Book #32 The Cabin

The Cabin by Jørn Lier Horst
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Cabin by Jørn Lier Horst, the second book in The Cold Case Quartet. I had previously read The Katharina Code, the first in the series, so had some idea what to expect. A lengthy, slow burner of Norwegian noir in which Chief Inspector William Wisting once again is called upon to investigate a cold case that goes back to 2003. It's been fifteen years since Simon Meier walked out of his house, never to be seen again. And just one day since politician Bernard Clausen was found dead at his cabin on the Norwegian coast. Is there a possible link here? Could both events be linked to a heist of foreign currency worth some 80 million kroner at today's values?

The story unfolds layer by layer as Wisting and his team, including his daughter Line, seek to unravel the complexities of these old events.

This is another superbly plotted tale with perfect characterisation and highly believable day-to-day details of police procedures.

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Book #31 Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A gentle, moving, whimsical tale by the author of The Guest Cat set in a café in Tokyo where coffee has been served for 100 years, from where folklore says it is possible to travel back in time. Those who wish to do so must sit in a particular chair and their time spent in the past is limited to the time taken to drink the cup of coffee in front of them before it gets cold. They can only meet customers who patronise the establishment and have to understand that, no matter what, their experience will not change the present.

Four visitors each take such a journey. Each story is touching and told with great empathy for the individual time traveller. To go back to a moment in the past and return in the short time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Do you see the person you want to, does anything change?

A clever tale told with charm and great skill.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #30 The Most Difficult Thing

The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So much hype surrounds The Most Difficult Thing not the least being that the author, Charlotte Philby, is the granddaughter of Kim Philby, Britain's most famous communist double-agent, the elusive 'third man' in the notorious Cambridge spy ring.

Overall, I found this a confusing read and it took me a good while to finish, which means that it did not really live up to expectations. I found nothing to like about the protagonist Anna Witherall, a magazine editor, married to her university boyfriend and socialite David - she has a beautiful home and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. David is heir to his father's multi-billion dollar business TradeSmart, an operation that deals with toxic waste amongst other things, illegally disposing of the deadly chemical compound mercaptan. The companies' activities are being investigated by MI6...

Anna is hiding a dark secret, or so we are led to believe. I never found out exactly what that was. She finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of secret intelligence, forced to question her family's safety and her own. Someone she thought she could trust is determined to make TradeSmart pay.

For me, confusion reigned because of the leapfrogging backwards and forwards across a three-year timeline. I didn't know what or who to believe. And the so-called devastating last sentence? Just left me bemused and relieved to have finished this 424 page "spy novel".

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Book #29 Aliens

Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? by Jim Al-Khalili
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ARE WE ALONE?

Do you ever stare up into the night sky and wonder? If we are alone, well, it's a helluva waste of space... But what is the likelihood of we earthlings ever finding extra-terrestrial intelligence? The SETI organisation continues to search with ever more sophisticated means.

In Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? nineteen contributors from the fields of astronomy and astrophysics give their opinions. Edited by Professor Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and host of BBC Radio Four's The Life Scientific.

One of the really forward thinking astronomers is Sara Seager. She reviews what will be possible with the new James Webb Space Telescope and updates Drake's famous equation to give us a way of calculating the likelihood of alien life using some of the most recent advances in our understanding.

Our Galaxy is teeming with planets and there is compelling evidence that all stars have planetary systems. As many as one in ten stars like our Sun could have an approximately Earth-sized planet in a favourable orbit such that, as heated by the star, the planet's surface is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for life.

We do not understand how life originated on Earth and, whilst there is still no evidence that alien life exists - equally there is no evidence that it doesn't....

So, if you have ever looked up into the starry sky and wondered - Aliens is the perfect book for you.

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Book #28 When All Is Said

When All is Said by Anne Griffin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did not want this to end. This heartwarming/heartbreaking story of 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. I saw so much of me in Maurice, or was that so much of Maurice in me. This is the debut novel of Anne Griffin - hard to believe - such perfect, polished prose - put me in mind of the writing of John Boyne, in a good way. So beautifully written that I found myself subconsciously reading the dialogue with an Irish accent.

