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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