Exciting times at George Eliot’s reading group as our members had the choice of two books to read this month, both kindly donated by their publishers. Thriller and crime fans could select Back of Beyond by C.J.Box and for those drawn to a more uplifting, family driven story we had There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan.
Back of Beyond is one in a series written by C.J.Box and follows the investigations of Cody Hoyt, a troubled, alcoholic cop who isn’t fooled by the apparent suicide of his sobriety sponsor. Taking in the wonderous setting of Yellowstone National Park, tourists (including Hoyt’s son) on a horseback trekking trip, and a ruthless killer, it does exactly what you’d expect a thriller novel to do.
Our readers enjoyed the novel, it was an easy read and the author obviously knows his craft well. The necessary twists and turns were present and it was a real page turner. We had some queries over how plausible the killer’s plan was- not to give too much away, but there were more obvious ways of achieving their goal. We enjoyed the characters, although some were a little stereotypical, such as the standard teenage girl who’s obsessed with boys and her phone and sulking on a horseback trip with her keen as mustard younger sister and trying too hard divorced father. Hoyt was a layered protagonist and the leader of the horseback trek (Jed) was intriguing as he analysed and influenced his customers.
One of our readers commented:
“There were some interesting characters and I loved imagining the beauty of Yellowstone. It was a dumb plan…[plot reveal redacted!]… Things would inevitably go wrong. Much better to arrange a …[plot reveal redacted!]… It was fun working out who the murderer was, not that I managed to. The insight into how Jed manipulated people was fascinating – a real sociopath.”
There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan was equally well received by our reading group members. It tells the story of the large Black family’s quest to find one of their clan, Molly, who has disappeared. Her parents have died and her Irish aunts, uncles and cousins are determined to find her. It’s a really funny, witty novel, with some very relatable characters, but it also deals with grief and loss in a sensitive and insightful way.
The reading group members who chose this book loved Uncle John and Aunt V. We felt the connection between the family members and the obvious love for Molly. We did think that Molly perhaps hadn’t seen how much she was cared for by her family after her mother died. The minor disappointment were a sub plot not being fully wrapped up at the end of the novel, and the jumping between years and characters took a bit of concentration and the occasional back track. The mini family tree at the start of the book helped and once into the story it was much easier to keep track of the motley crew of characters.
One of our members had read this book quite a while ago, and described it as one of those novels that you remember fondly, particularly the tone of the book and how it made the reader feel has really stuck. It reminded them of how family all come together in a crisis. Another of our members commented:
“I really loved There’s Been a Little Incident … I really like all of the different characters and how they interacted together. I would definitely recommend the book 😊”
If either of these sound like the book for you we will soon have copies in our reading collections at GEH and SWFT sites for you to borrow.
Our next book is a short story, so it should be a perfect read for a sunny afternoon in the garden (or on the beach). The Donor by Clare Mackintosh is the story of a family whose daughter has received a new heart… Available to pick up from the Library now!
Find out more about our reading groups here
Take a look at the blog posts for our previous reads here.
