23) IQ by Joe Ide This crime thriller has been tucked away in the depths of the Kindle for a while: I bought it having read a review (I forget where) that basically said it showcased the arrival of a hip-hop Sherlock Homes for the 21st century . Which, at worst, sounded like it might… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 23: IQ
Category: Year 4
Year 4 / Book 22: Asymmetry
22) Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday This novel was widely praised in 2018, and it's been on the To Be Read pile for a while Chez Temple. The premise of the book is that it is split into two relatively distinct sections, and then that a third short section helps reveal how these two stories connect… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 22: Asymmetry
Year 4 / Book 21: How Democracy Ends
21) How Democracy Ends by David Runciman I got given this book for my birthday (or possibly Xmas) by my wife's aunt, and she cheerily said as I opened it, "I look forward to finding out what the answer is". Well, I'm not sure there is one answer but I have at least read the… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 21: How Democracy Ends
Year 4 / Book 20: Girl Zero
20) Girl Zero by A A Dhand Back into police procedural land, and into the world of A A Dhand and his creation, Harry Virdee. The world in question is Bradford, which makes a refreshing change from London or, at a push, Edinburgh, where I often feel like most fictional crime in the UK seems… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 20: Girl Zero
Year 4 / Book 19: You Think It, I’ll Say It
19) You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld You Think It, I'll Say It is a book of short stories that are witty, sharp and at times extremely moving. I've never read anything by Sittenfeld before (though seen reviews of her novels that have praised her highly), and I'd heartily recommend this as… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 19: You Think It, I’ll Say It
Year 4 / Book 18: Perfidious Albion
18) Perfidious Albion by Sam Byers This is a book that puts the Z in zeitgeisty - every element of a timely contemporary satire is in place: a Farage-esque MP (with far-right affiliations), a social networking / tech giant infiltrating democracy and employment; a vacuous Jordan Peterson-type character; #metoo gender politics and online trolling (and… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 18: Perfidious Albion
Year 4 / Book 17: Dying Fall
17) Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths I've read quite a few books by Elly Griffiths over the last couple of years, and they are pretty uniformly entertaining. Whilst mildly undemanding on the whole, the main characters are what raises her books above the norm a little - Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist and single… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 17: Dying Fall
Year 4 / Book 16: Aberystwyth Mon Amour
16) Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce This was recommended to me sometime ago by my wife Katie's cousin's wife Rachel - thanks Rachel - and I bought it after stumbling across it in the local Oxfam bookshop. It's the first of a series of books by Malcolm Pryce, and is a wry, funny and… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 16: Aberystwyth Mon Amour
Year 4 / Book 15: Dopesick
15) Dopesick by Beth Macy Somewhat gradually over the course of maybe the last year or so, the opioid epidemic in the US has come across my radar - I don't know why it's taken that long for it to come to my attention, perhaps ignorance or a lack of in-depth reading; I do remember… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 15: Dopesick
Year 4 / Book 14: Tell No Tales
14) Tell No Tales by Eva Dolan I read Eva Dolan's first Zigic & Ferreira novel, Long Way Home, a while back and really loved it. First off, she's an excellent writer, with a great command of plot, narrative arc and character creation. Second, she's focused in on immigration, particularly East European immigrants, as the… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 14: Tell No Tales
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 