The Bath Bloodhounds Book Group reads crime novels – from gritty to cosy, fantasy to sci-fi! Below are a selection of short reviews, in alphabetical order by Author, capturing the whole groups thoughts on some of the books we’ve read.
Very few book have been awarded the coveted 5 stars, but those that have are outstanding!
The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes
Generally, we thought this book was OK. We really liked the premise, the main character’s inner monologue and Helen the dog, but struggled with the pacing. We did learn that you don’t need a towel for a gong bath!
Cat and Mouse by M. J. Arlidge
We felt we would have enjoyed it more if we had read the previous books in the series, though it did throw up some interesting questions:
Just what will it take to make DI Grace go to hospital? How many people has she accidentally killed? and, most importantly, what is the plural of nemesis?
Snow by John Banville
It was generally liked by the group, though not our favourite book. We were impressed by how unusual and non-formulaic it was. One member noted “It’s a drama with a crime, rather than a crime novel”.
Exit by Belinda Bauer
Everyone loved this book – thumbs up all round!
It was funny and moving, taking what could have been a melancholy subject and making it feel heart warming. All of the characters were really believable and the protagonist was warm and relatable; we were all cheering him on!
Snap by Belinda Bauer
The whole group loved this book! The evocative beginning particularly impressed us and we decided that Motorway Murder should be a genre in it’s own right. Or as Isabelle suggested: Little Chef Noir!
Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
This book was a likeable read, with an interesting story but nothing special. We did feel that the cover is misleading as it’s marketed as a cosy Christmas crime, but actually deals with some very difficult subject so isn’t what we would describe as cosy!
The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre
We’re Brookmyre converts!
The characterisation, the twisty plot, the genre-smashing – what a book! This story about stories was a story we all loved so much that every member of the group plans to dive into Brookmyre’s back catalogue!
In The Blink Of An Eye by Jo Callaghan
The whole group LOVED this book!
From the characters to the interaction between humans and technology, it was heartfelt, genuine and scarily believable. The plot was brilliant with an excellent mystery at the heart of it. Thumbs up all round!
The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Those who read, rather than listened to, this book definitely enjoyed it more, we think because there were so many characters to keep track of.
It was also noticeable that those who were already familiar with the characters from the TV programme enjoyed it more. Though, the protagonist, Inspector Montalbano, is more manipulative and less likeable in the book!
Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles
No one in the group was a huge fan of this book, but it did give us a lot to discuss!
Evil Under The Sun by Agatha Christie
Christie proving once again that she is the Queen of Crime!
The whole group loved this book. It doesn’t feel dated, it has brilliant characters and a twisty plot in a cosy setting.
We’ve decided it’s such a perfect post-Christmas read that from now on we’ll be doing ‘Agatha January’!
The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
We felt the quality of the stories was mixed, though all retained the authentic ‘Christie’ voice and all were enjoyable. Elly Griffith’s story was picked by most of the group as a favourite. We recommend you read only one story at a time, rather than binge them!
The Trust by M. H. Ecclestone
The group all agreed it was an enjoyable easy read. Not our favourite but a fun story with a good mystery!
The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis
The group enjoyed the book, especially the characterisation of the sisters as ‘detectorists’ and the allusions to their books.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
We generally liked the book, though it got a bit complicated and there were a lot of motives!
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
This generated a lot of discussion – the format was interesting but complex, so it needed a lot of concentration.
Those who listened to the audiobook found it harder to grapple with as it got a bit confusing, and the frequent emoji descriptions, “winking smiley face emoji” were distracting.
The characters weren’t very likeable but the plot was intriguing, and the format was fresh enough to make it worth reading.
Dinner Lady Detectives Series by Hannah Hendy
This book was very cosy and comforting. An easy read that was very funny too!
The only drawback was that the characters felt rather older than their 60 years and therefore more of a caricature.
Dead Lions by Mick Herron
There were strong feelings about this book!
One person hated it with a passion, the rest of us loved it so much we’ll be reading the rest of the series!
For the fans, the characters stood out as being brilliantly written with every single one having depth, and whilst we would hate to meet Jackson Lamb in person he is a brilliantly, hilariously, revolting character.
The one person who hated it conceded that they may have found it depressing because the miserable characters are so well written!
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Most of the group loved this book. The view from inside the mind of a psychopath meant you were hoping he’d get through all the near-misses, just to break the tension!
We were particularly struck by the theme of the power of stories, even ones you tell yourself. And the scenery is a character in it’s own right – the most likeable in the book, in fact!
The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
Whilst the writing was good, particularly the young boy’s heart breaking voice, we felt it lacked the essential essence of a crime novel: Whodunnit?
Subsequently it feels more like a family saga, full of characters that aren’t really very likeable!
Christmas is Murder by Val McDermid
The group all really enjoyed this short story collection. The variety of settings, characters, and plots was impressive and our favourites were the ones with links to historical figures and events.
We felt that there could have been more Christmas in a Christmas crime collection, but overall this feels like a brilliant author having fun and got thumbs up all round!
The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin
The group was very split, hence the 2 ratings! From a member who put it down after one chapter to another who immediately read another book in the series and is halfway through the next!
No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara
A mixed reaction for this book, we felt the characters and different narrators was good, but the end of chapter cliff hangers were overused.
Overall, a good easy read!
The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
The group generally were not huge fans of this book, which is a shame as we all wanted to like it. We enjoyed the squirrel though!
We briefly got side-tracked by a discussion on AI so, as requested by the group, here is the above re-written by AI:
Unfortunately, the majority of the group did not share an enthusiastic appreciation for this book, which was disappointing as we all hoped to enjoy it. However, we did find common ground in our admiration for the endearing squirrel character!
What do you think? ‘Endearing’ is perhaps not the right word for the squirrel and it all sounds rather formal for our chatty group!
A Crack in the Wall by Claudia Piñeiro
The group really enjoyed this book!
The protagonist is sympathetic rather than likeable, and it’s more of a ‘howdunnit’ than a ‘whodunnit’, but the twisty story and the hilarious internal monologue won us over!
The Last Supper by Rosemary Shrager
We generally liked this book, though it wasn’t outstanding. The plot was interesting and the cooking angle was enjoyable. It would be a good beach read!
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
We did like this book, though we found the audiobook a struggle.
It was very different and ‘meta’, but good for fans of golden age crime who like to spot references.
It also prompted more than one of us to go down a Robert Knox rabbit hole!
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
This was a bit of a tough one, we all felt it was too long, the audiobook wasn’t brilliant and the characters were horribly self-absorbed!
However, it was an interesting story and we would read more Donna Tartt… after a bit of a break!
Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor
The pace and writing style made it a genuine page turner and the group found it so realistic it was uncomfortable.
It opened eyes to the reality of stalking, and since learning the author was herself stalked we all consider her incredibly brave. A must-read!
A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss
There were mixed reviews for this book and there was a definite preference for the written version over the audiobook. Those who know Brighton enjoyed the scenery and the funny word play was very well received.
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
The group as a whole found this book difficult to get to grips with as there were so many characters! But, it was generally agreed that it was worth reading as it was so different from the books we usually read!