by Chris Miller
A fascinating history of semiconductors that places them front and centre of the last 60 years and the centrality of our reliance on them for our current way of life.
Both breathtaking it what has been achieved and frightening in how quickly we have become reliant on them. Very readable 8/10
by Shady Lewis
An Egyptian, living and working in the UK is asked by a friend in Cairo to arrange the funeral of someone he has never met and does not know. He reluctantly agrees and the thread of this story takes us through the book as we learn about our hero's life working in local government in London, dealing with a failing system. The book is very funny in places and very sad and moving in others. It was up there with the best from this year so far and am sure it will still be come the end of the year 9/10
by Georges Simenon
A serial killer on the loose in Paris is making Maigret angry. He sets a trap to try and find the killer and nearly gets a policewoman killed. By the end he is highly infuriated and ready to beat up the killer who by this time is in his office. I found this one slightly off par given the level of the previous two but still a good listen. 7/10
by Pierre LeMaitre
Billed as a black, comic novel this is certainly a dark tale and I am sure the author had a lot of fun writing it.
An atypical but top rated contract killer has reached her sixties and is starting to develop serious dementia like symptoms. Mahem is let loose. We are introduced to a number of characters who you build empathy with, only for them to be summarily dismissed at some point. His ability to keep us onside with the story is a mark of his storytelling skill. There is a neat twist at the end of a real page turner of a story. 9/10
by Georges Simenon
Another interesting case where Maigret spends much of his time in a bistro by the Canal St. Martin after a headless dismembered corpse is found in the canal. He almost stumbles on the killers by accident but the bulk of the tale is him trying to work out why and why then. 8/10
by Georges Simenon
Maigret attempts to solve this murder by trying to understand the dead girl. He has a detective from the second arr. one step ahead of him the whole time until the end. It was an enjoyable story with Maigret at his best at home in Paris. 8/10
by Karsten Dusse
A black comedy crime novel about a solicitor who turns to killing after attending a mindfulness course. The premise is amusing and their are some funny parts such as a magpie flying off with a key piece of evidence but the book lacked much in the way of suspense. You always knew how it would end and much of the book was just going through the motions, although I did like the ending. 5/10
by Ian Goldin
This was a really interesting book. Written in 2024 many of the figures quoted are up to date, but as well as trends in current migration this book gives a succinct history of migration over the centuries and points out how as a species we have always moved. He also emphasises how people fleeing adversity tend to stay as close to their home country as they can, rather quashing the myth of being overrun with asylum seekers.
The only downside-apart from the inevitable skimming across the surface- was the referencing which was not easy to follow back to sources. 7/10
