Alexandra Fuller: Fi, Vintage, paperback, 9781529931624

Alexandra Fuller previous memoirs, about her eccentric parents, her upbringing in Zimbabwe and Zambia in the turmoil of independence wars and then moving to Wyoming with her husband becoming a parent herself, her homesickness for Africa sit on my shelf of favorite books. She is an extraordinaryly talented writer and a very complex person. 

 Her latest book "Fi" however needs a category of its own. Fuller describes the unthinkable, the totally unexpected death of her 21 year old son Fi, what it does to her and  her two girls overnight, fracturing her relationships and the bottomless pit of grief she falls into. It is a brutally honest, exceptional book about a terrible year, mostly  heartbreaking but in the end also uplifting, written in her very unique voice. 

 S.A.Cosby: King of Ashes, 9781472299192, c format paperback, Headline

I was really looking forward to S.A.Cosby's latest novel " King of Ashes" but this time the violence was just too much for my taste and i could never really  connect with any of the characters as they were all badass violent. 

Roman Carruther, a financial whizz, returns to his family crematory business and his siblings Neveah and Dante when his father is left in a coma after a hit- and-run incident. Dante needs his help desperately after he got himself into debt with ruthless gangsters.  The story becomes more violent with every page and as I said, I really did not care for the story this time. His other work is impressive and ace! 

 William Boyd: The Predicament, 9780241761144, c format paperback, Penguin Random House, publishing September 2025

Great joy, another William Boyd with  chief protagonist Gabriel Dax is about to land. Boyd is one of my favorite writers because of his superb writing and diversity in genre.   His second espionage novel with travel writer Gabriel Dax turned spy working for M16 is such fun to read, one gets easily sucked into the mood of the 1960ies with lots of drinking and smoking still  going on. Dax becomes embroiled in an assassination attempt during JFK's visit to Berlin and still cannot resists the charmes of his handler Faith Green. The Predicament has such a clever plot and is laced with British humor and understatement,  my absolute thumbs up for this read ( I read a proof). 

 Virginia Evans: The Correspondent, Crow Publishing,C format

Paperback

" The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans was a complete surprise  discovery, loved this brilliant book from start to finish.

Sybil Van Antwerp, a feisty outspoken seventy- something former lawyer, is struggling to make sense of her life, retirement and her somewhat troubled communication with her children and her ex husband. 

She has always written letters to all sorts of people, be it to her widowed neighbour, her best friend Rosalie, her brother Felix , Kazuo Ishiguro, Joan Didion, the customer service department of a DNA lab, the disturbed son of a former colleague etc..  And as a reader that is what you get, a book composed of letters she writes almost daily which slowly bring the story of her past to life and uncovers her current struggles. 

I laughed, shed an occassional  tear and ultimately found the story of this prickly pear of a woman who is shedding layers of protective armour trusting her heart more and more very uplifting. Now this storyline could have been smaltzy but it is anything but, blending humor with seriousness, makings for a great reading experience 

Abir Mukherjee: The Burning Grounds, Harvill Secker, hardbsck, pub date: Nov 2025

I happily devoured the proof of Abir Mukherjee's upcoming "The Burning Grounds" featuring Sam Wyndham, detective of the English Imperial Police in Calcutta in the 1920ties and his friend and former colleage Suren Banerjee, one of my favorite historical detective series.

When Sam is called to the burning grounds to find a wealthy patron of the arts with his throat slit,  just about to be cremated, the investigation leads him surprisingly to the world of the movies and a rising film star while Suren is called in by his family to search for his missing cousin, a female photographer. 

 The writing takes you into an India still ruled by the British but with increasing  resistance by the Indian people. Sam, with his distaste for his fellow countrymen still has his own demons to squash, substituting whiskey for opium. The plot is airtight as usual although I kind of guessed correctly towards the end....  I absolutely adore this atmospheric series with its personable detective duo and its many colorful, questionable  characters.

 Shari Lapena: She did not see it coming, Transworld, 9780857506207, c format, July publishing

Lapena writes solid bestseller crime novels and her upcoming "She did not see it coming" did not disappoint, i read a netgalley proof. 

When reliable Brydon Frost does not pick up her daughter from daycare or return home later, her husband Sam knows something is very wrong. She has seemingly vanished as all her possessions are at home, her car in the garage.  As the police become involved the apparently perfect family and closest friends are all under scrutiny. 

A pacy psychological thriller  with a tight plot,  really enjoyed it. Great beach read. 

 Kathy Wang: The Satisfation Cafe, Abacus/Little Brown, 9781668068922, pub date July 2025

Kathy Wang's " The Satisfaction Cafe" came to me via a netgalley proof, thanks Little Brown and immediately drew me in with every page. 

Wang's writing and the composition of the  novel reminded me a lot of Ann Pratchett's  or Anne Tyler's work as Wang portraits the seemingly unexcited life of Joan Liang's:  from being the unimportant,  yet intelĺigent Taiwanese daughter who got lucky to become a Stanford student, to marrying husband no 1 who we know on page 2 will not survive that marriage.  Marriage no 2 to wealthy, older Bill is the true turnaround in Joan's life with many unexpected developments. I really became very fond of Joan as a character, her resilience through all the curveballs life throws at her, her love for Bill and motherhood until finally realizing her dream at a late stage in her life. Really loved Kathy Wang's excellent writing and this moving story.