My Year in Books 2025: May

This month's list is ever-so-slightly longer than my average for the year so far. I really am trying to find more time for reading for pleasure, and having a week off work at the end of the month helped a bit with that!

In case you're curious, here are my posts from the rest of the year: January, February, March, April

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French (2024)

This book was one I picked up from the charity table at the Morrisons near where I work. I wanted to make a donation and I don’t think I’ve read a Nicci French book before, so I got this one and read it almost right away. The story starts in 1991, when the Salter family are preparing to celebrate their father’s 50th birthday. As the party begins, it becomes clear that Charlotte, their mother, hasn’t arrived. The Salter children, particularly Etty, get increasingly worried about their mother’s non-attendance, but their father doesn’t think it’s a problem. The night draws on, and the family realise that Charlie Salter has disappeared. The first part of the book follows the abortive attempt to find Charlie or to work out what’s happened to her. The second part picks up the story thirty years later, when the Salters’ childhood friends Greg and Morgan Ackerley (who had their own tragedy to deal with in the aftermath of Charlie’s disappearance) decide to make a podcast about the unsolved mystery. The book is partly a mystery, which does get wrapped up at the end in a satisfying way, but it’s also partly a story about the effects of grief. The second part of the book has a rather bleak tone to it, as we see the toll that the events of 1991 have taken on the Salters and the Ackerleys. This was quite a quick and gripping read, and there was some good characterization and exploration of memory.

The Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett (2014)

The next book I read this month was a library book (quelle surprise!). I was drawn to this one because it’s about stage magic, which is something that always intrigues me. However, the thing that really grabbed my attention is that it isn’t set in the glamorous world of the Victorian or Edwardian theatre, but in the faded glory of 1950s variety. The protagonist is Reggie Rainbow, a young man who works in theatres. Reggie has a limp from childhood polio, but he’s strong and nimble, which are perfect qualities for a magician’s assistant (and as we learn, magicians always have more assistants than you think). Reggie works for Mr Brookes, and near the beginning of the story the magician takes on a new assistant called Pam. The trio head to Brighton to perform in a slot there in the run-up to the Coronation, and that’s probably as much as I can say without too many spoilers. I really fell in love with this book. It’s an immersive story, and it’s hard not to root for Reggie and Pam. I also really liked the descriptions of the stage shows and how the tricks were effected. One of the intriguing aspects of the story is that Bartlett keeps an air of mystery around the character of Mr Brookes. Although we learn a lot about what he does, we never learn anything about why. We’re obviously not supposed to particularly like Mr Brookes, but I have to admit I found him fascinating.

Asta's Book by Barbara Vine (1993)

This book was a reread, and a regular one at that. Asta’s Book is one of my favourite books of all time! I had a week off work at the end of the month, and I thought it would be nice to enjoy an old favourite while I was having a bit of downtime. I’m not sure what to say about this one that I haven’t said before. It’s just a lovely treat of a novel, and although I know the ending very well by now (and sometimes I wish I could erase my memory so I can experience the surprise and satisfaction I felt the first time I read it), I just never get bored of it. If you don’t know Asta’s Book, it’s a mystery novel, but with multiple layers to the mystery. There’s a family puzzle to be solved – the story begins when Ann’s aunt, Swanny, dies, convinced that she isn’t the biological daughter of her mother (the eponymous, diary writing Asta) – but there’s also a murder mystery and the disappearance of a child to be solved along the way. One of the things I love about it is the pace of Ann’s ‘investigation’. The present-day storyline takes place over several years, with Ann doing periodic bouts of research, but not letting it take over her life. I also like the fact that some of the revelations come about by accident, meaning that Ann is just as surprised as the reader when certain facts come to light.