During my trip to South East Asia from mid-January to mid-February, I read 14 books. Dividing them into the two months, that makes 9 books for January and 10 books for February.
January reading
The Doctor's Wife by Daniel Hurst - A fast reading thriller, with turns along the way.
Jag såg kärleken och döden by Erik Eriksson - (I saw love and death) A journalist writing about his time in Vietnam during the war. I read it for my trip to Vietnam.
Cold Case: Försvunnen by Tina Frennstedt - (Cold case: Disappeared) A new to me author, writing about the area where I live. A good, and thrilling story, hard to put down. Want to read more by her.
Vad gör alla superokända människor hela dagarna by Fredrik Lindström - Did not live up to what I expected from Lindström.
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini - A classic tale of pirates. Still interesting to read, but a little bit too many description of battles.
De unga baronerna by Birgit Th. Sparre - (The Young Barons) Historical fiction from a rather famous author (in her days). I have never read anything by her, but really liked this story.
The Doctor's Widow by DanielHurst - The continuation of "the Wife", continuing the fast paced story of a wife, who got away with it. Or did she? There is a third instalment to go, The Doctor's Mistress. But, I will wait a while with that one.
Den förste by Marit Furn - (The First) a story of a famous journalist, deciding to change his life, and move to the countryside. Engaging in a local theatre group is not as easy as it sounds.
Död mans kvinna by Katarina Wennstam - (Dead Man's Woman) The second book in this series of women in Stockholm at the end of the 19th century. Highlighting the lack of influence and independence that women faced then. Trying to cope with life and solving murder mysteries.
February reading
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier - Another interesting story by Chevalier. Another story of women fighting for a meaningful life.
Trust by Hernan Diaz - Four short stories are binding together the life of a man and a woman. Excellent storytelling.
Kungen av Nostratien by Tony Samuelsson (The King of Nostratien) Winner of the August prize in Sweden, this is a fascinating story. An author trying to finalise a book by an author in coma, after a heart attack. Fascinating story, but I did not like the ending.
Memoria by David Lagercrantz - the second instalment in the series of professor Hans Rekke and police assistant Micaela Vargas.
Post Morten by David Lagercrantz - the third instalment in the series of professor Hans Rekke and police assistant Micaela Vargas. Both books are a fast and thrilling read. Every time I finish a book, I want to read the next one. They all end with a cliff hanger.
Dottern by Sara Önnebo - (The Daughter) When her mother dies in a car accident, the daughter decides to travel to Finland to try to find out her mother's secret.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James - A great thriller about a past crime. Hard to put down.
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica - I found this in a hotel. Another great thriller with a surprising ending.
It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison - It seems I found all these exciting thrillers to read in February. Great story and surprising ending.
The Harlot by Saskia Walker - An easy read without having to think too much. More erotica than story.
Best books
I did read a surprisingly number of good books these two months. I liked most of them, but here a few that really stuck out, and was difficult to put down. Mainly thrillers, which I usually don't read so many.
Best book this year is Trust by Hernan Diaz. No wonder he received the Pulitzer prize for this book in 2023 (sharing it with Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. Diaz has said he wanted to "write about extreme wealth and capital". His earlier book is In the Distance and he sees Trust as a continuity from that novel. I have not read his first novel, but is eager to do so now.
The novel is mostly set in New York City, focusing on the world of finance in the beginning of the 20th century. The main characters are an elusive financier and his wife. The books is composed of four fictional texts:
A Novel (Bonds)
An incomplete autobiography (My Life)
A completed memoir (A Memoir, Remembered
A diary (Futures)
It is difficult to talk about the novel without using Spoilers, so I will only say that the book focuses on the same characters, but the story is seen from different angles. In the end, it is up to the reader to determine what is the truth. It is an excellent tale of a hidden world and the people within it.
What is the real truth? Who should we believe? The story delves on the secret world of those who have enough money to hide their private lives, and their motives. What do we think happened when we have read the accounts?
If you have read it, please leave a comment of what you think.
As for the thrillers I can really recommend these three:
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James - A great thriller about a past crime. A young girl disappears from a boarding school. The case is forgotten until many years later. I got totally into this fascinating story with a surprising ending.
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica - A fascinating story of missing children and women. The missing child of one of the neighbours engage the whole neighbourhood. Eleven years later the child is found. What really happened those many years ago, and is the girl really who she says she is? Keeps you glued to the book until the very end.
It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison - Olivia and Park Bender use fertility treatments and IVF to try to have children. They are both shocked when the police visit them and tell them that a son of Park is suspected of murder. As they are not aware of having any children, Park remembers that he donated sperm to a clinic in his youth.
This is not only a story of a crime, but also a story of a couple struggling with their relationship. As the investigation goes on, more terrible truths come to light. It turns out both have dark, past secrets. Also this thriller keeps you guessing to the very end.
A good two reading months for me. Just to hope it will continue into March. I have read 19 books so far this year, and seven of them came from my TBR.
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