And another week passes us by. For me, mostly in a blur as I’ve been so busy at work it’s been hard to know if I am coming or going. The majority of my reading has been accomplished over the weekend – no reflection on the books, more that I couldn’t keep my eyes open much past eight pm. Although I was apparently able to wake up at two am and three am so I could snap a lovely picture of the half moon (much to the cat’s delight as they got a very early breakfast too …)
It has been a relatively quiet week for all things bookish. I bought one – Frankenstein by Mark Shelley, the Wordsworth hardback edition – received one – my preorder of Whisper of the Seals by Roxanne Bouchard as part of my Orenda Books subscription from Bert’s Books – and downloaded one from NetGalley – The Brutal Tide by Kate Rhodes (out 27th October). My thanks to Simon and Schuster for the latter. I really like the Ben Kitto series so look forward to reading this
That’s my lot this week – paltry effort I know – but there are many I have my eye on, and I’m attending a couple of festivals throughout September so the number is very likely to be higher next month.
Books I have read
The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields
In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque.
Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.
The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?
A staggering debut novel of murder, loyalty, love, and survival at all costs, set in the teeming underbelly of Calcutta’s most infamous neighborhood.
In Calcutta’s notorious red-light district, Lalee aspires to a better life. Her unfailingly loyal client Tilu Shau has dreams too. A heady romantic and marginal novelist, Tilu is in love with the indifferent Lalee and wants to liberate her from her street life with marriage. But when a fellow sex worker and young mother is brutally murdered, the solicitous madam of the Blue Lotus invites Lalee to take the woman’s place “upstairs” as a high-end escort. The offer comes with the promise of a more lucrative life but quickly spirals into violence, corruption, and unfathomable secrets that threaten to upset the fragile stability of Lalee’s very existence. As Tilu is drawn deeper into his rescue mission, he and Lalee embark on life-altering journeys to escape a savage fate.
As much a page-turner as it is poignant, Small Deaths is a brilliantly drawn modern noir that exposes the reality of society’s preyed-upon outcasts, their fierce resilience, and the dangerous impediments that stand in the way of their dignity, love, and survival.
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
THIS REUNION WILL TEAR A FAMILY APART …
Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family’s insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. Clues and puzzles in the pages of The Golden Bones led readers to seven sites where jewels were buried – gold and precious stones, each a different part of a skeleton. One by one, the tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore’s pelvis remained hidden.
The book was a sensation. A community of treasure hunters called the Bonehunters formed, in frenzied competition, obsessed to a dangerous degree. People sold their homes to travel to England and search for Elinore. Marriages broke down as the quest consumed people. A man died. The book made Frank a rich man. Stalked by fans who could not tell fantasy from reality, his daughter, Nell, became a recluse.
But now the Churchers must be reunited. The book is being reissued along with a new treasure hunt and a documentary crew are charting everything that follows. Nell is appalled, and terrified. During the filming, Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing golden bone. And then all hell breaks loose.
From the bestselling author of He Said/She Said and Watch Her Fall, this is a taut, mesmerising novel about a daughter haunted by her father’s legacy . . .
Given how this past week has gone, I’m more than happy with three books read. I’m not going to set any records with my reading this month, or even this year, but quality over quantity and I’m making sure every read counts. A moderate week on the blog with four reviews posted – recap below:
#Review – Whisper of the Seals – Roxanne Bouchard
#Review – The Twist of a Knife – Anthony Horowitz
#Review – The Lost Man of Bombay – Vaseem Khan
#Review – Night Shadows – Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir
That’s my week in a nutshell. Some great books both read and reviewed. The week ahead sees us taking part in just the one tour, The Murder Mystery by Alice Castle on Thursday, but we’ll have reviews all week, so do stop by.
Have a wonderful week all. I’m looking forward to having a nice long weekend, with an extra day off just before the bank holiday. Planning a nice 10k walk one day – wish me luck – and plenty of reading as September is a very review heavy month for me. Bring it on.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 