The Devilish Dougal Douglas

Muriel Spark's novella The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960) is a curious creation. It begins with a jilted bride who is left at the altar when Humphrey Place is asked if he takes Dixie Morse to be his wife and he responds 'No'.  This scandalous event, the local gossips conclude, is due to Humphrey's friendship with  Scottish migrant Dougal Douglas. 

Readers are transported back a few months to Dougal's arrival in Peckham. He is an 'arts man' and gets a job at Meadows, Meade and Grindley, a textile factory. Dougal is employed in some odd occupation doing 'human research' into the inner lives of the people who work there. He hardly ever comes to the office, as he is also employed at another firm and is actually ghost writing a memoir of a retired actress/singer and is using his observations of locals to pad out the story. Dougal becomes close to Merle Coverdale, a secretary who is having an affair with her married boss, Mr Druce, the head of the company. While some people fall under the Dougal's spell, others are more wary - especially when he tells them he once had horns that have been surgically removed! Dougal's antics impact all the locals, and when he eventually leaves town he has caused untold havoc. 

It is hard to know what to make of this brief novella. While the idea was fun and the story could have been more darkly comical, I found it rather superficial and it didn't really grab me after the compelling start. In fact, I probably would not have finished it had it not been so short. Suffice it to say, the thing I liked most about this book is the cover on the Penguin Modern Classic edition. 

My reviews of other works by Muriel Spark are available on this blog:

• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) 
• The Driver's Seat (1970) 

Very Nice People

In Agatha Christie's Mrs McGinty's Dead (1952), Hercule Poirot arrives home to his flat in London to find a gentleman has called. Superintendent Spence needs urgent assistance. A court has just convicted James Bentley of the murder of charwoman Mrs McGinty, his landlord, and sentenced him to death. Spence doesn't think he is guilty and wants Poirot's help to prove this and save the man from execution. 

Poirot heads to the village of Broadhinny and stays at a ramshackle guest house owned by the Summerhayes family. The accomodation is terrible - draughty, dirty and messy, with awful meals which offend Poirot's gastronomic sensibilities. From here Poirot wanders about the village interviewing the locals, whom he concludes are all very nice people. Poirot reminds Spence that very nice people 'has been, before now, a motive for murder' (Chapter 8).  He learns that a few days prior to the murder, Mrs McGinty had taken a clipping from the Sunday Comet, a gossipy newspaper. She had also purchased some ink and written letters to persons unknown. The newspaper clipping contained photos of four women who were involved in old criminal cases. Perhaps Mrs McGinty had recognised one of the women. Perhaps one of the women was now living in Broadhinny. Perhaps one of the women did not want her past revealed and killed Mrs McGinty to stop her from sharing this secret.

Like most Poirot novels, there are little clues scattered everywhere, a few red herrings, and the story culminates in a gathering of all potential suspects to hear Poirot narrate his findings and reveal the killer in dramatic fashion. 

I had never heard of Mrs McGinty's Dead so I went in with no knowledge of the story. This allowed me to theorise and guess motives and suspects, and while I had kind of worked it out, there were a few twists I had not foreseen. What I found problematic was that there were so many characters I could not keep them straight in my mind.  Between the Hendersons, Carpenters, Weatherbys, and Summerhayes there were too many similar characters that I could not tell them apart detracting from my enjoyment of the book. 

However, one of the delights of this novel is the character Ariadne Oliver, famed crime novelist in town to work with a playwright adapting one of her works. Oliver talks about the famous Finnish detective she has based her stories around, Sven Hjerson. Olivier exclaims: 

'How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been made! Why a Finn when I know nothing about Finland?.... You try something - and people seem to like it - and then you go on - and before you know where you are, you've got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson toed to you for life. And people write and say how fond you must be of him, Fond of him? If I ever met that bony gangling, vegetable-eating Finn in real life, I'd do a better murder than any I've ever invented.' (Chapter 14)

Christie must have delighted in creating this fictitious version of herself and to critique her own famous detective. Mrs McGinty's Dead was Christie's 29th Poirot novel, and it marks the beginning of Poirot's final phase and Oliver's ascendency.

I read this novel as part of the 2026 Read Christie Challenge 'Biggest, Best, Beloved', which has placed Mrs McGinty's Dead in the 'Beloved Characters' category. While I cared little for most of the characters, I certainly enjoyed Poirot and Ariadne Oliver.

My reviews of other Christie novels are available on this blog: 

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
• Murder on the Links (1923)
• The Body in the Library (1942)

 

International Booker Prize Longlist 2026

The International Booker Prize 2026 Longlist has been announced with thirteen titles of fiction translated into English.

The longlist is as follows:

• The Nights are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar (translated by Ruth Martin)
• 
  
  We are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezon Camara (translated by Robin Myers)
• The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Dianne (translated by David McKay)
• 
  The Deserters by Mathais Enard (translated by Charlotte Mandell)
• Small Comfort by Ia Genberg (translated by Kira Josefsson)
• She Who Remains by Rene Karabash (translated by Izadora Angel)
• The Director by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin)
• On Earth as it is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia (translated by Padma Viswanathan)
• The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre (translated by Antonella Lettieri)
• The Witch by Marie NDiaye (translated by Jordan Stump)
• Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parispur (translated by Faridoun Farrokh)
• The Wax Child by Olga Ravn (translated by Martin Aitken)
• Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi (translated by Lin King)

Natasha Brown, Chair of the judges writes of this longlist: 

'Many of the submitted books examined the devastating consequences of war, which is reflected in our longlist. The list also features petty squabbles between neighbours, mysterious mountain villages, Big Pharma conspiracies, witchy women, ill-fated lovers, a haunted prison, and obscure film references. The page counts range from “pocket-friendly” to “doorstopper”. And while the books’ original publication dates span four decades, each story feels fresh and innovative.'

