Morning all. How are you? I’ve not had a bad week for a change. Not on the reading front – that’s be particularly slow as I’ve been very distracted – but definitely on the general ‘had a couple of days off, been very proactive on the blog and done a few nice walks’ front. Wednesday I had a mammoth reviewing session, rounded off today, so now all of my April review are written and I am starting my journey onward to read May’s review books. Go me. Off work on Friday so, with the nice weather making conditions perfect for walking, I’ve been off out and about early doors, making the most of the quiet. My regular route along the canal and out to Edgmond, a walk along the river at Shrewsbury and a new to me route near my sister’s which takes in a couple of lovely ponds/lakes and all the many, many, geese. I’m very lucky to have all this right on the doorstep, and it’s only a fraction of what the home county has to offer too.
I’ve not been as good as I could have this week with reading. Most of it was actually achieved this weekend after I’d been on my walks. The benefit of the early starts was that I had longer left in the day to read, but up to Friday I’d only finished one book. One! Book post wise was very quiet until the end of the week. My monthly Orenda Books subscription box arrived from Berts, plus a little extra I’d ordered from there too. This month it was Faceless by Vanda Symon and River Clyde by Simone Buchholz (quoted on the covers for both!) plus my copy of Born In A Burial Gown by M.W. Craven arrived. And as if that wasn’t enough I have had a lovely bundle of books through from Orenda Books directly – ARCs of Little Drummer by Kjell Ola Dahl; Keep Her Sweet by Helen Fitzgerald and Tasting Sunlight by Ewald Arenz. How fab is that?
No new orders and no new Netgalley this week. Probably just as well.
Books I have read
TWO EXES. ONE BIG SECRET. LET THE GAMES BEGIN…
Dylan and Flo are in love. The only trouble is, they broke up months ago and everyone was delighted for them.
At first, it’s exciting sneaking around, hiding from disapproving friends, climbing through bedroom windows to avoid family, and concocting hilarious disguises. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. With more sex and less poison.
But soon it becomes harder to separate truth from lies. Dylan and Flo are in way over their heads, and the games have only just begun . . .
Two sisters went missing. Only one of them came back…
Detective Jonah Sheens is enjoying a moment of peace and quiet, when a teenage girl wanders out of the wood.
She’s striking, with flame-red hair and a pale complexion.
She’s also covered in blood.
She insists she’s fine. It’s her sister he needs to worry about.
Jonah quickly discovers that Keely and her sister, Nina, disappeared from a children’s home a week ago. Now, Keely is here – but Nina’s still missing.
Keely likes to play games. She knows where her sister is – but before she tells, she wants Jonah’s full attention.
Is she killer, witness, or victim? And will Jonah find out what Keely’s hiding, in time to save Nina?
Little Drummer by Kjell Ola Dahl
Godfather of Nordic Noir Kjell Ola Dahl returns with tense, sophisticated, searingly relevant international thriller that explodes the Nordic Noir genre, as Frølich and Gunnarstranda travel the globe to investigate exploitation and corruption in the distribution of foreign aid and essential HIV medications.
When a woman is found dead in her car in a Norwegian parking garage, everyone suspects an overdose … until a forensics report indicates that she was murdered. Oslo Detectives Frølich and Gunnarstranda discover that the victim’s Kenyan scientist boyfriend has disappeared, and their investigations soon lead them into the shady world of international pharmaceutical deals.
While Gunnarstranda closes in on the killers in Norway, Frølich and Lise, his new journalist ally, travel to Africa, where they make a series of shocking discoveries about exploitation and corruption in the distribution of foreign aid and essential HIV medications.
When tragedy unexpectedly strikes, all three investigators face incalculable danger, spanning two continents. And not everyone will make it out alive…
Exploding the confines of the Nordic Noir genre, Little Drummer is a sophisticated, fast-paced, international thriller with a searingly relevant, shocking premise that will keep you glued to the page.
I can’t complain really. 40 books read so far this year – that’s essentially a book every 2 days. Not bad considering I work full time and my job is pretty full on right now. A full week of reviews on the blog too. Recap below:
#Review – A Rattle of Bones – Douglas Skelton
#Review – A Life for a Life – Carol Wyer
#Review – Faceless – Vanda Symon
#Review – Never Seen Again – Paul Finch
#Review – No Time To Cry – James Oswald
Reviews Monday to Friday this week with blog tour spots for Bad Penny by Michele Gorman today and The Girl In The Shadows by Marion Kummerow on Wednesday.
Just the one day off this week – boo hiss – but I will make it count (I hope). It’s back to the books for me. Lots of books to read, so little time to do it.
Hope you have a lovely week. Catch you at the other end of it.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 
Your walks are so varied. I’m fortunate too that I can leave the house and within five minutes be walking along a coastal path or through fields with lambs (not as varied as your walks but it’s still wonderful)
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If I’ve the mind to drive a bit further afield I can be in the Shropshire hills in less than an hour or over in Snowdonia or North Wales in probably 1.5 hours. Plenty of choice (assuming can afford the fuel …) but I do love my canal and river walks
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Same here. 15 minutes drive takes me to sandy beaches, 30 mins to dock lands and estuaries plus any number of castles and ruins. This is what helped me get through lock downs.
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