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