The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

This is the first book in a crime series by Harry Potter author J.K Rowling (written under a pseudonym). Cormoran Strike is the illegitimate son of a rock star. He was injured in Afghanistan and is struggling to make ends meet as a private investigator. John Bristow asks Strike to investigate the supposed suicide of John's famous adopted sister, supermodel Lula Landry. Other characters include Robin, Strike's temporary secretary who begins to play Watson to his Sherlock; and Charlotte, Strike's beautiful but tempestuous girlfriend.

I'm not used to this genre, but I quickly realised I was going to have to read 400 pages to find out whodunnit. This didn't seem very appealing when I started, but I soon became interested in Cormoran and Robin, and after about 300 pages I wanted to know who did it!

Rowling seems to be master of the long complex sentence and clear descriptions that tell rather than show. I read a review that said you need to read the book with a dictionary by your side but I didn't find that to be the case.

Overall it's a great read. The crime being investigated was interesting but not enthralling; however, I'm keen to read the next one to find out what happens to Strike and Robin.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

This book is only 67 pages long. It is a short story, originally published in an anthology Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin. The story won the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2015.

The story is written in short sentences with unsophisticated vocabulary. It is fast paced and can easily be read in an hour. I was planning to encourage my 13 year old son to read it. At the first sentence "I didn't stop giving hand jobs because I wasn't good at it", I decided it would be inappropriate!

I don't think the protagonist, a young women posing as a mystic, is ever named. A client, Susan Miles, is concerned that her new home is haunted and asks the mystic to come and take a look. Even at the end it's not entirely clear who is the rogue and who is the grownup, but there are enough plot twists to keep you guessing.

This is a good book to leave on a coffee table to encourage someone to take a break and enjoy a great read. I'm going to buy the Rogues anthology; I hope the other 20 stories are just as good.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

I bought this after seeing the movies Paper Towns and The Fault in our Stars. The protagonist is child prodigy Colin. He has limited social skills, and has dated 18 girls all called Katherine. Colin is getting too old to be a child prodigy; he either needs to become a genius or fade into obscurity. Colin and his friend Hassan go on a road trip to help Colin get over being dumped by the latest Katherine. They end up in the small town of Gutshot; here they meet Lindsey and her mother Hollis.

Colin's character reminded my of a younger version of Don Tillman from The Rosie Project. Colin attempts to become a genius by inventing an algorithm to predict how long a relationship will last. The book includes some interesting footnotes and an explanation of the Maths behind the formula. I wouldn't recommend the book to children under thirteen as there are some mild sexual references.

The Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

The books tells the story of triplets Cat, Lyn and Gemma Kettle and their parents Maxine and Frank. The prologue describes a dinner to celebrate their 34th birthday. One of the triplets  is pregnant and they have a huge row. The story then goes back 3 years and we slowly find out what led to the bust up and which of the three sisters is pregnant.

This is definitely one of Moriarty's better books. It's fast paced with lots of interesting characters, particularly the men each of the sisters is involved with. There are moments you want to cheer and moments you want to cover your eyes. There are short anecdotes between many of the chapters written by people who have seen the three attractive, vivacious sisters out together. The author uses these to show the effect the girls have on other people.The story provides insights into being 'a multiple', being married to a triplet and being the parents of triplets. The girls have very different personalities when they're apart, but when they're together there's a Kettle Triplets persona that they share.

Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

This is a short book (214 pages) written in 2009. It is set in 1980 and tells the story of 13 year old Plum, a plump teenager who lives with her parents and two older brothers (Justin 24 and Cydar 22). She is taken under the wing of a neighbour, 36 year old stay at home mum, Maureen.

Plum is ordinary, not particularly pretty, smart or virtuous. She is struggling to hold onto friendships. She is surrounded by teenage girls who don't find anything about her to value, other than her two good looking older brothers. The book reveals the immaturity of both Plum and Maureen as they grapple with their unsatisfying lives.

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Lianne Moriarty

This is one of Moriarty's early novels (first published 2011). Her latest ones have noticeably more complicated plots with interweaving storylines. It's a story about serial monogamy, about moving on, about getting stuck in the past, and about the importance of timing. Ellen is a hypnotherapist who has gone through three, three to four year relationships. She is now single and meets Patrick through an internet dating site. Patrick's wife Colleen died about six years earlier and he has an 8 year old son. He has had one serious relationship since Colleen died. This was with Saskia, it ended three years ago, but she has been stalking him ever since.

Unknown to Ellen or Patrick, Saskia becomes one of Ellen's clients. The book provides interesting insights into the world of hypnotherapy. It also explores the mind of a stalker and the impact stalking can have on its victims. Moriarty brings her characters to life with the small details in their actions and thought processes. As Patrick and Ellen get to know each other they shift from that first 'treading on eggshells'  stage to their first argument.

The story has it's climax and a fairly long wrap-up. It doesn't have the plot twits of some of Moriarty's other books, but it's a classic story of finding oneself and emotional growth.

The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild

This was a delicious book and I learnt a few new words along the way. It tells the story of Annie, a thirty something wannabe chef living in London, who buys a painting from a junk store. The painting turns out to be a lost masterpiece called The Improbability of Love. There are four or five chapters written in the first person by the painting itself (which turns out to be a bit of a snob) that I particularly enjoyed.

The book explores the process of authenticating art; the world of the super rich art buyer; the selling, stealing and hiding of art during the first and second world wars; and the process of art restoration. The book will appeal to foodies as much as art lovers; Annie prepares magnificent banquets that she spends weeks researching and preparing.

There are many interesting characters in the book. Annie works for Rebecca Winkleman, who is a cold, smart, beautiful, 50 year old art dealer, still very much under the control of her father.  Annie's mother Evie is an alcoholic. Barty St George is an outrageous, Elton John style character, who advises the super rich on how to spend their money and gain entry to the best society. Vlad Antipovsky is an exiled Russian oligarch who Barty takes under his wing. No one in the book is happily married; hence the relationships reflect the title of the painting and the book.

The author tries to explain why great works of art sell for so much money. They are good investments; by owning a painting you become part of it's history, one of many owners that might have included kings, queens and popes; they are in limited supply. Using just a few brush strokes great artists are able to capture the human condition; artworks convey meaning and emotion to the viewer. At the same time, paintings are fragile and can easily be damaged.

There are a couple of great plot twists. I really thought I knew where the story was going, but the last hundred pages were not what I expected. I was quite cross with the author with fifty pages to go, but I eventually discovered that her expertise runs to storytelling and not just art!