time ago due to the tragic tale of its author who died before publication and before her hunches could be vindicated. Imagine the mystery that haunted you for years not being solved in your lifetime. I heard a number of interviews with her husband, Patton Oswald which definitely persuaded me to buy a copy, for what better tribute to someone than to read about their obsession.

The obsessive nature of trying to unmask a serial killer and the kind of people that invest so much time in trying to find answers makes for a compelling read. The characters are not the victims or the perpetrator, they are the people whose obsessive optimism drives them to find answers, despite often putting themselves potentially in danger - either physically or mentally through the process.

Michelle McNamara leaves an unforgettable legacy of tenacity and observation and a thought provoking read that is often difficult, due to the content.

5 out of 5, a woman relentlessly pursuing a monster.

Dishing the Dirt (Agatha Raisin #26) by M.C. Beaton

"Mrs Bloxby walked to the window of the consulting room and peered through a gap in the curtains. She let out a startled gasp."

I was in dire need of a dose of Agatha Raisin and the 26th offering proved all too tempting. The arrival of a new therapist in town means there's new competition for James Lacey. This lady doesn't seem to play fair. She's also found out about Aggie's less than salubrious past. When she's found strangled however, our fearless detective becomes the prime suspect.
Time for the gang to kick into action, however misguided at times, to sniff out the murderer, all while delighting me with little town drama.

5 out of 5 - big fan of the village of Carsely.

Pushing up Daisies (Agatha Raisin #27) by M.C. Beaton

“That one that belonged to that murdered therapist. If you want a reasonably priced cottage in the Cotswolds, go for one that had a murdered body in it”

This year has seen me go for an absolute binge on Agatha Raisin stories. There's something so delightful about them. I'm constantly obsessed with the state of Agatha's love life, and also that of Toni's and in this outing, perhaps even some romantic overtures for the vicar's wife??

The much loved community allotment stands between the development plans of Lord Bellington and the desires of the local community. The fight for land is going to take on a body count and you know that means Ms Raisin will yet again be on the case.

The newly arrived, retired detective Gerald is providing some much needed romantic scandal and for a change this is not with Agatha. Toni and Simon are having romantic complications of their own. Oh yes, there is a lot going on and all of it delightful, well, except for the murders.

5 out of 5 - don't mess with my garden.

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

"I suppose its only natural you haven't heard of Adler."

Back in my naval gazing days, I downloaded this book to try and get a handle on my desire to please people and inability to say no for fear of offending people. Perhaps just recognising that fact was enough, because, frankly I didn't feel this book did much for me.
It's framed as a conversation between a scholar and philosopher and based on the teachings of German psychologist Alfred Adler.

Did I learn anything? I'm not sure I learnt anything I didn't know before and I found much within that conflicted. Ultimately this just confirmed my notion that self help books aren't really for me.


3 out of 5 navel gazers might find some fluff.

Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

"Here is a mostly complete inventory of the women that Toby had encountered romantically, both sexually and otherwise, since he first moved out of his marital home and into the Ninety-fourth Street apartment where he sat on a beanbag chair he'd bought for Solly and first understood his phone's new role in his life."

Taffy darling, I love your work unreservedly. This is such a great novel and well worth all the praised that has been heaped upon it.It has taken me an age to write this bloody review because life has been a little berserk. Work was crazy, relationships failed spectacularly,(well we all knew that was coming), the state was on fire and then the world turned toxic. Yep, crazy times all round.

What you have here though is a very interesting take on men and women and the minutiae of life. You know that thing we used to have when we could walk outside. A lot has been made of the male character being created by a female author and to that I say — its called fiction people — chill out.

Particularly impressive is the unvarnished ickiness of people and a fantastic observation of the tinder generation and the frenzy that the newly divorced or soon to be divorced can engage in before really understanding what they're getting into.

5 out of 5 - hit up your local bookstore that delivers.

Educated by Tara Westover

"After Dad took up preaching against milk, Grandma jammed her fridge full of it."

This is one of those books that seemed to be everywhere and I actively ignored....until now. I was wrong, I'd like to state that emphatically. It is hard to express how brilliantly written this is.

As a reader you are completely drawn into this rather foreign world, enough to understand the sense of contagion of ideas and confrontation in leaving a fundamentalist religion. As someone who puts an enormous store in education because I believe to question is my sense of the divine ( and I'm aware how hypocritical that sounds), this book is just so rewarding. To me it seems emblematic of the power of education to transform the world in which we all live and that is something amazing.

