Books: Thursday murder club (R Osman)

@ViewAhead, I’ve just finished The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction. Thank you so much for the recommendation, I really enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be some others by Robert Goddard on BorrowBox. I must see what’s next on my list to read.

 

I’ve also read The Space between Us, by Doug Johnstone, not quite what I was expecting, wonder if it was aimed at young adults / teens, but again I enjoyed.

 

Now reading Blue-eyed Boy by Joanne Harris but not enjoying it as much as the first one. Might ditch it and try something else. Im enjoying trying some new authors

 

Oh, I am so pleased. He is such a great writer. The books always zip along with no boring patches. I think he is very underrated.

I have finished Richard Osman's latest, We Solve Murders. The storyline got a bit lost in the humorous banter, IMV, but, interestingly, on page 204, I think the character sitting in the Wilberforce Club reading a book on the philosophy of grief (while Hank and Max are meeting) is actually Elizabeth from The Thursday Murder Club series, so I wonder if Richard is going to bring both sets of sleuths together in a future book.

 

I'd never heard of Robert Goddard, but just had a quick look on Amazon and the Kindle edition of "This is the night they come for you" is currently on offer for 99p so I have bought it.

 

Agree with you, @Butterfly6 , about 'Blue-Eyed Boy'. It's actually a very tricky one to get your head round as it seems to be out of sequence with the others in the Malbry series. It actually isn't.... but you only realise that once you've read all four! I tried initially to read them in order, got bogged down with B.E.B, gave up and moved onto 'Different Class' and 'A Narrow Door' - then went back and read B.E.B, and suddenly it all made sense. Joanne Harris never makes things easy for her readers!

 

Splendid! It might be on offer as his next book, This Is The Day They Dream Of, is out at the beginning of June and revolves around the same detective.

 

I might try that @Tinkerton

 

Just finished a good book - The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd. Enjoyed it, even though fairly early on, I could see a couple of the twists that were to come. Some of it was a bit of a stretch (eg, not giving anything away, the second time Juliette visits the Paris hospital at night really wasn't a realistic scenario). It is set in Paris in 1938, Cambridge in 1991, and Dubai in the present day.

 

Thanks, @ViewAhead. I’ve just reserved it, should be available in June. I’m now reading Borrowed Time by Robert Goddard. I’ve got several other books in my reserved list. Luckily I will have wifi on our upcoming cruise, so I’ll be able to download some more books if I run out of reading matter!

 

Hope you enjoy Borrowed Time, @Ergates.

 

I have just rediscovered two books that have been hiding at the back of an old wardrobe in the spare room. (Don’t ask.) They are by a woman called Len Howard and were written about 90 years ago. They are called “Birds as Individuals” and “Living With Birds”. They describe a very unusual household containing one woman and a lot of birds. In the late 1930s, Ms Howard decided to opt out of London city life, bought a plot of land, built a tiny cottage and opened the doors and windows. Before long, she had sewn pockets in the linings of her curtains so that great tits and other tiny birds could nest there. When she was ill they came and sat on the bed beside her. She observed the birds, their songs, their interactions and noted everything down. She wrote these books about the birds – a study not just of their behaviour but their individual personalities, their intelligence, emotional lives, and characters, their capacity for play and humour, the range of their song, their likes and dislikes, and their bond with her. Two lovely books to cheer up the grumpiest of people.

 

Birds As Individuals seems to have been reprinted last yr and I have just reserved a library copy.

 

I finished ‘Borrowed Time’. It was a good read, lots of twists and turns, but quite dark and sad. I often read when I wake up in the night, but this wasn’t a good book for that. Instead of chasing away the nightmares, I think it added a few more!
I love the sound of the Birds books, not appearing on my on line library list though.
I’m now reading ‘A Bitter Remedy’ by Alis Hawkins, set in Oxford, before women were accepted into the university.

 

Oh, I didn't mean to give you nightmares, @Ergates. Borrowed Time does have quite a dark theme and more violence (towards the end) than most of Goddard's novels. You could try Past Caring, which centres on an Edwardian romance, or Painting The Darkness. My personal favourite is Beyond Recall.

Blood Count is another dark one, so maybe avoid that.