January Book Recommendations

My reading challenge took off to a flying start this year. I guess working on habits and desperately trying to reduce screen time has worked wonders. I haven’t gone through some magical transformation that would enable me to dish out any type of advice, but I have consistently spent at least 30 minutes a day with a book in my hands. Here’s what moved into my ‘read’ pile this last month.

What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall

I started this book in December, but with all the festivities taking their time, I only managed to finish it in January. The beginning of this book was promising, a description of a person’s life and death. To be honest, I didn’t clock it was an obituary and for a fair while I kept expecting for the story to unfold until we know the details of why this person dies in such a way. This was however only one out of many obituaries we see in the book. They do keep the readers on our toes as we now try to discern if the person is actually going to meet one of these gruesome ends or not.

The main character is Colette Weber, who returns to Catalina Island to assist her elderly aunt Gwen. Colette was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion 20 years prior that saw her orphaned. Set in the time of Covid starting to spread around the world, the setting feels even more cut off from the rest of the country. Colette gets a job at a local newspaper, writing obituaries, and there’s plenty of these to write as elderly population is dying. Colette starts suspecting there’s something behind the deaths as they seem to have a common thread, property.

There’s suspense as she receives her own obituaries, strange things happen at her home and then there’s the tense relationship with her aunt. Catalina also seems a very closed community, not appreciating “outsiders” coming to live on the island.

All in all an OK read, however, I found it a bit too slow paced, a but repetitive. The premise is interesting and the beginning promising, but I found it hard getting through the book and the main character often annoyed me. There’re plenty of people that can become suspects and clues are slowly revealed and if you’re able to go beyond the noise, you might enjoy this read.

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead

Willa Waters, a renowned childhood psychologists has to return to her childhood stomping grounds in Broken Bayou after a disastrous television appearance. We slowly piece together a story of her childhood, living with her bipolar mum and younger sister, occasionally staying with her two elderly aunts in Louisiana. While Willa is trying to escape and let the bad press die down, she stumbles upon a missing teacher and barrels being pulled out of bayou causing TV crews and journalists to descend upon the small town.

There’s things in Willa’s past that haunt and worry her. There’s glimpses of the past, so we can create a picture of her life and what affected it. Willa isn’t a perfect character, she does both good and stupid things and is sometimes infuriating.

I did quite enjoy this read, especially the setting and was really immersed into the deep south.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

This book was surrounded by so much hype that I almost didn’t read it. But I’m glad I did. I enjoy the not conventional writing, especially since I read Janice Hallett’s books, so reading The Correspondent wasn’t difficult.

Sybil Van Antwerp has been writing letters all her life, to friends, family, famous people and strangers. We learn her life story by reading her correspondence, including the unsent letters to (in the beginning) unknown person. A judicial clerk, she was an intelligent woman who achieved as much as women were allowed to in the past. At some point Sybil receives a letter, which forces her to examine some of the more painful memories.

She was a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee and has lived a very full life, but she does need to reexamine her life and learn to forgive if she wants to be truly at peace. Sybil is a great character, not perfect, but human.

A very beautiful book, one not to rush through.

Murder Road by Simone St James

I both enjoyed and not enjoyed this book. At times I found it to stifling, but that may be due to the great depictions of the heat that the characters experienced.

Newlyweds April and Eddie are on their way to a small resort town by a lake where they plan to spend their honeymoon. After taking a wrong turn they pick up a young woman, who they later find out had been stabbed and dies at the hospital they take her too. They become the prime suspects in not just a single murder. Atticus Lane has been witness to many murders over the years and it seems Eddie and April cannot leave until all is cleared up.

While Eddie and April decide to run their own investigation into these deaths, we slowly learn about who they really are. The newlyweds talk to people police may not get many answers from and soon learn that there may be something supernatural at work.

I don’t enjoy horror, but this book wasn’t scary as such. It reads really fast and I was keen to discover what the couple finds out.

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

Probably my favourite January read. It’s not a fast one as there’s parts that seem history heavy, but they serve a purpose of painting the background, relationships and hierarchy of the characters.

Starting during the Great Fire of London, James Marwood saves a young boy (girl) from the flames only to have his coat stolen. The coat is like a red line, appearing throughout the book, connecting the two characters. Intertwined with political intrigue, descriptions of London that allow the reader to really immerse ourselves into the period. I couldn’t put the book down despite the characters not drawing me in completely.

A rich goldsmith’s servant is found stabbed in the ruins of St Paul and soon more corpses appear. Why did they die is a question Marwood wants answered.

The book is slow and if you’re looking for a fast paced historical crime, this isn’t it. But if you’re into historical fiction and love books set in London, then give it a go.

What books would you recommend?