The prize awards £25,000 to the author and £25,000 to the translator, in recognition of the essential work of translators in bringing fiction to a wider audience. 

The only one of these titles that had been on my radar was The Director about a filmmaker who flees Nazi Germany for Hollywood. However, I am interested in The Remembered Soldier which sounds like an interesting story about a man who lost his memory in World War One and a woman who claims to be his wife. The Nights are Quiet in Tehran also sounds intriguing, about a family fleeing and then returning to Iran.  I need to read more translated fiction, so will be keen to investigate these titles further and see if I can track them down at the local library.

The shortlist of 6 titles will be announced on 31 March and the winner on 19 May 2026.

Dublin Literary Award Longlist 2026

Back in November 2025, the nominations for the 2026 Dublin LiteraryAward were announced with 69 titles vying for contention.  That list has now been whittled down to a longlist of twenty works of fiction as follows:

• Rachel Kushner - Creation Lake
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Dream Count
• Maria Reva - Endling
• Ali Smith - Gliff
• Aria Aber - Good Girl
• Magdelana Blazevic - In Late Summer
• Sally Rooney-  Intermezzo
• Brigitte Giraud - Live Fast
• Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin - Ordinary Saints
• Alan Hollinghurst - Our Evenings
• Laurent Binet - Perspective(s)
• Karen Russell - The Antidote
• Donatella Di Pietrantonio - The Brittle Age
• Siphuwe Gloria Ndlovu - The Creation of Half-Broken People
• Evie Wyld - The Echoes
• Ocean Vyong - The Emperor of Gladness
• Olga Tokarczuk - The Empusium
• Jerimamah Wei - The Orignial Daughter
• Elif Shafak - There are Rivers in the Sky
• Eric Chacour - What I Know About You

This is an interesting Longlist. I have only read Evie Wyld's The Echoes, but I have Intermezzo, and Our Evenings. Many of these titles have been recognised elsewhere, for example, Karen Russell's The Antidote was shortlisted for the National Book Award 2025, Maria Reva's Endling was longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, Rachel Kushner's Creation Lake was longlisted for the 2025 Carol Shields Prize, and both Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Dream Count and Aria Aber's Good Girl were longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize. 

The Longlist will become a Shortlist of six titles in April 2026, while the winner of the 100,000 Euro prize will be announced in May 2026. 

The Sense of an Ending

On his eightieth birthday, English author Julian Barnes released his final book Departure(s) (2026). Currently being treated for a rare blood cancer, Barnes had one last book to write and has crafted a curious  hybrid work of fiction and memoir about aging and the problems of memory.  

Departure(s) begins with an exploration of memory - the Proustian involuntary autographical memory of madelines dunked in tea which transport the author back to an earlier time, the importance of forgetting unwanted memories, and the wonder of the human mind. Barnes plays with his reader, inserting himself (or a fictional version of himself) in the tale, and promising that this will be an unreliable story filled with gaps.

The first part of his story takes place at Magdelen College Oxford in the 1960s, where Julian is reading modern languages. Here he meets Stephen, a fellow student, and introduces him to Jean, a girl from Julian's Russian class. Stephen and Jean engage in a brief relationship while students, but then go their seperate ways. Forty years later, when Julian, Jean and Stephen are in their sixties, they are reunited, with Barnes again enabling the couple's meet-cute. This time they wed and, during their marriage, Julian is their confidant and sounding-board. 

Amidst this tale of love, is one of aging and death. Barnes' diaries are used to explore his diagnosis and treatment. His body is failing and he grasps on to recollections of his past. He is preparing to depart but still has some wisdom to convey. 

I have always liked Barnes as a writer. His wonderful novel The Sense of an Ending (2011) won the Booker Prize and prior to my blogging days, I enjoyed his A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984).  I had the good fortune of hearing him speak and meeting him at the 2016 Sydney Writers' Festival where he signed a copy of The Sense of an Ending for me. 

While the story was different, Departure(s) reminded me of Richard Flanagan's genre-defying Question 7 (2023) which blended autofiction, memoir, history and philosophy. As I read Departure(s) I initially wondered what parts were fiction and which were memoir, and then I realised it doesn't matter. This is Barnes' departure, leaving behind his brilliant career on his own terms, and giving his readers a gift with his contemplative musings. 

Journey's End

I have just finished the final volume of Philip Pullman's epic The Book of Dust trilogy. It has been 30 years since Pullman introduced the world to heroine Lyra Bellaqua (aka Lyra Silvertongue) in the His Dark Materials series. Now, with The Rose Field (2025), Lyra's journey has come to an end. While I am saddened that no more books will be written in this series, I feel tremendously satisfied with this story and was utterly gripped by its conclusion.

Picking up where volume two - The Secret Commonwealth (2019) - ended, Lyra is travelling East in search of her daemon Pantalaimon who is heading towards the Blue Hotel in the desert of Karamakan. Earlier Pan and Lyra had a disagreement, which saw Pan depart in search of Lyra's imagination. Lyra is assisted in her journey by her knowledgable and wily guide, Abdel Ionides. Pan, for the most part, is bravely travelling alone. 

