Another month has passed by in a blur of medical appointments both for me and my cat. Unexpectedly I’ve had two lots of surgery in November. Luckily nothing serious, but two basal cell carcinomas close to my eye were concerning and better removed.  Alexei, who had recently been diagnosed with diabetes was out and about in our enclosed garden, and I thought I didn’t have to worry about him. When he was on my knee I noticed an odd tuft of fur on his head. I assumed he’d been under a bush, and it was sap. Two days later it was still there and when I teased it apart, I saw he was developing an abscess. So, another expensive vet visit.

Reading was a welcome escape for me from stress and worry, but I didn’t read quite as much as I had hoped to.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig.

The remarkable next novel from Matt Haig, the author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Midnight Library, with more than nine million copies sold worldwide

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

324 pages, Hardcover First published September 3, 2024.

My Review.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Midnight Library, but how can you compete with that? Another story that requires a suspension of disbelief. Grace is an interesting character, and her unexpected inheritance challenges her in a myriad of ways that I found quite relatable. There is a fantastic part to the story which you can accept or  not.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

“She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going… I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words.”

Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he’s been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history–performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

Unfortunately for Tom, the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society’s watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can’t have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages–and for the ages–about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

My Review.

How versatile is Matt Haig? Another story that asks you to suspend disbelief, but one that when you do, makes perfect sense. It appeals to the romantic idea that there is one perfect soulmate, one perfect love, Having once found that, to lose them would leave you bereft. Yet, you live on and on… searching for your elusive twin soul. Reminiscent of The Time Traveller’s Wife.

A Love Letter to Paris By Rebecca Raisin

Late at night when I wander the streets of Paris, my thoughts turn to her… How do I tell her how I feel? Perhaps, I need to show her…

The pretty little streets of Montmartre are abuzz with a rumour. Apparently a mystery matchmaker, known only as ‘Paris Cupid’, has somehow helped the city’s most famous bachelor find love.

But old-fashioned romantic Lilou is staying very quiet. She’d just wanted to set up her best friend, and to get on with her life selling whimsical old love letters, in Paris’s famous St. Ouen market.

She hadn’t imagined her little Paris Cupid project could ever have attracted so many people looking for true, heartfelt romance. Though the truth is that Lilou adores helping people find the right person. Even if her own love life is nothing short of disastrous.

But then a message arrives. And it’s just for her. Someone is in love with her. Someone who knows her secret. But they’re keeping their own identity secret too… Could it be from cheerful, talkative, flame-haired Felix? Or quiet, beautifully handsome Benoit? Or even Pascale – who drives Lilou mad every day?

After so long of helping others find their soulmate, is it time for Lilou to find love of her own in Paris herself?

273 pages, Kindle Edition Published July 8, 2024.

My Review.

This is a story about Paris, and a love letter to Paris. It felt as if I was strolling down the boulevards and side streets of The City of Love. A matchmaker has to believe in love, even if it has eluded her. Lilou has a talent for matching people and starting Paris Cupid has allowed her to indulge that talent. Her own love life though is disastrous, but someone starts sending her letters. There are three potential candidates, but I thought it was fairly obvious who the love interest was.

If I Tell You… I’ll Have to Kill You. Edited by Michael Robotham.

What is the secret to good crime writing? No one better to ask than a group of Australia’s leading crime writers. Their conclusions are fascinating, provocative, often surprising, and they are all drawn from the hard school of personal experience. What pieces of advice do the writers have in common? That there is no substitute for hard work! One tells us there is no such thing as writer’s block – “just do it” is a common theme. There is a fun part though: research. The writers could not vary more in their research and the way they approach it; from Shane Maloney’s near-death experience in a freezer to Leigh Redhead’s adventures as a stripper, Barry Maitland’s endless walks through the streets of London to Gabrielle Lord’s night out at a Gangster and Molls party, the search for ideas and atmosphere is never done and never dull. These writers also read voraciously, and they all give us their five ‘must reads’ – it’s interesting how much they coincide. As do their Rules for Writing. All in all a treasure trove for all fans of crime fiction, be they aspiring writers or simply want to get to know their favourite writers better.

Contributors: Kerry Greenwood, Shane Maloney, Peter Corris, Barry Maitland, Garry Disher, Michael Robotham, Gabrielle Lord, Katherine Howell, Liz Porter, Leigh Redhead, Leah Giarratano, Lindy Cameron, Angela Savage, Malla Nunn, Geoffrey Mcgeachin, Lenny Bartulin, Lindsay Simpson, Marele Day, Peter Lawrance, Tara Moss And Adrian Hyland.

My Review,

An enjoyable read. You don’t have to be an aficionado of crime to find these pieces readable and relatable. Both writer and readers will enjoy the insights gained about the writing process. One thing shines through all crime writers have an endless curiosity about people and motivations.

The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre.

FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW
THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a Sunday best hat.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

A cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly, The Cracked Mirror is the most imaginative and entertaining crime novel of the year, a genre-splicing rollercoaster with a poignantly emotional heart.

480 pages, Hardcover Published July 18, 2024.

My Review.

Cleverly done Mr Brookmyre. Read it once and then immediately wanted to go back and read it again. Hard to describe without giving things away. You may be surprised, you won’t be disappointed.

As the month winds down, I am hoping for a less stressful December.

A Quick Note. I am an expat Brit now living in Australia, as such I still use British spelling.