6th June 2026

An excellent second mystery for the early 20th century barrister and his police constable friend.

I was a bit dubious whether my interest in this series would survive a second book, and early on I didn't think it was going to, but as the story progressed it became more and more gripping and I found myself racing through to the end.

There are some elements of the plot that are quite uncomfortable from a 2020s point of view, particularly issues which are seem in almost entirely the opposite light now, 125 years after the novel is set. This adds a surprising sense of historical realism.

I'm left in two minds over whether or not I'll pick up the third book when it comes out.

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30th May 2026

Bob's back with a standalone third novel, where we meet recently-redundant bathroom-furniture salesman Matt as he gets drawn into a series of complex situations.

In style and tone, it's remarkably similar to Mortimer's previous novels. It almost feels in places like it wants to be a sequel about the same character, but the plot didn't work, so he's been recast. It's very much more of the same in a new setting.

I love how utterly random it can be, while still maintaining a totally plausible plotline throughout and all the pieces coming together in the end. It's artfully constructed to tell the story in a fantastic way.

I've really enjoyed another story from Bob Mortimer - it's like the ones he tells on TV but that just keeps going.

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30th May 2026

The double-Os are back for the third entry in Kim Sherwood's trilogy, and there's so much going on it's hard to know where to start.

It's an intricate plot weaving together threads of many characters. There's a lot of reliance I found on remembering what happened in the first two books, and that is not always my strong suit, so in places I was stumbling a bit. Once that's past though it's a fast paced novel that feels very movie-like as well as being traditional Bond style.

There's so many references to pick up on, and as a long-time fan it is a bit weird in places seeing a Bond novel that's updated to be set now but still making references to things from the original novels and films, with everything having been time shifted in his backstory. And yet that still makes it a lot of fun.

I've really enjoyed this trilogy, and am a bit sad that we probably won't see most of these characters again. But James Bond, of course, will return.

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23rd May 2026

A new Janice Hallett novel is always a delight. Once against presented in 'found footage' form, we read the text messages and emails between a group of publicans and pub quiz regulars as their habits are threatened by suspected quiz cheats. And of course a suspicious death.

I love these books, and find them so incredibly readable. I made it through this one in just three days (aided by long train journeys) as it's so compelling and flows so easily.

The plot is enrapturing, particularly as a pub-quiz-goer myself and recognising many of the tropes presented. But there's so much to notice and so much to learn about the characters and their relationships.

I've read enough of these now to start to spot some of the clues as they are revealled, but I never guessed where the overall story was going to go.

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23rd May 2026

In this new Star Trek Picard novel, set somewhere between the many epilogues to the series, we get to visit Seven, Raffi, Crusher, Guinan, and Picard and a host of other familiar characters as they're drawn into a mysterious plot to change time.

It's a fun trip around the Next Gen era as the time travel plot device gets used to revisit some big moments from the canon and see them from new perspectives, all while taking part in a thiller-style investigation, and learn more about some of the occasional guest aliens.

It feels nicely episodic, which fits the feel of Picard season 3 - small chunks that make up a big story - and that means it moves at a decent pace throughout as we flow through each.

I did feel like the climax suffered a little though - perhaps my reading pace picked up toward the end - and this felt a little bit flat to me.

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17th May 2026

The Dahlia's return for a mystery in London's West End - two as the stars of neighbouring plays and the third as a national treasure who uses her status to her advantage repeatedly in this setting.

As always, it's a fun outing, with a novel setting for the now-familiar characters, continuing to explore their backgrounds, their relationships, and their crime-solving abilities. I like how we can see them developing as well as dealing with what the plot throws at them - it feels like real people rather than perfect heroes.

I'm impressed by how freqently these books appear, and really happy that we have such a reliable series to read.

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9th May 2026

The eighth book, on second reading 16 years later, has the feeling of being about moving the chesspieces around the board to get them ready for the next bit of exciting play.

Structurally, we spend a chunk of chapters with each grouping of characters, rather than their stories being interspersed throughout. This provides good focus in a long tale and probably reduces confusion, but does mean if you're trapped as a reader in a part you enjoy less, you might struggle to get to the bit you really want.

On my previous reading I commented on barely believable coincidences, but I think that's not so troublesome this time round - one of the well-established concepts by this point of the story is that the trio of Rand, Perrin, and Mat have a magic to them which causes coincidences. On reflection, that's quite a genius bit of worldbuilding from Jordan to have right from the start and run through the series to justify all sorts of things.

It's not the greatest story as a standalone book, and from memory marks the point where the books became more functional and formulaic. That said there's some bits I strongly remember that still haven't arrived and are only being hinted at, so I'm keen to see them arrive in the next couple of books.

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