Book #32 The Cabin

The Cabin by Jørn Lier Horst
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Cabin by Jørn Lier Horst, the second book in The Cold Case Quartet. I had previously read The Katharina Code, the first in the series, so had some idea what to expect. A lengthy, slow burner of Norwegian noir in which Chief Inspector William Wisting once again is called upon to investigate a cold case that goes back to 2003. It's been fifteen years since Simon Meier walked out of his house, never to be seen again. And just one day since politician Bernard Clausen was found dead at his cabin on the Norwegian coast. Is there a possible link here? Could both events be linked to a heist of foreign currency worth some 80 million kroner at today's values?

The story unfolds layer by layer as Wisting and his team, including his daughter Line, seek to unravel the complexities of these old events.

This is another superbly plotted tale with perfect characterisation and highly believable day-to-day details of police procedures.

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Book #31 Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A gentle, moving, whimsical tale by the author of The Guest Cat set in a café in Tokyo where coffee has been served for 100 years, from where folklore says it is possible to travel back in time. Those who wish to do so must sit in a particular chair and their time spent in the past is limited to the time taken to drink the cup of coffee in front of them before it gets cold. They can only meet customers who patronise the establishment and have to understand that, no matter what, their experience will not change the present.

Four visitors each take such a journey. Each story is touching and told with great empathy for the individual time traveller. To go back to a moment in the past and return in the short time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Do you see the person you want to, does anything change?

A clever tale told with charm and great skill.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #30 The Most Difficult Thing

The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So much hype surrounds The Most Difficult Thing not the least being that the author, Charlotte Philby, is the granddaughter of Kim Philby, Britain's most famous communist double-agent, the elusive 'third man' in the notorious Cambridge spy ring.

Overall, I found this a confusing read and it took me a good while to finish, which means that it did not really live up to expectations. I found nothing to like about the protagonist Anna Witherall, a magazine editor, married to her university boyfriend and socialite David - she has a beautiful home and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. David is heir to his father's multi-billion dollar business TradeSmart, an operation that deals with toxic waste amongst other things, illegally disposing of the deadly chemical compound mercaptan. The companies' activities are being investigated by MI6...

Anna is hiding a dark secret, or so we are led to believe. I never found out exactly what that was. She finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of secret intelligence, forced to question her family's safety and her own. Someone she thought she could trust is determined to make TradeSmart pay.

For me, confusion reigned because of the leapfrogging backwards and forwards across a three-year timeline. I didn't know what or who to believe. And the so-called devastating last sentence? Just left me bemused and relieved to have finished this 424 page "spy novel".

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Book #29 Aliens

Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? by Jim Al-Khalili
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ARE WE ALONE?

Do you ever stare up into the night sky and wonder? If we are alone, well, it's a helluva waste of space... But what is the likelihood of we earthlings ever finding extra-terrestrial intelligence? The SETI organisation continues to search with ever more sophisticated means.

In Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? nineteen contributors from the fields of astronomy and astrophysics give their opinions. Edited by Professor Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and host of BBC Radio Four's The Life Scientific.

One of the really forward thinking astronomers is Sara Seager. She reviews what will be possible with the new James Webb Space Telescope and updates Drake's famous equation to give us a way of calculating the likelihood of alien life using some of the most recent advances in our understanding.

Our Galaxy is teeming with planets and there is compelling evidence that all stars have planetary systems. As many as one in ten stars like our Sun could have an approximately Earth-sized planet in a favourable orbit such that, as heated by the star, the planet's surface is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for life.

We do not understand how life originated on Earth and, whilst there is still no evidence that alien life exists - equally there is no evidence that it doesn't....

So, if you have ever looked up into the starry sky and wondered - Aliens is the perfect book for you.

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Book #28 When All Is Said

When All is Said by Anne Griffin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did not want this to end. This heartwarming/heartbreaking story of 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. I saw so much of me in Maurice, or was that so much of Maurice in me. This is the debut novel of Anne Griffin - hard to believe - such perfect, polished prose - put me in mind of the writing of John Boyne, in a good way. So beautifully written that I found myself subconsciously reading the dialogue with an Irish accent.

Curmudgeonly, compassionate and engaging Maurice sits at the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town. He is alone, but perhaps not so, as Maurice is finally ready to tell his story. Over the course of the evening he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him (and here I have much empathy for anyone who appreciates the perfection of Midleton whiskey...). His story is full of unspoken joy and regret - a life so poignantly laid bare...

"I am here to remember - all that I have been and all that I will never be again..."

Maurice is a character who is trying to make amends and in so doing drew a silent sob from me and tear filled eyes, come the end.

When All Is Said is a remarkable book, a real page-turner and certainly one of my top reads of 2019.

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Book #27 Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THE GAME WAS ROUX'S IDEA.... this shotgun of a game. The latest tenant in the Airbnb house that was the bane of the cul-de-sac. A game that will ultimately shred the nerves as Amy's dark past is used to threaten her and her family. When it comes down to it Roux is a fearsome adversary who has done her homework on Amy. Amy who has inherited a substantial nest-egg. Roux wants it and will undermine Amy's resolve to get it. What the hell does she know that is so dreadful? Something that will shatter Amy's comfortable life with husband Davis, step-daughter Maddy and baby son Oliver. And interwoven into the plot a background of scuba diving that will come to the fore in this war of nerves. So many times I wanted to say to Amy "let Roux Publish and be damned!"

At every turn the tension is racked up. At every turn I thought there cannot be more and then, WHAM! Twists and turns galore. Nerve jarring, nail-biting tension. For a first novel Never Have I Ever is a peach. A slow starter that gathers roller-coaster pace and left me breathless come the final denouement ....

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Book #26 Miracle Creek

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has taken me two weeks to read Miracle Creek. So much hype, so many five star reviews. My interest level was piqued and yet I was mildly disappointed. As a debut novel Miracle Creek is very well written but I found it rather depressing. A Korean family - Pak, Young and daughter Mary - immigrants to Virginia, USA. Pak is a certified Hyperbaric Technician, starts a business with such a chamber used to help autistic patients and those with other diseases. It is a recognised therapy. An unusual plot line that results in catastrophic consequences:

"MY HUSBAND ASKED ME TO LIE. Not a big lie. He probably didn't even consider it a lie..."

An explosion, two patients dead and a family torn apart by conspiracy and deception. A lengthy courtroom drama ensues and this is the meat of the story. A gladiatorial contest between prosecution and defence. The mother of one of the dead on trial for murder. And that lie that ensnares so many, so much soul searching amongst mothers with children undergoing similar treatment.

It is not a happy read but it does have redemptive qualities. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read Miracle Creek quicker. Still worthy of four stars though.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for my ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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