Tuesday September 30th, 2025
Books in September
- Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths [Read by Clare Corbett]
Having just seen Elly Griffiths at the book festival in Jersey, I thought it was about time I got back to Ruth Galloway. The last book I read was nine months ago, so it took me a little while to settle back into Ruth’s life.
In this story, an old university friend writes to her claiming he’s made an extraordinary archaeological discovery and wants a second opinion — only for Ruth to learn shortly afterwards that he has died in a fire at his home. Shocked, she decides to investigate the discovery for herself, only to find that the bones from the burial have clearly been substituted.
To follow it all through, Ruth travels to Blackpool — and guess what? This just happens to be DCI Nelson’s home turf, and he has chosen the exact same time to take a family holiday there. Awks.
I’m writing as if we all know Ruth’s personal situation, but if you don’t, don’t worry — it’s all explained quickly enough, and there’s no real need to have read the earlier books to catch up. By book five, though, we’ve got a really strong cast of characters, all with interesting and complicated personal histories that keep you invested alongside the mystery itself.
As ever, Griffiths has written a jolly good story full of mystery and suspense, with fascinating archaeological possibilities woven through it. I especially like the way she plays with myth and legend, only to ground everything again with hard scientific fact through Ruth’s expertise.
[I had always imagined — without ever actually checking — that Griffiths herself must have been an academic, but apparently that side of the books comes from her husband, who left his job as a banker, and took up archaeology as a career later in life.] - Big Sky and The Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson [Read by Jason Isaacs]
There was a nine-year hiatus between the fourth and fifth Jackson Brodie books, but it’s been almost twelve years since I read Started Early, Took My Dog, so it was a real pleasure to return to him. He remains intelligent, kind, and endlessly self-examining, much of this conveyed through his quiet musings and inner dialogues — the latter usually involving his now ex-partner, Julia.
After all this time, his son Nathan has become a cynical and slightly sullen teenager (although perhaps “teenager” says enough on its own), spending spells of his holidays with his father and their ageing labrador. The interactions between father and son provide much of the humour in the novel. More generally, I really enjoyed the intergenerational relationships throughout the book. Nathan is not the only likeable teenager here, and there’s a warmth in the way the younger characters navigate blended families and complicated relationships. However, despite the lightness of the writing and the humour, the plot of Big Sky is actually pretty dark, dealing with abduction and human trafficking.
By contrast, the sixth book is a genuinely humorous, tongue-in-cheek golden-age murder mystery. Central to the various subplots is a delightful sort of Robin Hood figure who “steals from the horrible”, though doesn’t necessarily give very much to the poor. Eventually, all roads lead to a grand country house where everyone becomes marooned by a snowstorm. The proprietor insists on continuing with a planned Murder Mystery weekend hosted by the Red Herring Theatre Company, despite the fact that real deaths seem to be occurring all around them. Cue a wonderfully Christie-esque cast of characters: a vicar, a major, a dowager, a sleuth and their sidekick — not to mention a convicted murderer supposedly loose on the moors!
I’ve seen reader reviews saying that there are “too many coincidences” in these books, but I think that misses the point. Perhaps readers come to them expecting straightforward detective stories and become frustrated as Atkinson increasingly plays with style, tone, and genre conventions.
Although these novels deal realistically with serious subjects, they are not gritty crime dramas or police procedurals. They are, first and foremost, stories — and stories thrive on coincidence, converging threads, and satisfying endings. The fact that they are also so skilfully written and plotted raises them above the ordinary.
Thursday September 18th, 2025
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts
A trip to Richmond for a delicious lunch at l'assaggino and then on to the theatre to see what is, apparently, the first-ever stage adaptation of the iconic TV detective drama. Already a familiar TV Inspector from the Father Brown series, Tom Chambers stars as Inspector Morse.
An actress dies on stage during a performance, and Detective Chief Inspector Morse, together with DS Lewis, are brought in to investigate. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when (of course!) there turns out to be a connection to sinister events in Morse's own past, twenty-five years earlier.
Very much in he vein of the original crime series, and very well-acted and produced. Still touring until April 2026.
Monday September 8th, 2025
Wraggs to Bags
Neil Wragg came to talk to us today; his business is Rags to Bags, which recycles old materials (leather jackets, upholstery fabrics and canvas tents) into unique smart bags.
He told us how his business interest in mending camping gear evolved into a business, and how appearing on TV had a huge effect in creating custom. He has taken part a couple of times in Money for Nothing and told us how the process of filming and engagement works with the TV companies - in that he was not told in advance what he was going to be given and the film crew show up on the day expecting to shoot right away. Although it began with materials that could be visualized as bags eg canvas, leather, and in one case a rubber boat - but once he was given a set of golf clubs to upcycle (I'm guessing they thought he'd do something with the bag they were in).
