The Latest Reading Discoveries from Hastings Library Book Chat

Book clubs are great places to find books you wouldn’t normally think of picking up. With so many new books being published all the time, it can be tricky deciding what to borrow and what to leave on the table.

One reader picked up Open Up by Thomas Morris, attracted by its cover and the glowing praise among the recommendations on the back.  It’s a collection of short stories, with quirky scenarios, but some were longer than they needed to be and overall our reader thought the book a little self-indulgent.

New Zealand/Sri Lankan author Suraid de Silva has won a spot on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist this year with her novel Amma. The novel follows three generations of Sri Lankan women, over three time periods and across three settings. Our reader enjoyed what she learnt about Sri Lankan households and their culture, but found the book a little ho-hum overall.

Another book on the Women’s Prize longlist is debut author Roisin O’Donnell’s Nesting. Another story looking at family issues, it follows Ciara, who decides that home is not a safe place to be any more. With two young daughters, she escapes with little money and nowhere to go. This was an enjoyable read, a story about love, hope and resilience and a new author to look out for.

Tina Shaw is a favourite New Zealand author who cannot be recommended highly enough. An early book by Shaw is City of Reeds, set in Thames and following the story of three sisters growing up. As they move away their memories of their childhood seem idyllic, but each are damaged in some way. Our reader thought this book stood the test of time and was well worth rereading.

Another Kiwi author we love, Owen Marshall, has a new collection of short stories, called simply New Stories. Our reader enjoyed them, finding the collection about small incidents and ordinary lives quietly entertaining.

Among the fantasy novels we talked about was T J Klune’s novel Somewhere Beyond the Sea, the follow-up book to The House in the Cerulean Sea. The story is set at the special island home that the main character, Arthur Parnassus, has created for six dangerous and magical children. Both books are brilliant reads, well plotted with memorable characters and which celebrate diversity.

One reader enjoyed Matt Haig’s fanciful and philosophical novel, The Midnight Library. In the story, suicidal Nora is halfway between life and death following an overdose. She arrives at a strange library, meeting her old school librarian who invites her to revisit the decisions she had made which changed the course of her life. An interesting novel about regret and missed opportunities, slightly marred by a somewhat gushy ending.

Another reader found Julia by Sandra Newman disappointing. It is based on the George Orwell novel, Nineteen eighty-four, and follows the story of Julia, the woman Winston betrayed. In the new book Julia is a popular model citizen of the regime, a mechanic working on the novel-writing machines in the Ministry of Truth, and who becomes interested in Winston. This is a feminist retelling of the story, but for our reader, a frequent fan of dystopian fiction, Julia fell rather flat.

Speaking of Julias, we heard about The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R Chambers, an enthralling novel detailing the famous TV cook’s time as a spy. Yes, indeed! The book describes what it was like for Julia in a man’s world during WWII, standing out for being so tall (6 foot 2) and having at times to wear men’s clothes. The book follows Child’s story from file clerk to a major role in the secret service and beyond. It’s a fascinating read, well-researched with an appendix of reference material included.

Debut novelist Elizabeth DeLozier has written a terrific story in Eleanore of Avignon. Provence, 1347 isn’t a safe place to be a herbalist and midwife, and it’s also the time of the Black Death. When Eleanore becomes apprentice to Pope Clement’s physician, a world of wealth and power is opened up to her, as well as fascinating medical cases. A thrilling read that’s also really well written.

There was a good crop of mysteries on the table too, including two books by Margaret Hickey, a talented Australian author who writes very readable Outback Noir. Stone Town is her second book following the investigations of small-town cop, Mark Ariti. His new case involves the murder of a property developer as well as the disappearance of a city cop who has been watching the comings and goings of the glamorous wife of a mob boss. Somehow the two cases must be interconnected.

Hickey’s latest novel, The Creeper, is a standalone novel about the reinvestigation of a ten-year-old case – the murders of five hikers in a mountain area. Another small-town cop, Sally White, looks into the case when the brother of the supposed killer, also found dead near the victims, declares the police had the wrong guy. Our reader found the book to be well-written and interesting.

Our love affair with Peter May continues with Coffin Road, a really cleverly plotted mystery that begins with a man found on a Hebridean beach suffering from amnesia. Can this have anything to do with the corpse found bludgeoned to death that Lewis policeman, DS George Gunn is investigating. With some interesting subplots this all adds up to a terrific read.

Another reader picked up Lockdown, a book May had written years before the pandemic lockdowns we all recall from 2020, and for which he had difficulty finding a publisher. Now it seems all too real. The story has London as the epicentre of a global pandemic and with martial law imposed to control civil disorder. Into this setting, the bones of a murdered child are discovered as DI Jack MacNeill is counting the hours to his retirement. Another top read by May.

Elly Griffith is another popular crime fiction author whom we love for her characters as much as her brilliant mysteries. The Chalk Pit is from the series about forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway and the cases she consults on for DCI Nelson. They have a complicated relationship which is half the fun. This story describes the historical chalk mines and tunnels beneath the city of Norwich, where human remains are discovered. There’s a missing homeless woman and rumours of a secret societies and ritual killings.

The Fever of the World by Phil Rickman also has something of the occult in its plot. This book is set in the Wye Valley, the area associated with William Wordsworth. Part of the Merrily Watkins series, the story begins with the death of a real estate agent, investigated by Wordsworth buff, detective David Vaynor. Merrily helps with the case in her capacity as parish priest and exorcist. Some interesting historical background enlivens the setting, including pagan rites and druids. Spooky but worth it.

Hastings Library Book Chat meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 10:30am – new members always welcome.

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