The Man Who Died Twice

 What a fun new series, now having read book two in the series I can say this is one series I will keep tabs on and look forward to reading each one as they are published.  The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman follows the now fully established Thursday murder club.

The Thursday Murder Club both the title and the group that solves mysteries, originally old cold cases as a group of proper British elders living in an assisted living situation.  In the first novel, when one of the friends in the assisted living home dies this group gets a chance to help solve the mystery of their death.

So now, Elizabeth, who was working for MI5 years ago, Joyce who once was a nurse, Ibrahim and Ron have teamed up with Chris and Donna both local police officers and are ready to solve another case.

As luck would have it, this time Elizabeth's ex husband appears on the scene and is looking for some help from Elizabeth.  Teaming up with her friends and thinking back to some memories of her past with her ex, Douglas, they are all caught up in another mysterious death.  Intertwined is an act of violence suffered by Ibrahim, when three hooded teenagers knock him down and take his cellphone.  

Wonderfully tied up in the end are all the loose ends and all the divergent plots pull together in a neat package.  This is an entertaining series that could easily be recreated for a BBC mystery series.  Not too much violence and lots of interesting characters, with light twisty plots that you will not figure out ahead of the ending.

The Guest List

 Lucy Foley has figured out the perfect setting for a psychological thriller.  The Guest List is the ultimate wedding list to be on.

Everyone loves being invited to a wedding.  A wedding that is scheduled for a weekend of endless socializing at a destination is one of the best kind of invitations.  So the game is afoot when all the guests arrive on this island that can only be accessed by boat.

Foley has really captured the imagination as she describes the scene leading up to the island.  The members of the wedding party coming across on a little boat to this deserted island.  The desolation on the island and how the party is cut off from everything while they are there.  Of course there is the storm coming in off the coast that will churn up the waters so much so that they cannot leave the island.

The bride is described as very narcissist, only focused on herself and her career.  The groom is similar and they are a perfect match it seems because he is a TV personality that is very concerned about his appearance and how he comes across to the public.  They are involved with each other because of how it looks to the outside world, them as a couple.    But also because each is so focused on themselves that they are really not looking too closely at each other.  

So many  secrets can be kept in a relationship when you are not looking or listening to the person you are going to marry.  The wedding party is made up of the bride's sister, the bride's best friend and his wife, the groom's  group of friends from boarding school.  As we meet each of these people, we learn a little more about the bride and groom and their past.  Then there is the wedding planner who has created the scene for the perfect wedding.  

Foley lures the reader in and makes them feel apart of the wedding party.  Slowly she reveals each of the secrets that will lead to a thrilling ending... This is going to be a wedding to remember!!

Remember

 Remember written by neuroscientist and novelist of Still Alice, Lisa Genova, is a terrific view of how our brains work.   This book can ease your troubled mind about all the things you have been forgetting.

There are so many times, I feel that my memory is not what it used to be.  I have been saying for years that each child I had took another small piece of my mind, and I became more and more forgetful as the years have gone on.  And now after reading this book, I feel so much more relaxed about those small losses.   I see that it is all normal aging and overextending myself.  For years I have tried to multitask so many things.  Try to take on so many responsibilities it is hard to keep them all straight.

Now I see that writing lists and making written notes about things are the correct way to not forget things.  Writing things down helps you  remember both by reinforcing the memory as you write and also having a list to double check as you  go through the day.  

Genova offers different techniques to help us remember things.  Like connecting names to other memories as we are introduced to someone new so we can recall their name later.  Making connections to items we want to pick up at the grocery store to places in the house which will help us recall the items as we walk through the store.  These are all clever ideas, if you can remember them.

I  still  have a few questions at the end of the book, but for the most part this was a fascinating look at how our minds work and a reassuring reminder that though my kids are teasing about my memory being broken, I am only suffering from normal forgetting . So I do not need to loose sleep over this, which will help me get my 7-8 hours a night, which also helps keeps my memory functioning well.

The Madness of Crowds

 Louise Penny has taken the art of writing a mystery novel to new heights.  All of her books have been more than just a whodonit.  They are beautiful pieces of art, the plots have a depth that goes far beyond the idea of revenge or passion or random killing.  She always find a way into the human soul, the psyche.  There is always so much more to the plot than just the murder and finding the victim.  There is a vision of what makes people tick.  There is a statement on our society.

This novel is Penny's best yet.  Not only does the reader get a terrific mystery with many twists and turns, there are moral dilemmas that are clouding the investigation and making the reader really look deep inside themselves as they are reading the novel.

Written during the world wide pandemic of 2020, without knowing the actual outcome, Penny does a good job of presenting the feelings that we are all facing.  Though she does seem to bring the lockdown and feelings of distance to more of a solution, and the world coming back together after the vaccines then is the reality of our lives, it does feel rather real.  It is also always fascinating to learn something new while reading for entertainment.  Penny has left me looking up the book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Charles Mackay.  It is referred to in the novel and sounds like something that will help us understand what is happening now in the world and in the US, though it was written originally in 1841.  

Talking about the idea of euthanasia, killing those who are elderly, sick, or vulnerable or killing to save yourself.  Are these ideas justified and is there a time when taking a life to benefit the healthy or the group as a whole is agreeable.  Using the idea that the pandemic killed many in nursing homes, and that financially it saves the larger population money, having to take care of those who are most vulnerable, is this now a way to move forward. Purposely shortening the lives of those who are a burden to society,

Then there is a the storyline of a young woman who saves her own life, by killing her captures,   She was captured and tortured over a long period of time, then was able to escape by killing the men who were raping and torturing her.  She is going to get a Nobel Peace prize for her bravery.

Life and death, who is in control.  What are our rights, on both sides of the seesaw, what is the correct balance to keep the seesaw even??    Penny writes such powerful prose, "Professor Robinson was revealing, not creating, the anger. The fear.  And yes, perhaps event he cowardice they kept hidden away. She was like some genetic mutation awakening illnesses that would have normally lain dormant."Penny really know how to make you think and examine your feelings on the subject.

And again you feel also the security of being with your friends in Three Pines.  Wishing you were invited to the dinner party at Clara's.  Wanting to bundle up,  to walk across the green, covered in snow, to the Inn and nibble a croissant, sip a cup of hot chocolate and listen to the conversation between Ruth and Myra.  That is how close you feel to this group of people after reading along through to this the 17th book in this series.