I’ve followed this series since the beginning and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books – this is the fifth. I was delighted to be granted a review copy by NetGalley and couldn’t wait to read about DI James Walker’s latest terrible Christmas.
Because DI James Walker always has a horrific festive season! All the books take place over the Christmas/New Year period and it seems the only time of year that serial killers appear in (usually sleepy, small-town) Cumbria.
This latest book takes place in DI Walker’s home village, making him the first on the scene as the snow starts to pile up. The deceased – dressed as Santa Claus – is someone he knows and someone who oddly hasn’t been reported as missing, even though he’s been in the snow a while. When another body is found, Walker and his team have to face up to the fact that there is another killer loose in Cumbria – and the villagers aren’t at all happy with the fact. Walker needs to keep his neighbours happy while finding the killer among them…
This series is always entertaining and engaging – there’s always lots of twists but also really solid police procedural elements that keep the story moving forward. I did guess the killer slightly ahead of DI Walker, but I’m quite a seasoned armchair detective these days! I liked the village setting as it put the crime scene/possible suspects/police team all in close proximity – something that made the setting quite claustrophobic as the snow fell and the village was isolated from the outside world.
If you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, there’s lots to like here – I think this was one of my favourites. If you haven’t discovered DI Walker, these are perfect winter reads and you’ve got 5 to enjoy!
A huge thanks to Random Things Tours and Murdoch Books for inviting me onto the blog tour for this funny, engaging and enlightening little gem!
As always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
You’re on date #17 since your last relationship ended in flames and within a minute of meeting Tom at a bar you realise you’ve made a huge mistake. You head to the bathroom to text your friend and complain about how your date says ‘aaaahh!’ after every sip of beer, seems to style himself after Boris Johnson and definitely sniffed your hair. Ten seconds later, you realise you accidentally texted Tom instead. You sit frozen on the loo, wondering if there’s a back exit or if you should fake your own death instead of facing the music. You wonder how you ended up here again, locked in a small room, hiding from a man.
Whether it’s dating someone wearing horns and a kaftan, a relationship where blobs of toothpaste are left smeared in the bathroom sink, or being dumped via text with just one word – enough! – the philosophy of the Stoics can help us all navigate the life cycles of love. Across more than 40 rules, from dating tips like Do your due diligence to relationship advice like Don’t tell your partner to calm down to break-up wisdoms like Resist putting your foot in your mouth, Annie Lawson applies ancient wisdom to the modern world of being in love, out of love, lovesick, love-bombed or just love-tired. She reminds us that life is all about change and to keep our focus on the things we can control – like our thoughts and actions – and to let go of the things we can’t, like finding a date’s living room is a shrine to Manchester United. Love and its rocky pursuit often sucks but fortunately, not always, and Stoic in Love helps us realise that we can all use a little help in getting together and staying together. Or getting the hell out of there.
My Review:
I just really loved the sound of this one – funny, relatable commentary on relationships peppered with sage advice from the ancient Stoics. I can’t admit to being an expert on either relationships or the Stoics, so I thought I’d give it a go!
The first thing that really stood out to me was the quality of the illustrations. Most of the chapters have a full page illustration at the start and they’re really well done and cute – the elephant in the room was my favourite. Each chapter ends with a quotation from one of the Stoics accompanied by a picture, so I got very used to my friends Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus turning up with their words of wisdom.
The book is split into 3 sections, covering Dating, Relationships and Breaking Up. In each section, there are a number of short chapters (there are 45 ‘Rules’ covered in total) and each one follows the same formula – a contextualising/explanation of the rule, then the advice from the Stoics and – finally – the ‘Final Word’ from one of the key philosophers. I enjoyed this format as it was so easy to dip in and out of, plus equally quite addictive once you start reading – I didn’t think this would be a book to read from cover to cover, but I ended up doing just that.
Yeah, the Stoics’ advice mapped onto modern relationships is cleverly done and interesting, but the real joy is in Lawson’s writing. She’s hilarious and packs each chapter with anecdotes, case studies, references to popular culture, research and jokes. Although it tackles some tricky topics – the ‘Break Up’ section in particular – it’s all approached with humour and makes everything seem relatable and manageable.
There’s some really good advice too – some of it is obvious stuff (e.g. ‘Avoid red flags’, ‘Avoid the wrong person’), but there’s some really sensible tips too. I liked ‘Remember that you can be happy or you can be right’ and ‘Remember it’s not you, it’s them (actually, it’s probably you)’ – both made me laugh a lot, but also the Stoic advice about taking responsibility for your own actions and the things you can control were food for thought too.
