CULTURE CLUB
CAMBRIDGE EDITION Book Club From gripping thrillers to fine food writing, take your pick of this month’s top reads WORDS BY CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS Piglet BY LOTTIE HAZELL
Beautiful food writing is rare in fiction, so when it’s encountered it should be celebrated: and this debut is delicious from start to finish. The novel follows the eponymous Piglet. She’s just moved into a beautiful new home and is about to marry Kit, the man of her dreams; she’s been recommended for a coveted promotion in her publishing job, regularly hosts lavish-yet-effortless meals for envious friends and family, and is on the edge of truly, honestly, living happily ever after. But two weeks shy of the big day, Kit reveals a secret which shatters the facade. Can Piglet starve herself of the future she was hoping for? Is it possible to keep eating when you’ve lost your appetite? Talking too much about the story gives away the delicious details, so you’ll just have to trust me: you won’t be able to put this down. Deliriously dark and feverish with sugar-coated, magazine-perfect imagery that’ll both kill your appetite stone dead and leave you hungry for more in the same moment. Already excited to see what this talented writer creates next. Deliriously dark and feverish with sugar-coated, magazine-perfect imagery
Another opportunity to spend time in the enjoyable company of Elly’s amateur sleuths. We first met Natalka and 80-year-old Edwin in 2021’s The Postscript Murders , and the friends now run a Shoreham- based detective agency that keeps busy with domestic cases and cheating husbands, yet they both long for something more challenging to come their way. Natalka’s frustrations extend to the home she now shares with her boyfriend, coffee-shop owner and ex-monk Benedict, as her mother has joined them from war-ravaged Ukraine and is taking up a lot of space in their lives both literally and psychologically. So, when local writer Melody Chambers dies in what appears to be unusual circumstances, followed by another author’s demise, the suspicious sleuths jump at the chance to investigate – leading Benny and Edwin undercover into a sinister writing retreat where the truth turns out to be stranger than fiction. This is a bit of a crossover novel. The brilliant Sikh DI Harbinder Kaur, introduced in the The Stranger Diaries , makes a welcome passing appearance, but The Last Word is all about the superbly written amateur detectives. A perfect cosy mystery for a long weekend; you don’t need to have read the previous books to make sense of the action, but Elly’s are always a complete delight, so why not dive in? BY ELLY GRIFFITHS THE LAST WORD
24 APRIL 2024 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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