One Good Turn (2006) by Kate Atkinson
I had read two earlier novels by this author and had thoroughly enjoyed both. (See my blog of  9th February 2010.) This one was a disappointment, even though its likeable central character, Jackson Brodie, featured in one of the earlier books. One Good Turn is subtitled “A Jolly Murder Mystery” but, for me, it failed as a murder mystery and, although I enjoyed Atkinson’s customary wry humour, I did not find it “jolly”.   

They F*** You Up (2007) by Oliver James
This was the one non-fiction book I read during the year. The title comes from the well-known poem by Philip Larkin. My daughter-in-law bought it for me following a discussion we had had on the question of whether the way a person turns out is governed by nature (his genes) or nurture (the way he is brought up). Oliver James, a clinical psychologist, is firmly in the “nurture” camp, believing that the first six years of a person’s life are of critical importance. It is a thought-provoking book that should be read by parents of young children and prospective parents.

One Day (2009) by David Nicholls
I loved this novel and cannot recommend it highly enough. (See my blog of  28th September 2010.)

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest (2009) by Stieg Larsson
The third volume of the Millennium Trilogy ties up several loose ends of the earlier novels. It is not as impressive as its predecessors, the plot strains credibility, but it is, nevertheless, an enthralling thriller.

We Are All Made Of Glue (2009) by Marina Lewycka
I enjoyed Marina Lewycka’s debut novel, A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian, which I had read two years earlier and found that this had the same distinctive style. Both are about families in crisis but are written with warmth and great humour.

Birdman (1999) by Mo Hayder
The author’s debut novel is a police thriller about the hunt for a particularly vicious serial killer. This is not a book for the squeamish. It is, however, well written and is particularly strong in describing police procedures. The hero, DI Jack Caffrey is an interesting creation and has gone on to feature in several other novels by this author.

This Is Your Life (2002) by John O’Farrell
A satirical novel on our society’s obsession with celebrity. It is amusing but I felt that the subject-matter is such a potentially rich source of humour that it could have been even funnier. I have to admit, however, that I am not a big lover of  humour which derives from embarrassment and there is lot of that in this book.

The Scarecrow (2009) by Michael Connelly
Another first-rate thriller by this consistently good American crime writer. (See also earlier blogs in this category.)

Click on book title for Amazon UK  link.

Two Lives (2005) by Vikram Seth
See the review in my blog of 28th July 2010.

Deal Breaker (1995) by Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben is a best-selling American thriller writer. I first came across his name in the credits of a 2006 French film, Tell No One, which was based on his novel of the same name. I subsequently read his book The Woods, which I thoroughly enjoyed and, like the film, it was very cleverly plotted. Deal Breaker is the first book of a series featuring a central character named Myron Bolitar, a sports agent who doubles as a private detective. It proved a disappointment. Whilst entertaining and, again, well-plotted, I found the characters two-dimensional and implausible. There was also a common element in all three novels mentioned in that a young woman goes missing and no body can be found. I have one further Myron Bolitar novel waiting to be read and I suspect that it will be the last.  

Seasonal Suicide Notes (2009) by Roger Lewis
The writer is a journalist and biographer. He apparently sends his friends a letter each Christmas which, in his own words, is “my splenetic antidote to Christmas round-robins”. This short book of about 200 pages is an expanded version of those letters covering the five years beginning with 2004. It is amusing and occasionally very funny, although his humour is so cruel that I suspect he does not have many friends.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2008) by Stieg Larsson
This is the first volume of the Millennium Trilogy by the Swedish journalist, Stieg Larsson, who died in 2004 at the age of 50. At that stage none of the novels had been published and so he was unable to enjoy the phenomenal success they have had. As well as being international best-sellers, all three books have been the subject of  Swedish films, successfully released internationally. A film of  this first novel is also being made in the USA. I thought the hype in this case was entirely justified. This is one of the best thrillers I have read; a real page-turner with a memorably original heroine in Lisbeth Salander.

