Lisa See: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Simon + Schuster UK, paperback & ebook available

"Lady Tan's Circle of Women" falls into one of my favorite reading categories, historical based on true facts.  Who would have thought that China had female doctors in the 15th century who, although considered inferior,  where  extremely knowledgable and allowed to treat women's illnesses,  often working together with midwives.

Tan Yunxian really existed but Lisa See took fictional liberties to tell the captivating  story of a female doctor, born into an elite family,  who received her medical training from her grandmother, knowledge passed down through generations.   After being married into an aristocratic family with a mother in law from hell and no longer living under her grandparents protection,  she has to go against convention using every diplomatic skill to be able to help ailing women. 

This is also a  great story of female friendship.  Meiling, a midwife, and Tan seem destined by fate from girlhood onwards to become the rock in each others lives, working together to make female life medically safer during the Ming dynasty .  A great historical read, loved it. 

 Joseph O' Connor: The Ghosts of Rome, Harvill Secker, trade paperback 9781787303881, pub date: January 30, 2025, 

"My Father's House" by Joseph O Connor, the prequel to a" The Ghosts of Rome" , is one of these literary historical thrillers that will stay with you for a while. 

 I was thrilled to be able to read the netgalley of " Ghosts of  Rome" which continues with the work of "The choir", a group of exceptional individuals trapped in the Vatican,  helping people to escape certain death during the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1943/44.   The writing in different voices depending on the background of certain characters is what captured me as did the story although I have to confess to me it lacked the  brilliance of the first book.  Coming in January 2025...

 Charlotte Wood: Stone Yard Devotional, Sceptre, paperback and ebook 

Longlisted for the Booker Prize this year, "Stone Yard Devotional"  is one of these books I would describe as strangely weird but so  beautifully written that you wonder how Charlotte Wood pulled it off. 

At times sobering and sad, I could not stop reading the story of a woman who leaves her husband and life behind, despite not being religious but in search of freedom and peace, to join a small community of nuns in the Australian outback. Add to that an invasion of mice in the convent,  the arrival of the remains of a former nun and another disturbing visitor not only the narrator shares a past with, it is not surprising that the feeling of why should I continue to read this strange story surfaced sometimes. 

But Wood is a remarkable writer, short chapters with reflections on life, flashbacks of the woman's past and  current challenges lend the novel an almost mediative quality.  It is a very special novel about female friendship, solidarity and perseverance. I am very glad I read it.  As was the case with The Weekend, her other brilliant novel about female friendship. 

 Paula Hawkins: The Blue Hour, Transworld, 9781529938074, large format paperback or ebook, coming October 2024

Deceased famous painter Vanessa, who mostly lived and worked on remote Eris island,  suddenly becomes the center of an investigation when one of her installations is identified to include a human bone. Becker or Beck, the curator of the gallery that inherited her entire work, is tasked  to interview and visit Vanessa's closest friend Grace, who lives on Eris island now. 

These are the raw basics of a masterfully constructed psychological drama that becomes more twisted with every page,  kept me in full suspence and wondering what was next. A real true to form new Paula Hawkins pageturner, the ending I am not so sure about..... but a very intriguing story,  well drawn out  characters with Vanessa and Grace's relationship at the center. I literally could not put it down,  great read! Coming in October,I read a galley...

 Joseph Kanon: Shanghai, 9781398519787, Simon & Schuster UK, large paperback 

I seem to be reading quite a number of books about Nazi Germany lately. 

Joseph Kanon's excellent, atmospheric spy thriller featuring Daniel Lohr, starts in 1939 Berlin, who with great luck,  manages to escape by securing a passage on a ship heading for Shanghai thanks to his uncle Nathan's connections. He is a big player in pre war Shanghai's night life owning several clubs and pulling many business strings in this multi facetted, complex city. Several of the people Daniel meets on board  remain fatefully connected to him in Shanghai when he starts working for his uncle, particularly Leah with whom he begins an affair.  

The Chinese, Japanese, British,  Russian and German business connections are cleverly constructed  in this fab thriller.   I was intrigued by the web of plots Kanon spins, learning some history at the same time. Really loved Kanon's short, carefully crafted dialogues, his clipped sentences, the very colorful characters, a great literary spy novel.  

 Rebecca Godfrey & Leslie Jamison: Peggy, 9781473605756, Penguin Random House, pub date: August

This fresh,  fictional and quite literary interpretation of Peggy Guggenheim's well documented life was a wonderful read. 

I enjoyed Rebecca Godfrey's different approach to tell Peggy's life through her voice from early childhood up until she decides to collect avantgarde art. It is  a very different picture from the men consuming legendary art collector she is mostly portraited as. The novel sees her as a shy, spoiled, wealthy child used to a sheltered upper class Jewish life, with two sisters and an anxious mother until her beloved father dies on the Titanic. Tragedy remains part of their family life but after Peggy marries and has two children, her actions become bolder and more daring particulary after she realizes that she feels best in the company of artists and writers.  Her affair with the young Samuel Beckett has a special place in the novel. 

Its an interesting fictional biography that made me see Peggy Guggenheim from a very different perspective.  Sadly the author died when 2/3 of the book was finished,  Leslie Jamison did a great job finishing the novel according to the outline left behind. 

 Garry Disher: Sanctuary, Profile/Viper, 9781805222620, paperback, pub date: August 15, 2024

As far as Australian crime noir novels go, Disher is my favorite author. "Sanctuary", his upcoming standalone novel, took some time to get into, a string of story lines confused me in the beginning but of  course everything makes sense eventually.

Grace, the chief protagonist and most lieable character, is a very skilled thief on the run until she finds refuge and a job with Erin, a somewhat strange antique shop owner. Before too long Grace feels  at home but senses that someone is watching her.  Could it be Adam, a former boyfriend from her conflicted past whom she loved but betrayed or are other elements involved since she has not completely given up stealing while working for Erin who behaves strange at times as well.

Not one of my favorite Disher novels but a very solid crime noir novel as one would expect from him.