My Month in Books | February 2025
Death on ice, the murder of a bookseller, a journey across the Himalaya - and learning about owls
It was a murderous month.
I took part in investigating a death on ice and solved the murder of a bookseller.
Always up for a challenge, I accompanied a Norwegian social anthropologist on her travel through the Himalayan states - and what a journey it has been!
Not a month goes by without a book or two on nature. This month it’s just a small one, but I’ve learned something about owls.
Fiction books
Death on Ice, R. O. Thorp
R. O. Thorp’s cosy murder mystery is a wonderful twenty-first-century take on the classic whodunnit. Think Agatha Christie but funnier, with more heart - and set in the Arctic, with marine biologists as sleuths. No wonder, it attracted my attention.
On a luxury cruise ship heading to the Arctic hard-working research scientists mix with wealthy passengers who want to be entertained by watching the Aurora borealis, having one-of-a kind champagne picnics on the ice sheet, going on snowmobiles and mingle with the scientists that they are funding. A tight-knit crew and their captain see to everyone’s needs.
Scientist twins Drs Rose and Finn Blanchard are on board to work on Finn's research on the Greenland Shark. After a trip down to the seabed in the submersible, Rose and Finn surface to find that a fellow scientist nobody liked has been murdered on the ice sheet. He was shot dead with a harpoon that should never have been there. Everyone is a suspect, except Rose and Finn of course.
British detectives Thomas Heissen and Titus Williams are flown on board to investigate. On Svalbard they already had a complex case to solve. With the help of Rose, the two try to get to the bottom of this incident in which everyone seems to have a motive - and an alibi.
I liked the characters a lot. All of them likeable, most of them quite original, the right kind of eccentric and quirky, others a bit clichéd, but it didn’t matter at all, they were all fun and formed an interesting constellation.
The plot moves rather slowly until the murder occurs, so we get to know the characters quite well, which I liked. The plot itself is skillfully worked out. I love doing a bit investigating myself while reading and loved that I couldn't see through it. But in the end it's resolved conclusively for me. Perfect!
I enjoyed the humour and the writing style a lot, especially the use of similes and metaphors which I found quite original.
An absolute bonus was - you might have guessed - the location: the Arctic, Greenland, Svalbard. I loved it!
I also enjoyed the scientific background. For me, it could have been even more. Marine biologists as sleuths, I haven’t seen that before, nice and a clever idea.
A wonderful debut mystery, with quirky characters, a captivating story, a complex plot and a highly original setting. It was such a good read, sweet, funny, exciting and highly entertaining! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This one is the first of the Blanchard Twins Mysterys. I was a bit puzzled by that because the book was promoted as if they were no police on the scene and the Blanchards were doing all the investigating. However, the detectives were very much leading the investigation and were absolutely essential to solving the case, while Rose just helps from time to time and Finn barely plays a role in that at all. Confusing!
So I’m not sure how it will continue in the second book. The ebook I read came with a sample of Death on Water. It follows Dr Finn Blanchard on his trip to a secluded university on a lake up in the mountains somewhere in central Europe. It was interesting, a good read and made me want to read on. I'll look out for the book when it's published in 2026. (I would surely miss the two detectives though, they were my favourites!)
The Bookseller, Tim Sullivan
I was delighted that a new book of one of my favourite crime novel series arrived at the end of January.
The 7th DS Cross Thriller started very promising:
The body of a bookseller is discovered, lying in a pool of blood in his Bristol bookshop. Police have one question: how did the man meet such a violent, murderous end in this peaceful place?
I was curious about the booktrade setting, having worked in that world myself for several years.
I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot here, rather share why I like the series so much.
They are not brutal crime novels, not thrillers (although they are promoted as such), but actually more like classic whodunnits with an ingenious detective. DS George Cross is autistic, fact-orientated, with an eye for detail, incorruptible, unaffected by emotions - and yet so infinitely human.
I really grew very fond of the other characters as well, his colleagues, his boss and his father - and how their relationships develop.
