Hello everyone,
I am creeping, crawling towards the end of this set of posts which has taken me almost two years to compile. All the most memorable characters, authors, settings, and book titles which I encountered on my reading journey between 2018 and 2022.
This time the letter is ‘T’. You will not find the names of many settings here, but there is a handy supply of the rest.
T.J. Klune
The author of the almost universally loved The House In The Cerulean Sea, which I read in 2021. It is indeed very sweet and the same can be said of its characters, who include Talia, a cheerful female gnome.
Tallulah Murray
A main character in The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell. She has been missing for a year and her mother is still looking for her, and through flashbacks we find out how her relationships led to what happened.
Tara Westover
The author of a famous memoir called Educated, which I listened to on audiobook a few years ago. It tells of her improbable life story, from living in an unconventional home with unconventional beliefs, to obtaining a PhD.
Tate Walker
A young biologist who meets and falls in love with the Marsh Girl, Kya Clark, in Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. He teaches her how to read and together they explore the marshland, but things change when he leaves for college.
Tatjana
A character in Circle Of Doubt by Tracy Buchanan. When main protagonist Emma moves to a village called Forest Grove, she comes across the charismatic Tatjana, who she grows to suspect is the birth mother of her adopted daughter Isla.
The Tattooist Of Auschwitz
An extremely powerful book by Heather Morris which I read back in 2018. It is a fictionalised account of the story of Lale, a Jewish prisoner whose job it was to scratch numbers into those marked for survival. His love story with Gita is heart-warming, but everything else about the story is devastating.
Taxidermy
The rather unsavoury practice of making art of stuffed dead animals. This featured heavily in The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal, as it was the occupation of the increasingly sadistic villain Silas.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
One of the most popular authors of current mainstream fiction. Known for her authentic portrayals of complex, flawed characters and familial relationships, she has published a number of books but was fully catapulted into the limelight by the reaction to The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo in 2018.
Initially put off by the hype, my first book by her was not until 2021 when I read the fantastic Daisy Jones And The Six. I have now read all of her four most recent books and I saw her at an event in 2022.
Teddy Price
While we are on it, one of the characters in Daisy Jones And The Six is Teddy Price, the band’s music producer. A mentor to Billy Dunne, it is he who suggests that Daisy join the band.
The Ten Thousand Doors Of January
The debut novel by Alix E. Harrow, which I read in late 2019. It is a stunningly original and ingeniously thoughtful book, full of adventure and escapism, yet with very high stakes. Out of all the books I would like to reread at some point, this is right near the top of the list.
Teresa Driscoll
The author of mystery I Am Watching You, which I read at the start of 2019 and is notable for containing four different points of view. I enjoyed that book a lot, but I read another of her novels this year (The Friend) which I liked a lot less.
Teresa Robles
The sister of a Spanish revolutionary who appears in The Muse by Jessie Burton. She becomes a friend of artist Olive Schloss and becomes embroiled in the civil war, suffering a public humiliation. The question is, where is she in the later timeline…?
Terran
The main character in Rise Of Gaia by Kristin Ward. Her name is a play on words, as she becomes possessed by Mother Nature and causes atrocities in response to climate events, leading to mass casualties.
Thames Valley Police
A real police force that operates in the Home Counties of England. The officers who appear in Cara Hunter’s DI Adam Fawley series represent Thames Valley Police, and I am quite glad she used a real force rather than a fictional one.
Thea Brandt
The daughter that Marin gives birth to in The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, who then becomes the main character in its sequel The House Of Fortune. She is quite rebellious by nature, and resists her Aunt Nella’s attempts to arrange a marriage for her.
Then She Was Gone
The first book I read by Lisa Jewell, which I enjoyed to the extent that she is now my most read author. It is still perhaps my favourite of those 10 novels, detailing a mother’s attempts to live her life while her daughter vanished a few years ago and is still missing. It has a rather tear-jerking ending.
These Violent Delights
Possibly my favourite book?! I read These Violent Delights in late 2020 and was utterly blown away by it. A retelling of Romeo & Juliet, it is set in 1920s Shanghai and focuses on the relationship between two rival gang heirs as they battle the disease and debauchery which has swept the city. It is also the only book I own two copies of, albeit that was not the plan!
Theseus
The man who defeats the Minotaur in Greek mythology. Yet he is also a total scoundrel as he takes Ariadne with her and promises marriage, only to abandon her on a remote island. I read about this in Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.
Thetis
Another character from Greek myth, Thetis is a sea-nymph who is the immortal mother of Achilles. She is mentioned in other books, but mainly appears in The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
Things To Do Before The End Of The World
Quite possibly the book I have read with the longest title, this young adult novel by Emily Barr imagines a scenario where everyone only has a year left to live, and follows the main character Olivia on a European holiday.