A Suitable Boy (1993) by Vikram Seth
A masterpiece. See the review in my blog of 28th July 2010.

Ordinary Thunderstorms (2009) by William Boyd
As is apparent from my blog of 19th June 2008, William Boyd is one of my favourite novelists. I fear, however, that he is beginning to coast as this is the second book in succession that is not worthy of his considerable talents. It is a thriller of undoubted scope and is an entertaining read but it was spoiled for me by two things. First, the plot hinges on the stupid way in which the hero, a highly intelligent man, behaves when confronted by a crisis. It was simply implausible. Secondly, there was the nagging feeling that the author is not really suited to this genre. Boyd’s own adaptation of his novel Any Human Heart, serialised by ITV last year, served as a reminder of what a good writer he can be.

Me Cheeta (2008) by James Lever
This is based on the conceit that it is the autobiography of Cheeta, the chimpanzee star of the Tarzan films. It is, however, rather more than a one-joke spoof. A lot of the events described took place (or possibly did not, as Cheeta is not the most reliable of narrators) in the golden age of Hollywood and  the scurrilous observations on several of the biggest stars are not only funny but also occasionally quite shocking. He clearly disliked Rex Harrison, Esther Williams, Charlie Chaplin and Mickey Rooney, to name but four. On the other hand, he liked David Niven and positively loved Johnny Weissmuller. Indeed, the book is in part a homage to Weissmuller. It is also an exposé of the appalling treatment by the movie industry of wild animals. I enjoyed the book, found it both amusing and sad. There were, however, some rather dull passages which prevents me from being more fulsome in my praise.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009) by Stieg Larsson
The second volume of the Millennium Trilogy and another terrific read. It has many of the same characters as the first book but does not have its whodunnit element. It is very much an action thriller and expands aspects of  Lisbeth Salander’s background.

The Concrete Blonde (1998) by Michael Connelly
Another of Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels and up to their consistently high standards. Se also my blog of 4th December 2008.

Click on book title for Amazon product link.

David Nicholls also wrote Starter for Ten which I have not read but much enjoyed the film version for which he also wrote the screenplay. He has, in addition, written extensively for television.

One Day is based on a simple but original (at least as far as I am aware) idea. It is the story of  Emma and Dexter over a period of twenty years viewed on the same day each year, beginning on 15th July 1988, when they meet on the day they graduate from Edinburgh University, and ending on 15th July 2007. It is a study of human relationships written against a background of British society of the recent past. It is amusing, clever and intensely moving, with the two central characters drawn in such rich detail as to be utterly credible. This is a beautifully written novel that I recommend without reservation.

Click on book title for Amazon product link.

A Suitable Boy (1993)
Although the earliest of the works, I only got round to reading it this year. This was partly because I was deterred by its size. It is reputed to be the longest novel ever written in the English language. The paperback edition I read was 1,349 pages long. Other editions have even more pages. It took the author almost ten years to write. Because of its size and the number of characters, this is not a novel for reading just a few pages at a time last thing at night. Nevertheless, despite its length, A Suitable Boy reads very easily, thanks to Seth’s flowing style and humour. It is set in India shortly after Partition,  in the period leading up to the country’s first election following independence. The title refers to the search by a mother for a suitable husband for her daughter for whom there are a number of potential suitors. This, however, is but one theme in a saga involving the affairs of four families. The writer addresses a host of issues that were of importance at the time (several of which remain so), including arranged marriages, sectarian animosity, the caste system and land reform. Not only is this a truly great novel, it also provides the reader with a fascinating insight into Indian society and history at a critical time for the country.

An Equal Music (1999)
This is the story of a love affair between two classical musicians, written with great sensitivity and poignancy by a writer who clearly is himself a lover of, and highly knowledgable about, music. Another masterpiece.