I like the fact that it's all about the investigative work, every character, every visit to a suspect, relative or acquaintance of the dead person brings something new to light and, above all, a new twist. Whenever you have formed an opinion, it is shattered in the most pleasant way.
These are actually quiet, rather slow books, you might think that not much happens, but it only looks that way to those who are used to or looking for action. It’s about unravelling the complex entanglements that led to the murder. It’s more intellectual, it’s about deduction, rarely action - a bit like the Sherlock of modern times. It’s serious, but also has a fine sense of humour.
I love the intellectual challenge. So, that’s why I was a little disappointed with this book. For the second time in a row, I knew who the culprit was very early on, almost as soon as the character appeared, including the final twist. That takes a bit of the fun out of it.
The books can be read independently, but I would still recommend starting with the first one so you get more out of it - and to be honest, I found the last one a bit weaker.
I don't know yet whether I'll buy volume 8, which will be published in January 2026, at least not without a second thought. It’s a pity!
Non-fiction books
High: A Journey Across the Himalaya Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China, Erika Fatland
This book is an opulent travelogue by Norwegian social anthropologist Erika Fatland on a year-long journey through the Himalaya.
To say it right away: High was definitely the book that impressed me the most this month - and it’s also the most interesting and multi-layered book I've read in recent months.
Today’s Himalayan states are five very different countries, where several religions, rich and vastly different cultures and countless languages live in the secluded mountain valleys. Modernity and tradition collide. The region has a turbulent history that is very much about power and influence - politically, geographically and economically.
This book is not one of the usual stories of mountaineers on their way up Mount Everest or of travellers on a spiritual quest. It’s about the people who live in the Himalaya.
The author combines anthropology, history, geography, politics, geology, economy, the descriptions of daily life, entertaining anecdotes and more with her personal travelling experiences. I really enjoyed this combination!
Erika Fatland is a keen observer. She talks to many different people and conveys their points of view, which was very interesting. As a woman, her perspective also gave an insight into the way women live (and are treated) in different cultures.
At times I got a little lost in the complex history and all its details, but the book helped me to get a better understanding of this region of the world, to better unterstand the complexity and the background, and also to get to know the countries, people and regions a little better, including what the geopolitical tensions mean for the people. (Sometimes quite harrowing to read.)
But her actual journey was also very exciting to follow.
It is impossible to describe and do justice to everything this book contains. It’s so multi-layered, so informative and interesting.
If you are interested in any of the topics mentioned, read it. Highly recommended!
The Secret Life of the Owls, John Lewis-Stempel
This small book is a concise portrait of owls that also includes cultural references.
It was informative and interesting, I learned quite a bit about owls, and the writing style made it a good and easy read. It’s a nice little book, but nothing special because it’s ultimatively just a collection of facts you can read elsewhere. It contains very little of the author's own experiences, and the typical writing style that I’ve come to appreciate since reading Meadowland (you can find my review here) gets a little lost in the course of the book. Also, I personally wasn’t that interested in the myths and superstitions about owls or owls in literature, although I understand that this is part of the overall picture we have of owls.
An fun fact that I didn’t know before: A group of owls is called ‘parliament’. I liked that and wonder what they talk/debate about. :)
Owls are fascinating creatures. I can’t remember ever seeing one in the wild, unfortunately only in aviaries in wildlife parks. That’s why I’m already looking forward to the end of May, when one of our local nature conservation groups take interested people like me on a tour through the forest at dusk to watch young tawny owls.
I’m looking forward to March and new reading adventures!
Curious about more bookish posts?
High sounds wonderful and right up my street, thanks for sharing.
And the tour sounds amazing!
Oh wow, I have been so busy the last few days that I almost missed your book reviews - terrible!
Sounds like a great collection again... I don't usually read crime novels, but I'm curious about the first one now! "High" also sounds fantastic. How do you actually choose your books?
Great that you will go and look for owls! I hear them quite often but have also only very rarely seen them. And when I did see them they were never debating!