There were 22 highly recommended fiction delights

  • The Long Drop – Denise Mina [Based on true events in 1950’s Glasgow, a sometimes confusing and very grim tale of gangsters and serial killings]
  • Natural Flights of the Human Mind – Clare Morrall [A second(!) re-read. Centred on a lighthouse, this is a wonderful tale of grief]
  • Idaho – Emily Ruskovich [A re-read from the shelves. Superb tale of family and tragedy set in rural America]
  • My Policeman – Bethan Roberts [Fabulous love story set in 1950’s Brighton. A re-read from the shelves]
  • The Child Finder – Rene Denfeld [A young woman deals with her past by trying to find missing children. A terrific read]
  • Under Your Skin – Sabine Durrant [Female TV presenter discovers a woman’s body whilst out on a run. Terrific. A re-read from the shelves]
  • Disclaimer – Renee Knight [A re-read – same opinion. Terrific psychological thriller centred around a family secret]
  • My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent [A re-read from the shelves. A monster of a father and his unfortunate daughter. What a tale!]
  • The 500 – Matthew Quirk [Page-turning political/business tale of corruption becomes a bonkers thriller. Exciting stuff]
  • Appointment With Yesterday – Celia Fremlin [A feeble wife fights to survive with a new identity. A wonderful read from the wonderful CF]
  • Seven Lean Years - Celia Fremlin [Families, sisters, a drawn-out wedding engagement and a tense, fabulous ending]
  • The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit – Sloan Wilson [A young family man in 1950s America navigates business and life. A fabulous read]
  • Cubicles – Camika Spencer [The lives of three black women working in a call-centre. Office politics and relationships. Superb]
  • Castle Of Water – Dane Huckelbridge [Washed up on a tiny, remote island, a man and a woman endeavour to survive. A fabulous read, I read it in a day.  ]
  • Divorcing Jack – Colin Bateman [Belfast journalist falls out with his wife and runs into trouble with terrorists and criminals. Terrific thriller]
  • A Rather English Marriage – Angela Lambert [Two elderly widowers cope with loneliness. Wonderful. Another fabulous AL tale.]
  • A Thread of Violence – Mark O’Connell [Superb study of an Irish toff who, when his money ran out, murdered two people]
  • Roman Stories – Jhumpa Lahiri [Fabulous short stories about the lives of inhabitants of Rome]
  • A Whole Life – Robert Seethaler [The life story of a man in the mountains. A short, wonderful novel. One to be re-read]
  • The Catch – Mick Herron [Comical, spy novella. A most enjoyable short read]
  • Adventures in Modern Marriage – William Nicholson [Three marriages – a charming, interesting read. I liked it a lot]
  • The Intrusions – Stav Sherez [Terrific tech-themed, serial killer crime novel]

and 14 highly recommended non-fiction delights

  • Somewhere Towards the End – Diana Athill [A retired editor in her 90s writes of her life and becoming and being old. Terrific]
  • The Work I Did – Pomsel & Hansen [“A memoir of the secretary to Goebbels” + how it relates to today’s extremists and demagogues. Fascinating]
  • The Secret Life Of John Le Carré – Adam Sisman [Fascinating look at Le Carré’s many extra-marital affairs and how they may have influenced his novels]
  • Too Much Information – Dave Gorman [Many laugh out loud moments in these mainly internet, pet peeves]
  • Going Infinite – Michael Lewis [The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Difficult, yet absorbing]
  • Freezing Order – Bill Browder [An astonishing exposé of Putin’s money laundering and killings. I read it in a day]
  • Politics On the Edge – Rory Stewart [One of the few, very-likeable Conservative politicians, writes of his time as an MP. Brilliant]
  • Will You Read This, Please? – Joanna Cannon(Ed) [Superb collection of experiences of real people with a mental illness]
  • How They Broke Britain – James O’Brien [9 horrible Tories (plus Corbyn and Farage) are scathingly skewered]
  • How Westminster Works (and Why it Doesn’t) – Ian Dunt [Brilliant analysis of our dreadful parliamentary democracy]
  • Hillbilly Elegy – JD Vance [Wonderful memoir of the family of a Kentucky hillbilly]
  • 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrow – Ai Weiwei [The artist’s terrifically interesting memoir of his and his father’s life]
  • Built on a Lie – Owen Walker [“The Rise and Fall of Neil Woodford”. A fascinating look at the investment business. One to be re-read]
  • The Last Man in Russia – Oliver Bullough [Author travels through Russia in the footsteps of a dissident priest]

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