Where the Dead Lay by Davi Levien

I listened to this 2019.
This is what Good reads say about it
Quote:
'fter the sudden disappearance of two high-priced detectives, former Indianapolis cop Frank Behr—the brooding private investigator introduced in David Levien’s nationally acclaimed novel City of the Sun—is pulled into a case that is harrowing, relentless, and, ultimately, personal.
Early in the dark, Indianapolis morning, Frank Behr’s friend and mentor is murdered—with no motive and no trace of evidence left behind. Behr, a quiet, mountainous former cop, thirsts for answers and retaliation. But before he can make headway in the dead-end investigation, an exclusive private firm approaches him with a delicate proposition: two of its detectives have gone missing, and the firm wants Behr to find out what happened to them. Prodded to take the case by his old boss—the Indianapolis chief of police who holds the strings to Frank’s possible return to the force—Behr accepts.

The search for the missing detectives takes Behr into the recesses of Indianapolis’s underworld, a place rife with brutality and vice—and a stark contrast to the city’s gentle public image. As Behr calls on old street contacts and his hard-boiled investigative skills, he is led deeper into a twisted society of organized crime and an unknown landscape of “pea-shake” houses—low-rent, transient gambling rings staged in condemned buildings around the city. Unexpectedly, Behr uncovers a shocking thread connecting the missing detectives to his friend’s brutal murder, and, in the process, Behr is forced to confront an ominous, deadly new breed of crime family.

Introduced in City of the Sun, Frank Behr instantly attracted critical attention and a devoted fan base, and Where the Dead Lay places Behr on a broader, edgier stage. This extraordinary crime novel stands with the best of Michael Connelly and Lee Child, featuring a brilliantly drawn, ruthless criminal family whom readers will not soon forget, and showcasing the immense talents of David Levien. '

This MustBe The Place by Maggie O'Farrell

I read this 2019 for the Pater reading group.  I must say I skim read the middle bit, I got so bored with it. Anyway this is what the Richard and Judy Book Club said about it

Quote
'Best-selling author Maggie O’Farrell’s seventh novel, This Must Be the Place, is a dazzling and intimate choice for the Richard and Judy Summer 2017 Book Club. A story of family, secrets and forgiveness, This Must Be the Place is about finding your way in the world. Daniel Sullivan, a New Yorker working as a teacher of linguistics at the University of Belfast, already had two failed relationships behind him before he married Claudette, a famous actress who’s fled the limelight and living in rural Ireland. When Daniel heads to America for his father’s 90th birthday party, he finds out something about his past and sets off on a journey which puts his marriage in jeopardy.'

The Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski

I read this 2019 for the PaterBook Club.

A book about the Polish resistance movement during WWII.  Follows the real life story of Jan Karski and his time in the resistance.  Very telling, very moving. An interesting read written straight after WWII and revised decades later.  It  gives an insight into the workings of the resistance movement and what life was like under German occupation.

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

I read this July 2019 for the Pater Book Club.
'In the highlands of Malaya, a woman sets out to build a memorial to her sister, killed at the hands of the Japanese during the brutal Occupation of their country.  Yun ling's quest leads her to the Garden of Evening Mists, and to Aritomo, a man of extraordinary skill and reputation, once the gardener of the Emperor of Japan. When she accepts his offer to become his apprentice, she begins a journey into her past, inextricably linked with the secrets of her troubled country's history.'
Yun Ling and her sister had been held in a Japanese POW camp somewhere in the jungle of Malaya. Yun Ling was the only survivor, a great story, written beautifully and poetically. The truth of life as a POW comes out, so does many more truths.

I really enjoyed this and was glad it was chosen for the Book Club

One Shot by Lee Child

I read this Spring 2019

I seem to be having a bit of a theme going on, I think I was just in a non reading mood tbh .  Jack Reacher, another town, another wrong to right. relaxing reading

61 Hours by Lee Child

I read this Spring 2019

As with all Lee Child, Jack Reacher novels I've read.  Jack is on a bus into another new town, meets damsel in need of help. Has the best sex ever, puts the world to rights.
Excellent bedtime reading, you know where you are with a Jack Reacher! this one had the novelty  of a countdown from 61 hours to Zero

Origin by Dan Brown

I read this Feb/March 2019
I bought it in a charity shop for 75p and read it because Dick Babcock had recommended it...

As with all the Dan Brown books I've this could have been half the length...456 pages of mansplaining every little thing, plus it seems like every single piece of research, relevant or not has tp go into his books.

The precis of the plot.... AI to take over the world, Pure physics made the universe, religion is a load of made up stories.....nothing we haven't heard before, nothing we won't hear again..

 Having Tom Hanks play the lead character, Robert Langdon, in the franchise, really doesn't resonate with the 'James Bond/ Indiana Jones' style  of these books....

It was ok, but so long and drawn out......