26th October 2025

Another adventure for the Peculiar Crimes Unit sees them called in to investigate a murder in a London park. Elements of this one are a bit brutal, and it feels generally darker than the comic tone aligns comfortably with.

There's also a lot of the usual stuff going on in the background, but none of it feels particularly new - it's almost as if the book has become a cliche of its own series. The characters that bicker keep bickering, the characters who add comedy add comedy. The only nuance is in one pairing who feel like they are in a period of change.

The fact that I've had to pause while writing this to remember the actual outcome of the case says something about how memorable that aspect of the conclusion actually is.

I’m beginning to wonder whether I’m reading these novels still because of the sunk cost I've invested into them over the years, or whether I'm actually still enjoying them. Certainly they're not the top of my recent enjoyment list.

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19th October 2025

An absolutely amazing sequel that takes the character from the first book and puts her into a new situation, shining a light back on the real world, while exploring new cultures.

Some of the detail of the first novel escapes my memory now, but that didn't matter at all, as only the broad brushstrokes really mattered to setting up this second story.

This is a tale of someone seeking redemption, trying to put the world to rights, and trying to protect their loved ones. I really loved being with this character again, and seeing them in this new situation.

The world-building is amazing - there's so much going on, across multiple situations, and having that all come together and serve the story is very impressive.

I absolutely loved revisiting this world, and am looking forward to reading the third book (and I've recently learned there are more stories in this universe as well!)

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19th October 2025

Susan Ryland's third adventure sees her back in the UK, and hired to edit a 'continuation' novel that turns out to have all the same issues as the originals, including murder.

I got through the book slower than I expected, but it's a hefty paperback and I wasn't in my usual location, so that probably had more of an impact that the text itself.

There's some great jokes at the author's expense, but mostly it's just more of the same - another cleverly structured tale of book within book, with more trauma and tragedy.

I enjoyed finding out what had happened again - but I understand this is the last book in the series, and I think it works well as an ending. It's a clever structure, but probably not one that stands up to too many returns, and probably is quite hard to make work.

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19th October 2025

An enjoyable return to the Thursday Murder Club, as they investigate the disappearance of Joyce's daughter's groom's best man.

Somehow Osman combines increasingly complex plots with a narrative that makes suspension of disbelief effortless, and so it's utterly convincing that these characters could find themselves in these situations.

There are some aspects that felt quite dark, but in other ways also very revealling about the characters, their relationships, and in particular the way they want to help and protect their respective younger generations.

My only issue was that the cast has expanded so much over the course of the novels (often the way) that I find it hard to remember who everyone is and how they ended up involved.

A great outing that I enjoyed racing through.

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27th September 2025

This first book in this cosy fantasy series introduces us to a rebellious young couple fed up of their typical fantasy setting lives and on a mission to set up a tea-and-bookshop.

It's all very nice, quite episodic, alternating viewpoint between the two main characters chapter by chapter, even in places where that felt a bit odd, like we were seeing things from the wrong perspective.

I found it a bit slow, but that's obviously by design. But also a bit patchy - there's not really a strong narrative, it's much more about the atmosphere and the relationships.

I just didn't quite get into it as much as I felt I wanted to, and so while it was good enough, I don't think I feel strongly enough that I want to read the sequels.

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20th September 2025

This is the really delightful story of a young newly married couple and the house they've just bought... and everything that comes with it. It's a fabulous story about found family, and life in the Twenty-First Century.

It does deserve a bit of a content warning because there are a few traumatic scenes where the characters have to interact with the less tolerant, and these are definitely less comfortable reading and might be more so for people who have experienced such situations.

But overall it's not only cosy and heartwarming but utterly hilarious from the start. There are jokes and comedic moments that had me properly laughing out loud.

I can only dream of the possibility of a sequel.

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14th September 2025

I was super prepped to really love this book, which ultimately meant I was disapointed when I realiased halfway through that I wasn't enjoying myself any where near as much as I had wanted.

This is the story of Alice, a Cambridge graduate student of magic. After having a very normal / entirely terrible time, she opts to go to hell to retreive the soul of her professor.

From here the story progresses slowly through various aspects of hell from a wide range of cultures. Which could be fascinating, except for the academic nature of the storytelling, which made me feel like it was being pretentious and condescending, and made me feel stupid for not having any of the knowledge that Alice seemed to have at her fingertips. I can't tell whether I'm meant to feel this way, or if I'm meant to reflect on the character because she is making me feel this way, or if this is just my own approach to learning not being met.

I found it slow and hard going. I felt like I was fighting through the narrative to find the story, and am still not sure whether this is satire or a damning exposé of the academic life. I can't tell who I'm meant to like, hate, or feel neutral towards (with some exception on the hate side). And I don't think I could really empathise with the main character. Obviously other readers' experiences will vary.

So for me this was a miss, but I can't expect everything that Kuang writes to be for me, and given I've enjoyed her previous works, I'll continue to look forward to what comes next.

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