The theme of this year’s Summer Reading Group was Crime, Murder Mysteries, and Thrillers. Readers had very differing opinions on all four shortlisted books which made for a highly interesting discussion. Not surprisingly, the Best Summer Read was chosen by a narrow margin.

“Gaslight” by Femi Kayode (Nigeria) was voted Best Summer Read 2025. A crime novel set in Lagos, the protagonist Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist, is asked by his sister to look into the disappearance of her megachurch’s bishop’s wife to clear his name. Readers enjoyed this whodunnit, describing it as interesting, gripping, and a page turner. They liked the description of the megachurches, the dialogues between the different characters, and they got a good feel for the dark and scary side to them. They warmed to the protagonist who they felt had depth and was well-rounded. Readers liked the full picture of his family life, especially in relation to his daughter’s struggles, where the parallels between the racism experienced in the US and the colourism in Nigeria were clearly drawn. The revelation of the horrendous crime and what happened to the bishop’s wife were particularly well plotted, and most readers felt the build-up to it was convincing.

“The Hand That Feeds You” by Mercedes Rosende (Uruguay). A thriller set in Montevideo, the protagonist Ursula, a poetry translator, gets caught up in an armoured vehicle heist that goes terribly wrong. A close runner-up, most readers really enjoyed this book finding it an easy and funny read, warming to the protagonist in all her complexity. They liked the depth of the characters and noticed that all the men were portrayed in a negative/incompetent light. They liked the wink to the famous 1971 jailbreak and loved the denouement. Some readers didn’t like the shift in perspective from omniscient to first-person narrator and found the plot twists somewhat clumsy. One reader of the original Spanish edition loved the writing style and the vivid language the author uses. She also felt that the original title gives a different feeling to the story than the English translation.

“Runaway Horses” by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini (Italy). A murder mystery set in Siena during the famous Palio horse race that takes place every summer, a Milanese lawyer Enzo Maggione and his wife Valeria get caught up in the strange events surrounding the occupants of a remote villa. One reader (who knows the region well) loved this book, finding it colourful and entertaining, and saying that the Palio is considered a metaphor for life in Italy – that “everything is rigged”! The others either disliked it or disengaged from the story halfway through. There was some interest in the horse race to start with, but they found little to no sympathy for any of the characters, and thought the book was too clever and confusing. One reader liked the metaphysical dimension of the book, and another liked the fact that the chapter titles were the start of the first lines of each chapter!

“The Disaster Tourist” by Yun Ko-eun (South Korea). An eco-thriller set mostly on an island off the coast of Vietnam, the protagonist Yona, a programmer at a travel company specialising in disaster tourism, gets stranded there as she tries to unravel the strange goings on of a local company. One reader (who travels a lot) loved this book, finding it relevant and funny at times, and she warmed to the protagonist. The others either hated it or struggled to keep reading it having lost interest in the story. There was a general appreciation of its critique of capitalism and how it brings to life the damage tourism does in many parts of the world. However, they found the writing clunky (perhaps due to the translation?) and the storyline repetitive and boring. One reader felt that it was a story that teenagers might like.

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