Read: Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen ★★★★☆ 📚
Majella is autistic but might not know it. Her mum is a hopeless alcoholic, her dad one of Northern Ireland’s disappeared. Her uncle had blown himself up & her grannie has just been murdered. Her house mostly filthy, her town pretty horrible too. This account of her likes & dislikes over a few days felt quite unpleasant to start with but grew on me. Not a lot of plot, but Majella is a fascinating & engaging character.
Tag: ★★★★
Read: The Drowning Pool by Ross MacDonald ★★★★☆ 📚
There the kelp-beds stopped me, a tangled barrier of brown and yellow tubes and bulbs floating low in the water. I hated the touch of underwater life.
The best Chandler substitute I’ve found.
Read: The Slain Birds by Michael Longley ★★★★ 📚
The ravens in conversation overhead might be
Discussing us or that sheep dead in a hollow
With its yellow ear-tag and delicate black feet.
Read: To the Dogs by Louise Welsh ★★★★☆ 📚
Glasgow crime, university prof, nearly brought low by his criminal son & family history. Twists, turns & some familiar locations.
Read: Bad Actors by Mick Herron ★★★★☆ 📚
Plenty of fun poked at our political leaders. Usual spy fun & shenanigans.
Read: Slough House by Mick Herron ★★★★☆ 📚
Best one in the last few I’ve read. Although the back & forth between different fields of action at a cliff hanger is predictably it works. Politically incorrect attitudes from Jackson still funny. More emotion & connection to the characters.
Read: The Vagrants by Yiyun Li ★★★★☆ delicately written, horrifying account of lives in post Mao (just) China. There are very few moments of hope but my sympathy for the characters ran deep.
Read: Joe Country by Mick Herron ★★★★☆ 📚
Still amusing and engaging, but maybe lacking the surprise of earlier ones in the series.
Read: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver ★★★★☆ 📚
Maybe too many important issues for the one book & some “too good to be true” characters but I was thoroughly engaged.
Read: Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson ★★★★☆ 📚
Lots of fun, I chuckled my way through. Somewhat confused by the time travel, alternative paths and possible hallucinations. Isobel is 16 in the 60s. Her mum and dad disappear mysteriously. All the characters are strange.