For Lyra and Ionides, the journey is an arduous one in which the travel by land, sea and air. Along the way they meet witches, angels, and gryphons, while being tracked by both Olivier Bonneville and Marcel Delamare, the head of the Magisterium. Oakley Street agent and friend Malcolm Polstead is also on his way. Everyone is racing to get to gateway to another universe which houses the Rusakov Field. Will Pan and Lyra find one another? Will Delamare succeed in his ruthless ambition to rule the world with a global theocracy? Will they ever get home again?

Pullman is such a creative writer, having set this series in a world that mostly resembles our own, but with subtle differences. He offers a rebuke of authoritarianism, capitalism and colonialism, and there are times this reads as a cautionary tale.

I know some readers have criticised the ending for not tying all the threads up in a neat, shiny bow. But I loved this, as Pan's whole quest was to find Lyra's imagination, her childlike wonder and free-thinking mind. Pullman is encouraging his readers to do the same and use our imaginations to continue this story. He has played his last Myriorama card, and now it is our turn to chose the next one.

As with the previous two volumes, I power-read this alongside Michael Sheen's audiobook narration. I absolutely loved Sheen's storytelling as he is able to voice different characters/accents, and he alters her tone and pace to drive the story forward. Highly recommend listening to the audiobook! 

Farewell Lyra and Pan. Thank you - and Mr Pullman - for an incredible adventure that has brought me such joy over the past thirty years. 

My reviews of the previous books in this trilogy are available on this blog:

• La Belle Sauvage (2017) 
• The Secret Commonwealth (2019) 

I don't have reviews of Pullman's earlier His Dark Materials trilogy - Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) (1995) The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000) - as I read these long before I started this blog. Perhaps it is time to revisit....  

Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist 2026

The third annual Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist has been revealed! This prize celebrates non-fiction written by women. The Winner will receive £30,000. Sixteen works of non-fiction were longlisted.

The 2026 longlist is as follows:

Barbara Demick - Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: China's Stolen Children and a Story of Separated Twins

In 2000 a Chinese woman secretly gave birth to identical twin girls. An American couple adopted an abandoned baby girl from China, not knowing that she had been snatched from her mother and separated from her twin. Author journalist Demick is the adoptive mother who only discovered the truth in 2007. This book tells the story of what happened to these twins and Demick's role in reuniting them. Demnick is the author of Eat the Buddha (2020) and Besieged (2012).

Lyse Doucet - The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan

The luxury Hotel Inter-Continental in Kabul is a modern wonder in a city and country that has been devastated by civil war and invasion. It has remained open using the fall and rise of the Taliban, and has welcomed journalists and visitors from around the world. BBC journalist Doucet writes about the Afghans who have maintained the hotel since the 1970s.

Jenny Evans - Don't Let It Break You, Honey: A Memoir About Saving Yourself

At 18 Evans was cast in a cult film and thought she had got her big break. She was assaulted at a party by a high profile person and reported the crime. A tabloid published her story without her permission. Evans went on to train as a journalist to make sense of what happened and realised she was part of the 'phone-hacking' scandal. This memoir is about resilience and finding your own voice.

Daisy Fancourt - Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health 

While most people consume art as a hobby, perhaps the arts are more beneficial to our health than we realise. Professor Fancourt explores the science behind the transformational power of arts and how it is good for the mind and the body. Fancourt is a professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London.

Lady Hale - With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works for Everyone and How We Can Make It Work Better

Written by the former President of the British Supreme Court, this book uses real cases to explore the justice system and how the law works. This is an accessible, easy to read book peppered with compelling cases. It is designed to give a glimpse behind the formalities of the intimidating legal system, and show that everyone has rights to be protected. Baroness Hale was called to the Bar in 1969, became a judge in 1994. She was President of the Supreme Court from 2017-2020.

Kidiatu Kanneh-Mason - To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Creativity and Race in the 21st Century

Kannah-Mason is the mother of seven children who are all gifted, classically-trained musicians (including cellist Sheku Janneh-Mason who performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle). When one of her children was the victim of racist online bullying, she had conversations with her children about Black artistic self-expression and how to rise above the abuse. This book explores belonging and creativity.

Judith Mackrell - Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John

Welsh post-impressionist painter Augustus John was known for his portraiture as well as for fathering children with many different women. His sister Gwendolyn was also an artist, and long-time lover of sculptor Auguste Rodin. This book explores the sibling artists, their work and their lives. Biographer Mackrell has written books about other artists and was the dance critic for The Guardian. 

Deepa Paul - Ask Me How it Works: Love in an Open Marriage

Paul is a Filipina-Indiana author living in Amsterdam. Married, with children, Paul also has a boyfriend. In this book she answers questions many people have about open marriage, how it works and whether polyamory is worth it. Deepa seeks to live an authentic life, without shame for her desires.

Sarah Perry - Death of an Ordinary Man

When her father-in-law died in 2022 only nine days after his cancer diagnosis, Perry realised that this ordinary may was actually quite extraordinary. This meditation on mortality shows that life and death are both ordinary and unique. Perry is an internationally best selling novelist best known for The Essex Serpent, what was longlisted for the 2017 Women's Prize for Fiction. 

Harriet Rix - The Genius of Trees: How Trees Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World

Trees are change agents, surviving forrest fires, drought, climate change and human interference. They manipulate fungi, water, animals and humans to survive. Humans have a lot to thank trees for and this book is designed to ensure readers never look at trees the same way again. Rix is a science consultant and writer with a passion for ecology. 

Jane Rogoyska - Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War

The Hotel Lutetia on Paris' Left Bank has served as a meeting place for bohemian artists, musicians and politicians. Among its guests were Andre Gide, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Josephine Baker, and Henri Matisse. In the 1930s activists and intellectuals fleeing Hitler's rise to power, came to the hotel and attempted to form an alternative government. When Paris was occupied, it became the headquarters of the German Military intelligence service. After the war, it was requisitioned again as a repatriation centre for people returning from concentration camps. Author Rogoyska charts the incredible history of this hotel at the heart of European history.

