Holy moly – how the heck did we get as far as the end of November. Next stop Christmas. Wish I could tell you I had done something interesting this week but the most exciting thing I managed was to actually read some books. This is a good thing as I was beginning to thing my reading mojo had got up and left me again, but apparently it is hanging in there. Furthest I managed to walk was to the post office and the coffee shop for a hot chocolate (from the coffee shop – not the post office) so no exciting pictures for you this week. Sorry. I was even so distracted I only photographed four colleagues of the day. I am such a failure
A quiet week on the book post front. One from publishers, two bought. I received a gifted copy of The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward from Viper Books. I also received my order of the signed copy of Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden and an ordered copy of Starcross Manor by Christie Barlow so it wasn’t too bad a week.
It was a busy week for ebook ‘post’ though with four Netgalley approvals: The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson; The Lake House. by Christie Barlow; Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner; and What I Did by Kate Bradley.
A few book purchases this week. Starcross Manor, obviously, plus Time Is Running Out by Michael Wood, the next Matilda Darke preorder; Truth Or Dare by M.J. Arlidge – the new Helen Grace preorder; and The Nesting by C.J. Cooke, just because I could. Feel like I need to branch out with my reading.
A decent enough week reading wise, although I had half read one of the books last weekend.
Books I have read
Single by KL Slater
When single mother Darcy’s son falls from a rope bridge at a local playground, life stands still. She clutches his small, limp body, frozen, until a pair of strong hands push her aside, and she watches as George, a local doctor, saves her son’s life.
George is a single parent too, and with his twinkling hazel eyes, easy charm, and lack of wedding band is almost too good to be true, but coffee becomes lunch, lunch becomes dinner, and soon they can’t go an evening without seeing each other. When he invites her to move into his beautiful home with its sprawling garden for her boys, Darcy doesn’t hesitate.
But as Darcy is settling in, she receives a bunch of flowers with a chilling message. George says they’re from an obsessed ex-girlfriend, Opal, and days later Opal turns up at Darcy’s son’s football match. She claims to have shocking information that could threaten George’s custody of his daughter.
Darcy doesn’t know who to trust, but she’s starting to suspect that, whatever the truth, she might have put her beloved boys into terrible danger …
From the million-copy-bestselling author K.L. Slater this utterly gripping psychological thriller will make you gasp out loud as you race towards the unforgettable twist. If you loved The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you.
A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?
When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.
Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are reports of a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?
Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…
The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean
He is her husband. She is his captive.
Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name.
She lives in a small farm cottage, surrounded by vast, open fields. Everywhere she looks, there is space. But she is trapped. No one knows how she got to the UK: no one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm; if they do, she is never seen.
Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished.
For a long time, escape seemed impossible. But now, something has changed. She has a reason to live and a reason to fight. Now, she is watching him, and waiting . . .
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero…
Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.
One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.
Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.
When another body turns up, they realise they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…
So four (three and a half) books. I’ll take that. Not a bad result all things considered. If only everything else in life was going so well … Busy enough week on the blog, recap below:
#Review – Kill A Stranger – Simon Kernick
#Review – The Chalet – Catherine Cooper
#Review – The Embalmer – Alison Belsham
#Review – Those You Trust – Bernie Steadman
#Review – A Year of Orenda – The CWA Anthology
#Review – The Open House – Sam Carrington
This week sees the start of our Jolabokafloð and #bookvent countdowns, starting tomorrow. We’re making December a real celebration of Icelandic fiction with reviews of all of the books by Ragnar Jónasson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, as well as a couple of special giveaways later in the month. I can’t wait to count down to my book of the year. I’ve read some absolute crackers and, as always, it’s been hard to narrow it down to just just a handful.
Hope you all have a wonderful week. For those in England facing out various levels of freedom )or lack of), I hope the next few weeks fly by and that you are able to find some solace in books.
Stay safe all
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 