Curmudgeonly, compassionate and engaging Maurice sits at the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town. He is alone, but perhaps not so, as Maurice is finally ready to tell his story. Over the course of the evening he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him (and here I have much empathy for anyone who appreciates the perfection of Midleton whiskey...). His story is full of unspoken joy and regret - a life so poignantly laid bare...

"I am here to remember - all that I have been and all that I will never be again..."

Maurice is a character who is trying to make amends and in so doing drew a silent sob from me and tear filled eyes, come the end.

When All Is Said is a remarkable book, a real page-turner and certainly one of my top reads of 2019.

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Book #27 Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THE GAME WAS ROUX'S IDEA.... this shotgun of a game. The latest tenant in the Airbnb house that was the bane of the cul-de-sac. A game that will ultimately shred the nerves as Amy's dark past is used to threaten her and her family. When it comes down to it Roux is a fearsome adversary who has done her homework on Amy. Amy who has inherited a substantial nest-egg. Roux wants it and will undermine Amy's resolve to get it. What the hell does she know that is so dreadful? Something that will shatter Amy's comfortable life with husband Davis, step-daughter Maddy and baby son Oliver. And interwoven into the plot a background of scuba diving that will come to the fore in this war of nerves. So many times I wanted to say to Amy "let Roux Publish and be damned!"

At every turn the tension is racked up. At every turn I thought there cannot be more and then, WHAM! Twists and turns galore. Nerve jarring, nail-biting tension. For a first novel Never Have I Ever is a peach. A slow starter that gathers roller-coaster pace and left me breathless come the final denouement ....

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Book #26 Miracle Creek

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has taken me two weeks to read Miracle Creek. So much hype, so many five star reviews. My interest level was piqued and yet I was mildly disappointed. As a debut novel Miracle Creek is very well written but I found it rather depressing. A Korean family - Pak, Young and daughter Mary - immigrants to Virginia, USA. Pak is a certified Hyperbaric Technician, starts a business with such a chamber used to help autistic patients and those with other diseases. It is a recognised therapy. An unusual plot line that results in catastrophic consequences:

"MY HUSBAND ASKED ME TO LIE. Not a big lie. He probably didn't even consider it a lie..."

An explosion, two patients dead and a family torn apart by conspiracy and deception. A lengthy courtroom drama ensues and this is the meat of the story. A gladiatorial contest between prosecution and defence. The mother of one of the dead on trial for murder. And that lie that ensnares so many, so much soul searching amongst mothers with children undergoing similar treatment.

It is not a happy read but it does have redemptive qualities. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read Miracle Creek quicker. Still worthy of four stars though.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for my ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #25 Eighteen Below

Eighteen Below by Stefan Ahnhem
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Scandinavian noir at its best, dark, complex, compelling, full of twists and turns and a breathtaking final third as Astrid Tuvesson, Fabian Risk and a team of detectives hunt for a serial killer (or is it killers?) involved in an identity theft plot with frightening levels of violence. A second thread sees horrendous videos posted on YouTube by a group of "happy slappers" in which Fisk's own son Theodor is implicated. This is book #3 in the Fabian Risk series, something I was unaware of when accepting this ebook from the publishers, Head of Zeus. A pity as there are clearly events in Risk's past that impact on his present demeanour. Nevertheless, Eighteen Below can be read as a standalone. It's a lengthy read - but well worth the time.

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Book #24 Come a Little Closer

Come a Little Closer by Karen Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A plot of few characters. Anton, Mark, Leah, Jake, Hilary and Greg. And not one of them to root for. I thoroughly enjoyed Karen Perry's Your Closest Friend. I cannot say the same for Come a Little Closer. It was far too slow for me.

Anton is released from prison where he has been incarcerated for nineteen years, for murdering his wife. He returns to the family home to find that his son Mark has found new tenants for the basement flat - Leah and Jake. Jake has a seven-year-old son, Matthew, who lives with his mother, Jenna. It's a tangled mess. Anton has always claimed that he did not murder Charlotte. Hilary and Greg are teachers who had occupied the apartment all those years ago, waiting for their house over the road to have renovations completed. Hilary it seems, was obsessed with Anton...

