To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

So I'd put off reading this book for so long, mainly because it is one of those books that is a fixture for GCSE English Literature. I'd hated having to read Jane Eyre at the age of fourteen and made the assumption that any book that you were forced to study at school was going to be heavy going, chock-full of literary devices and probably quite dull

And what a shame! I loved this book, and I can see why so many other people do. On the face on it, it's a deceptively simple tale of a brother and sister growing up in rural Alabama during the 1930s. They make up wild tales about the reclusive neighbour, get into fights, embarrass themselves at school productions and wonder at the behaviour of the adults around them. But the real story is what's going on in the background. Atticus Finch must be one of the most honourable yet likeable characters in fiction. Despite the disapproval of his neighbours and despite the danger to his family, he chooses to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. In the Deep South, he knows he cannot win but, as he teaches his children, real courage is when you know you are beaten before you begin, but you do it anyway because it is the right thing to do.

This juxtaposition of simple childhood adventures with glimpses of chilling racism seen through the eyes of a little girl is done so deftly that you as a reader are able to grasp the bigger story even through the narrator doesn't. To Kill A Mockingbird is a simply told story that raises difficult questions about courage, innocence and the importance of doing what is right rather than what is easy.

Read On: I have not heard good things about Go Set A Watchman, the version that Harper Lee originally sent to her editor (and was rejected) so I'm going to give that one a miss. A Time To Kill by John Grisham is a similar story about racism and justice when a black man in Mississippi stands trial for the murders of the white men who raped his daughter.

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

A perfect murder is committed in a cheap New York motel. A clever jihadist plans to bring down the dynasty who beheaded his father by unleashing chaos in America. Brought in first to help with the former, an ex-spy turned criminal investigator is sent to stop the latter in a desperate race against time.

Weighing in at a hefty 800 pages, I Am Pilgrim is a meticulous waltz of a book that moves forwards and backwards in time. The Pilgrim and the Saracen move around the Middle East in ever decreasing circles as the suspense mounts and each gets closer to their goal. Other characters swoop in and out of the dance as needed, nudging the two main characters closer with every chapter. With a fast pace, a complex plot and short punchy chapters, I Am Pilgrim is a fun read but - and here are the caveats - you need to accept the astounding coincidences and the odd plot hole that crops up. Also, like so many thriller writers, Hayes has not resisted the temptation to create a  protagonist who is unbelievably brilliant at everything. Lastly, and perhaps more of a problem, is the streak of American jingoism which rears its ugly head from time to time. However, if you can suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride, I Am Pilgrim is an absorbing and thrilling read.

Read On: The Lion's Game by Nelson Demille is another thriller of a showdown between a New York cop and a Libyan jihadist. The Year of the Locust is Terry Hayes' next book, but that won't be published until next year.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

A Californian student enrols at a private New England college and falls in with a group of snobbish and ethereal Classics students. However, appearances are deceptive and he is slowly drawn into a tangled web of lies and violence as the group covers up one terrible crime with another. 

Not really a whodunit, nor even a whydunit, this is more of a lyrical Greek tragedy as each student struggles to cope with the unforeseen consequences of murder. Beautiful and strangely haunting, The Secret History evokes a sense of listlessness and ennui even as the characters commit one ignoble act after another. None of the characters are likeable - they are pretentious and selfish and aloof - but they are all realistic and their self-destruction is as absorbing as it is inevitable. A great read for the holidays.

Read On: The Goldfinch is Donna Tartt's latest novel and I've heard good things about it. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh deals with similar themes of privilege and self-destruction.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

In a crime that shocked 1950s America, four members of a church-going, respectable farming family in rural Kansas are murdered in their beds. Who killed them? And why? Widely considered to have established the true crime genre, In Cold Blood digs below the sensational headlines and explores what happened that fateful night, the nationwide manhunt that followed, and the trial that condemned two men to death.

Intense, gripping and suspenseful, In Cold Blood is a masterclass in how to write true crime novels. Capote never falls into sensationalism. Instead, the slow pace and understated style of his writing build up the tension and allow him to fully reveal the characters of the victims, the community they live in, the investigators and, finally, the men who slaughtered an entire family. In his matter-of-fact way, Capote makes the killers uncomfortably human and captures a snapshot of American society that is more than cozy 1950s domesticity.

Read On: Breakfast at Tiffany's is Capote's most famous novel, so I will see if I enjoy his fiction as much. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi is another well regarded true crime novel about the Manson murders in the 1970s.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

"Look at you. You black, you poor, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all."

The Color Purple is the story of Celie, told in her own words as a series of letters to God and her sister, Nettie. Poor, black and female, Celie is at the bottom of the social order in rural Georgia in the 1930s. Going from an abusive father to an abusive husband, Celie eventually finds love, strength and acceptance through her friendship with brash jazz singer, Shug Avery.

This book broke my heart and made me cry, and yet was strangely uplifting. Walker never shies away from revealing the sexual abuse, racism and violence that was part of life for many poor black women in America at that time. The misery seems unrelenting but Celie is such an intriguing and quietly admirable character that you stick with it, cheering her on and desperately hoping that things get better. But no white knight saves her. This is a woman's story, told by a woman about women. There are male characters - fathers, sons, husbands and so on - but it is the women who allow Celie to realise her true worth and rescue herself. 

Read On: The Help by Katherine Stockett is based on the experiences of black women, set instead in 1950s Mississippi. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is a memoir of the writer's early life in Arkansas, and touches on many of the same issues.

A is For Alibi by Sue Grafton

Eight years ago, glamorous Nikki Fife was jailed for the murder of her husband. She has always maintained her innocence, and hires P.I. Kinsey Millhone to find out what really happened. Adultery, dysfunctional family relationships, blackmail and two more murders come to light before Kinsey stumbles onto the truth that had been buried for almost a decade.

Bright and breezy with a likeable lead character, A is For Alibi was an easy and entertaining read. It had enough twists and turns to keep me interested until the end but not enough to keep me reading until the wee hours. In short, a solid crime thriller, but not a great one.

Read On: B is For Burglar is the next in the series. I don't feel any immediate desire to read the next but it would probably make a good holiday read. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich is another crime thriller with a strong and likeable female lead.