8th November 2025

A super compelling sequel that I dived straight into and raced through - a refreshing change after the slow pace of what I was reading before.

We find ourselves back in Castle Knoll some time after the first novel ended, and learn that there's more to know - more prophecies to follow, more diaries to read, and more historical intrigue to uncover.

I find it hard to put my finger on what actually made this feel so compelling. It may have just been the distinct difference from the other book I had been reading, and that enabled me to rediscover something joyful and really appreciated.

I did feel like I maybe needed a bit of a refresher on the first book before getting caught up again - there are a lot of characters and they relate in different ways. I'm not entirely sure as a result whether the continuity is spot on, but that doesn't really matter.

An enjoyable mystery, although perhaps the first half stronger than the second. I'll be back for book three.

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8th November 2025

As much as I wanted to read this, I really struggled to get into it.

The opening chapter does little to help, seeming to throw the reader into random narrative that makes no sense, with characters that aren't named, in a situation we don't understand, and high stakes we don't care about.

It does then pick up, and become slightly more compelling, with characters that are a little interesting, and a developing story and backstory.

But the chapters are slow, disconnected, and never really allowed me to get into a rhythm with my reading. It's written in a very stop/start style, and the text is small and dense, requiring high levels of attention to detail. This makes to effortful and stressful reading, and means I take the easy exit from reading as soon as I'm able.

After crawling through 150 pages over the course of nearly two weeks, I gave up and read something that flowed much more easily, getting just as far in a single day.

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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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