19th April 2026

I picked this up having read and enjoyed Hays' previous novel, although with a little trepidation as it's not my usual choice of genre.

I was absolutely hooked and raced through it over the course of a weekend (aided by two long train journeys). The story is gripping, the characters compelling, and the mystery itching to be solved.

Some of the twists I saw coming, but many of them were surprises.

That said, it probably is darker than what I'd normally choose to read and I'm definitely on the lookout now for something different to distract me instead.

While I've given it the full five stars, I'm not sure that means I'll keep reading more by Hays - I'm happier in a lighter world of fiction.

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19th April 2026

Ex-Nun Nora Breen heads to the coast to follow up on her dream of being a detective when her friend seemingly disappears.

I enjoyed this mnystery - it makes a good use of the period and setting, and introduces a rich variety of characters and scenarios to explore. The main character is particularly compelling and we're drip fed her background and motivation throughout.

It is however quite dark in places, and I think I was expecting something a little lighter.

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18th April 2026

This collection of Brandon Sanderson's non-cosmere shorter works spans a variety of stories of a wild variety of lengths, some of which I've read before. There's some good stuff, but reading it all back to back got a bit much.

So hard to summarise, but here goes - one statement per story.

Knowing what's coming makes it much sadder. Non-typical interesting little story that makes you think. Cute and clever. Moderately horrible and unusually violent. A hard-to-like character in layers of world building. Surprisingly short yet actually quite interesting. Rough at first then came together. Starts slowly but ends excitingly. Short and weird as a standalone. Not as engaging as I'd have liked.

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29th March 2026

I enjoyed Curtis' previous two books so picked this up without really thinking about it. It feels quite different - being a fantasy story rather than science fiction, and I don't think I enjoyed it as much (although given I do read a lot of fantasy, I'm not sure the genre can really be credited with that).

It's the story of two young women from very different backgrounds, both coincidentally on a similar quest, though for very different reasons.

I read a lot of the book in one go on a flight, and this felt a good way to tackle it. I think my experience suffered from more fragmented reading once back home and that made it feel slower paced.

I can see that Curtis' next book is a sort-of sequel, and I'm not sure if I'll read that, or wait and see if she returns to science fiction.

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29th March 2026

The Rector is back, and there's a period drama being shot on location at the manor house, with many of the familiar locals helping out with the crew or as supporting artists. And of course, because this is a murder mystery, there's a murder.

It's a nice twist on the series, bringing some fresh faces into the location while also making the most of the regulars. The ongoing story feels comfortable and develops, and the new story provides a good mystery.

That said, the timeline seems to flow weirdly. Most of the book takes place on a single day, but then at the end we seem to skip through several days quite rapidly and if anything the end feels rushed, despite me taking longer to read it.

A nice entertaining read though and a series that I hope to keep coming back to.

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7th March 2026

The third book in Rob Rinder's series about the fictional junior barrister Adam Green sees him assigned a variety of cases, including a protestor who is accused of murder, and a soldier who is accused of a different murder.

I continue to enjoy the narratives, including the character's relationship with his mother, and with his female colleague whose interest in him he seems entirely unaware of, which adds much needed comedy to offset the potentially quite bleak aspects of the plot.

In this book, I'm not sure I understand how the various aspects of the plot are meant to gel together - it felt like two separate stories happening in parallel, almost as if neither idea really worked as a whole novel... but I was expecting some sort of overlap or thematic reflection between the two that never really transpired.

I'm not sure how I feel now about continuing with the fourth book - it might be that the enjoyment level isn't quite high enough.

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28th February 2026

A good fourth book in the series, introducing a new character and with an exciting adventure for the main character in the mix as well.

It gets pretty dark for what's nominally a book for younger readers, but doesn't tend to focus too much on that aspect as the immediate impact on the characters themselves is the focus.

I didn't feel massively inspired though to return to read the final book in the series any time soon. I think this book was about the right length and the thought of one twice as long isn't super appealling.

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