So, if Anton didn't - who did? With so few possible culprits I had it figured out all too soon, which made completing the book a chore; although the final fifteen minutes had some redeeming qualities of suspense. It just did not grip me...

My thanks to Penguin UK-Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my ARC.

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Book #23 Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface by Fiona Neill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my ARC of Beneath the Surface. Three stars for some laugh out loud moments (were they intentional I wonder) but otherwise I was not enthused with the Vermuydens - a dysfunctional family without many if any redeeming qualities. Apart perhaps from 10-year-old daughter Mia. (She puts me so much in mind of Karen from the TV series Outnumbered). Parents Patrick and Grace, whose marriage was boringly monotone, and elder daughter Lilly, a high achiever at school until the day she has a seizure in Mr. Galveston's class:

'"They say to try chest compressions" Freya shouts back. Mr Galveston breaks into the chorus of 'Staying Alive' by the Bee Gees...!' Visions of Vinnie Jones... There are several more very humorous moments in the book - just as well because there was little else to entertain me. Small things concerned me, like - Mia keeping an eel in a bucket, an eel that has no doubt made the journey from the Sargasso Sea only to be marooned in a muddy backwater in Cambridgeshire - where Mia finds it. This was not a rescue - it was unnecessary and cruel and bothered me the more I read about it.

I could drone on about un-achieving Patrick and paranoid Grace - but I won't. I am beginning to feel over-generous with three stars.....

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Book #22 And Then She Vanishes

And Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A breathtaking opening chapter with an equally shocking ending! And Then She Vanishes is a terrific thriller. Has it all. A claustrophobic, page turning, slow burner - when two bodies, thought to be local businessman Clive Wilson, 58, and his mother, Deirdre Wilson, 76, are found in a cottage in the seaside Somerset town of Tilby. They had been shot. A third person, Heather Underwood, was found unconscious at a caravan park less than half a mile away, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest... Heather, whose sister Flora disappeared in 1994, never to be seen again. Everything points to Heather being the murderer. But why?! There is no apparent motive, yet....

Jessica Fox is a journalist in Bristol where she lives with her boyfriend, Rory. Could Heather be the friend she fell out with back in 1994? She works with Jack, the photographer for the Bristol and Somerset Herald, a twice weekly publication. Looking for any kind of exclusive the layers are slowly peeled back. Jessica has a dark past that saw her leave The Tribune in London, for reasons she has never fully explained to Rory. And all the time, the question that pervades this whydunnit is: What really happened the night Flora disappeared?

I will not say any more about this thrilling story - don't want to spoil it for future readers. I can say that you will love it!

My thanks to Penguin UK-Michael Joseph, NetGalley and Claire Douglas for my ARC. Wonderful!

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Book #21 Stone Cold Heart

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and Caz Frear for my ARC of ‘Stone Cold Heart’.

Never a good idea though to start at book Two in a series as this is the second featuring DC Cat Kinsella. There is a back story from book One that is left tantalisingly unanswered, although Stone Cold Heart can be read as a standalone. A pity that it has taken me so long to read; other priorities got in the way. So, I rather lost the thread of what is, in most respects, a fine police procedural.

The murder of Naomi Lockhart takes centre stage. Investigated by Kinsella and her sergeant Luigi Parnell with DCI Kate Steele very much in charge. The investigation is constantly thwarted by a silent family, protecting each other it seems from prosecution. And a secret from way back that connects them all. Difficult to know who to believe but Kinsella is a tenacious investigator. Will she finally reconstruct what actually happened? Will her judgement be clouded by past events in her life - a past where she had always suspected her dad knew something about the disappearance of Maryanne Doyle - a teenager from the west coast of Ireland? Will we ever know for sure?

Perhaps book Three will reveal more? I am sure there will be a book Three given the cliffhanger of an ending in Stone Cold Heart!

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Book #20 The Never Game

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. It has received several 5 Star reviews and I regret to differ. This galley was so peppered with typographical errors it spoiled any enjoyment. It needs saying because proof readers are going to have one hell of a job correcting the text.

