I haven’t posted a book stack for a while, it is time…
It has been a great summer for reading and listening to books. This book stack has a heap of cosy comfort reads and a couple of crime and suspenseful mysteries.
We All Live Here
Loved this cosy family read. It is all about Lila, who is trying to come up with her next book and her very full house, packed with extended-extended family, non-family family and well intentioned friends and grumpy teens. It is a delightful romp through everyday, busy, chaotic life. Lila is recently divorced, her teenage daughters are furious and she needs help. Her recently widowed step-dad moves in to “help.” He does bring an air of calm to the home, he does a lot more than fetch and carry kids to and fro… but still it’s another person underfoot. And then Lila’s long lost dad returns to the home… bringing a certain amount of freedom for the teens, not to mention a load of conflict. Amidst all this, Lila is convinced that she will be single and miserable forever, and the current chaos will be never ending. But it is a Jojo Moyes and things resolve, and this is perfect summer holiday reading.
The Smallest Ones
I saw this book at the Penguin Random House media event and grabbed it from a bookstore on the way home. This is the harrowing true story of Popi and her older sister, who’s village was captured by rebels, the horrific lives they led, and it does not get any better for the two of them. It is a tale of survival in a to cruel world, it’s a tale that will leave you staggering in horror at what a small child can endure. I could not put this down… I was urging Poppi on, to make it, on her journey all the way from the Congo to South Africa. This book is harrowing and an important read, it is a book about a resilient spirit that will not be put down, no matter what. Well done, Popina Khumanda, your book is a triumph.
Too Old for This
Too Old for This by Samantha Downing is the story of Lottie Jones, who is a retired serial killer. Anti-hero Lottie is not as young as she once was, but when an investigative journalist comes knocking on her door to ask questions about her past, she discovers she hasn’t completely lost all her skills. That being said, things don’t get easier as you get older, and I don’t just mean mobility, in the age of cell phones and tracking “who was where and when”, things might have become a lot more complicated for Lottie. Add into the mix a desperate young cop, who apparently has nothing to do but dig up the past. This is cosy crime, with a touch of humour and a dark slant.
The Picasso Heist
Just a little ironic that The Picasso Heist landed on my review pile the same weekend as the Heist at the Louvre. I have to say that the Heist at the Louvre has left me with so many questions unanswered, the “who what why and HOW” has really kept me glued to the news. Meanwhile, the Picasso Heist by James Patterson and Howard Roughen, is about a feisty gal, Halston, who has a plan to steal a Picasso. Halston has a much more detailed plan than the actual Louvre criminals, who apparently only needed a forklift and a hammer. Halston needs the mob, she needs a forger and she needs a navy seal. All for family and family for all. Of course it’s a James Patterson, so short sharp chapters and loads of twists and turns and a perfect holiday read. This is an interesting and topical read and if nothing else will leave you questioning security at the Louvre. A short sharp read, perfect for the season of “heistiness!”
Annabel and Her Sisters
Think English countryside and relaxing holiday reading, I thoroughly enjoyed this easy read set in the English countryside. Annabel’s mum has decided to sell her home and give her daughters their inheritance sooner, rather than later. Let’s be honest she has some needy daughters. The only trouble is that in order to receive their inheritance, Mum will be spending three months at a time, rotating through visits with her daughters. And so the troubles begin… Who is going first? How long is three months, actually? Sounds like the perfect plan, until it happens and the squabbling begins. Mum has seven dogs that travel with her, she also requires more care than the family anticipated, she is turning out to be a bit of a package deal. An elderly mom with a bladder infection is a fairly frightening situation and the entire family thinks that Mum has suddenly has dementia… delirium is often a symptom with elderly parents and bladder infections (don’t ask me how I know this!) and as Mum recovers the sisters start to resolve their problems and Annabel’s mum finds the perfect home and no longer has to rely on her daughters. This is top comfort reading.
She Didn’t See it Coming
It’s been a while since I read a Shari Lapena, and my goodness, always ready for crime/thriller/mystery. Bryden should have picked up her daughter from school… she didn’t. She should at least be home when her husband, Sam, arrives home… she isn’t. In fact, Bryden has vanished. Her home is as she left it, her car is in the parking garage, her cell phone and keys, in their usual spot. everything in the world of Sam and Bryden looks absolutely perfect on the surface. But is it? It is up to Detective Jayne to figure out exactly what is happening… there a lot of “what ifs?” and even more suspicious characters… This is a short sharp read and every page you turn reveals a series of questions… and they are answered, but only on the very last page. A great weekend read.
The Impossible Fortune
I have absolutely loved the Thursday Murder Club, the octogenarian super sleuths, who solve murders from the Puzzle Room, in their retirement facility. I have to say, as the series has rolled on into book 5, this one didn’t grab me like the first few did. As the series has grown, so the ins and outs of our heroes lives have become somewhat complicated. In this edition, there is a couple in desperate need of help, and they turn to the Thursday Murder Club… there are bitcoins and baddies… there are difficulties and delays… and our gang are finding the solution to the code that will resolve the mystery. Like all Thursday Murder Club mysteries, it resolves, but honestly this was way longer than it needed to be… and I found my attention wandering off towards the end of the book.
Gone Before Goodbye
This book launched with a massive hype, Reese Witherspoon’s Book club really did help her to launch this. This is a suspenseful,, crime, thriller mystery… Maggie is an army surgeon who’s husband has died during a conflict… She is vulnerable and clever and the perfect person to help elite clientele with their “not always necessary” surgery. The book contains a globetrotting race against time, that only the incredibly wealthy and corrupt could relate too, the story is a wild ride with many layers that unravel as you read along. I listened to the audible, which helped because there is a lot of dialogue, that actually pulls the story together and keeps it flowing… but I have to say this read was not the gripping and exciting read that I was hoping for, it definitely didn’t live up to the hype, it was pretty ordinary in fact.
The Elements
My most compelling read of 2025, I completely could not put this down. The Elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Air by John Boyne. It’s a four book collection, each book was published year by year… and I am so glad I waited until they were all published together as a complete collection… because I would not have been able to wait between publications.
While the books are distinct they are also related in ways that you could never imagine… lives intertwine and a traumatic experience in one life echoes and cascades into adjacent lives. Imagine a bad bullying situation, with a perpetrator, a victim, an assistant and an onlooker… and four books: a mother on the run after a terrible discovery, a professional soccer player who wanted to be a painter, a surgeon with an awful childhood, and father who needs to change things… I cannot believe how these stories were woven together, and I cannot believe how gripping and thought provoking these books are… love, betrayal, worse betrayal, and really triggering trauma. John Boyne has a way of putting topics on the table that are never spoken about, topics that gets brushed under the table, that become part of society to a point were the line between right and wrong has been crossed so many times, that one cannot tell…… a dark and disturbing read, but also one of the most gripping collections that I have ever read. Right up there as one of my best books of the year for 2024.
A lot of these books were given to us for review purposes by Penguin Random House South Africa, a few of them I bought myself, and a couple of them I bought the audible version as well. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely my own.