Sarah Winman: Still Life, 9780008283391, Paperback, Forth Estate, 

This little gem of a book gave me much solace and comfort during an upheaval, a move from a beloved home, during packing and unpacking. When bone tired, reading a few pages before falling asleep or waking up during the night not being able to go back to sleep, this novel always brought me peace and a warm glow. Sounds kitschy perhaps but Winman's quality writing prevented that from happening even if the story was sometimes sugar coated.

In "Still Life" Sarah Winman creates a chosen tribe of people, a family, all a little "special" and excentric but with absolute commitment and love for each other. Be it Margret and Evelyn, art historians and lesbians, who are having lunch in war torn Tuscany 1944 when a chance encounter with Ulysses Temper, a young British soldier, changes all their lives forever.  Switching between London East End, Florence,  Tuscan hills and villages  with life unfolding into the 1970ties for each of these characters, Ulysses's group of friends , I always felt like returning to a family as one would like to have it when I switching on my E reader.  Reminded me a little of Arminstead Maupins San Francisco tribe which I absolutely adored.  A great read for me during a chaotic time. 

 Tom Hindle: Murder on Lake Garda, 9781529902198, Century UK, publishing January 18, 2024

Tom Hindle's mysteries ( Fatal crossing) follow Agatha Christie's plot structures and are great fun to read. His latest, Murder at Lake Garda, which is coming in January 2024, is just as clever as Fatal crossing was, if not more so.

The Heywood family are celebrating their son's Laurence wedding to Eva, an influencer with a troubled track record and a bitch with an attitude, on island Castello Fiore at Lake Garda . Toby, his estranged brother and his girl friend Robyn get caught on the island with other guests when the wedding ceremony is cut short by a scream. Needless to say someone was murdered. Until the very end I had no idea whodunnit which is rare. Really enjoyed  the chief protagonist Robyn, a perfect escapist mystery.

 Hisham Matar: My friends, pub date: January 11, 24, Viking/ Penguin Random House, 9780241409480

Thanks to an early netgalley proof I had the great pleasure to dive into Hisham Matar's upcoming  novel, " My friends". 

 Matar's entire body of work is overshadowed by his father's  tragic disappearence / abduction during Libya's Gaddafi regime. This political situation is also the ground base of  what happens  in "My friends". Khaled and Mustafa, both studying on a grant in the UK, decide to attend a demonstration of exiles in front of the Libyian embassy in London.  The shots fired from the embassy,  hitting Khaled, will forever dominate and change both friends lives and that of Hosam, a writer in exile, Khaled's closest friend. 

Matar is a master at describing the crueling effect and long reach of dictatorships into everyone's life. A powerful, brilliant novel that could not be more timely and a very moving portrait of the deep connection between these three friends and their family.

 Amy Chua: The Golden Gate, Corvus/ Atlantic Press, 978183895948, hardback, Pub Date: September 21, 2023

Set in 1944 Berkeley, mixed race Mexican/American homicide detective Al Sullivan gives this mystery its heart and soul. The novel starts with the assassination of presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson in the posh Claremont hotel.  Sullivan soon realizes that the powerful Bainbridge family is entangled not only in this death but has an unresolved,  mysterious death of one of their heiresses, Iris, who as a child was also found dead at the Claremont. 

The novel is cleverly constructed, many twist and turns, switching between the court testimony of the Bainbridge matriach and Sullivans investigation.  The most likeable characters in the mystery are Ad Sullivan and his half niece whose lives are testament how important  race, gender and social standing were during that time in order to be noticed. Not much has changed...Chua  borrows from actual historical events such as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek mysterious stay in California taking fictional liberties.  Really had a fun  reading  "The Golden Gate",  learning a few historical facts along the way which the author lists in the appendix.