User Profile

While attending a tea party in Great Diddling, author Berit Gardner witnesses the murder of Reginald Trent in the manor of his aunt, Daphne Trent. Reginald Trent is pretty universally disliked in the village of Great Diddling. Everyone there dislikes him. Berit Gardner, wanting to avoid writing her next book, investigates instead. Meanwhile the townsfolk, lead by tourist board chair, decide to take advantage of their sudden notoriety by holding a books & murders literary festival on short notice. At the center of the crime is who controls the books of Tawny Hall, Daphne Trent's massive collection.

It's a cozy mystery. It's a bit of a police procedural. It's an homage to readers, though there precious little of the point of view of readers. All the town's characters have backstories. My main nitpick is the ultimate solution to the mystery of the murder follows a pretty standard pattern, so whodunnit won't be a surprise after a while. But the journey there is pretty entertaining.

The audiobook narrator, Helen Lloyd, does a great job in the audio version.

I often say that my favorite books are ones which provide a new way of thinking about things. An insightful explanation or an inspiring model, perhaps. This volume doesn't quite get there, but it is very very close. It's clean and tight and does exactly what it says on the tin. While my favorite pieces of non-fiction are lenses which bring things I've always been able to see into clearer focus, this is more like a well-tuned bell which rings true and clear.

We are treated to a roundup of pre-neoliberal philosophy, the development of neoliberal thought, its ascent into US politics, rise to major bipartisan force, and then stumbling in the 21st century. There's nothing to criticize here. We engage effectively with other schools of thought and other global regimes like Soviet communism and European social democracy. Neoliberalism is positioned relative to these other forces and philosophies. It's described in terms of its causes & effects, and I think I came away with a clear picture.

Great work. Going right back on the end of the reading list. I recommend this book to you, and to future me.