Two Lives (2005)
When he was seventeen, Vikram Seth left India to come to England to continue his education. He went to stay with his great-uncle Shanti and great-aunt Henny who lived in Hendon. Theirs are the two lives of the title of this biography. Shanti was Indian and Henny a German Jew. They met in Germany, where Shanti had gone to study dentistry in the 1930s. They were not famous people but they lived through some terrible times. The book encompasses the India of Shanti’s early life, Germany before and during the Second World War, the fighting in Africa and Italy, the Holocaust and post-war Germany and Britain. It is written with great affection and is a moving family memoir. I do, however, think it could have done with some vigorous editing in that too much of Henny’s correspondence is quoted and, frankly, some of it is rather tedious.

Click on book title for Amazon product link.

Photo: Kate Atkinson. See below.

The Brass Verdict (2008) by Michael Connelly
See the review in my blog of 24th June 2009.

Aimez-Vous Brahms… (1959) by Françoise Sagan
I came across this book whilst clearing out my mother’s house. Françoise Sagan was a popular French novelist who died in 2004. This was her fourth novel and is only 129 pages long. It is about a middle-aged woman in a long-standing affair who becomes involved with a much younger man. Even though it is so short, I still found it tedious. This was the first book by the author that I have read and it is likely to be the last.

The Shape of Water (1994) by Andrea Camilleri
This is the first in a popular series of novels, translated from Italian, featuring a Sicilian detective, Inspector Salvo Montalban. It is an enjoyable mystery, written in a low key, and I may well read another in the series.

The Interpretation of Murder (2006) by Jed Rubenfield
The author is an academic lawyer at Yale University and this is his first novel. It is set in the USA in 1909 and is a mixture of fact and fiction. The factual context is the visit to that country at that time of Sigmund Freud, accompanied by Carl Jung, to give a series of lectures on psychoanalysis. The fiction is the former’s involvement in solving a murder and an associated mystery. It received very good reviews and was one of the UK’s best-selling novels in 2007. Whilst it is cleverly plotted and carefully researched, the central conceit did not really work for me.

The Mission Song (2006) by John le Carré
Anyone who is familiar with this website will know that I am a huge admirer of John le Carré. This story of an interpreter out of his depth in murky African politics did not disappoint. It is written with a lighter touch than some of his work.

Case Histories (2004) by Kate Atkinson
This is the second novel by Kate Atkinson that I have read. The first was Behind the Scenes at the Museum which was the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year, an impressive feat for a first novel. I thoroughly enjoyed both books. She has an original style and is able to blend tragedy with dark humour. Unlike the earlier book, Case Histories is a detective story but it is quite different from the norm. The central character, Jackson Brodie, a private detective, is very likeable and features in two further novels. I look forward to reading them.

The House of the Spirits (1982) by Isabel Allende
We had had this book at home for several years but it did not appeal to me. I only decided to read it after seeing that The Times had included it in its list of the 60 greatest books of the past 60 years. The author is Chilean and is related to the former president of that country, Salvador Allende, who was deposed in the 1973 coup led by General Pinochet. This was her first novel and is set in a South American country which, although unnamed, is identifiable as Chile. It is a family saga, covering three generations. It is a magnificent work and deserves the recognition it has received.

Russian Hide-and-Seek (1980) by Kingsley Amis
This was another book that belonged to my mother. It is set in England fifty years after the country has been colonized by the Russians and concerns a plot to bring down the government. I have read and enjoyed several of Amis’s novels but this was not one of them. I found it neither amusing nor interesting.

Click on book titles for Amazon product links.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2008) by Kate Summerscale
This is a thoroughly researched account of a notorious Victorian murder case that involved Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard, the most famous detective of the time. The case inspired the classic English country house murder story. The book won the prestigious Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction in 2008 and was named as the Book of the Year in the 2009 Galaxy British Book Awards. Whilst I enjoyed it, I felt it succeeded more as a social history than as a narrative of the actual events. Nevertheless, well worth reading.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) by Khaled Hosseini
I enjoyed this even more than Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner. Indeed, I think it is the better book. Like its predecessor, it is set in Afghanistan, and is an epic and often harrowing tale of the lives of two women enduring their plight in that country’s recent turbulent history. It has been a huge international success and was the novel that most impressed me of the ones I read last year.

