THE BEST OF THE BEST, THE CRÈME DE LA CRÈME 

THE FIRST FOURTEEN OF THE GREATEST READS OF THE YEAR 2020, FOR ALL GREAT READERS!

1.    The Testaments, byMargaret Atwood.

2.    The Butterfly Girl, by Rene Denfeld.

3.    The Overstory, byRichard Powers.

4.    American Dirt, by JeanineCummins.

5.    Saving Missy, byBeth Morrey.

6.    The Mirror and theLight, by Hilary Mantel.

7.    Broken, by Don Winslow.

8.    The Dickens Boy, byTom Keneally.

9.    The Last Crossing,by Brian McGilloway

10.          Call Your Daughter Home, by Deb Spera

11.          The Pull of the Stars, by Emma Donohue

12.          The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman

13.          Like a House on Fire, by Caroline Hulse

14.          The Sound of Stars (YA), by Alechia Dow

 I thank you all for your interest throughout the year - isn't it great to have great stories at our fingertips.  In spite of Covid and its attendant worries, we are still able to enjoy the best escapism of all.  Season's greetings everyone, and let us hope that 2021 will be a vast improvement on crappy old 2020 - we all should have a refund on this year!  Lots of love to all.  

 

Like a House on Fire, by Caroline Hulse.

 

 

         Stella and George Mandani are getting a divorce – for reasons as diverse as unforgivable untidiness on George’s part (constantly leaving kitchen cupboards and doors open, thus driving Veterinary surgeon Stella into a permanent state of frothing-mouth resentment, just as one example), but they have decided not to announce the fact just yet because it is her parents’ 40^th wedding anniversary;  her mum Margaret Foy has gone to an enormous amount of trouble to plan the weekend, beginning with an Original Murder Mystery Party written by Margaret, and all parts played by family members, favoured friends and neighbours, but unbeknownst to Margaret, there are several hitches and glitches waiting to spoil what should be her perfect weekend.

            First, her husband Tommy has just lost his retirement job at the local supermarket for not being Politically Correct:  his breezy statement ‘Cheer up, it may never happen’ was taken amiss by a woman in a bad mood and, rather than enrol in a course to help one avoid today’s hidden minefields of unwitting offense he has handed in his notice.  Helen, Stella’s ‘Perfect’ older sister is feeling anything but:  her 10 year-old daughter is turning into a bit of a rebel – a rebel with a cigarette lighter!  Add to that the fact that Margaret’s favourite child, gay son Pete is VERY late, which is worrying because he has a starring role in the drama (being the favourite this is only fair), so when should one get the Show On The Road?  It is vexing, to say the least.

            But what is most irritating is that there is another cloud on Margaret’s horizon:  on the following Monday she is due to start Chemotherapy for a cancer that looks pretty terminal so, being Margaret the Controller of Everything, she has decided not to start the treatment:  what’s the point in feeling sick enough to WANT to die, when she will die anyway.  She might as well feel as healthy as she can for as long as she can and chemo can just go and get forgotten about.  Except that secrets have a way of revealing themselves whether one wants them to or not, including George and Stella’s decision to part – not to mention what happens to Helen’s daughter and her cigarette lighter.  The weekend definitely ends with a bang!

            Ms Hulse has written a sparkling novel of the times – I’m sure we can all identify with the myriad family problems faced by the Foy family and their singular ways of dealing with them.  She has achieved the perfect balance between humour, seriousness and every other emotion in between:  a perfect Christmas read.  SIX STARS.

 

The Dirty South, by John Connolly.

  

          Private Detective Charlie Parker’s creator John Connolly has written a prequel set in 1997 to his famous and riveting series, starting just after the unspeakably sadistic murders of Parker’s wife and young daughter, and detailing the beginning of Parker’s search for their killer – and his overwhelming need for revenge.

            Charlie’s resignation from the NYPD notwithstanding, he is still able to call in many favours from former colleagues in his search for cold cases that resemble in any way the gruesome methods used to dispatch his beloved family;  he will travel anywhere and employ any means possible to find parallels between unsolved murders and those of his loved ones: Charlie’s grief is raw and terrible, and retribution is the only fitting response. 

            To that end, he finds himself in Burdon County, Arkansas, an impoverished part of the state that is hoping for a big economic injection from a huge international firm thinking of establishing itself in either Arkansas or Texas, bringing prosperity and hundreds of jobs – and the ripple effect – to whichever state it chooses.  But lately, Burdon County has been plagued by a series of sadistic murders of young black girls, each killed by multiple stab wounds, and as a final indignity, impaled at either end of their bodies by branches.  And even worse, the local sheriff, member of the premier family of the county was seen kicking the corpse of the first victim onto private land.  It had originally been dumped on federal land, which meant that the FBI would have investigated, but private land denoted just a local investigation, ensuring that the crimes would stay ‘local’ and under the radar of the prospective international investor;  negative publicity of any kind being anathema to those who would make a huge profit from the deal’s success.

            As always, the more Charlie finds out, the more secrets and corruption are exposed, not to mention the thriving business in methamphetamine in which all the local good ole boys are involved – but that’s a minor crime in the scheme of things as yet more bodies are discovered:  Burdon County has a terminal disease that Charlie can’t cure.

But he can find out its source, and does so with the aid of Angel and Louis, his two staunch friends who have his back, always.  And as always, Mr Connolly fills the book with wonderful characters, drawn with great detail and accuracy, and heart-stopping action that keep the pages turning well into the night.  And you’ll never guess whodunnit!  FIVE STARS.    

 

The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman.

 

            The Thursday Murder Club is Osman’s first, and so far, his best novel.  Well. You can’t say fairer than that.  And that statement alone will give readers a taste of what’s to come, all of which is a pure delight.  I’ve been wading through some pretty heavy stuff lately and it was an utter pleasure to sit back and enjoy that rare combination of excellent characters, a complex plot (you have to pay attention at all times!), and wonderful humour combined with shrewd observation on what to expect when we reach the wrong end of life.

            The residents of Coopers Chase retirement village have reached that stage of their existence, but a number of them are refusing to throw in the towel just yet, and have formed The Thursday Murder Club, held on that day in the Jigsaw Puzzle room and organised by Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, all of whom had very interesting occupations before Old Age caught up and galloped past them:  Elizabeth was something mysterious and high up in law enforcement (she has influential 'friends’ seemingly everywhere);  Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist with a huge, not to say alarmingly pedantic grasp of facts and statistics, and Ron – Red Ron is a famous Union stirrer and battler of legendary repute, the bane of every British Prime Minister for the last forty years until arthritis and his short-term memory did for him.  They are still intent on using their combined formidable intelligence to solve a Cold Case, and have just recruited Joyce as a new member.

            Joyce is practical, disarmingly cheerful and a prolific baker of excellent cakes – and she’s a nurse, providing necessary medical knowledge to the group – oh, they’re going to have great fun solving the cold-case murder of a young woman who died in the 70’s!

            Except that not one, but two ‘fresh’ murders occur within days of each other:  first, the builder of the retirement village is bludgeoned to death in his home, then the developer for whom he worked is poisoned with a massive overdose of Fentanyl.  Never mind that the police are on the scene with alacrity – the Thursday Murder Club will provide invaluable assistance, not least because they live On the Job.  And it’s great to have mysteries to solve, for it makes them feel young.

            Mr Osman successfully negotiates the fine line between pathos and bathos by treating his great characters with utter respect, and giving them – and the reader – myriad opportunities to laugh;  at themselves, at each other, and at life.  SIX STARS!