The Year of Reading theme was ‘Movie May’, so we tried to find books that had been turned into films or TV series. Some of us were more successful than others, and there’s a smattering of ordinary crime fiction books for you to browse as well.
As always, we’ve listed our recommendations in alphabetical order by author, and titles available from the library or on BorrowBox have an asterisk alongside.
Verity by Colleen Hoover*
The film is due to be released later this year and the book was described by one reviewer as “sublimely creepy”. Lowen Ashleigh takes a job to complete the remaining books in a bestselling series, which the severely injured author (Verity) is unable to finish. Sorting through the notes and outlines in Verity’s office before she gets started, Lowen finds her unfinished autobiography, which is full of bone-chilling admissions and family secrets. Now Lowen must decide whether to reveal what she’s discovered. MadDog said this was well written but she’d found some of the subject matter so difficult it was hard to read. Without the grim bits she’d have given this 4 Stars, but with the grim bits, she wasn’t sure. If you enjoy taut psychological thrillers this could be right up your street!
It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson*
A standalone psychological thriller, which MadDog said was so twisty and interesting that she kept thinking about the story even when she’d put the book down! Harper Prescott inherits a large Victorian house on a private island, but wants nothing to do with it and is desperate to sell. Twenty years earlier her grandmother had died there, on the same night her boyfriend had disappeared, never to be seen again. In the years since there have been other deaths and accidents connected to her family, and the rumours haven’t faded. When she returns to sell the house, the rumours start over again and Harper believes she’s being watched. MadDog said she didn’t want to finish this because she was enjoying it so much. The story kept her hooked all the way through and she liked Harper as a character. She’s looking for more by Lisa Jackson now, and gave this 5 Stars.
A Dead Man Walking by J.D. Kirk*
Although both Norfolk Gal and Cornish Eskimo agreed this wasn’t the best of Kirk’s DCI Logan series, they said it’s still a good, locked-room mystery. An ageing billionaire is found dead in his locked study. Logan gets trapped in the man’s home because of a violent storm, so there’s plenty of time to observe his suspects, from family members to the cast and crew of a TV ghost hunting show. As always, the police team is well-drawn, and they found trying to solve the mystery was fun. 4 Stars.
The Killing Mood by T.F. Muir
What looks like the suicide of a popular and charismatic university lecturer soon turns into a murder hunt, when it’s discovered he’d been tasered and drugged before being killed. It’s also found that he had a criminal record, a history of romance scams and several bank accounts that contain hundreds of thousands of pounds. The story is set in St. Andrews, Scotland, but the tentacles of the victim’s crimes reach much further afield and DCI Andy Gilchrist and his team must follow the money to untangle it all. And in due course this particular death can be linked to others. Cornish Eskimo said it was a gritty story that bowled along nicely, so she couldn’t stop turning the pages. Extremely readable, with believable characters, she plans to read more by this author now, and gave this 4+ Stars.
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo*
This was Mario Puzo’s sequel to The Godfather, written in 1984 and made into a movie starring Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp and Joss Ackland. Set on Sicily in 1950, it’s the story of a young Sicilian bandit called Salvatore Giuliano, a modern-day Robin Hood who is defying the Cosa Nostra. Juno listened to this as an eAudiobook and said it was completely gripping. A story that’s well written with lots of suspense and heroic action – in other words, a thriller with lots of crimes! She thoroughly recommends this, whether you read it or listen (both formats are available on BorrowBox) and she gave it 4+ Stars.
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
Published in 1927, Cornish Eskimo felt certain this must have been televised at some point but actually it’s one of the few Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries that hasn’t, because the plot hinges on a visual identification, which would be hard to deal with on film. The death of an elderly woman didn’t raise any suspicions at the post-mortem, but her doctor still thought it unexpectedly sudden and was convinced it was foul play. Her friends and neighbours believed he over-reacted when he demanded an autopsy and rumours soon circulated about his competence, to the point that a few months later his practice failed. When Wimsey hears this story he’s intrigued, and idly starts to look at the case. Of course, there’s more to the death than meets the eye and it’s a very neatly plotted whodunnit. The Eskimo described it as a knotty mystery, beautifully written, with surprisingly contemporary themes. Classic crime at its best. 4 Stars.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware*
Now a Netflix movie, this is the first of two novels featuring travel magazine writer Lo Blacklock. Lo has been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. One night Lo sees a woman passenger being thrown overboard, but as all the passengers are accounted for no-one believes her story, the ship sails on and Lo is increasingly made to feel as if the whole thing was her imagination. But was it really? As she tries to find out what really happened there are endless twists and turns which keep the reader on tenterhooks. Northumberland Gal said it was an incredibly tense and fast-moving story, which she found she couldn’t put it down. In fact, she enjoyed this so much she found the next book (The Woman in Suite 11) on BorrowBox and is reading that now. As for Cabin 10, she gave it 4 Stars.
What’s in a Star?
Oundle Crime’s system for Star ratings is:
- 5 Stars: Outstanding and unforgettable! A book you can’t wait to tell others about.
- 4 Stars: A good book with an interesting, layered story that you will still remember after a month.
- 3 Stars: Not good or bad, but an average story and characters. You enjoyed reading it, but might not remember it after a month.
- 2 Stars: Poorly written, superficial and probably a bit of a yawn. Forgettable.
- 1 Star: Rubbish through and through. A book you wish you hadn’t read and don’t want to remember!
If you’d like to meet other crime fiction fans and chat about the books and authors you enjoy, why not come along to an Oundle Crime meeting? It’s relaxed and friendly, and anyone can drop in. Email join@friendsofoundlelibrary.org.uk and we’ll send you the details.