Arundhati Roy - Mother Mary Comes to Me

The Booker Prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy's memoir details how her relationship with her mother Mary shaped her life. It is the story of how Roy became an artist, writer and activitist. The mother-daughter relationship was fraught, but provided the fuel for Roy's remarkable life. From all the reviews I have read, this memoir sounds brilliant,

Zakia Sewell - Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain

Documentarian Sewell has travelled across Britain in search of its folklore and myth. She learns of Celtic rites, ancient folksongs and seasonal rituals. Along the way, she discovers the story of who the British are and where they are going. 

Grace Spence Green - To Exist As I Am: A Doctor's Notes on Recovery and Radical Acceptance

Junior doctor Spence Green has a life changing injury in 2018 which has confined her to a wheelchair. In this memoir, she shows how to turn tragedy into advocacy as she uses her resilience to fight for a more accessible and inclusive future. Hailed as an eye opener and a must-read for the medical profession, this memoir is a powerful story of rehabilitation and the need to change the narrative around disability. 

Ece Temelkuran - Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century 

The number of displaced persons continue to grow as exiles and refugees seek shelter in new places. Nation of Strangers is a series of letters between strangers encouraging them to welcome newcomers and push back against oppression. The meaning of Home shifts, not just meaning a place to live but also a sense of comfort and security. Turkish author and activist, currently based in Berlin, writes on the rise of fascism around the world. 

Lea Ypi - Indignity: A Life Reimagined

Ypi finds a photo of her grandmother honeymooning in the Alps in 1941 amidst the horrors of World War Two. She thought records of her grandmother had long been lost, so begins a search to discover her past. In doing so she questions the moral authority with which we judge the acts of those who came before us. Chair in Politics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics, Lea Ypi won the Ondaatje Prize for her first book Free: Coming of Age at the End of History.

The Chair of the Judges, Baroness Thangam Debonnaire, said of the Longlist:

'The books on this hopeful longlist are rigorous and researched, lyrical and flowing. They are drawn together by the originality and skill with which they have been written. This reading list carries relevance and truth for the future as well as holding significant value for the present day – the books spark curiosity and demand attention; they are for everyone navigating the complicated and unpredictable world we are living in. The voices of these sixteen remarkable women need to be heard – loud and clear.'

I have not read any of these titles, and I have to say I am disappointed that Hannah Kent was not recognised for her brilliant memoir Always Homesick, Always Home. I had also anticipated that Jacinda Arden's A Different Kind of Power, Electric Spark and Yiyun Li's Things in Nature Merely Grow would be in the list. I am surprised, but not saddened, that there are no books on Artificial Intelligence or technology on the list.

Of the longlist, the only one I am likely to read, and my early pick for winner, is Arundhati Roy's memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me. If I can find them in the library, the other books that interest me are Hotel Exile, Indignity and Nation of Strangers.

The shortlist will be announced on 25 March 2026 and the winner will be revealed on 11 June 2026. Happy reading!

Want more? Here is the video of the Longlist announcement.

Cat and Mouse

Dead Lions (2013) is the second novel in Mick Herron's Slough House series, and the subject of season two of the tv series Slow Horses. 

London's Slough House is an off-shoot of the British spy service MI5, where incompetent or disgraced agents remain on the payroll doing tedious archiving or low level grunt work, forever hoping to make their way back to MI5 headquarters, 'The Park'. The man overseeing these misfits, Jackson Lamb, knows they will burnout, quit or die before ever being redeemed. Lamb himself was stationed in Berlin at the height of the Cold War, before he wound up as head of the Slow Horses. Dismissed by The Park as a washed out annoyance, and physically resembling the same in his stained clothes and greasy visage, Lamb has dirt on 'Second Desk' Diana Taverner. Despite his appearance and the time he spends sleeping, drinking and/or smoking at his desk, Lamb possesses a razor-sharp mind which allows him to piece together clues which would be undecipherable to others.

Lamb is out in the field for much of Dead Lions. An old chum from his Berlin days has been found dead on a bus in Oxford. Dickie Bow's demise doesn't raise an eyebrow anywhere, but Lamb knows there is more to his death and starts to investigate Bow's movements leading up to his death. Bow left a cryptic message, which hints at the return of a ghost from their past. 

Back at Slough House, Louisa and Min have been seconded to help The Park with a Russian oligarch that may become an asset. Roddy Ho continues his online creeping. Newcomers Shirley Dander and Marcus Longridge join the team, wary of each other. River Cartwright is given an opportunity to go undercover, ever hoping to prove himself. Meanwhile Standish, the steely core of Slough House, keeps the wheels turning. As all these agents busy themselves in seemingly unrelated tasks, the pace quickens leading to a heart-racing crescendo.

 

I loved Dead Lions. Herron has done something remarkable in creating a modern thriller which hints at Cold War old school spycraft and marries this with satire and laugh-out-loud dialogue. Herron's genius comes in his innovative use of scene setting, bookending this novel with a walkthrough of Slough House by a cat and mouse. His pacing in brilliant and I admire the way Herron weaves the various strands of the story together.

Having seen the series, the characters are forever imprinted in my mind as the actors who play them. But this is not a bad thing, as the series is perfectly cast. There are several differences between the novel and the television adaptation, that also make for interesting reading. So glad I have a box set of these books on hand as I am sure it won't be long before I visit Slough House again.

