Goodnight Nobody (Jennifer Weiner)

Chick-lit. Nice enough. Some quite funny satire of life in the suburbs.

Dead Heat (Dick Francis and Felix Francis)

As always (Dick Francis has written more than 40 of these), there are a lot of horses, some crime, a guy who would prefer to just mind his own business but gets drawn into solving the crime, a beautiful woman etc. I quite like the fact that, because he has written so many of them, any time I am in the mood for one, I can read one. And they are so un-memorable, that I’m not even sure whether I read this specific one before or not.

However, the biggest benefit of reading this particular one is a cool quote:

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Abraham Lincoln

One mystery that I couldn’t solve though: Why did they put a big picture of father and son Francis on the back-cover, where the father looks like he’s of rather poor health and doesn’t quite know where he is and the son wears one of his father’s ties (far too short for his huge frame)?

Murder Plays House – A mommy-track mystery (Ayelet Waldman)

Sometimes I crave a good old portion of McDonald’s french fries. You know exactly what you get, sure, they are salty and greasy (but not old-fat greasy) but you were hungry before and are not afterward, no surprises, no complaints. That’s all I have to say about this book.

Wife of the Gods – An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery (Kwei Quartey)

Agatha Christie in Ghana? Or, as my mother would say if she longs for a good old fashioned murder mystery: “I need at least two corpses, some passionate love and a happy ending.”

Wife of the Gods has all that and is a pleasant (why is reading about murder pleasant?) if predictable read. In tried and tested Agatha Christie fashion we have an oh-so-innocent seeming murder victim whom a surprisingly high number of people wish to see dead. Some extra spice is added by the fact that the story is set in Ghana, so apart from the ordinary greed and passion we also deal with the evil eye and all kinds of magical beliefs.

I enjoyed the read, had some nostalgic longing for Ghana, which still feels like a second home. I’d read the next “Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery” – though I don’t know if I’d spend the money on buying the book. If you enjoy “No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”, you’ll like Darko.