Beyond that, the protagonist Colter Shaw, is an interesting character. Different. He generates an income by following up rewards offered by individuals to help find missing persons. He is good at it. An individual schooled in survival and tracking techniques by his father. When a student is kidnapped from a park in CA her disconsolate father offers a $10,000 reward for her safe return. The nub of the story that is composed around the lucrative video gaming industry. I have never played a video game and could not develop any interest in the plot. It's a pity. It just wasn't for me.

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Book #19 The Beekeeper of Aleppo

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*SPOILER ALERT*

Nuri and Afra Ibrahim. A beekeeper and an artist. Gentle folk who live in the beautiful city of Aleppo. Nuri and his cousin Mustafa have a thriving business harvesting honey from a multitude of bee colonies. Until the devastating day when someone burned and destroyed their hives, bees left dead on the ground. As war spreads in Syria, Aleppo burns. Tragedies beset both families, children killed in the bombing. Mustafa and his wife Dahab flee. Nuri knows he must too, but his wife has gone blind after the horrific events she has witnessed.

Their journey to seek asylum elsewhere is full of anguish and danger as they journey through Turkey and Greece, relying on human traffickers to reach England. I often lost sight of the fact that this is a fictional story - so factual is it. To share the plight of these people is heartbreaking: Hope existed then in the unknowability of the future. Istanbul felt like a place of waiting, but Athens was a place of stagnant resignation.

Mustafa makes it to England and has the opportunity to take over the husbandry of a colony of black British bees. He keeps in touch with Nuri by sporadic email. Come and join me. Nuri, who now treats Mustafa as a brother. The ending is both uplifting and uncertain. And there we both stand, battered by life, two men, brothers, finally reunited in a world that is not our home.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a hymn to the refugees of war ravaged Syria, the strength of the human spirit. A book that everyone should read.

My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #18 The Darling Buds of May

The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Celebrating 60 perfick years of the Larkins

Wonderful stuff. I loved the TV adaptations of the Larkin family, broadcast in the 90s. Saw this Penguin reissue with the delightful art-deco cover and snapped up a copy. H.E. Bates used my neck-of-the-woods as the location - the garden of England - the county of Kent, near the village of Pluckley. Pure nostalgia for me - strawberry picking, cherry blossom, home baking, balmy Kent evenings and the song of the nightingale.

The Darling Buds of May follows the raucous adventures of the Larkin clan and the local tax collector. Ma and Pop Larkin have a large brood, living in 1950s rural England. Six children, the eldest is Mariette (they were going to name her Marie-Antoinette but thought it too long!). When the local tax inspector Cedric Charlton arrives to challenge Pop Larkin that he has never filled in a tax return, well - the fun begins. Soon to be called Charley by the family (found 'Cedric' too pretentious) he becomes smitten with the beautiful Mariette and persuaded not to go back to his office but enjoy a prolonged stay with the Larkins....

It's fun, it's full of laugh out loud moments - a comedy of country manners - and takes me right back to my childhood in the 50s in the unspoilt countryside of Kent. Full of wonderful characters and hilarious moments.

I loved it!

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Book #17 Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aimed at the younger reader, this Puffin edition of Goodnight Mister Tom was reissued in 2014 with this wonderful cover artwork by David Frankland. Michelle Magorian's uplifting story of an evacuee, William Beech, and the reclusive Tom Oakley, who provided a home for Will at the outbreak of the 2nd World War. Many readers, I am sure, will have seen the excellent TV adaptation starring the lovable John Thaw. It made me want to read the book. And it is a rich experience, no matter your age.

Goodnight Mr Tom in many respects is educational. World War Two began in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. When Neville Chamberlain declared war with Germany, over four days 1.9 million people were evacuated from areas thought to be at risk from bombing. The Blitz, the relentless bombing of Britain's cities, lasted from September 1940 to May 1941 and claimed over 40,000 civilian lives. Goodnight Mister Tom is set against this backdrop. Days of evacuees, Anderson shelters, billeting officers, blackout curtains and the old fashioned wireless. Plenty of nostalgia for me.