 My reviews of other books in Mick Herron's Slough House series can be found on this blog:

• Slow Horses (2010)

Storm Front

Australian author Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore (2025) is a novel which appeared on many 'best novels of the year' lists and regularly popped up on social media with high praise from readers. Knowing little about it, other than it was a work of speculative fiction set on a remote island, I downloaded the audiobook and was immediately sucked in by this remarkable tale.

On the fictional island of Shearwater, located in the cold waters between Tasmania and Antartica, is a research station which holds a seed vault. This collection of seeds, from plants all over the world, has been preserved underground in an icy room to protect the diverse species. There are countless penguins, sea lions and other creatures who thrive in this environment, but the only human inhabitants are the Salt family. Dominic Salt has lived here with his three children for the past eight years, so he knows the island intimately. He is the lighthouse keeper and custodian of Shearwater. Climate change and rising sea levels have led to a decision to close the station, so the researchers have departed and Salt has to pack up the island before the ship arrives to ferry them all back to the mainland. 

A devastating storm rattles the island, and a woman washes ashore. Bruised and shivering, the Salts take her in and tend to her wounds. They soon get to know her, and suspect she is harbouring a secret. But they too have secrets. After so long without a mother, the children form a bond with Rowan.

I loved this novel. The setting of a remote island gives the story a lot of energy and a locked-room mystery element. The sense of place is vivid as McConaghy has described it so well that readers can picture the landscape, smell the salty sea air, and feel the bone chilling cold. The characters were fascinating and McConaghy is gifted in the way she drip feeds information about Rowan, Dominic and the children. Each chapter is told by from a different perspective, so we see things from their point of view. There is also a lot to learn here as young Orly, knows everything about the different species of plants and animals and is keen to share his passion.

I cannot say much more about the story without spoiling it for others, so it is best that readers go in with no expectations. I did and was surprised to find that this novel is multi-layered and so engaging. There are complex themes to McConaghy's novel, with plenty of fodder for book clubs to ponder. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version, as it employs several talented voice actors who narrate the chapters from the perspective of their characters. It also adds a sense of urgency as the novel heads towards its thrilling conclusion. 

I can see why McConaghy topped so many reader's lists last year. It will certainly be among my top reads this year. 

Immortal Words

Retired lawyer Sybil Van Antwerp lives alone in Arnold, Maryland. There is routine to the septuagenarian's life. She reads, keeps her house by the river tidy, but mostly she sits at her desk with a mug of Irish breakfast tea and writes letters. Occasionally she will send an email, but Sybil prefers to write in cursive longhand and send the letters by post.  

Sybil writes to authors like Joan Didion, Ann Patchett and Larry McMurtry, telling them about her admiration for their books. She writes to her beloved brother, Felix now living in France with his husband. She writes to her daughter Fiona, a career-driven mother living in London, and to her son Bruce who lives near enough that he could visit more often. She writes to a child of a colleague, the local Garden Club, her neighbour, the editors of a newspaper and a company help desk. Sybil is also writing a long, unsent letter to another person in which she reveals some of her most painful memories and deepest fears. 

Virginia Evans' delightful debut The Correspondent (2025) is an epistolary novel, told in letters. Through the letters she writes and receives, we learn about Sybil and the secrets she holds, the regrets she has, and the belonging she desires. 

Sybil is a remarkable character you cannot help feeling affection for.  Externally she presents as strong-willed and cold, but underneath she is vulnerable and needs to make peace with her past. Evans has lovingly crafted Sybil and tenderly helps her to know and possibly forgive herself. 

The novel is engrossing and covers some deep themes - family, friendship, loss, aging, regret, companionship. I loved how it shined a light on the lost art of letter writing. In a world of social media, instant messaging and AI, the art of a handwritten letter has disappeared. I cannot even remember the last time I wrote or received a handwritten letter, yet I have fond memories of sending aerograms and cards in the time before the internet. If I could, I would love to write to Sybil (she would be an excellent pen pal) and exchange book recommendations with her.  

I highly recommend this unique novel. While it is only January, I have a feeling this will be among my top books for the year. I will be thinking about The Correspondent for a long time to come. 

Dance of Death

Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library (1942) begins with a murder. The body of a young woman is found lying on the hearth rug the library of Gossington Hall, the estate of Colonel and Mrs Bantry, by the maid. She wakes the Bantrys with a shriek.

While the Colonel contacts the local police - Inspector Slack and Colonel Melchett - Mrs Bantry has other ideas. She telephones her dear friend Miss Marple, the amateur sleuth. Marple is able to disarm witnesses with her charming, grandmotherly visage, and piece together a mystery with her fine intellect and quick wit. The police know Miss Marple and are keen to hear her perspective. 

The detectives need to identify this woman, who is unknown to the Bantry household. Their investigation takes them to the Majestic Hotel in Danemouth where an invalid guest, Conway Jefferson, has reported an 18 year old dancer, Ruby Keene, missing. She was onstage at 10pm, and seen dancing with a man at 11pm, but did not return for her midnight set. her cousin Josie, who recommended Ruby for the hotel job, confirms the identity of the body.

Suddenly there are a lot of potential suspects and when a second body is found, things become more complicated. There are many threads to pull in the investigation, revealing bitter rivalries, secret relationships and financial incentives among the many suspects. 

Miss Marple attends police interviews and notices things that others don't. She sees the state of someone's fingernails, the sideways glances another gives, and can tell if a person is lying. Marple figures everything out long before the police, and helps to solve both murders.

