Going to the Dogs

 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

Maigret and the Headless Corpse

 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

Time Shelter

By Georgi Gospodinov 

Won the international booker prize in 2023.

The book is  a fascinating look at time and memory. Very amusing in places it started to lose me when it spilled out of the clinic. 5/10

Capital & Ideology-A Graphic Novel

By Claire Alet and Benjamin Adam

An introduction to the ideas in Thomas Piketty's book of the same name. Based around one French family this book moves the argument along really well with a bit of humour thrown in. 8/10

The Land in Winter

By Andrew Miller 

Set in the west country in the cold winter of 1962 this is the story of two young couples and the pregnancies of the two wives. Social classes clash and the cold reflects the interactions. It was an absorbing book 8/10

Maigret and the minister

By Georges Simenon 

A Maigret without a murder. A sensitive government report has gone missing and Maigret tries to uncover who is behind it. I really enjoyed this one 9/10

Maigret and the Dead Girl

 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

Murder Mindfully

 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

The Shortest History of Migration

 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

Maigret goes to School

 Set in a small village that reminds Maigret of his childhood, a cantankerous old woman is murdered and the village schoolteacher, who is an outsider gets the blame.
He asks Maigret for help and this results in Maigret travelling to the village and trying to unravel village politics and history. 8/10

Our Mutual Friend

by Charles Dickens

A long read for the Christmas period and a book I have not read for a long time which made it all the more enjoyable as I could not remember how it unfolded. The humour is wonderful and Dickens' slating of the poor laws still carries a punch from this far away in history. 
The antics of John Harmon would I think raise a few eyebrows nowadays and may make some modern readers uncomfortable but the power of the storytelling gift still shines through, and with memorable supporting characters like the Veneerings, Mr. Venus and Jenny Wren this is a great read. 9/10 

Review of the year 2024

 A busy year and some good reads amongst them.

On the non-fiction side I found Goodbye Globalisation thought provoking and helpful in understanding what is going on in the world. Also Salman Rushdie's reflections on his attack and its aftermath was interesting. Andrew Martin's book on the Paris metro had me hooked in a way I did not expect.

On the fiction side there was an interesting Booker prize but as ever my favourite -My friends- did not make the shortlist. Also enjoyed James and Enlightenment and Playground.

In other fiction Annihilation by Michel Houellebecq was good and the latest Jackson Brodie from Kate Atkinson was crazy but fun. I read Paul Auster's last book and his New York trilogy both of which I enjoyed. Again on the wacky side, was The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers guild but an enjoyable read. 

Crime has included a number of Maigret's and a series set in Hamburg by Simone Buchholz featuring a prosecutor called Chastity Riley. 

My best books of the year are probably My Friends and The Annual Banquet but a hard choice this year!