Rewind, Recap: Weekly Update W/E 17/07/22

How in the fluffy ducks are we over half way through July already? And how the fluffy ducks are we Brits meant to cope with this heat? I went for a walk before seven am on Sunday and by the time I got home the sun was already horrifically warm. For me at least. I don’t do sunlight, or heat if I can help it so these next couple of days will be challenging. Hoping for some sun but some nicely cooler temperatures for the coming weekend. If you know, you know! 😉

Not a lot doing this week reading or book wise. Reading because It was too hot and I was too tired to concentrate. Book wise, because it was just one of those weeks. I did buy myself a hard copy of The Siege by John Sutherland though – I was in the book shop, the book was in the bookshop – seemed like fate.

Two new Netgalley titles this week. Murder in the Library by Katie Gayle in readiness for the blog tour and The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields because, why not? I have it on order but it’s always nice to have a pre-read too. No book post, but I did ‘buy’ Ann Cleeves The Woman On The Island, and preordered Robert Bryndza’s next Kate Marshall novel, Devil’s Way.

Books I have read

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.

His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.

The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family – and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.

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The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan

Bombay, 1950
When the body of a white man is found frozen in the Himalayan foothills near Dehra Dun, he is christened the Ice Man by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?

As Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case in Bombay, they uncover a trail left behind by the enigmatic Ice Man – a trail leading directly into the dark heart of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose, targeting Europeans?

Rich in atmosphere, the thrilling third chapter in the CWA Historical Dagger-winning Malabar House series pits Persis against a mystery from beyond the grave, unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent post-colonial India, a nation struggling to redefine itself in the shadow of the Raj.

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The Murder Mystery by Alic e Castle

Meet Dulwich Village’s most daring resident, Beth Haldane. Mother to a sweet little boy, owner of a sulky cat… and solver of mysteries?

It’s a crisp spring day in Dulwich Village when Beth arrives at the intricate iron gates of Wyatt’s School for her new job as the historian’s assistant. But on a lunchtime stroll admiring the pristine grounds of this five-hundred-year-old institution, Beth is shocked to stumble over the body of her new boss Alan Jenkins: spectacles askew, his mustard-yellow tweed jacket covered in blood.

Gossip about outsider Beth spreads like wildfire. The parents in the playground are all whispering: did she bump him off to get her hands on his job?

Desperate to clear her name and protect her own little boy, Beth turns her research skills to hunt for the true killer. She soon discovers Alan rubbed his fellow teachers up the wrong way… could the handsome headmaster be involved? Why did Beth see a flash of the school receptionist’s bright pink jumper at the murder scene? And what is the groundskeeper hiding?

When Beth returns from her sleuthing to find her office in disarray and documents missing from the archives, it’s clear this prestigious school hides a deadly secret. But with parents and teachers panicking that the long-protected reputation of Wyatt’s is under threat, will Beth herself be in the murderer’s sights before the school bell rings?

Wander down the cobbled streets of Dulwich, where nothing is as perfect as it seems! Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club and Faith Martin won’t be able to put down this deliciously gripping mystery.

This book was previously published as Death in Dulwich.

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Not my worst week, and given it took be five days to complete one book this week, I’ll take it. Not the book btw – the heat. I kept nodding off from tiredness due to a run of bad nights sleep. Full enough week on the blog – recap below:

#Review – The Redeemer – Victoria Goldman
#Review – The Dark Remains – William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin
#Review – No Country For Girls – Emma Styles
#Review – The Twyford Code – Janice Hallett
#Review – The Island of Lost Girls – Alex Marwood
#Review – Listen to Me – Tess Gerritsen

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And that’s my week. Not too overwhelming, but I’m happy enough with it. Got a busy few weeks ahead, a bit of slow time every now and then doesn’t hurt, right? Two blog tours this week – All I Said Was True by Imran Mahmood and Night Shadows by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir.

And that’s my lot. Have a wonderful week. Hope you manage to enjoy the weather … and some lovely books, obviously.

Jen x