Jean Barois

 by Roger Martin du Gard

Not a well known author in the UK but winner of the nobel prize for literature in 1937. This book was written in 1910-1913 and is part novel and part musings on the battle between scientific reasoning and religion, in particular the Catholic Church. 

It gets a bit bogged down at times but I enjoyed it and could recognise similar battles in myself over the years. The end is left beautifully questioning the reader as to where Jean Barois ended up in his thought process and which side he fell on. 8/10

Maigret in Court

 by Georges Simenon

Maigret is working on a bank hold-up but the story reflects on an earlier case of murder which has now reached court. A husband has to face the truth about his wife as his life unravels in the witness stand. 8/10

Venetian Vespers

 by John Banville

Still mulling this one over. 

From the outset we know this will not end well as our narrator tells us he is writing to try and explain what happened during his honeymoon in Venice. The author paints an eerie Venice with the accommodation much as I remember a hotel I stayed at on my first visit.

The characters too are constantly shifting so that nobody can be trusted or taken as they first appear. There was so much to love about this book and yet I was not quite sure the ending was right. I can't put my finger on what perplexed me about it. Still an enjoyable read. 8/10