Goodnight Mister Tom was voted one of 100 favourite books in a BBC survey and voted favourite Puffin book at the Hay Literary Festival in 2010.

I recommend this story to all readers, the tale of William Beech evacuated to the countryside. A sad, deprived child who slowly begins to flourish under the care of kind old Tom Oakley. But then his cruel mother summons him back to war-torn London. Will he ever see Mister Tom again....?

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Book #16 Ask Again, Yes

Ask Again, Yes: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of Ask Again, Yes. Mary Beth Keane's novel is a magnificent tour-de-force. In 1973 two NYPD rookies are assigned to a Bronx precinct. Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are not close friends. When Gleeson graduated from the police academy he asked Lena Teobaldo to marry him. They moved to the suburb of Gillam, soon to be followed by Stanhope and his wife Anne. Children follow: three girls for the Gleesons - Natalie, Sara and Kate. Kate - born just six months after the Stanhope's son, Peter.

Two families living side by side, one neighbourhood and a sense of false domesticity. All families have problems, don't they? And then one violent, tragic event, unexpected, unpredictable (or was it?) tears the fabric of family life apart.

The broad canvas of Ask Again, Yes spans four decades. Despite everything that has occurred, years later Peter and Kate get married. Old family wounds sit just below the surface and lives spin out of control. A very moving story told with great skill and wonderful character development. A story that draws you in and gets under your skin.

Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended.

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Book #15 I Looked Away

I Looked Away by Jane Corry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A complex story, a parable for our time built around dissociative PTSD, a dissociative fugue that affects Ellie with devastating consequences. Married to a philandering husband, Ellie devotes her time looking after her grandson, Josh. Until that fateful moment when Ellie was distracted....

What follows is a beautifully composed tale of how tragic events can impact on mental well-being. What happens to Ellie? Who is Jo? The two characters around who the plot is built. At times it's exasperating, time lines blurred. What happened when? At times I Looked Away is not an easy read but it deserves our attention as Jane Corry has exposed much of the brutality of homelessness and the despair that most often results. Many people end up on the streets because of mental health issues and Jane highlights how easily people can become homeless.

I would urge anyone who is concerned about homelessness and PTSD to read this hard-hitting story. My thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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Book #14 Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading

Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I struggled to finish this. The title is captivating as is the cover. But Lucy Mangan and I are poles apart - thirty years or so in age. A woman born in the 70s, a man born in the 40s. In terms of childhood reading then there is little cross pollination. Lucy enjoyed books aimed at girls and me? Different choices. The only books we both read as kids were The Famous Five series and The Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton and rather surprisingly the Just William books by Richmal Crompton. You certainly won't find Anne of Green Gables or What Katy Did amongst my childhood memories! As well as Just William I favoured books aimed at boys: the Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge, Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School created by Charles Hamilton (writing as Frank Richards), and of course the Biggles books created by Capt. W.E. Johns.

Different childhoods, different memories and much of Lucy Mangan's book was just too boring for me (particularly the heavy use of parenthesis!)

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Book #13 Secret Service

Secret Service by Tom Bradby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had no idea that Tom Bradby is such a prolific writer. He is my favourite ITV news anchorman (no flannel Tom - it's a fact) and I jumped at the opportunity to read an ARC of Secret Service when offered by the publisher Random House UK, Transworld and NetGalley. Thank you! So, I was rather taken aback to learn that this is Tom's seventh novel; I thought it was his first!

Stand aside John Le Carré - Tom Bradby has nailed it! Secret Service crackles with tension. Puts you right inside MI6 and the machinations of government. This is 'Spooks' on steroids. When the current Prime Minister suddenly announces that he is resigning owing to ill-health, the possible candidates to succeed him bare their teeth. Foreign Secretary James Ryan and Imogen Conrad at Education are the front runners. Intelligence at MI6 has identified that one candidate might be a Russian spy and a mole known as Viper is suspected to be amongst their own ranks.

