Woah-oh, I’m halfway there!

I’m halfway to my Goodreads 2021 target of 100 books!

With 50 (mostly) great books under my belt, I thought it was time to take stock and pick my favourites so far.

These five in particular have helped light up my 2021…

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The best…historical murder mystery

I’ve said it before, but Bonnie MacBird’s Sherlock Holmes series is astonishing – the books read authentically but also give more depth and heart to the relationship between Holmes and Watson. They can be read in any order – I absolutely loved ‘Unquiet Spirits’.

I can also recommend all the other books in the series (I read all 4 this year) – my next favourite was ‘The Three Locks’. My review is here.

The best…non-fiction

‘Maiden Voyages’ by Sian Evans was my absolute favourite of my non-fiction reads so far this year. This is a brilliant and engaging look at some resourceful and independent women and the careers and lives they made for themselves on the transatlantic shipping route between the wars. Some worked on the great liners, others were passengers – but all are fascinating. My review is here.

Narrowing this to just one great non-fiction book was so tricky. I can also recommend ‘The Shadowy Third’ by Julia Parry, a lively look at a love triangle featuring writer Elizabeth Bowen (review here). ‘Jews Don’t Count’ by David Baddiel is also marvellous – a short but extremely persuasive look at why anti-Semitism is the prejudice that is normalised and ignored in society.

The best…retelling

I can whole-heartedly recommend ‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint, a lyrical and feminist retelling of the Greek myth. Ariadne is often recognised for being the character in mythology who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur in Crete; however, in Saint’s version, this is only the very start of her story. My review is here.

Also worth mentioning as it is utterly compelling is ‘The Shadow in the Glass’ by JJA Harwood, a Cinderella story set in dark and Gothic Victorian London. Creepy and atmospheric. Review here.

The best…poetry book

‘Dearly’ by Margaret Atwood is well worth a read – it is everything you expect from the writer of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Feminist, intelligent and packed with dry wit with reflections on ageing, loss and grief. My review is here.

The best…for DIY detection

‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett presents the reader with a series of emails, text messages and transcripts of conversations between a group of people engaged in a small amateur dramatics group. The reader (along with two trainee lawyers also reading the case notes) are left to piece together what happened and who is ultimately responsible for the crime(s) that occur. This book is a lot of fun and something really different – my review is here.

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I hope you’ve had a great start to your reading year – do let me know if you’ve found any absolute gems I need to read!