In August 2023, I read:

• The Maid by Nita Prose
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
• In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood (non-fiction)
• Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter
• The Butcher of Berner Street by Alex Reeve
• Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah
• The War of the Worlds by H G Wells
• Fairy Tale by Stephen King
• End of Story by Louise Swanson
• Maddadam by Margaret Atwood (audio book)

The highlights for me were The Maid by Nita Prose and Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler.

What really stood out for me about The Maid was the voice of the main character, Molly. I loved her naivete and the way she wanted everything done properly. The back story was very believable, the romance subplot was very touching, and the main plot line kept me guessing. It was everything you want from a classic murder mystery. I’m really looking forward to the next in the series.

Parable of the Sower was very harrowing. I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian fiction recently and this is one that will stay with me. It’s very uncomfortable reading in places but again the main character, Lauren, is very engaging and the plot line was gripping. Written in 1993, it imagines a future heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. Again, I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I love Cara Hunter’s books and always find I can’t put them down once I start reading them. Murder in the Family is very different in that the format is scripts for a TV true crime drama, evidence from the investigation, emails and WhatsApp messages between the characters, etc. but no actual narrative. Once you got used to the format, it’s very easy to read. The characters were great, and the first plot twist was brilliant, but I found the resolution disappointing.

I haven’t read Stephen King for a long time, and I found Fairytale very immersive. I particularly liked the relationship between the main character and the dog he inherits. King weaves a horror out of familiar fairy tale tropes and takes inspiration from Jack and the Beanstalk and The Wizard of Oz. It was quite a strange book overall, but I did enjoy it.

Maddadam was the conclusion to the Maddadam trilogy. Listening to it on audio book was quite disjointed and I felt like I missed bits so I might read the trilogy again in paperback. The second book, The Year of The Flood, was my favourite of the three books but I liked all the backstory in this book and the ending was very poignant. I feel like I miss the characters already!