Kate Henderson is a senior operative at the Russia Desk; her boss, Ian Granger, is head of Europe and Russia; 'C', the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, is Sir Alan Brabazon. Kate works with Rav and Julie and is married to Stuart, who happens to be the private secretary of Imogen Conrad. Could anyone of them be Viper? The race is on in a deadly game of smoke and mirrors as Kate and her crew travel to Istanbul and Greece, coerce a young Serbian, Lena Savic to work as a clandestine nanny for a high ranking oligarch family - all to try and identify who might be the spy and who is Viper. And like the best plans so much goes horribly wrong. This is real, this is clear and present danger. Heady stuff that rattles along at breakneck speed. The last twenty minutes of Secret Service had me reeling, at one moment shouting out: "OH **** NO! Completely blindsided! Never saw it coming!

This is one of the best spy stories I have ever read. Superb characterisation and an all too realistic plot. Brilliant! An unequivocal 5 STARS from me!

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Book #12 Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I first read Pet Sematary back in the 80s, more than thirty years ago. All the hype surrounding the forthcoming film (movie) persuaded me to buy a copy and read again. I rather wish I hadn't...

The story rose out of incidents that occurred with Stephen King's own family. His daughter's cat, Smucky, was killed on Route 5 near their home and buried in the PET SEMATARY - that is how the sign read at this charming little makeshift graveyard. And became the book's title... When King finished the book he read it over. He found the result so startling and so gruesome that he put the book in a drawer, thinking it would never be published. But of course it was and the rest, as they say, is history...

The protagonist is Dr Louis Creed and on this read through I came to detest him. Funny how time can twist opinion. The book's most resonant line, spoken by Creed's elderly neighbour Jud: "Sometimes, Louis, dead is better". In the case of Pet Sematary, Amen to that. Because the book is insane, although on this second read - not as scary - I guess because I knew more or less what was coming.

Nevertheless - if you are going to read this for the first time I would suggest not reading on your own at night. King can make the flesh creep half a world away...

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Book #11 The Island

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I started reading The Island, Hidden Iceland Series Book 2, I had no idea this is a trilogy written backwards. So, this precedes Book 1 in chronological order and had me confused when I soon encountered Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir. Hang on a minute, isn't she....? And then the penny dropped! Book 3 will no doubt go back even further. It's of no consequence as this reads well as a standalone. And what a cracking read it is as Hulda travels to the isolated island of Elliðaey to investigate the unexplained death of a young woman, one of four friends who had visited the island. There seem to be similarities to a notorious case from ten years ago, another woman found murdered in the equally desolate Westfjords. It doesn't help matters that this earlier case was investigated by her senior colleague, Lýdur. What part did detective Andrés have to play? There is something not quite right here.

Hulda has three suspects and it seems that no one is telling the truth about what really happened on Elliðaey. Do past events have a bearing on this case? Didn't someone confess to the earlier murder and later commit suicide?

Beautifully constructed this haunting tale had me gripped throughout as our tragic protagonist conducts her rôle with persistence to unravel this intriguing mystery. Another excellent piece of Icelandic noir from Ragnar Jónasson and highly recommended.

My thanks to Michael Joseph Penguin UK and NetGalley for this ARC of The Island.

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Book #10 The Newcomer

The Newcomer by Fern Britton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My third book by Fern Britton and my thanks to HarperCollins publishers and NetGalley for this ARC of The Newcomer. When I have overindulged in thrillers and police procedurals this is my comfort zone. Fern loves Cornwall where she lives part of her time. I too love Cornwall. This time the locale is Pendruggan, a village full of wonderful characters who will soon make the acquaintance of Reverend Angela Whitehorn, her handsome husband Robert, daughter Faith and Angela's aunt Mamie Buchanan. The resident vicar, Simon Canter and his family, are off to Brazil for a year. Pendruggan will be Angela's first parish following her ordination. Vicar of Pendruggan. Vicar for a year. What can go wrong....?

The scene is set for another delicious family saga as Angela works to fit in with the locals, including the local battle-axe Audrey Tipton and her henpecked husband Geoffrey. And then there's Helen and Piran and the delightful Queenie, an elderly, no-nonsense woman who runs the village shop. She and Mamie become close friends and Mamie knows how to sort out Queenie's arthritis with a spliff or two!

