Ep. 27: London (One Day in December + The Victoria Vanishes)

Summary: Join Holly and Devin as they explore jolly ol’ London town! Blimey! Not only is this city the only reason our co-hosts became friends in the first place, but they have a blast diving deeply into books set in the iconic city. While one book involves multiple dead bodies and the other involves multiple broken hearts, they unite around the unique character of London. Holly is a self-identified Anglophile and Devin struggles to remember romances set in the city because, frankly, she’s too focused on the juicy deets of her novels. They agree, though, that unique cities like London add additional sensory layers to stories and a vivid sense of place. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (3:01): Devin discussed One Day in December by Josie Silver, a novel that explores the role of destiny in our lives after the protagonist Laurie makes intense eye contact with a stranger at a bus stop. The problem? She’s on the bus and he’s on the outside, leaving Laurie to hunt all over London for him to no avail. Fast forward a year and Laurie’s roommate Sarah brings her new boyfriend to a party - Jack, the “bus guy” himself! Devin’s key takeaways were:

• This novel requires some suspension of disbelief for the precipitation of the plot - that 10 seconds of sustained eye contact could lead to years of love, loss, betrayal, and growth. But once you buy in, it’s a worthwhile ride.
• Jack and Laurie as the focal couple are not always the most sympathetic, and Silver explores how complicated attraction, friendship, and lifestyle choices can be as we grow and evolve through our lives. 
• Unlike many romances this novel spans 10 years, marked by Laurie’s New Year’s Resolutions that give the reader a vivid picture of how she, Jack, and Sarah are evolving in their unique love triangle. 

• The Dagger (16:45): Holly discussed The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler, book six in the Peculiar Crimes Unit novels. In this installment, we follow Arthur Bryant and John May as they discover and then investigate the mysterious deaths of older women killed in crowded pubs - after which the pubs themselves disappear. And thus, “The octogenarian detectives ready themselves for the pub crawl of a lifetime.” Holly’s key takeaways were:

• The Pubs that Bryant and May explore act as characters in the book and in London; they are all different and have their own rich histories and micro-communities. The book explores the idea that people should be able to feel safe and these strings of murders corrupt these social spaces.
• If you’re tired of the many domestic thrillers or locked room style mysteries and want a mystery that’s a bit more complicated, a bit slower and very unique, this is for you.
• Our protagonists Bryant and May have worked together for the last 50 years and have a clearly deep friendship and mutual respect. The book has an undertone of the Peculiar Crimes Unit’s struggle to survive in the face of being undervalued and seen as useless - an authentic exploration of octogenarian life.

• Hot On the Shelf (32:41):

• Devin: The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
• Holly: A Phoenix First Must Burn by Patrice Caldwell

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (37:39):

• Devin: Amon Amarth
• Holly: Listening to deep-dive commentary on books she’s read and already loves. Including but not limited to the podcasts Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Hot and Bothered and From the Front Porch. 

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