This summer has so far been way too hot for new knitting projects, but there’s always time to read a book.
Recently, I was looking for a book to read on the train. I like browsing through the shops and often don’t really know what I will end up with.
Yes, I quite like crime stories and thrillers and seldom buy romantic novels, but I don’t always plan on buying a specific book.
I bought a paperback: Yesterday by Felicia Yap. The book was published last year and I’ve since discovered that there was a blog tour promoting it (which I missed – must’ve been in the „wrong“ filter bubble), but I guess any good book can do with additional reviews even if it’s not brand new. 😉
So, what’s the story?
When reviewing books, it’s important not to give away too much to keep potential readers interested, but of course you need to say something about the contents.
Felicia Yap makes this rather hard for any reviewer, because of the cleverly woven background for the story. It’s a murder mystery, set in modern Britain, but it’s not the modern Britain you know. There are basically two classes of people in the world: the „Monos“ and the „Duos“. Adult Monos can remember only yesterday, and Duos can remember one additional day, the day before yesterday. Everyone’s using an electronic device (iDiary) to write down what they did during the day and if they are asked a question, they will use the search function of their little helper and then give you the answer. Now imagine you’re a police officer trying to solve a crime in this world – your task being made even more difficult by your own specific challenges and problems.
The setting is both intriguing and disturbing. Whom can you trust? Who’s telling the truth? What is the truth anyway?
The story is told from different perspectives which makes it quite entertaining, but I couldn’t say that there’s one character I especially liked or grew fond of. They’re all a tad weird. But then again, they live in a weird world and just try to live their lives the best they can.
The book is great if you like both crime stories and a bit of science fiction, and it was perfect for my train journey and will remain on my bookshelf to be read again in a while.