OKay. Going to keep this brief, afterall last week was a pretty uneventful week. Didn’t get up to much. Even only managed to read two books. I mean – how sad is that?
Oh – and might have made it a long to a few Orenda Roadshows. Just one or two. Seemed rude not to after Karen and Cole had gone to all that trouble to organise them and everything …
Okay. it was five. I got to five Orenda Roadshows last week. But I was on my best behaviour, didn’t get under anyone’s feet. Only bought a couple of books, took lots of photos and might have written one or two posts to summarise the week. If you missed them you can find them at the links below:
Day One – Waterstones Glasgow
Day Two – Drake The Bookshop, Stockton
Day Three – Lingham’s, The Wirral
Day Four – The Bookcase, Lowdham
Day Five – Griffin Books, Penarth
It was a cracking week and a massive thank you to #TeamOrenda for making it so memorable for everyone who managed to brave the variable weather and make it to all of the venues. Penarth especially was quite waterlogged with a lot of local train routes being cancelled due to Storm Jorge, but nothing was going to stop the bookaholics of South Wales and the event was a great success. I know that record numbers of books were sold too which is excellent, and no, they weren’t all sold to me before you ask …
Books I bought for me … Ash Mountain, by Helen FitzGerald; Death Deserved by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst; I Am Dust by Louise Beech; Beast by Matt Wesolowski; Sister by Kjell Ola Dahl; Mexico Street by Simone Buchholz and Containment by Vanda Symon. I bought a few more over the week as well to use for giveaways on the blog so watch this space (or a very similar space anyway) for details.
In case you missed anything, here are a few pictorial highlights from the week. I would just recommend that if you can, you get along to one of the events in 2021 as you are always guaranteed a great night of bookish chat and laughter.
So how was your week? I’ll admit that outside of the Orenda Roadshows and a whole pile of laundry, I didn’t manage to do a lot else. Met a friend for coffee on Sunday, and slept off my travel fatigue. Job done. No new Netgalley books (shocker). One new Kindle book – Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan. I was sent an ebook for review too – The Silence by Daisy Pearce. I also received two pieces of bookpost – always nice to come home to. First was Gill D. Anderson’s The Chosen Seven and The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel. What a full book week huh?
I didn’t do so well on the reading front this week – travelling took it out of me so my mind, focus and energy was elsewhere. Managed a couple of reads though so I can’t be too hard on myself. I’m usually an evening reader and I was otherwise engaged this week.
Marked for Death by Tony Kent
A deadly secret. A chilling game. A past you can’t escape.
When London’s legal establishment is shaken to its foundation by the grisly crucifixion of a retired Lord Chief Justice, Detective Chief Inspector Joelle Levy is tasked with finding his killer. With fifty years of potential enemies to choose from, only the identical murder of former solicitor Adam Blunt offers a ray of hope: what is it that connects these victims who met such a gruesome end?
Assigned to the story from the start, news reporter Sarah Truman sets out to investigate on her own, not suspecting that the trail will lead straight back to her own front door and her fiancé Michael Devlin. A criminal barrister determined to prove the innocence of his own client, Michael is at first oblivious to the return of the murderous figure from his past – until tragedy strikes closer to home.
Struggling with his grief and guilt, and now caught up in a madman’s terrible quest for revenge, Michael must race to bring the killer to justice – before it’s too late.
The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
Eve Taggert’s life has been spent steadily climbing away from her roots. Her mother, a hard and cruel woman who dragged her up in a rundown trailer park, was not who she wanted to be to her own daughter, Junie.
But 12-year old Junie is now dead. Found next to the body of her best friend in the park of their small, broken town. Eve has nothing left but who she used to be.
Despite the corrupt police force that patrol her dirt-poor town deep in the Missouri Ozarks, Eve is going to find what happened to her daughter. Even if it means using her own mother’s cruel brand of strength to unearth secrets that don’t want to be discovered and face truths it might be better not to know.
Everyone is a suspect.
Everyone has something to hide.
And someone will answer for her daughter’s murder.
…
It may only have been two books but they were two good ones, hey? A full week on the blog in addition to the Roadshow write ups above – recap below:
#Review – The Ringmaster – Vanda Symon
#Review – Beton Rouge – Simone Buchholz
#Review – Deep Dirty Truth – Steph Broadribb
#Review – Never Have I Ever – LV Hay
#Review – Liar Liar – Mel Sherratt
We’ve got a busy old month in March to be fair. A couple of all important Orenda Books anniversaries coming up, a give away or two and lots and lots of reviews. I’m so glad Mandie and I are slowing down or we’d never cope … The week ahead is a pretty full one, with reviews all week including a blog tour post for Containment by Vanda Symon and a fifth paperback birthday celebration this weekend for Paul E. Hardisty. Cannot wait.
So I will be taking it easy this week and just relaxing and reading. Aside from tomorrow. Tomorrow, weather, coronavirus and train travel permitting, Mandie and I will be in London to celebrate the launch of Containment, Mexico Street and Deep Dark Night. Cannot wait.
Hope you all have a brilliantly bookish week. I know that as soon as I settle I am not going to be allowed to go anywhere in a hurry. I’d only been home for a short while and the cats immediately took up residence on my feet to stop me leaving again. The look says it all.
See you all next week. Normal non-event book nerdishness will have resumed.
Jen
Jen Med's Book Reviews 