Boy's Life by Robert R McCammon

Started: 26.9.26

Finished: 4.10.26

Kindle Unlimited

Well. What a book! I was inspired to add this to my TBR after watching the review from Paperback Journeys on Youtube, and I finally got around to reading it.

It's set in 1960s Alabama, and told from the perspective of 12 year old Cory Mackenson. Cory and his dad witness a car careening into a lake; when his dad dives in to rescue the driver, he realises that the man has been murdered, and handcuffed to the wheel. The murder mystery rumbles along in the background, but in the meantime we just follow Cory going through the usual trials and tribulations of friendships, school, small town life. The book has moments of magic and whimsy, but it also doesn't shy away from the politics, religious fervour and the civil rights issues of the time. We see wonder, joy, grief, and injustice through a child's eyes. The murder mystery comes to a conclusion, possibly a bit too quickly and conveniently, but the story was always about so much more than just that. It's a nostalgic look back at a magical childhood, it made me laugh and it made me cry, and I 100% recommend it. 

And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Started: 21.9.26

DNF: 22.9.26

Hardcover

This was just a bit too weird for me, I couldn't get into it. 

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Started: 4.6.26

Finished: 6.6.26

Paperback

Oldest book on list (from 30.11.25)

A dual timeline story about three keepers who mysteriously vanished from their lighthouse in December 1972. We learn about life in the tower light, and how each man is affected by the remoteness and the claustrophobic living conditions, but the story is also told from the points of view of the women they left behind, as they are interviewed by an author 20 years later seeking to understand what became of the men. An interesting and moving story.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett

Started: 1.5.26

Finished: 3.5.26

Paperback

Oldest book on my list (from 14.11.25)

Janice Hallett definitely seems to have found her USP. This is the third one of her books that I've read, and again it's written in an 'epistolary' style, although this time it's in the form of WhatsApp messages and Doodles, which is the fictional intranet / messaging service of the Royal Hastings university, and also essays, diary entries and tutor reports.

Six mature students embark on a Masters Art Degree, and very quickly, tensions rise amongst the group. Personalities and egos clash, and it seems that people are not who they claim to be. Part of their coursework consists of creating a multimedia installation for a communications company, and on a resource gathering trip to the companies museum, things take a sinister turn. 

I couldn't really tell you more than that if I wanted to, because I was utterly confused! I've never been one of those readers who can figure out 'whodunnit' really early on, so that's more of a 'me' problem, than a book problem. I enjoyed the story and was eager to understand the who, the how and the why, but there was just so much going on, and things being introduced late in the story, that I gave up trying to work anything out and just waited for the answers to be revealed. I do like the unique format of these books, though I did find that this one reminded me a lot of The Appeal, with each group of characters having similar personalities (a young, eager one, an older dismissive one, a friendly keeps-the-peace one etc).

I've got a copy of The Mysterious Case of The Alperton Angels to read, and I'm sure I'll continue to look out for new books from Janice Hallett in the future. 

Ascension by Nicholas Binge

Started: 6.4.26

Finished: 10.4.26

Hardcover

TBR Prompt: Water on the cover

Well, I don't really know what to make of this book! I think it's speculative fiction, maybe a touch of cosmic horror with a bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. A group of scientists join a secretive mission to investigate a mountain - several thousand feet higher than Everest - which has suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean. Time and space behave differently, memories fade, moods and temperaments become erratic. Suspicion and mistrust abound, and inexplicable things are discovered on the mountain. Harold, the physicist of the group, writes letters to his niece as a form of journalling; the majority of the book is told in this epistolary fashion, although it reads more like... well, a novel, rather than letters. 

I quite enjoyed the mystery and suspense surrounding the appearance of the mountain, and what they might discover as they climbed towards the summit, but some of the things that they found left me a bit "meh", and at times the themes of science and religion got a bit heavy for me. 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

Started: 23.2.26

Finished: 25.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

TBR Prompt: A Yellow Book

I couldn't resist choosing another book to read before the end of the month, and I'm quite glad I chose this one as it was only 25 pages long! I think I was aware that it was a short story, but I hadn't realised how short.

