Series, Sequels and Standalones from Book Chat

We love getting lost in a book series that's about a particular place or character. And authors who follow up what happens to a group of characters with a sequel give readers an unexpected delight. This was one theme that ran through a lot of the reading at our latest Book Chat at Hastings Library.

One reader discovered John Banville’s mystery series featuring a police pathologist named Quirke working in 1950s Dublin. (NB: Some of the previous novels in this series are published under the nom de plume Benjamin Black). She loved the writing, which isn’t surprising since Banville won a Booker Prize for The Sea. The story for the latest in the series, The Drowned, takes us to rural Ireland, where a loner comes across a car in an empty field, the door open, but there’s no sign of anyone.

Another Irish author we love is John Boyne, with various members of the group picking up the four Elements novels: Water, Earth and Fire, with Air expected for release in May.

Scottish author Peter May continues to delight us all, with a surprise addition to his Lewis Trilogy, The Black Loch, published last year. One reader had not discovered the series, but recently enjoyed the first book, The Blackhouse, immensely, going on to read The Lewis Man after that. The series follows the complicated life of policeman Fin MacLeod, his family history and the beguiling cases that have brought him back to the Hebrides, which he escaped from as a young man.

Another reader picked up Peter May’s mystery, The Night Gate, the last book in the series featuring forensics expert, Enzo Macleod. In France, a famous art critic is murdered a week after the body of a man is discovered, disinterred by the roots of a fallen tree. There’s a historical mystery here taking us to World War II, as well as a crime from 2020, as France enters a second Covid lockdown. Linking the two is that famous artwork, the Mona Lisa.

Another brilliant read from Peter May, this inspired our reader to pick up I’ll Keep You Safe. This stand-alone novel follows Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane, a couple who run a company producing a luxury brand of tweed. In Paris on a sales trip, Ruairidh is killed with his lover by a car bomb. Niamh remains a person of interest by the French police and is shadowed by a detective on her return to Scotland. This novel had a terrific surprise ending.

When you’ve read all the Vera and Shetland books by Ann Cleeves, what can you do? One reader discovered an earlier book by this popular author, recently republished. The Sleeping and the Dead is a psychological suspense novel that begins with the discovery of a body in a lake, which has been in the water for many years. Our reader found it an engaging story.

Kataraina is the sequel to Becky Manawatu’s award winning novel Āue, the story of a family affected by gang violence. The novel takes a bit of concentration as it jumps around in time, adding a sense of chaos. Our reader thought this reflects the situation for the main character, Kat, but it was a little frustrating at times. A very sad book, it was also thought that a rereading of Āue might be a good idea for readers of the new book.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell is an unexpected sequel to The Family Upstairs, about a dysfunctional family in a well-to-do part of London, and the covering up of a murder. In the sequel, the past comes rushing back again when a body is discovered by mudlarkers on the Thames. These characters were so interesting, readers clamoured for a second book and it was fascinating to see just how they rebuilt their lives after such a messy childhood.

Standalone novels that hit the spot included Di Morrisey’s Arcadia, set in Tasmania and which had an interesting environmental bent. We’ve got a1930s timeline in which Stella a young wife arrives at her husband’s secluded property; then two generations later, her granddaughter discovers Stella’s secret life in the forest. This was a fascinating and entertaining read, which tells you a lot about fungi.

Back in the 1930s again we heard about A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. This novel follows Violet who moves to Winchester, having lost her brother and fiancé in the First World War. In her new town she becomes a needleworker for the Cathedral. Here she finds friendship and independence, but there’s another war on the horizon that threatens the stability of her newly found happiness.

Two Robert Harris novels were recommended, beginning with Fatherland which is set in an alternative 1964 with Hitler having won the second world war. There’s a mystery generated by the discovery of a body in a lake, and a conspiracy that could topple governments.

Munich, also by Robert Harris, takes us to before the war, and the conference of September 1938 as German diplomats and British PM Neville Chamberlain endeavour to strike a peace agreement. Two friends who were at Oxford together, Guy who is the PM’s secretary, and Rikard, part of an anti-Hitler resistance meet up again - their paths set on a collision course, luring them both into unexpected danger.

Two books of NZ poetry were also recommended: Emma Neal’s Liar, Liar, Lick Spit which is well crafted, autobiographical in parts, but also at times a little dark. Jo McNiece’s collection, Blue Hour, was recommended for its accessibility – a really nice collection.

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

24 February 2025

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