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
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
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