It centres around a woman whose husband, a doctor, has prescribed a kind of bed rest for her; she is allowed a bit of movement around the house and garden, but mostly she's encouraged to sleep, and not to do anything intellectually stimulating. I believe this is following the birth of her child, although little is said about that really, just that someone else is caring for the baby. The story is told in the first person, as she writes a journal (secretly), and we witness a subtle but steady descent into obsession, focused on the yellow wallpaper of the room. This short story packs a powerful punch of psychological dread.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Started: 14.12.25

Finished: 20.12.25

Paperback

I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Appeal. It was a similar format; this time, there were transcriptions of audio files which had been recorded on an old mobile phone. The typed transcriptions had been sent to a Professor by an Inspector, asking for their opinion on the subject matter. The Inspector explained how the transcription service sometimes got words wrong, and also included a key to what certain punctuation meant. This was a slightly clunky way of also letting the reader know about the mistakes.

The person making the recordings was an ex-con called Steve, who was 'speaking aloud' to his probation officer, Maxine. He was explaining about the crime that got him sent to prison for 11 years, but also talking about something that happened in his youth. He believed that a teacher had gone missing, and he was trying to get in touch with old school friends to find out if they could remember what happened. In amongst all this was a story about some children's books which were written by someone called Edith Twyford, which were believed to contain a hidden code referring to gold bullion that was misplaced during the second world war. 

I found the different storylines all a bit confusing, and the transcriptions, with all the misspellings and punctuations meaning someone paused, or breathed out etc, not very easy to read. 

It turned out in the end that Maxine was actually Max Ian, the professor, and Steve's son, who he'd hardly had any contact with over the years. The Twyford Code was really invented by Steve, in order to tell his son where to find gold that was stolen in the robbery that he went to prison for. I'm not really sure where the WW2 stolen gold came into it at all.

Not bad, but not great. I wonder if this is going to be Janice Hallett's style in all her books? The Appeal was emails, this one was audio transcripts, I wonder what she'll do next?

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Started: 16th November 2025

Finished: 21st November 2025

Paperback

Different cast of characters to The Thursday Murder Club, which took a bit of getting used to, but the same humorous style of writing by Richard Osman. I'm sure I'll read the next one when it's out.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Started: 4.8.25

Finished: 7.8.25

Paperback

Really clever plot, I enjoyed this!

And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh

Started: 9.4.25

Finished: 15.4.25

Kindle

I didn't love this book, but I did enjoy it. I read it on my Kindle, and at the top of the page it said "shades of Saltburn" and to be honest, that's all I could think after I'd noticed that, particularly because it was about an obsessive friendship amongst a group of Cambridge students.

Ghostwriting by Eric Brown

Started: 6.4.25

Finished: 8.4.25

Paperback

My favourite genre is ghost stories, so I inevitably gravitate to anything that seems to suggest it fits into that category. I spotted this book in a charity shop, but despite its title, it wasn't an immediate yes, as it appeared from the blurb that the author mostly tended to write science fiction (not a favourite of mine), and I wasn't quite sure what I'd be getting with this book. I took a chance though, and I'm so glad I did!

I enjoyed every one of these short stories. They weren't all 'ghost stories' as such, but there was just enough creepiness, or weirdness, in them that I would say they would fit into the paranormal / supernatural genre at least. Some sci-fi even crept in, and I didn't mind! 

My favourite was probably The Disciples of Apollo - the unexpected ending stayed with me for a long time. 

The only very slight negative which stood out for me (barely a negative at all really, just an observation) is the author's use of the name Caroline - it's clearly a favourite as three separate stories had a character with that name. The stories were all originally written and published at different times and in different publications, so why not re-use a name? It's just a bit unfortunate when they're compiled together in the same book. It didn't affect my enjoyment of this collection however.