anyone have a working phone?' 'You won't get a signal here.' etc seemed jarringly out of place for a bunch of non-wealthy people in their early 20s in 1995! [Although I suppose it is arguable that the current day setting isn't specified and could be several years in the future]. 2/2

not as much of a slog as I'd feared. Maquis was a new word to me. By far the greatest pleasure (even moreso than the comic footnotes) was re-encountering characters I hadn't thought of for in some cases decades. Pleasantly nostalgic. 4/4

I no longer hold, I avoided the YA Tiffany Aching ones). Enjoyed them with differing degrees of pleasure up to about "Going Postal", so I was surprised to find there was a Moist von Lipwig novel I'd missed. Whilst not as consistently funny as my favourites, it did have some good jokes and was 3/4

one. (Can't believe that "Unseen Academicals" and "Snuff" put me off that much, and can only presume that I was just too busy to notice it in 2013!) I think I binge-read the existing ones, and then from about "Maskerade" onwards started buying/reading them new. [Due to an unfortunate prejudice 2/4

defences are down - when a plane simply starts down a runway, for example - boom it attacks.' Isn't competent to comment on the exact breakdown of authorial responsibility, but enjoyed it much more than many celebrity co-written offerings. Would certainly read another by the same pair. 4/4

by passages like 'This is how grief works, isn't it? Grief doesn't attack her on Marc's birthday or their anniversary or any of that. Grief knows you are expecting it on those days. So Grief bides its time. It lulls you, making you think it's not such a threat anymore, and then when your 3/4

fully predicting everything. Did wonder (within the Coben shared universe) whether there would be any reference to Charles Lockwood being somehow related to Win. Despite being plot heavy, it still managed to raise interesting questions about longevity, medical morality, AI and grief. Was moved 2/4

it for Christmas (once I've checked they've not already read it!) ! 6/6

waspish, witty putdowns and 'cock-snooking'. Chuckled at ‘Have you heard that Roddy Llewellyn’s taken up acting? He’s got a small part in Charlie’s Aunt.’ Although much of the behaviour described sounded terrible, the book read like a dream. Absolutely wonderful. Several people will be getting 5/6

a host of finely judged asides e.g. 'clasping their hands bhind their backs, as men do when they wish to appear worldly.' and many passages raising questions that demand to be thought about. Loved the liberal quotations from the many letters and diaries that the author had scoured. Enjoyed the 4/6

the art of biography and royal watching. Going in I only knew the broad strokes of Peter Townsend followed by Antony Armstrong-Jones, and John Bindon's party trick. Came away knowing all sorts of things, including that the Home Secretary used attend royal births to verify legitimacy. There were 3/6

misread the reviews, as based on the author I assumed it was just a collection of satirical pieces. Whilst there was some (very funny) pastiches, it was also a straight biography (the most enjoyable one I've read since Roger Lewis' "Erotic Vagrancy) and an intelligent thoughtful musing on both 2/6

-mouse pursuit across Europe' were fascinating in their own right. Possibly didn't enjoy it quite as much as the four previous standalones, but that is not a mark against it merely a comment on their exceptional quality. Definitely liked it just as much as the first volume. 3/3

Blacklock (a name which I keep unintentionally misreading and making her sound like an adult movie star!) but the exact details of the crime were skilfully revealed. Guessed the final twist very early on, but that didn't matter because the world of billionaires, high end hotels, and the 'cat-and 2/3

grew on me, partly due to the wonderfully drawn characterisation. (Irene is a figure for the ages.) A delightful book, fully deserving of all the acclaim and positive reviews. 5/5

mishearing of embolism as ambulism, but did wonder whether 'a morose-looking lurcher-cross, recently whelped, judging by the size of her tits.' should perhaps be 'teats'. Initially suspected that I'd enjoy the setting less than "Their Finest Hour and a Half" or "V for Victory", but it quickly 4/5

for choosing Pollux's name was so good I may have to repeat it myself. Grinned at the universal parent experience of Allison's complaint about the Three Little Pigs 'You're saying it all 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔'. It's impossible to see the phrase Home Farm without thinking of "The Archers". Liked Epple's 3/5

brain fever, 'He sounds like a pongo but he's the full screw.' etc. Adored the different examples of written texts. Whilst Alaric's tedious history was pitch-perfect, my favourite is definitely 'Auntie Kay's Klub Korner'. There were several brilliant jokes (which I won't spoil), but the reason 2/5