I’d recommend this if you’re after a fun, entertaining read – there’s also the added bonus that you’ll pick up some advice from the ancients that will be useful in more than love. Read and enjoy – and perhaps become a tiny bit wiser!
About the Author:
Annie Lawson is a former journalist who has had a diverse love life, from a first pash as a teenager with braces to several boyfriends including one who alphabetised cereal packets, and finally to marriage, which ended. This all taught her that the key to a good relationship is not only lots of storage, regular holidays at a nice resort and someone who is funny, but finding a partner to do nothing with. She now works on the dark side of the corporate world and is a devoted student of the Stoics, taking every opportunity to apply their wisdom to life’s hard things – from the workplace to matters of the heart.
Happy publication day to ‘The Christmas Appeal’ – 26th October, 2023.
I absolutely loved Janice Hallett’s ‘The Appeal’ so it was a joy to be given access to ‘The Christmas Appeal’ – a chance to rejoin the Fairway Players as they grapple with a pantomime, plus an unexpected dead body!
Happy publication day to ‘The Safe House’ – 14th September, 2023.
I enjoyed Cameron Ward’s first book, ‘A Stranger on Board’ so was delighted to receive an early copy of ‘The Safe House’ for review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy – opinions are, as always, entirely my own.
This book follows Jess, a Metropolitan Police employee who – for her own reasons – wants to get away. The ideal solution presents itself (*alarm bells*) when Jess’ friend discovers a remote luxury house in the Australian Outback is in need of a house-sitter. It seems to offer the peace and respite that Jess needs – but she hasn’t considered the wild fires ravaging the local area or the mysterious visitors that appear. As the fire gets closer, Jess finds herself in danger – but is the real peril inside or outside the house?
This is the third in the series to feature DI Grace Archer, following on from the brilliant ‘The Art of Death’ and ‘See No Evil’. I’ve followed this series – breathlessly, sometimes peeking through my fingers, with a pounding heart – from the beginning. This third instalment is another terrifying, gruesome and twisty tale.
Thanks to Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for my place on the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are my own.
I’m delighted to join the blog tour for this new travel thriller!
Thanks to Random Things tours for my place on the tour and copy of the book for review. Opinions are always my own.
From the Publisher:
Set in the seedy world of Thailand’s infamous party islands. A place where backpackers go to find themselves – or get lost forever. When a young woman turns up dead during a scuba diving lesson, the morning after a full moon party, the diving instructor and her group of ex-pat friends realise they aren’t the only people who have fallen in love with paradise. A killer has too.
Escape to paradise. Scuba diving instructor Cass leads her students out for their first dive off the beautiful coast of Koh Sang, Thailand’s world-famous party island. It’s supposed to be a life-changing experience, but things quickly spiral out of control…
Leave your secrets behind. By the time she gets back to the shore, one of her students is dead, another badly injured, and she knows that her idyllic life is about to be smashed to pieces on the rocks.
But don’t get lost for ever… Someone has discovered Cass’s secret, and on an island as remote as this, accidents happen. Plenty of backpackers choose to stay here for ever – but some are never heard from again…
I’d read and enjoyed ‘The Tattoo Thief’ by Alison Belsham so I came to this book with high expectations. I didn’t realise that this book was a sequel or that I’d actually missed the second book in the series- but all was fine. It helped that I had a vague sense of the relationships between the main characters, but I don’t think it was essential.
I’ve followed the DI Nikki Parekh series from the start and was delighted to be invited onto this blog tour – thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and for providing the book.
Opinions are entirely my own.
About the Book:
Four dead bodies. One missing person. Let the game begin.
When an anonymous tip-off leads Detective Nikki Parekh and DS Sajid Malik to the sprawling Salinger estate, Nikki’s senses are on high alert. The brutal murder of all four members of the Salinger family has shocked the sleepy Bradford village to the core.
A mother, father, daughter, and son. . . all killed in exactly the same way – whilst sat around the coffee table, playing a game of monopoly.
But Nikki notices that there are five pieces on the board. One of the players is missing… Did they manage to escape the killer, or was the killer part of the game?
‘The Echo Man’ – the first book by Sam Holland – was one of the books I absolutely couldn’t put down in 2022, so I was delighted to be granted a copy of this latest book by NetGalley. As always, opinions are my own.
