My January prompt is not entirely random. I have a book in mind that I want to read, so I chose a courtroom setting to give myself an excuse to read it sooner than later (I tend not to need any excuse to start new books, but in keeping with the desire to try and keep the reading pile tidy . . . I will try and finish one book before starting a new one . . .).
It's a pretty safe bet that I am going to pick up and begin reading Annette Hess's The German House, which I bought over the holiday break. I like the premise of the story--"Set against the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, Annette Hess's international bestseller is a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting coming-of-age story about a young female translator--caught between societal and familial expectations and her unique ability to speak truth to power--as she fights to expose the dark truths of her nation's past." There is a nice parallel to last year's first read of the year, the graphic memoir Belonging by Nora Krug.
However, in all fairness, I scanned my shelves for a few other potential reads to see what else I have on offer.
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty -- "Yvonne Carmichael sits in the witness box. The charge is murder. Before all of this, she was happily married, a successful scientist, a mother of two. Now she is a suspect, squirming under florescent lights and the penetrating gaze of the alleged accomplice who is sitting across from her, watching: a man who is also her lover. As Yvonne faces hostile questioning, she must piece together the story of her affair with this unnamed figure who has charmed and haunted her. "
The Pupil by Caro Fraser -- This is the first in a whole series of books called Caper Court Novels. "Of the two pupil barristers at the prestigious chambers of 5 Caper Court, only one can win the coveted role of junior tenant. Penniless Anthony Cross is brilliant, hard-working, and longs to gain a foothold on this legal ladder to success. But his rival, Edward Choke - wealthy, good-natured, and not very bright - is also the head of chambers' nephew."
Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux -- "In 2001, a woman's skeleton was found in the woods overlooking Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital. Despite an audit of the hospital's patient records, a forensic reconstruction of the woman's face, missing-person appeals, and DNA tests that revealed not only where she had lived, but how she ate, the woman was never identified. Assigned the name Madame Victoria, her remains were placed in a box in an evidence room and, eventually, forgotten. But not by Catherine Leroux, who constructs in her form-bending Madame Victoria twelve different histories for the unknown woman."
Aside from the draw of the story itself, the Hess novel has the added benefit of being a book in translation (as does the last books on the list by Catherine Leroux). I am always trying to read more translated fiction. I have been thinking, however, I should really try and diversify my reading even more. I normally have a variety of genres on the go at once--a novel, a mystery, nonfiction, etc. I try and have translated works in the stack, but I really need to add (either choose one of the genre books or have as one of my current reads) a book by a BIPOC/ LGBTQIA+ author, too. A good goal to strive for this year.