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<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\nFirst a quick explanation!<\/strong><\/p>\n Due to some severe health issues over the last few years, and a lingering chronic condition, my planned review schedule went right out of the window and I have been scrabbling ever since to get it back on track.<\/strong><\/p>\n In an attempt to try to regain some lost ground, I have been scrunching some of my (overdue) NetGalley reviews together into one or two posts each week: shorter reviews, but still covering all of the points I intended to.<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s the plan anyway, so let\u2019s\u00a0start the new year as we mean to go on\u2026 sharing the book love!<\/strong><\/p>\n Title:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Butter<\/em><\/strong> Blurb: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation\u2019s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can\u2019t resist writing back.<\/em><\/p>\n Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?<\/em><\/p>\n Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, \u201cThe Konkatsu Killer\u201d, Asako Yuzuki\u2019s\u00a0Butter<\/em>\u00a0is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.<\/em><\/p>\n Review:<\/strong>\u00a0Butter<\/em> is a deeply sensual exploration of Japanese food and ingredients, and also of the female body, mind and role in society, and how all of those various things intersect.<\/p>\n The main character, Rika, flows between different, often contradictory epiphanies as she opens her mind and tastes to different foods, experiences and ideas throughout the story. Her views of others in her life and her relationships with them are similarly fluid \u2013 she dismisses someone, then notices them, appreciates them, is disgusted by them, understands them, loves them, is indifferent again\u2026 It is a constantly changing dance of perception and connection.<\/p>\n Thematically, the novel is about the inherent need we have to be see and be seen, hear and be heard, touch and be touched, taste and be tasted\u2026 to exist in and of oneself but also to have one\u2019s existence perceived by others. The story has delicate layers of philosophy and psychology layered under heaping piles of butter-sticky rice (with a few drops of soy sauce, of course, for added flavour).<\/p>\n Perhaps it is also about discovering what is \u201cgood for us\u201d, how much life is right for our individual tastes, or perhaps it is about how those \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cright\u201d quantities and qualities will continue to change, as we do, through life.<\/p>\n Interesting, deep, slow and saturated with food and the sensory experiences of eating, this book made me feel hungry for living life fully in every moment and for savouring every taste it offers.<\/p>\n Title:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Doppelganger<\/strong><\/em> Blurb: \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Naomi Klein, author of era-defining bestsellers,\u00a0The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0No Logo,\u00a0<\/em>is back with her most compulsive and personal book yet: a revelatory journey into the mirror world of our polarised age<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn\u2019t. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger. Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path? Why was identity \u2013 all we have to meet the world \u2013 so unstable?<\/em><\/p>\n To find out, Klein decided to follow her double into a bizarre, uncanny mirror world: one of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters, where soft-focus wellness influencers make common cause with fire-breathing far right propagandists (all in the name of protecting \u2018the children\u2019). In doing so, she lifts the lid on our own culture during this surreal moment in history, as we turn ourselves into polished virtual brands, publicly shame our enemies, watch as deep fakes proliferate and whole nations flip from democracy to something far more sinister.<\/em><\/p>\n This is a book for our age and for all of us; a deadly serious dark comedy which invites us to view our reflections in the looking glass. It\u2019s for anyone who has lost hours down an internet rabbit hole, who wonders why our politics has become so fatally warped, and who wants a way out of our collective vertigo and back to fighting for what really matters.<\/em><\/p>\n Review:<\/strong>\u00a0This feels like an incredibly timely book, with the results of the recent US election still baffling left-leaning people around the world!<\/p>\n Rigorously researched and compellingly argued, this account of one woman\u2019s delve beyond the echo chamber and into the \u2018mirror world\u2019 of alternative facts and \u2018fake news\u2019 is dense with actual facts, references and relevant information.