This story opens with an intriguing crime scene – a body is discovered on waste land with a spray-painted number next to the corpse. When more bodies and numbers appear, DCI Adam Bishop realises that this is only part of a much bigger – and much more horrifying – picture. When Dr Romilly Cole turns up in his office with evidence that links the latest crimes to previous murders, Adam is reluctant to believe her for multiple reasons. However, the numbered corpses keep turning up, leaving both Adam and Romilly facing up to their pasts while trying to change the future. Can the countdown be stopped before the killer hits the magic twenty?
Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
The Sunday Times bestseller from Booker winner Julian Barnes, this is a thrillingly original novel about truth, history and thinking for ourselves.
The Sunday Times Bestseller from the Winner of the Booker Prize.
She will change the way you see the world . . .
‘I’ll remember Elizabeth Finch when most other characters I’ve met this year have faded’
The Times
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration. Neil is just one of many who fell under her spell during his time in her class.
Tasked with unpacking her notebooks after her death, Neil encounters once again Elizabeth’s astonishing ideas on the past and on how to make sense of the present. But Elizabeth was much more than a scholar. Her secrets are waiting to be revealed . . . and will change Neil’s view of the world forever.
‘Enthralling . . . A connoisseur and master of irony himself, [Barnes] fills this book with instances of its exhilarating power’
Sunday Times
‘A lyrical, thoughtful and intriguing exploration of love, grief and the collective myths of history’
Booklist
‘A new novel from Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes is always a literary event, and Elizabeth Finch…is not different. Wistful, thought-provoking stuff.’
Sunday Telegraph
My Review:
Reading Julian Barnes is always a bittersweet experience for me; I was introduced to him the sublime A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters as a teenager by my step-father who is sadly no longer with us. Every new Barnes book is a joy, but one that I won’t get to share with him.
This book is narrated by Neil, a mature student who befriended his university lecturer, Elizabeth Finch. Their relationship became one of letters and occasional lunches before Elizabeth died and Neil is left her papers. As he considers the idea of writing a biography of her, he trawls the notebooks and the memories of those she left behind.
As with all Barnes’ books, it is packed with ideas and philosophical considerations. Elizabeth Finch was a scholar in many ways, but also an original thinker and someone with secrets; one of the things that Neil grapples with in the novel is how much someone can ever be truly known. This is explored further in the middle section of the book, Neil’s extended essay on Julian the Apostate, in which he considers who writes history and how it is revised over the ages.
I absolutely adored the sections that were so very Barnes – Neil’s confessions and ruminations (in a novel where not much actually happens – not that this is a problem!) put Barnes’ fans on familiar ground. Neil is thoughtful, aware of his own shortcomings, slightly awkward in his relationships with others, perhaps obsessive – an echo of other Barnes characters who have gone before. If you enjoy this style of thought-over-action novel (and I do), there’s much to like.
The character of Elizabeth Finch is also fascinating. She is only seen through the lens of Neil’s memories (and those of his fellow students who he speaks to about her or who feature in the memories). It’s clear she is a divisive figure – loved by some (including Neil) and not by others who cannot see her appeal. How true this is of a lot of us! Personally, I liked this independent, feisty and opinionated woman – the snippets of the contents of her notebooks (as included in the narrative by Neil) were intriguing and interesting. I felt like I should be highlighting and making notes, just as if I was in one of her classes!
The middle section of the book is a long essay, purportedly written by Neil in response to an interpretation of Elizabeth Finch’s notebooks. While interesting in a lot of ways – and absolutely fitting for Neil’s character – it didn’t engage me in the same way that the Neil/Elizabeth sections did. Stripped of the quirks of Neil’s narrative and the often-surprising tales of Elizabeth Finch’s life, this section reads like an academic biography. It fits with the novel, yes, and I understand the reasons for its inclusion, but I would have preferred more Elizabeth!
Overall, if you were a Barnes fan before, you still will be after reading Elizabeth Finch. Elizabeth herself is a character who will stay with you – and you’ll know way more about Julian the Apostate than you probably ever thought you’d need! If you’re new to Barnes’ writing, dive in – much like the views of Elizabeth in her students’ eyes, you’ll probably be captivated…and if not, I think philosophical and clear-sighted Elizabeth would recognise that you can’t win them all! Either way, this book will present interesting ideas that you’ll come back to even once you’ve put the book down.
About the Author:
Julian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d’honneur.
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