12) Joe Country by Mick Herron And we are back at Slough House with the Jackson Lamb-led band of outcasts and misfits from the world of espionage and intelligence. If you haven't been reading this series, then I heartily recommend - as I've written before, like Le Carre with a touch more thriller and a… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 13: Joe Country
Category: Year 5
Year 5 / Book 12: After You Die
13) After You Die by Eva Dolan I'm a great fan of Eva Dolan's Zigic & Ferreira series of police procedurals (you can read my review of the previous episode here: Tell No Tales), and much enjoyed the first two I'd ploughed through. This third installment starts pretty bleakly: a woman is found murdered, and… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 12: After You Die
Year 5 / Book 11: She Said
11) She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey If you are a podcast fan, then I heartily recommend The Tip Off which interviews journalists and talks to them about big stories that emerged from tip-offs or small leads. It's fabulous and extremely high quality stuff (the R Kelly episode a while back is extraordinary). One… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 11: She Said
Year 5 / Book 10: Trick Mirror
10) Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino I have no memory of where I read about this collection of essays, but I know it sat on my book list for a while until it popped up at reduced rate on Kindle. And I'm very glad it did too. Tolentino zips at breakneck pace through… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 10: Trick Mirror
Year 5 / Book 9: Dark Sacred Night
9) Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly Michael Connelly has been at this game for a long time - with Harry Bosch, Micky Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer) and now Reneé Ballard as his well-known leading characters. I haven't read one for a while but this felt like a decent return to form. It brings together… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 9: Dark Sacred Night
Year 5 / Book 8: The Skeleton Road
8) The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid Val McDermid is best known for her Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series, but as I mentioned in my review of A Darker Domain last year, I've always preferred those featuring Karen Pirie - who has always felt to me like a more grounded and rounded protagonist; and… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 8: The Skeleton Road
Year 5 / Book 7: Maid
7) Maid by Stephanie Land The subtitle of this non-fiction memoir is 'Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive', which gives you a pretty strong indication of what this is about. Stephanie Land is a single mother in America with little or no family network to support her, which means she raises… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 7: Maid
Year 5 / Book 6: Uniform Justice
6) Uniform Justice by Donna Leon Here is the requisite Brunetti novel for this year's reading. Without looking back, I think I've almost certainly described how opening a Donna Leon novel on holiday is the literary equivalent of donning some slippers in front of an open fire: comfortable, relaxing and makes you feel completely at ease.… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 6: Uniform Justice
Year 5 / Book 5: I Am, I Am, I Am
5) I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell Maggie O'Farrell is best known as a writer of fiction, and I confess to having read none of it, though I know quite a few people who speak highly of her work. I'm not sure why this non-fiction book, about her 'seventeen brushes with death',… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 5: I Am, I Am, I Am
Year 5 / Book 4: Scrublands
4) Scrublands by Chris Hammer This Australian crime thriller has been on my list for a while, after it featured in quite a few different 'recommended' lists and review articles. It is centred round a journalist Martin Scarsden, who is returning to the scene of a shocking serial murder the year after it happened - he… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 4: Scrublands
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 