Notes from the Commute (Holiday Edition)

Midnight Feast, Butter and more

Welcome to another edition of Notes from the Commute #HolidayEdition. I went home for Christmas and the summer break and it’s the first time in many years that I’ve had three weeks off from my regular 9-5.

This week I returned to work so it’s time to put aside the books that I read while on holiday and return to the usual grind. So, this holiday edition isn’t reviews of books I’ve read on my commute to work but reviews of books that I’ve read from the couch, cafe or pool.

Let’s dive in.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

I’ve been an admirer of Foley’s work for a while and had The Midnight Feast sitting on my TBR since it’s release earlier this year. This thriller is captivating from the outset. The books jumps between characters point of views which creates a fast-paced story that you won’t be able to put down.

It also has one of my favourite motifs in a thriller or murder mystery: establishing the landscape as a character. Foley does this with expert precision establishing both the town and resort as characters and having the story explore the differences between them in both past and present. There’s mystical elements throughout the book but it doesn’t stray into fantasy more than your classic Edgar Allen Poe kind of mystical - can they actually hear the beating heart under the floor or is it just guilt?

Would definitely recommend.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

It feels almost strange to say about a book about murder but The Thursday Murder Club is a delight.

I read this directly after The Midnight Feast; back-to-back mysteries. While the characters of the Midnight Feast lean into the thriller side of things. The stars of the Thursday Murder Club lean into the comedy. Set primarily in a retirement village, four members have set up a murder club to use their collective skills to solve old, cold cases.

But when someone they know gets killed not too far from the village, they all set about solving it.

This book also jumps around with characters’ POV but that’s where the book really shines. Ultimately, it’s a great read that will get you back into reading after a slump or just liven up your reading list with the fun and clever story.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This is not my first foray into Sarah J. Maas and not my first read of the ACOTAR series. I read them nearly ten years ago when they first came out and then they found a resurgence thanks to TikTok and were suddenly hard to avoid. I’ve had this sitting on my shelf to re-read because I couldn’t quite remember what was so great about it.

I remember Throne of Glass really well and loved that series but couldn’t place ACOTAR… Now I can tell you that it’s a lot of fun. Maas is an expert at creating big fantasy worlds with rich storylines but without sacrificing pace. Seriously, these books move so fast.

I hate to say it but if I pitch you the storyline you probably won’t want to read it. It’s a book and series that on the surface seems only for particular people *cough* young women *cough* but I’d argue it’s for everyone.

So just read it.

I have no doubt that if you’re diving into the series you’ll read one, then the next, then everything that Maas has done - because that’s just the way of things.

Sidenote:

Sian Nelligan

wrote a summary of the Romantasy craze for her Substack

The Middle

, which is a great place to start.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

I had assumed that Butter was more of a thriller because it was based on a real-life case of the ‘Konkatsu Killer’. But the story focuses more on the revelations that the journalist, Rika Machida, has about herself as she vies for an exclusive interview with the killer, Manako Kanjii.

‘There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine’ - Manako Kanjii in Butter by Asako Yuzuki.

The book is beautifully written and the style reminded me of why I liked Secret History by Donna Tartt. It has a sort of melancholy edge to it that makes the pensive moments really striking. I enjoyed the way that highlighted the pressures that women endure both professionally but more broadly with ageing and dieting.

And then of course there’s the butter. There are a lot of descriptions of food that are mouth watering and I now want to add butter to everything.

So, I highly recommend - just not on an empty stomach.

Verse is the home of great speculative fiction. Next week will be the announcement of the first long-form serial begins called Station 2-14.

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