Thirteen
A book with a one-word title, and criminally it is still the only thing I have read by Steve Cavanagh. This legal thriller is part of his Eddie Flynn series, featuring a serial killer who does not feel physical pain. The twist at the end is one of the best I have ever read.
Threadneedle
The debut novel by Cari Thomas, about a group of teenage witches who begin a coven at their high school. It has some wonderful moments, though it occasionally struggled tonally and some of the twists towards the end were overdone. Still, it was memorable and has spawned a recent sequel.
Thulin
A police officer in The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup, who is reluctantly paired with Europol cast-off Mark Hess to investigate the case of a relentless and sadistic serial killer.
Thursday Murder Club
An extremely popular series of books by television presenter Richard Osman about a titular group of four pensioners at a retirement village who meet up to discuss murder cases, but actually end up solving murders instead. A very canny bunch, these characters are amazing and help make this such a fun series of cosy mysteries.
Titanic
The famous ocean liner that sank in 1912. It is the main setting for Luck Of The Titanic by Stacey Lee, where several Chinese passengers including main character Valora Luck attempt to travel to the United States to gain employment, before disaster strikes.
Tobias Hawthorne
A billionaire who leaves his entire fortune and mansion to apparently random teenager Avery Grambs in The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. A lover of games, his mansion is a puzzle box and everything he did – even in death – is intentional.
Toby
Tobias Hawthorne’s long lost son. Other than that, there is a character called Toby in Circus Of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal; the misfit brother of circus leader Jasper Jupiter.
Todd
A teenage boy in Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. His mother Jen witnesses him killing someone outside their house, and relives some of the days, months and years preceding this incident.
Tom
A very common name, so there are several characters I have encountered called Tom. The ones that come to mind appeared in thrillers and none of them came out too well – such as in A Stranger In The House by Shari Lapena, Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath, and Call Me Star Girl by Louise Beech.
Tom Fitzwilliam
Another character called Tom, he appears in Watching You by Lisa Jewell. He is a really charismatic headteacher who everyone seems attracted too, but some characters wonder if he has something to hide.
Tracy Buchanan
An author of domestic thrillers, and in my opinion, a very underrated one. I have read four of her books and enjoyed all of them, with a special mention to Her Last Breath, one of my top reads of 2019.
Trauma Cleaner
The occupation of Sandra Pankhurst, a remarkable trans woman in Australia whose story was told by Sarah Krasnostein. Trauma cleaning involves cleaning and decontaminating crime scenes and other places where fatal events have taken place.
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
A wonderful book about a cat called Nana who is taken in by a man called Satoru and they travel together across Japan. Written by Hiro Arikawa, I never expected it reduce me to tears with its emotional ending.
Travis Wren
A missing persons detective who is tracking down the disappeared children’s author Maggie St. James, in A History Of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw. He follows the trail to a rural commune where he vanishes too. Meanwhile, one of the story’s main protagonists is a man called Theo, who is a resident of the commune and is tempted by the outside world, even when he is warned that a terrible fate awaits him should he leave.
Trevor McDonald
A famous newsreader in the UK, originally from Trinidad. I listened to his autobiography (narrated perfectly by the man himself in his authoritative voice) in 2022, and I am actually seeing him speak at an event this weekend!
Tripp Talbot
One of the main characters in Nothing More To Tell by Karen M. McManus, which I read in late 2022. He helps his friend Brynn investigate the death of their teacher Mr Larkin, but he knows more about what happened than he is willing to admit.
Tristan
A member of Severin’s group of antique hunters in The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. He is notable for being a lover of plants and owning a pet tarantula called Goliath.
Trojan War
A famous legendary war fought between the Trojans and the Greeks. It has been depicted in several retellings, forming the basis of much of the story told in The Song Of Achilles.
Truly Devious
The first in a set of young adult mystery novels of the same name by Maureen Johnson, it tells of a crime obsessed student at the famous Ellingham Academy boarding school who investigates the disappearances of the founder’s wife and daughter in 1936, but is distracted by the deaths of students in the present day. Truly Devious itself refers to the poem left by the people presumed to be responsible for events in 1936.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Two men who Alice encounters through the looking glass. They are brothers who agree to have a battle but end up not actually having one.
Two Can Keep A Secret
The first standalone book by Karen M. McManus. Another of her young adult mystery thrillers, this one had fun protagonists but the plot was slightly underwhelming.
Tyler Cai
A member of the Scarlet Gang in These Violent Delights and its sequel Our Violent Ends. He lives and breathes the blood feud and often defies his cousin Juliette as she wrestles with her feelings for Roma.
Let’s Chat
And there we have it! Have you come across any of these books, settings, authors, or characters? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading 🙂
Stephen Reads Books 