The writing is both emotive and compelling and I only wish I'd read this sooner.

5 out of 5 - don't take everything your parents tell you as 'gospel'.

The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es

"Lien can keep her own name and her surname, de Jong, but she must not say anything about Mamma or Papa or family."

Definitely a slow burner this 2018 winner of the Costa Book of the Year is an intriguing read. A young jewish girl in Holland in World War Two must live a double life fostered by other families, hiding the real story of her family to survive. The author's grandparents had taken her in at some point and then something had happened. Bart van Es sets out to discover what happened and it makes for a fascinating exploration of uncertain times.

While it took me a while to get into the rhythm of the story, the intriguing premise ultimately kicked in and had me furiously reading.

5 out of 5, separation from those we love is a burden for the ages.

Falling Man by Dom Delillo

"The noise was unbearable, alternating between the banging shattering sound and an electronic pulse of varied pitch."

I'm currently catching up on reviews of books that I've read this year. Reading about nine eleven around the turmoil of the bushfires was difficult. Writing about it mid Corona craziness seems even more difficult.

I get the feeling that the best antidote from a literary perspective is something far more escapist. That being said, there is something cathartic about this work and it is, of course, fantastically written.

This is an uncomfortable read that left me feeling that cold sensation that a horrific memory leaves behind. In these troubled times maybe it serves as a sign that tragedy and uncertainty can be overcome in time.

4 out of 5 - maybe leave this one for less troubled times.

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

"Mary had been free to examine the world as she saw it. Willa burrowed into that freedom as if reading a trashy romance, and it made her happy for hours at a stretch.If Willa was living in Mary's house —if that shelter had stood while the world fell apart and reassembled in its crazy ways—then her family could be sheltered there too."

I have been looking longingly at my 'to be read' pile for such a long time and this lovely Christmas gift from 2018 has been tempting me for a while now. My reticence to embark on a novel of over 400 pages during the working week has —for the most part— kept that desire at bay. Eventually though, it just seemed rude not to crack the spine and see what I'd been missing.

Reading this novel piecemeal had its own challenges. While there are two stories that shift in time between each chapter, linked in the main by the conceit that I've quoted above, 5 minute reading sessions were not the best way to take the story in. Occasionally I would forget where I was and I think this is a book suited to a period of uninterrupted enjoyment, such as a long flight or train trip.

The duelling narratives are equally compelling with the central notion of a house as shelter and the notion of Occam's razor drawing them together. The house, once home to Thatcher Greenwood, a science teacher trying to teach Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to his students in a town with only creationism on the menu. His friendship with a journalist and  Mary Treat, a scientist and real-life correspondent of Sir Charles Darwin, along with his passion for teaching scientific thought are the source of never-ending woes.

Willa's is a life full of tragedy and destruction. The suicide of her son's partner has left her guardian of a baby, her husband's father is dying, her children don't get along and post Hurricane Sandy, her house is falling down. Her attempts to secure funding for the house due to its potential historical significance link to the story of the house's former inhabitant. 

So much happens in both stories, that I found I had to re-read quite a bit after I'd finished the book. That unearthed some meaningful connections littered among the words. The way the two stories weave together cemented by Dunwiddie bricks is deftly handled and only becomes truly apparent upon close examination.

We live in turbulent times and this attempt to link the horrors of climate change into the story via Tig's approach to child rearing seems ominously en-pointe in a week where the threat of Corona Virus has people fighting over toilet paper.

5 out of 5 - one to ponder.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

"No, it was a very subtle something in her eyes, a shift invisible to the uninitiated, something between mockery and sudden earnest."

So this was the first book I read in 2020 and it proved an intriguing start to the year. It is dark and moody and at times perplexing - just the sort of thing that would keep any bookclub chatting.

I certainly wasn't expecting the violence inherent in the book but it makes for a high stakes scenario.

What Koch does capture rather brilliantly is sibling rivalry combined with the danger of a vast difference between rich and poor. 

Unfettered ex-pats can run rough shod over the local populace, but the question really becomes more about who should be afraid of whom?

At times melodramatic, this is nonetheless an interesting read that I would recommend. Just don't look to this for some light escapism, that is a dish this dinner doesn't serve.

4/5 - So glad I don't have kids to worry about.