Books I read in year 2022

As enthusiastic as I was at the start of the year, unfortunately I could not hit my target of completing 10 books in 2022 as well. My read list is shrinking every year and this worries me. Here is a round up of the book I finished last year. 

Books I finished reading in 2022

1. This thing of darkness

The fourth novel featuring Fiona Griffiths, crime fiction's most unusual police detective. A marine engineer who tumbles off a cliff path on a windy night. A burglary where everything taken was returned by the thief. The suicide of a man in love with life.

An accident, a mystery, an unexplained tragedy. And nothing at all to connect them. Until, that is, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths, searching for something - anything - to take her mind off the tedious job of evidence-cataloguing she's been assigned to, starts to wonder if all three incidents are not quite what they seem. It could just be her imagination. After all, she'd be the first to admit that she isn't exactly in the prime of psychological health right now, the darkness she's held at bay ever since she joined the police force now lapping dangerously at her door.

But something tells her there are invisible threads linking the crimes, and as she investigates further, she starts to see the outlines of a conspiracy so unlikely and on such a vast scale, that it takes her breath away. And that's when they come for her.

This thing of darkness

2. Before she sleeps

In modern, beautiful Green City, the capital of South West Asia, gender selection, war and disease have brought the ratio of men to women to alarmingly low levels. The government uses terror and technology to control its people, and women must take multiple husbands to have children as quickly as possible. Yet there are women who resist, women who live in an underground collective and refuse to be part of the system. Secretly protected by the highest echelons of power, they emerge only at night, to provide to the rich and elite of Green City a type of commodity that nobody can buy: intimacy without sex. As it turns out, not even the most influential men can shield them from discovery and the dangers of ruthless punishment. This dystopian novel from one of Pakistan’s most talented writers is a modern-day parable, The Handmaid’s Tale about women’s lives in repressive Muslim countries everywhere. It takes the patriarchal practices of female seclusion and veiling, gender selection, and control over women’s bodies, amplifies and distorts them in a truly terrifying way to imagine a world of post-religious authoritarianism.

Before she sleeps by Bina Shah

3. The bhabhis of Lahore and other forbidden tales of the city

I love her writings. I have always been interested in paranormal and occult arts so whenever her book is published, I make a quick trip to Liberty books to get my hands on it. I adore her narration and the small horror stories.

The bhabis of Lahore and other forbidden tales of the city

4. The quintessential fat girl

A quick-witted satire for anyone who has struggled with weight-loss issues only to realize that the journey is filled with many failed diets and cravings. Zoie has tried all possible diets, she is now turning 40 and the body she dreamt off is not happening. With an important wedding coming up in the family she has a few months at hand to get in perfect shape. Amid a frenzy of weight control fads and diets; Zoie struggles every day to hit the gym and try out quick weight loss regimes as she jumps from one diet bandwagon to another. Surprisingly, all her efforts go unnoticed by the people around her. In her journey to attain the perfect body, she realizes that there are many issues pertaining to body shaming, stereotyping and social pressures faced by women - not only in her part of the world but globally as well. Her own weight battle makes Zoie empathize with many around her who are silent sufferers and need a little nudge of support.

After much effort Zoie finally finds the perfect regime; little did she know that it was never about the food she ate?

The quintessential fat girl

5. The strange death of Fiona Griffiths

It started out as nothing much. A minor payroll fraud at a furniture store in South Wales. No homicide involved, no corpses. Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths fights to get free of the case, but loses. She's tasked with the investigation. She begins her enquiries, only to discover the corpse of a woman who's starved to death. Looks further, and soon realizes that within the first, smaller crime, a vaster one looms: the most audacious theft in history. Fiona’s bosses need a copper willing to go undercover, and they ask Fiona to play the role of a timid payroll clerk so that she can penetrate the criminal gang from within. Fiona will be alone, she’ll be lethally vulnerable – and her fragile grip on ‘Planet Normal’ will be tested as never before ...

The strange death of Fiona Griffiths 

6. Possessive Much?

A Wattpad read to kill time. It was a cute read but suitable for young adults. Not my cup of tea anymore.

7. The Bad Guy

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I’m the villain of this story. I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there. Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her.

She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me. I’m the bad guy.

The above two books, I read online. I enjoyed reading the Fiona Griffiths series the most. I was highly impressed by Before she sleeps. Its set in the future and written by a Pakistani author. The narration was excellent. Bhabhi's of Lahore holds a special place as a topper in the genre. That is it for my reading list. Share your feedback if you have read any of these books. What is your opinion of them? Stay healthy and beautiful. xoxo!!!