Glory

 by NoViolet Bulawayo

A history of modern Zimbabwe where all the characters are animals and apart from Mugabe and the party of Power, only one individual goat is fleshed out in any storyline.

The book is very funny in places and gut wrenching in others. She uses the device of repetition a lot to emphasise a point and overdid it in places in my opinion. I also struggled with the animals a bit. I sort of get Mugabe as a horse and his wife as a donkey but who then are the cows or the ducks or the pigs and goats and why is someone a chicken and not a duck? 

If I was more aware of the history I think I would have got more from the story than I did. 6/10

Murder in the Marais

by Cara Black

 The first novel featuring Aimee Leduc, a private detective in Paris. The good news is the fact that it is set in Paris and has some great descriptions of areas of Paris.
The story is a fast paced thriller about a murder in the Marais that has links back to wartime occupation and a murder that took place then. I had identified the killer fairly early on and some of the scenes were operating in marvel comic territory. There is also one scene near the end that is like a stage direction for a Puccini opera. I may read another one but Maigret still gets my vote when it comes to Paris detectives 6/10

Booth

 by Karen Joy Fowler

A historical novel telling the story of the family of the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.

It is the story of a remarkable family but in the end I found it a bit too long and some of the characters not so interesting. However, the writing was very good and kept me hooked until the end, even though we knew all along what the end was. 7/10