This is the second Miss Marple book, preceded by The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), and I enjoyed her as a character, even though she was in the background for much of the story. While Miss Marple worked alongside the police, she did not dominate or show them to be incompetent. Rather she partnered with them and helped them with the investigation. 

The Body in the Library is a delightful novel, brimming with humour. Christie is clearly having a great deal of fun telling this tale.  

I have had this book for a very long time, but had never read it. I recently stumbled across the "Read Christie" challenge, run by Agatha Christie Ltd (the company established by the author which owns the rights to her works). The 2026 challenge, 'Biggest, Best, Beloved' has selected twelve titles for a monthly read along. The Body in the Library has been given the category of 'Best Opening' and it certainly starts lives up to that description. I don't know if I will pursue the full Read Christie challenge this year, but I might give it a go. The Agatha Christie books I have previously enjoyed have generally been quick reads.

My reviews of other Christie novels are available on this blog: 

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
• Murder on the Links (1923)

An Excellent Vintage

Matthew Spencer's debut novel Black River (2022) introduced readers to Detective Sargent Rose Riley, as she investigated a serial killer prowling Sydney. Journalist Adam Bowman covered the case and the two worked in parallel, each thriving in their respective jobs. Following this high profile case, Bowman wrote a book which changed his fortunes and, with Riley as a central figure, she lost some of her prized anonymity.

DS Riley is back in Broke Road (2025). Wakened by a phone call advising her of a murder in the Hunter Valley wine region, Riley quickly packs for a few days away and begins the two-hour drive north of Sydney. Riley is familiar with the area, having grown up nearby, in the part less frequented by tourists. Past the cellar doors and golf resorts, there is a seedier side to the region marked by poverty, drug abuse and a large prison. 

In a new estate near Pokolbin, a woman has been found strangled in her home. Riley calls in her colleague Priya Patel to assist, and the two book in to a local inn as they realise this case may take a while to solve. The woman's husband, a geologist working for the coal industry, has an alibi. But there are plenty of other suspects for Riley and Patel to investigate and rule out.

When the forensic analysis reveals similarities to cold cases interstate, Riley's investigation becomes much bigger. She needs to crack the case before the killer strikes again. With the local tabloids muddying the waters, she calls on Adam Bowman to resurrect the working relationship they established on the earlier case. He arrives in the area and quickly begins following his own leads, some of which may land him in trouble. 

Spencer has crafted a captivating thriller. He excels at the police procedural aspects of the case, and has created compelling new characters like the local cop Christian Rodrigues who has been assigned to help Riley and Patel. There are plenty of intriguing subplots and red herrings along the way to keep readers guessing. Riley is smart and diligent, but with an underlay of vulnerability. Patel is a perfect partner, with her quick wit and likability, she can build relationships to assist in their work. 

One aspect I really appreciated was the way in which Spencer covered the tension in the area. The tourism industry, which thrives on weekends, causes the towns and villages to swell and locals resent being priced out as homes are converted to AirBnBs and boutique hotels. Beyond the vineyards, farmers are struggling with increased costs, and the coal industry which has sustained generations of workers faces protest from environmentalists. 

Broke Road is an excellent novel which can be read on its own, but I would encourage starting with Black River to get the full effect. 

His Bloody Project

On a small island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides a shocking crime occurred in an otherwise peaceful crofter community in July 1857. Angus MacPhee, a troubled and troublesome man, brutally murdered his parents and aunt, then took off fearing capture. Locals formed a hunting party and found him, taking him to Inverness for trial. MacPhee's siblings are left to pick up the pieces.

Graeme Macrae Burnet has taken this true crime story and composed a novella, Benbecula (2025), narrated by MacPhee's brother Malcolm. Told retrospectively, Angus first appears to be a lazy man in a household which tolerates his weirdness. His father is disinterested, his mother is only focussed on the hearth fire at the croft, and his siblings are busy working to bring in sea ware to make a small living off selling kelp. Angus smokes his pipe and pleasures himself, without lifting a finger to help. His sibling do their best to avoid him.

Neighbours are worried about Angus. His creepiness disturbs passersby, and his odd behaviour has caused concern. One day he behaves so erratically that he is shackled and forced to remain at home, restrained. As the days pass, the family gives him more latitude and he seems to be better. Until he commits the horrendous act of violence for which he is incarcerated. Several years after the crime Malcolm MacPhee recounts the tale and the aftermath, alone from the croft. 

I always admire Macrae Burnet's writing style. By using Malcolm as narrator, he inhabits the brevity of the man's storytelling and infuses it with the local dialect. Readers can see the bigger picture, and read between the lines of what is not being overtly said. Relying on the scant records from witness statements, which would have been translated from Gaelic and made to sound more proper than the words of the illiterate locals, Macrae Burnet builds a whole world. He is able to depict the bleakness of this life - growing potatoes, harvesting kelp - on this small island. I appreciated the way the narration switched between Malcolm's later recall, and the lead up to the crimes. 

In less than 170 pages, Macrae Burnet has crafted a wonderful novella. While I greatly enjoyed it, I did not feel it was as good as Macrae Burnet's His Bloody Project (2015) which I absolutely adored. My review of Macrae Burnet's Case Study (2021) is also available on this blog. 

Handle the Heat

If you a senior leader, facilitator or board chair, Larry Dressler's Standing in the Fire (2018) is definitely worth a read. In this short book, Dressler explores what to do if a meeting goes off the rails, participants are polarised, or you find yourself in the middle of a fiery situation. The book is subtitled 'Leading high-heat meetings with clarity, calm, and courage' - and addresses how to do just that.

