The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye—impossibly, ecstatically, tragically—far from her once-known self altogether.

A fascinating read about a very strange and tragic life.  It is translated from Korean and set in Korea.  From the glimpse of Korean culture, it doesn't make me want to visit Korea. 

A man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

At first sight Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots ... joggers, neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly and shop assistants who talk in code. But isn't it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed?

The best book I have read in a long time. It made me laugh and cry.  Soooo good.

You gradually learn all about Ove, his childhood, how he met and married Sonja, the love of his life and the only person who ever understood him.  

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo

Shots ring out at a Salvation Army Christmas concert in Oslo, leaving one of the singers dead in the street. The trail will lead Harry Hole, Oslo’s best investigator and worst civil servant, deep into the darkest corners of the city and, eventually, to Croatia. 

An assassin forged in the war-torn region has been brought to Oslo to settle an old debt. As the police circle in, the killer becomes increasingly desperate and the danger mounts for Harry and his colleagues.

A very entertaining read with a clever twist at the end I didn't see coming.

To The Sea by Christine Dibley

A dangerous yearning echoes through generations ...

On a clear summer's day, Detective Inspector Tony Vincent answers a call-out to an idyllic Tasmanian beach house. Surrounded by family and calm waters, seventeen-year-old Zoe Kennett has inexplicably vanished.

Four storytellers share their version of what has led to this moment, weaving tales which span centuries and continents. But Tony needs facts, not fiction: how will such fables lead him to Zoe and to the truth?

As Tony's investigation deepens, he is drawn into a world where myth and history blur, and where women who risk all for love must pay the price through every generation.

Not what I expected. Richer and more magical.

I loved recognising places in Tasmania. The interweaving of an Irish legend with a modern mystery was very well done.

This is a fabulous book.

The Secret Place by Tana French

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of a popular boy whose body was found at a girls’ boarding school a year earlier. The photo had been posted at “The Secret Place,” the school’s anonymous gossip board, and the caption says “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

A cleverly written mystery.
Alternating chapters tell the story of the investigation in the first person from Stephen’s point of view and third person flashbacks from the kids tell us what really happened. 

The only negative is the teen angst.

Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong captivated readers with her Women of the Otherworld series of supernatural thrillers. Now her characters return in this gripping anthology. 

The collection begins with anovella featuring werewolf Karl Marsden and half-demon Hope, in what might be Karl's last heist. Meanwhile Elena and Clay are trapped in a wintry small town with a killer on the loose, in the fast-paced and atmospheric novella 'Forbidden'.

In 'Angelic', former black witch and part-time angel Eve is sent on a dangerous mission by the Fates, while necromancer Jaime tackles a ghost with a seriously bad attitude in 'The Ungrateful Dead'. Zoe Takano is forced to defend her territory in the hugely entertaining 'Zen and the Art of Vampirism'. And in the final novella, 'Counterfeit Magic', Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez take on a troubling case that will change the couple for ever.

I enjoyed all the stories in this book, unusual for a collection of short stories. My favourite were; Life After Theft and Zen and the Art of Vampirism.

Twisted 26 by Janet Evanovich

This isn't just another case. This is family.

Grandma Mazur has decided to get married again - this time to a local gangster named Jimmy Rosolli. If Stephanie has her doubts about this marriage, she doesn't have to worry for long, because the groom drops dead of a heart attack 45 minutes after saying, "I do."

A sad day for Grandma Mazur turns into something far more dangerous when Jimmy's former "business partners" are convinced that his new widow is keeping the keys to a financial windfall all to herself. But the one thing these wise guys didn't count on was the widow's bounty hunter granddaughter, who'll do anything to save her.

Another excellent, entertaining instalment in this series.  I wish Ranger and Morelli would just agree to share Stephanie.  That would be HOT!