Don’t Look Back (2002) by Karin Fossum
I so enjoyed the BBC Wallander series last year that I decided to read one of Henning Mankell’s novels. Unfortunately the only ones that seemed to be readily available at the time were those on which the TV series had been based. It was not, however, a massive leap from a Swedish policeman to a Norwegian one, Inspector Sejer. Although it was well written, I did not find the book gripping and am a little surprised at Karin Fossum’s considerable popularity. Perhaps this was not a particularly good example of her work.

A Most Wanted Man (2008) by John le Carré
One of my favourites of the year. See the review in my blog of 24th June 2009.

I’m Not Scared (2001) by Niccolò Ammaniti
A disturbing story, seen through the eyes of a nine year old boy who gradually discovers that his world is not what it had seemed. It is a superbly written short novel that maintains its tension to the end. The 2003 film of the same name, with a screenplay by the author, is very faithful to the novel.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984) by Milan Kundera
This is widely regarded as a twentieth century classic. Having struggled to read it, I can but wonder why. To me it was unbearably tedious. Probably, I simply don’t appreciate postmodern literature. I am sufficiently old-fashioned to want well-drawn characters and a structure to the plot. I much preferred the 1988 film version.

The Ghost (2007) by Robert Harris
I read this on holiday in a very short space of time and it was, indeed, hard to put down. It is a first-class, intelligent political thriller. Don’t be misled by the title. It is not about the supernatural; the hero is a ghostwriter hired by a former British prime minister to complete his memoirs. If the Blairs have read this, I don’t think they would have enjoyed it.

Click on book titles for Amazon product links.

A Most Wanted Man (2008)  is le Carré’s 21st novel and, for a man who will be 78 in October, the author is showing no signs of diminishing powers. The book is typical of his oeuvre in that, although it could be pigeon-holed as a spy thriller, it is so much more than that. Like Absolute Friends (2004), it is concerned with Islamic terrorism and involves well-drawn characters caught up in a world in which they are plainly out of their depth. There is a lot of dialogue and comparatively little action, but the book is nevertheless riveting. It is very apparent that the author is angry at the West’s conduct of the so-called War on Terror. Moral indignation and cynicism are rarely far from the surface.

Rating ****

The central character of The Brass Verdict (2008) is Mickey Haller, the defence attorney from The Lincoln Lawyer (2005), an outstanding legal thriller. Michael Connelly’s usual hero, Detective Harry Bosch, also appears, but in a somewhat peripheral role.

For me, the best elements of Connelly’s thrillers are the clever plotting, the smart dialogue and the sustained pace of the  narrative. Here, although the novel gets off to a brisk start, I felt that it got rather bogged down in the middle, particularly in the section on jury selection, and was generally not as exciting as it might have been. The dialogue was up to the usual standard but, although the plotting was intricate, the story was implausible in certain key respects. Having said that, there was probably sufficient here to satisfy most of the author’s many fans.

Rating ****

Click on blue underlined book titles for Amazon product links.

The majority of Connelly’s novels feature Harry Bosch, a detective with the Local Angeles Police Department. There are 14 in the series so far. He also writes stand-alone novels. I am a relative newcomer to this author and have, so far, read six of his books, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. They are, in order of publication:

• Blood Work (1998)
• Angels Flight (1999)
• City of Bones (2002)
• Lost Light (2003)
• The Lincoln Lawyer (2005)
• Echo Park (2006)

Four of the above are Harry Bosch novels. The two stand-alones are Blood Work and The Lincoln Lawyer.

Click on the titles for Amazon product links.