In my career I have had to have many difficult conversations, participated in intense board meetings, mediated grievances, and managed challenging group dynamics. Despite my experience, every so often a curve ball is thrown and upon reflection I wonder what I could have done differently to take the heat out of a situation or responded more effectively when I was the target of other's emotions.

Business books often have models - a pyramid or Venn diagram which purports to solve all your woes. Thankfully, Dressler doesn't really do that. Instead he focusses on practical tips for managing group dynamics. 

He begins with an analogy of fire and how in groups a fire can be destructive or productive. Heat can escalate in a group environment and degrade into aggression, personal attacks, misinformation and rumour. Conversely, fire can serve groups by bringing passions to the surface, illuminating issues, clearing the air, and allowing creativity to flourish. 

I like his depiction of leaders as fire tenders - 'people who can stand in the face of incendiary conflicts and perplexing challenges and help others hold the tensions, emotions and uncertainties long enough to arrive at new insights and common ground' (p25). In order to master this skill, we have to look inward at how we react and adapt to situations. We need to know our own triggers and what we can do to tend our own fires.

Dressler shows six ways of standing in fire by being present, self-aware, open, empathetic, ready for the unexpected and knowing what you stand for. He gives examples from his work and interviews with business leaders to showcase different skills, provides reflect questions to provoke introspection and homework for those who want to develop their skills.  

Not all of his tips will work for everyone. Indeed, there were many where I thought I am never going to do that. But there was much that resonated for me. 

Standing in the Fire is a quick read, but a book I can see myself go back to overtime to hone these important skills. 

Dust and Division

Day's End (2022) is the fourth novel in Garry Disher's Hirsch crime series and his best to date. 

Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) has been stationed at the single-officer police station in Tiverton, South Australia for three years now and has gradually become part of the community. He covers a huge rural area, and does the rounds twice a week to check in on locals and providing a visible police presence. The pandemic has reached the town, bringing with it division and isolation. 

A Belgian visitor, Janne Van Sant, is in town looking for her son. He was a backpacker working on a rural property before he allegedly took off to Queensland with a girl. A body has been found in a smouldering suitcase, but it is not Van Sant's son. On top of this, some residence have been the victims of online scams, including Hirsch's partner Wendy. Up in the more populated Redruth, his colleagues are dealing with racist graffiti, druggies and other crime. 

There is a lot going on in Day's End and Disher handles it all brilliantly. I really appreciated the way he depicted the COVID lockdown impact on the regional area and the challenges young people face in a town which gives them little to do. 

Disher is such a great crime writer. He is an expert with pacing and uses short chapters which always leave the reader wanting more. As such, I was easily able to finish this 400 page book in two days. You really get feel for the landscape here, and Van Sant, as a foreigner in this strange land, comments that places are named for ill-adventure - Mischance Creek, Desolation Hill etc. 

I was fortunate to receive book five in this series, Mischance Creek (2025), for Christmas so will be returning to Hirsch's world before long.   

You don't need to read the first three Hirsch books to enjoy Day's End, but I would encourage fans of the genre not to miss them. My reviews of other novels in the Hirsch series are available on this blog:

• Bitter Wash Road (2013)
• Peace (2019)
• Consolation (2020) 

I also recommend Disher's standalone novels, like: The Way it is Now (2021) and Sanctuary (2024). 

Planning for 2026

My reading year begins with a review of the stack of books on my 'To Be Read' pile to see which ones I really want to read and which can be shelved a little longer. I have also recently done a major clean up and cull of my library and found many forgotten gems. So I have the following prioritised for 2026: 

• 
  Emma Donoghue - The Paris Express
• Mick Herron - Dead Lions
• Alan Hollinghurst - Our Evenings
• Dervla McTiernan - The Unquiet Grave
• Philip Pullman - The Rose Field
• Heather Rose - A Great Act of Love
• Elizabeth Strout - Abide with Me
• Graeme Macrae Burnet - Benbecula

I am looking forward to a number of new books due to be published in 2026, including:

• George Saunders - Vigil (January) 
  
• Julian Barnes - Departure(s) (January)
• Tayari Jones - Kin (February)
• Lauren Groff - Brawler: Stories (February)
• Louise Milligan - Shelleybanks (March)
• ML Steadman - A Far Flung Life (March)
• Alba De Cespedes (trans. Ann Goldstein) - There's No Turning Back (March)
• Tana French - The Keeper (March)
• Natalie Haynes - No Friend in this House (March)
• Yann Martel - Son of Nobody (March)
• Colm Tóibín - The News from Dublin (March)
• Brian Bilston - How to Lay and Egg with a Horse Inside (April)
• Kae Tempest - Having Spent Life Seeking (April)
• Elizabeth Strout - The Things We Never Say (May)
• Kristin Hannah - Between Sisters (May)
• Douglas Stuart - John of John (May)
• Maggie O'Farrell - Land (June)
• Ann Patchett - Whistler (June)
• Jennifer Saint - This Immortal Heart (June)
• Lisa See - Daughters of the Sun and Moon (June)
• Colson Whitehead - Cool Machine (July)
• Daniel Mason - Country People (July)
• Robert Harris - Agrippa (August)
• Jon Ronson - The Castle (August)
• Emily St John Mandel - Exit Party (September)
• Louise Kennedy - Stations (September)

While I won't get to all of them this year, I have preordered many from my library. 

I have renewed my Quarterly Essay subscription and am looking forward to coming issues by Michael Wesley, Anna Goldsworthy and others. I have also renewed my Audible subscription so will be able to explore audiobooks to enhance my reading.

