Hamm Court Book Club – Page 12 – For the enjoyment of friends, books and wine …

Watching the Waves by Michael Ray

A tale of crime, bad science and the ghost of Shostakovich

It’s 2006 and the banks haven’t yet learnt the repercussions of easy credit cards and cheap loans. Alec has resigned his job in investment banking, causing his wife to jump ship and him to relocate to Zanzibar. All is about to change though, as declaring the start of a new life, he returns to London to take on the banks, whilst avoiding a litigious wife, the ghost of Shostakovich and a psychotic thief

. In the process he attempts to become a half decent pianist, invents a new form of alternative healing, watches far too many episodes of “The Avengers”, and learns to love squirrel pie.

Trude 6, Janet 5, Jane 6, Christine 6, June 7, Sally 7, Rebecca 6, Elaine 5

A Rising Man by Abir MukherJee

Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. But with barely a moment to acclimatise to his new life or to deal with the ghosts which still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A senior official has been murdered, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India – or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues – arrogant Inspector Digby and British-educated but Indian-born Sergeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID – embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city. The start of an atmospheric and enticing new historical crime series.

E8, Janet 7 , C8, Jane 7, T9, S8, June 7, P8

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.

Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.

Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.

1947, London.

Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, disaster threatens. Osla, Mab and Beth are estranged, their friendship torn apart by secrets and betrayal. Yet now they must race against the clock to crack one final code together, before it’s too late, for them and for their country.

E8,June 6, Trude 6, Christine 8, Jane7