I read this for the library book club. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the meeting due to work but, after reading the book, I did listen to the author talking about it for the BBC World Book Club, which gave me some much needed context.

This is a very unsettling book. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it but it’s very successful at creating a tense atmosphere. I didn’t know much about apartheid in South Africa so I couldn’t imagine the novel being anchored in a time and place. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t feel sympathetic to any of the characters, although I’m more certain that it’s because they aren’t developed enough. The book is only 200 pages long. While plenty happens, I didn’t understand the motivations of the characters until I heard the talk. I’m not sure if Id recommend this as a good read but there is plenty to think about and it’s well written.

This book starts off slowly but luckily for me it picks up around p80 (I only give books a maximum of 100 pages to make an impression on me). The pace accelerates after that, hurtling with breakneck speed towards the unsettling ending. The Little Stranger is a beautifully crafted and extremely creepy novel. It definitely warrants a re-read as, after I listened to the Guardian book club podcast, there is a fair bit I missed the first time around.

Although I don’t drink anywhere near what Jill Stark used to put away, I related to most, if not all, of her feelings during her booze-free year. The book is easy to read. I’d definitely recommend it. The only thing that can get a little bit annoying is the constant barrage of statistics, but I suppose that is her job – she’s a health reporter.

Her honest writing has made me want to take a long, hard look at my own relationship with alcohol…

Sathnam Sanghera is the same age as I am, he’s Indian and grew up in the same part of Wolverhampton as I did. He went to the Boys Grammar, which means he had a very similar education to mine. Basically he could be me. There is so much I have identified with, both in his first book (The Boy With the Top Knot) and this, his first novel. It’s full of so many insights too. I especially like those from the point of view of the first generation of Indians to be born in England. I wish that I had realised I wasn’t the only one who had those feelings as a young adult.

Some of the characters are a little cartoonish – Ranjit being a prime example – but this is a good tale and very well told. I’d recommend it.

I just finished this prequel to Luther the TV series. Neil Cross wrote it after he wrote the TV series so there aren’t any inconsistencies between book and TV. This is very pleasing to me. One of the reasons I will never watch the film of One Day is that Anne Hathaway could never be a convincing Northern girl in my eyes. But The Calling’s characters are partly built on their TV portrayals – NC says as much in the acknowledgements – so it’s all good.

The Calling is the story of Henry, the guy whom Luther lets fall in the brewery in the very first scene. I love how the book explains everything, letting the story unfold darkly to its climax. I’d forgotten that scene in the brewery so reading the ending was just as tense for me as if I hadn’t seen it. I had to watch those first few minutes again straight after I finished the book.

The book’s style is edgy and sharp, occasionally bordering on OTT, but certainly nowhere near as ridiculous as Dan Brown. There are some very tense passages and some very, very dark subject matter. We’re talking babies, kids, dogs, that kind of thing. I was shocked. It would be wrong to say I enjoyed the book, but it is an excellent, gripping read.