Better written than The Plot, in my opinion.

But her storytelling is too slow for me. The book would be far better if it was half as long.

Not much happens.

I understand the very end of the LONG book gets better. But I quit at 50%. 😀

Critic love Jean Hanff Korelitz. This is her 8th book.

But it has all the characteristics of books I don’t like:

• rich people, inexplicably miserable
• ponderously TELLS instead of simply showing details
• no characters to cheer for
• everyone lies needlessly — resulting in the unneccessary conflicts

If you ignore plot and characters, there are some interesting discussions on:

• In vitro fertilization
• Jews
• Mormons
• College life
• Art
• mocking extreme liberal schools
• mocking extreme conservative thinking

I’d say Lucy Foley is one of our best contemporary authors.

Skillful.

For me this book was very good, but not “great“.

Most people consider The Guest List (2020) to be better.

She’s moved from historical fiction to “mysteries” over her career.

Midnight Feast is her 2024 book.

It’s the opening night of The Manor, the newest and hottest luxury resort, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And it’s not too long before the local police are called. …

This story is told over 3 time frames, yet isn’t confusing. She did that well.

Chapters are told from the first person point of view of a number of characters. This worked, keeping a somewhat complicated plot from getting mixed up.

It includes (possibly) a supernatural element. Also good.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The most recent (2023), as I post, in the Ruth Galloway series. Set during Covid.

Quite good.

Some issues are finally resolved in the complicated life of Ruth.

When builders renovating a café in find a human skeleton behind a wall, they call for DCI Harry Nelson and Dr Ruth Galloway, Head of Archaeology at the nearby University of North Norfolk.  …

Ruth sees at once that the bones are modern. They are identified as the remains of Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing in the 1990s. Emily attended a course run by her Cambridge tutor. Suspicion falls on him and also on another course member – Ruth’s friend Cathbad, who is still frail following his near death from Covid.

… just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears. Was it guilt that led him to flee?

EllyGriffiths.com

The 6th book in the Virgil Flowers series ➙ Mad River.

Not one of the best — but I did appreciate the ending.

Jimmy Sharp, Becky Welsh, Tom McCall. They were Bonnie and Clyde, they thought, and what’s-his-name, the sidekick. Three teenagers with dead-end lives, and chips on their shoulders, and guns.

The first person they killed was a girl, during a robbery. The second was a man whose car they needed. The third and fourth, well, those were personal. Then, hell, why not keep on going?

As their crime spree cuts a swath through rural Minnesota, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers joins the growing army of cops trying to run them down. But something doesn’t feel quite right to him about the whole thing. The kids, the victims, the people chasing them — something’s off.

The master of murder mystery twists brags that no-one can guess the killer.

I certainly didn’t.

Think Twice is his 2024 book.

How can a man who’s already dead be wanted for murder?

Three years ago, sports agent Myron Bolitar gave a eulogy at the funeral of his client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing.

Myron and Greg had history: initially as deeply personal rivals, and later as unexpected business associates. Myron made peace and moved on – until now, when two federal agents walked into his office, demanding to know where Greg Downing is.

According to the agents, Greg is still alive—and has been placed at the scene of a double homicide, making him their main suspect. Shocked, Myron needs answers.

Myron and Win, longtime friends and colleagues, set out to find the truth, but the more they discover about Greg’s whereabouts, the more dangerous their world becomes.

Secrets, lies, and a murderous conspiracy that stretches back into the past churn …