Having nearly completed Hilary Mantel's epic Cromwell trilogy (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies -read in 2025, and The Mirror and the Light - not quite finished by year end!), I am thinking I should complete some other big series that I have started - like Frank Moorhouse's Edith Campbell Berry series, Robertson Davies' Cornish Trilogy, or Colson Whitehead's Harlem Trilogy. Or maybe I should start something new like Solvej Balle's seriers On the Calculation of Volume.

For the past few years I have consistently been able to read at least 30 books a year. In 2025 I exceed this, reading 45. For 2026, I will aim for 40 books! I will continue to explore new authors, genres and subject matters, however I am also enjoying my Box Sets plan to read the back catalogues of authors I admire. I also need to get cracking on my Fifty/Five list of what I planned to read before the end of 2028 as I have not done very well so far. 

Happy reading everyone!

My Reading Year 2025

I read a lot in 2025! My reading goal for 2025 was 35 books, which I surpassed reading 45 titles this year - over 15,500 pages! When planning for 2025, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read only a handful before I got distracted, as I always do, by other titles. 

So here's what I read in 2025:

Fiction

This was the year I finally immersed myself in the Elizabeth Strout universe. I began the year with Olive Kitteridge, Strout's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I jumped ahead to her latest novel, Tell Me Everything, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction. I then went back to the beginning and read her debut novel,  Amy and Isabelle. I am now fully converted to her genius and plan on exploring more of her work next year.

Another author that I have had on my radar for years but never conquered was Hilary Mantel. This year I read two-thirds of her Cromwell Trilogy with the Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies.  I have started the final novel in the series, a hefty hardback of The Mirror in the Light, but will not complete it this year. 

Literary award longists added many titles to my reading list. Among my favourite novels this year were by Australian authors - Melanie Cheng's The Burrow (Stella Prize), Emily Maguire's wonderful Rapture (Stella Prize) Fiona McFarlane's linked short stories in Highway 13 (Miles Franklin Award), and Evie Wyld's ghostly tale, The Echoes (Victorian Premier's Prize). The 2025 Women's Prize introduced me to two heartbreaking novels which I still think about: Yael Van Der Wouden's The Safekeep and Roisin O'Donnell's Nesting. Carys Davies' lovely novel Clear (RSL Ondaatje Prize) was also brilliant. 

I wanted to read Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead ever since it was published and won the Women's Prize (among other accolades) in 2023, but I felt compelled to re-read Charles Dickens' David Copperfield first. I am so glad I did, as it greatly enhanced my reading of Kingsolver's remarkable novel. Having recently tidied my bookshelves, I find that I already possess a number of her novels so I look forward to exploring her back catalogue.

Other titles that had been languishing unread on my shelves finally moved up the to-be-read pile. I loved Anne Enright's The Green Road and am slowly working my way through all of her books.  Alex Miller's A Brief Affair, Penelope Lively's Heat Wave, Sarah Waters' The Paying Guest and Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here were great reads in 2025. I also finally read Barbara Trapido's Brother of the More Famous Jack which I had heard about for years. 

Some of the series that I have been following had new novels published. I really enjoyed Suzanne Collins' Sunrise on the Reaping, Tara Moss' The Italian Secret and Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth. I have been saving Pullman's latest and last novel in the Lyra Bellaqua series - The Rose Field - but will read that next year. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere, a novel I read without any expectations, was such a beautiful, heartbreaking story it left me sobbing. Another great standalone novel was Liz Moore's The God of the Woods.

I love a good crime thrillers, especially 'Aussie Noir'. This year I read Hayley Scrivenor's Girl Falling, Chris Hammer's  Legacy (another Martin Scarsden pageturner), Jane Harper's Last One Out and Garry Disher's Sanctuary. I read two Irish crime novels by Dervla McTiernan - The Scholar and  The Good Turn in the DS Cormac Reilly series. I enjoyed the latest in the Strike/Ellacott series by Robert Galbraith, The Hallmarked Man. I also started Mick Herron's Slow Horses series after being gifted a box set of his novels, and will undoubtedly work my way through these next year. 

Non-Fiction

This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to and will need to rectify this in 2026.

I really enjoyed the Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in. This year I read George Megalogenis' Minority Report (QR96), Hugh White's Hard New World (QE98) and Sean Kelly's The Good Fight (QE100).

I read Anne Applebaum's Autocracy Inc when it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.  Janet Malcolm's essay collection Nobody's Looking at You, had been lingering unfinished for a while so I was pleased to have completed that. 

I read two memoirs this year which I loved. I borrowed Kate Grenville's Unsettled from my mother after she raved about this personal journey of reconciliation. Hannah Kent's Always Home, Always Homesick was such a delight - transporting me to Iceland and making me long to read Burial Rites again. 

I will read anything Helen Garner writes, including a book about footy - The Season. I also loved her book with Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, The Mushroom Tapes, about the trial of Erin Patterson who bumped off her husband's family with a deadly beef wellington.

My last book for the year was Niki Savva's Earthquake on the 2025 federal election

Best of 2025

I read so many great books this year. If I had to whittle down the 45 into my absolute favourites for 2025, without any hesitation I would pick Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and Hannah Kent's  Always Home, Always Homesick.  

I would give honourable mentions to:

• Carys Davies - Clear
• Anne Enright - The Green Road
• Robert Galbraith - The Hallmarked Man
• Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein - The Mushroom Tapes
• Kate Grenville - Unsettled
• Mick Herron - Slow Horses
• Emily Maguire - Rapture
• Fiona McFarlane - Highway 13
• Roisin O'Donnell - Nesting
• Taylor Jenkins Reid - Atmosphere
• Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge
• Yael Van Der Wouden - The Safekeep

Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!