As the chimes of Big Ben die away, Oh, No, Octavius!—or Octavius Guy & the Case of the Quibbling Cleric, as Gooseberry would have it—is finally released on the public…after three very long years of conception. Four or five days after that, fifty review copies should be winging their way via the internet to those discerning LibraryThing Early Reviewers who were kind enough to request it. So here I sit with bated breath waiting for their response. Will they approve of young Gooseberry’s choices—and by extension the novel itself? Only time will tell.


There was a point in my life when I would read fifty books a year. My career in writing put an end to all that. These days I am lucky if I get to read ten books, and of necessity they will be whatever the Crimes & Thrillers reading group I attend happens to be reading. This year two books that we read stood head and shoulders above the rest.


Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

So, what’s in store for Cormoran Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott this time round? A year after Robin’s disastrous wedding ceremony, a mentally-ill young man comes to Strike’s office with a tale about a murder he thinks he witnessed as a child. Realising the police have been called, he flees, though shortly after Strike is offered a lucrative job by the Minister for Culture, who is being blackmailed by the young man’s dodgy brother. A coincidence perhaps? Or something more?

Rowling admits that this is one of the most challenging books she’s ever written and one of her favourites. Mine too. It’s with sheer writerly delight that she taunts us with Robin’s failing marriage, which Robin tries at all costs to keep from Strike. The increasingly annoying wild child Charlotte turns up, hell bent on inserting herself back into Strike’s life. Let’s be quite clear here. This is a series of cozy mysteries, and thwarting the readers’ desire for the two of them to become more than just business partners is an important part of the template, of equal significance, I would argue, to the whodunnit element of the book.

The whodunnit element in this case twists and turns back in on itself (perhaps a little too often), and quite which crime we’re meant to be looking at (and there are potentially many) is never very clear. That said, I was thoroughly happy to be taken along for the ride. On several occasions I was put in mind of Agatha Christie in the nature of the clues and the way they are delivered. Robin twice gets to go undercover—both of which are a joy to read—and Strike is tight-lipped about the theories he forms, preferring his partner to work it out for herself.

As personal added bonus, and one which really made it come alive for me, I happen to live very close to two of the locations in the book. The Minister for Sport and her husband live a mile west of me, near The Blue, and the house Robin and Matthew rent is barely a couple of miles down the road. Even before Rowling named the street, I knew which one it was.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll love it. If you’re a fan of whodunnits, you’ll love it. If you’re a cozy mystery armchair detective, I’m sure you can guess what I was about to say.

Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty

This was a very happy accident. Luke, who orders our books for us (and up till then had been choosing some truly dour thrillers) thought that I had requested it. Not so. My heart usually sinks when we get titles like this. Little did I realize what it was: an extraordinary historical crime fiction set in Belfast in the 1980s during the troubles, told in one of the most unique first-person voices I have ever encountered. Certainly worth a look!

This month’s special offer is for The Bridge of Dead Things. Murky Victorian London. Lizzie Blaylock is about to discover an unusual talent…one that the people around her are keen to exploit. Offer ends on January 31st 2020. You’ll find links and details on my website.

“As with all his books, I could easily see this remarkable tale being adapted for a television audience. A thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read”—Alasdair Muckersie, Smashwords Reviewer (5 stars)


A happy new year to all and happy reading!
Michael

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