<\/p>\n Naomi Klein starts by trying to understand Other Naomi (Wolf)\u2019s change of political allegiance, but the book soon becomes a journey through political \u2018othering\u2019 as a distraction from the evils of capitalism, encompassing Covid and lockdowns, vaccine mandates, slavery, the Holocaust, colonialism, anti-Semitism generally, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict \u2013 to name just a few of the topics discussed in this wide-reaching examination of human behaviour. <\/p>\n And Naomi\u2019s explanations really did help me to better understand why, like Other Naomi, people might be feeling \u2018othered\u2019, fearful or angry at their position in their society which might lead them to lash out at the apparently<\/em> smug and cliquey left and feel welcomed by the projection of confidence and camaraderie from the right. From that moment of personal epiphany, Klein moves on to discuss that wider history of human othering and the wilful blindness to what she calls the Shadow Lands, that props up our capitalist comfort and helped to lead us to this divisive current point. <\/p>\n In this narrative, acts like the Holocaust and the slave trade are reframed as part of a wider pattern rather than the usual view that they represent horrifying outliers in our shared history, and it shows how focusing on the specific details of individual atrocities (race, religion, country, method, motivation) blinds us to a wider picture of humans reducing other humans to lower status and then treating them as animals, objects or disposable. <\/p>\n Those benefitting from this status quo are adept at distracting us by setting us at each other\u2019s throats, giving us easy \u2018othered\u2019 targets, thus avoiding us looking at their power structures that grind us all ruthlessly in the name of profit. Just think of that meme with the plates of cookies!<\/p>\n Klein then pans wider still to look at the climate crisis and the impending end of humanity, before finishing full-circle, back in the small and personal with her relationship with her own doppelganger, and how her perspective has changed over time and over the course of writing and researching this book.<\/p>\n This is a deep, intense analysis that requires time, thought, conscious and active engagement with the ideas, an open mind and the bravery to face the worst in yourself and others with a will to do better. Throughout the writing, the author remains reasonable and balanced and is also willing to examine and deconstruct her own assumptions and prejudices, so the ideal reader for this book is anyone who is ready to do the same.<\/p>\n Title: A Clock Stopped Dead<\/em><\/strong> Blurb: \u00a0<\/em>Retired schoolteachers and amateur sleuths Liz, Pat and Thelma are giving up their coffee morning for a brand-new mystery.<\/strong><\/p>\n Retired teachers Pat, Liz and Thelma are happiest whiling away their hours over coffee, cake and chat at the Thirsk Garden Centre caf\u00e9.<\/em><\/p>\n But when their good friend tells them about an unsettling experience she had in a sinister-feeling charity shop, they simply can\u2019t resist investigating\u2026<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Because the entire shop has vanished into thin air.<\/em><\/p>\n Before long, our trio of unlikely sleuths find themselves embroiled in a race against the clock to get to the bottom of this mystery \u2013 but who has a secret to hide and how far will they go to keep it concealed?<\/em><\/p>\n Only time will tell\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Review:<\/strong>\u00a0This is the third Liz, Pat and Thelma mystery, in which three friends \u2013 all retired teachers \u2013 solve local crimes using their natural skills and connections to their community, and while you don\u2019t need to read the first two books to enjoy this one, if you do enjoy this one then you will definitely want to read the others!<\/p>\n Here they have another mystery to reluctantly solve, alongside their usual stresses involving husbands, adult children and grandchildren. Both Liz and Pat find their grown sons returning to the nest but not keen to share why, while Thelma\u2019s husband continues to cause her career-related angst with his new part-time postie role.<\/p>\n The main mystery of the disappearing charity shop was very<\/em> mysterious \u2013 I couldn\u2019t imagine what had happened! \u2013 and reminded me of old classic murder mystery stories by Margery Allingham or Agatha Christie. While it will definitely seem far-fetched to some, I really enjoyed the unusual nature of the mystery and not knowing where it was leading.