Tag: The Book and Pudding Club

The Murder after the Night Before by Katy Brent

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Book and Pudding Club Knowle picked ‘The Murder after the Night Before’ by Katy Brent as the March pick. This is a book that I have seen around recently, with the most amazing neon pink cover, so I was quite intrigued when it got picked. This is also described as a bit of a black comedy, which is probably a genre I do not usually read – my thriller choices tend to be quite traditional and, well, dark.

Molly Monroe wakes up from a rather heavy night to find out that she has a rather x-rated video that has gone viral and she can not remember a thing about – but, to beat that, she also finds out that her best friend has been murdered (or so Molly thinks) in the bathroom of their flat. I mean, as next mornings of regret and confusion go, this is actually the thing of nightmares. However, Molly is a determined young lady and she is determined to find out the truth about her best friend Posey’s final moments – and who this too-good-to-be-true young man, Jack, is, as he has appeared at possibly the worst moment of Molly’s life.

This was an engaging read from the start and it definitely has all the traditional ingredients of a murder mystery. I am not sure it was a true thriller, as I am not sure tension was always built up throughout the narrative, as I think it was fairly clear that there would be a ‘happy ending’. I did work out one of the twists of the main story, but I did not work out the secret we find out about Molly’s family. Molly is a fantastically strong female character, as I am not sure that many of us could recover from what she is experiencing at the start of the story.

I think this is a light-hearted read, but I am not sure I found the humour in it. It deals with some quite heavy topics and creates some great characters, but I am not sure I saw it as witty and humorous, just a rather well-written novel by a clearly talented female author who can create a book for a feminist age. I am sure that I will read more books by Katy Brent, as I was definitely hooked and needed to know all the secrets of the story.

One Last Secret by Adele Parks

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Book and Pudding Club’s pick for January was ‘One Last Secret’ by Adele Parks. This was the first book that I had read by this author.

This was quite an intense thriller, and was certainly not quite what I expected (as someone who does not read blurbs) – Dora has been working as a high-class escort in London; a career path she chose after the birth of her child, Dottie. But now Dora has met Evan and it is time for her to make a change: she is engaged and there is no need for her to work any more. However, she is asked to do one last job: fly to a Chateau in France and pretend, just one more time, to be the girlfriend of one of her clients. What sounds like an idyllic weekend away soon becomes a nightmare for Dora – and, slowly, secrets are revealed and everything starts to unravel.

This is quite a claustrophobic read (and does need to carry a few trigger warnings), and it all adds to the intense atmosphere of the story. I am not sure that it is a book I would have picked up without book club, but I did find it a compulsive read – and it would certainly make a fantastic TV series.

As a book club discussion, we realised how invested we actually all became in the story, as we wanted a prequel and a sequel to the story, and we think there is so much more we could find out about Dora and some of the truths that came out in this book. So, this is certainly a book that makes a great discussion point – even if you are not a huge fan of the story, it creates so many points that are worth discussing.

I am not sure that I would necessarily read more books by Adele Parks, as, although I did enjoy this one, I would not have picked it up without book club – and, with so many books to read, I am not sure they will ever necessarily be at the top of the wishlist. Sometimes it is good to end on a high.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I did a thing – I went to a real-life book club. I have not strayed too far from my comfort zone, as it is a ‘Book and Pudding Club’, which was the brainchild of the wonderful Jenna, who hosts the fantastic online book club I attend. But, for me, this was a big step, as throughout most of 2023 leaving my comfort zone has not been easy for many reasons – but this was something that I was determined to do, so I did.

The first book I have read for it (as I was unable to attend the second meeting) is ‘The Lost Bookshop’ by Evie Woods. This is not a book that I had heard of, so I was looking forward to picking it up. I mean which book lover does not like the sound of a book with the word ‘bookshop’ in its title? It simply tells you straight away that it is probably going to contain a story fit for a book lover.

This was a lovely book as, at its heart, it demonstrates the real comfort that a love of books can bring in some of the most difficult times. And, with its sprinkling of magical realism, it really took you on an adventure. Told from the viewpoint of each of our main characters with the narrative switching between them, Opaline’s voice comes from the past as we find out the importance books had in her life and how she has a connection to ‘The Lost Bookshop’ and in the present we have Martha and Henry who are thrown together by Henry’s desire to find a missing Bronte manuscript and find out more about ‘The Lost Bookshop’ and in turn finding out more about the connections to Opaline. Now, I absolutely cannot share spoilers to this book because it is just a fantastic read with a fair bit of mystery amongst its pages, so I do not want to spoil any of the reveals to anyone. But, I would really encourage book lovers to read this book because it simply brought me so much joy – and you will enjoy the mentions of some classics along the way. It certainly made me reflect on why it is I find books such a joy to read and the escapism they often offer me.

And, this is a thank you to book clubs, because one thing I have certainly learnt is that they bring me to books that I would otherwise have probably have missed – and this gem is one that I am pretty sure I would have missed without a bookish community.

So, this post is not just about books but it is also about book clubs and the community they can bring you to. I really encourage you to find a book club if it is something that you have always considered doing because it may bring joy – and we should all do things that bring us joy.