<\/p>\n And Pat\u2019s secret struggle with aging gracefully is incredibly relatable to someone who suspects they will still be wearing jeans, trainers and slogan tees when they\u2019re in a nursing home! <\/p>\n The fun mixture of pseudo-supernatural vibes, retiree investigators and a touch of the theatrics made this one of my favourite instalments in this series so far and I look forward to seeing what the ladies who lunch (at the garden centre once a week) will put right next.<\/p>\n Title: Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret<\/em><\/strong> Blurb: \u00a0<\/em>24 advent calendar doors. 23 clues. And 1 killer to catch before Christmas . . . a deviously clever, classic murder mystery for the festive season<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For fans of Janice Hallett, Anthony Horowitz and Peter Swanson\u2019s\u00a0The Christmas Guest<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n My name is\u00a0Ernest Cunningham.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries \u2013 and murderers \u2013 tick. I\u2019d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays.<\/em><\/p>\n I was wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician\u00a0Rylan Blaze,<\/strong>\u00a0whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician\u2019s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection.<\/em><\/p>\n My clues are even more of a mystery:<\/em> Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year. Review:<\/strong>\u00a0 I squeezed in reading this book just before Christmas but am late managing to review it, so if you could all just buy it ready for your 2025 Christmas reading, that would be great!<\/p>\n Ernest Cunningham is back with another mystery and this one has a festive theme, so features some special seasonal \u2018murder mystery rules\u2019 to add to the usual fair-play ones.<\/p>\n The book is presented in advent calendar style, which didn\u2019t really work for me in the ARC e-format, but sounds really fun so I am definitely going to pick up a paper copy for myself so I can play along properly.<\/p>\n This is a short and sweet mystery, in novella length rather than a full-length novel. As always though, the mystery plot holds together neatly and our author-narrator plays fair, despite some clever sleight of hand\/word!<\/p>\n I already love this quirky narrative style and the humour that pervades the entire series, so I loved this latest outing. It is ideal for some jolly festive murdery fun in the run-up to (next!) Christmas.<\/p>\n Title: A Deadly Legacy<\/em><\/strong> Blurb: \u00a0<\/em>A tragic accident or an untimely death?<\/strong><\/p>\n When Drew Hopgood\u2019s brother, Frank dies whilst out climbing, it\u2019s initially thought his death was simply a tragic accident. But when Frank\u2019s much younger wife, Stella arrives at Hopgood Hall demanding half of Frank\u2019s inheritance the Hopgoods and Alexi Ellis begin to suspect foul play\u2026<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Stella has no claim to Frank\u2019s legacy, but she isn\u2019t giving up easily. And with the reputation of Hopgood Hall still fragile, Alexi can\u2019t afford to lose any more money because of Stella\u2019s greed.<\/em><\/p>\n So Alexi, her partner Jack, and Cosmo of course, decide to dig deeper into Stella\u2019s background. Just how did she meet Frank and were they really as in love as she claims?<\/em><\/p>\n
Author: \u00a0Asako Yuzuki<\/strong>
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a04th Estate | Fourth Estate<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPurchase Link:\u00a0Butter<\/strong><\/em><\/em>\u00a0on Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Author: \u00a0Naomi Klein<\/strong>
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Press UK \u2013 Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics | Allen Lane<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cookies-meme.jpg?w=637\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPurchase Link:\u00a0Doppelganger<\/em>\u00a0on Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Author: \u00a0J.M. Hall<\/strong>
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Avon Books UK<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPurchase Link:\u00a0A Clock Stopped Dead<\/em>\u00a0on Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Author: \u00a0Benjamin Stevenson<\/strong>
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
A suspect covered in blood, with no memory of how it got there.<\/em>
A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens.
And an advent calendar. Because, you know. It\u2019s Christmas.<\/em><\/p>\n
But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?<\/em><\/p>\nPurchase Link:\u00a0Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret<\/em>\u00a0on Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Author: \u00a0E.V. Hunter<\/strong>
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Boldwood Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n