So much goes on here. There is love, drama, suspicion and great sadness, but above all this charming tale is uplifting. A lot of fun to read, curled up under a duvet with a cup of hot chocolate.

Thank you Fern. You've done it again!

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Book #9/2019 The Cut Out Girl

The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found by Bart van Es
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very moving account of one man's investigation into tracing his 'aunt' Lien and telling her story. A searing exploration of two lives and two families. Lien was given away by her Jewish parents in the Hague in the hope she might be saved from the hell of the Nazi death camps. Lien is hidden and raised by a foster family in the provinces during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. She was moved on many occasions - and survived the war only to find out that her real parents had not. Many years later she fell out with her foster family and Bart van Es (the author) - and the grandson of Lien's foster parents - needed to find out why.

He tracks Lien down - now in her eighties - in Amsterdam and forms a lasting bond with her as she recounts the events that occurred since being a 'hidden child'. This is a deeply moving story about the fate of most Jews who lived in the Netherlands during the 2nd World War, a story of love, heartache, despair and misunderstanding - but also uplifting. A necessary story that we should never forget.



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Book #8/2019 The Honey Bus: A Memoir of a Girl Saved by Bees

The Honey Bus: A Memoir of a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everyone should read The Honey Bus, a parable for our time, a beautifully composed memoir of, for the most part, a young girl - Meredith May - who, with her younger brother Matthew, experiences the despair of a broken home, separated parents and a dysfunctional mother. Moved away from their father and Rhode Island to live with grandparents in California. Step-grandpa is a beekeeper, has been for many years. A fount of knowledge about honey bees and their invaluable contribution to life. Uses an old military bus converted for use to harvest honey. Meredith is captivated and comes to learn everything about the husbandry of bees from grandpa, who loves her and her brother, unconditionally. Meredith's personality will be shaped by the life lessons learned in a bee yard. Every child should have that same opportunity to grow.

A story of love, hope, despair, redemption - a wake up call to help honey bees live closer to the way nature intended - bees that are threatened with Varroa destructor and a host of newer diseases such as Nosema gut pathogen and the Slow Bee Paralysis virus.

Meredith does her small part - she owes her Grandpa at least that much to continue his work - and she owes it to the bees...

The Honey Bus has left a lasting impression on me and has been an education about the vital need for us to help honey bees survive. Without them we are lost...

The highest possible recommendation from me. I urge you to read The Honey Bus.

My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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Book #7/2019 The Ghost Fields

The Ghost Fields: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 7 by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. The Ghost Fields is number 7 and it really is as well to read them in order as there are threads that run through the series that lock your interest and enthusiasm for the characters.

Dr Ruth Galloway is a professor of forensic archaeology at the University of North Norfolk. She likes cats (an endearing trait for me!), Bruce Springsteen, bones and books. She does not like organised religion. She has a now five-year-old daughter, Kate, fathered by DCI Harry Nelson after a brief extra-marital affair. Nelson is married to Michelle. He leads the Serious Crimes Unit in Norfolk. Michael Malone is a lovable character, also know as Cathbad. Born in Ireland and brought up as a catholic he now thinks of himself as a druid and shaman. DS David Clough (Cloughie) is Nelson's bagman, born in Norfolk - a tough, dedicated officer who dislikes political correctness and graduate police officers. He likes food, football, beer - and his job. And then there is DS Judy Johnson who now co-habits with Cathbad and has just given birth to a daughter. I have followed their lives since book #1 with great fondness.

In a blazing heatwave in Norfolk a construction crew unearth a World War Two plane. The body inside isn't the pilot. A television company discovers bones on their latest shoot on a pig farm. They're human bones... One local family, the Blackstocks, links the two grisly discoveries and Ruth must solve the mystery of the ghost fields. With an inevitability she finds herself in harms way in a finish that has the pulse racing - a fabulous page-turner - that left me quite breathless come the end.

Hats off to Elly Griffiths. You have done it again!



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Book #6/2019 The Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I fear I am about to upset the apple-cart, having read so many good reviews of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. It just wasn't for me. This post apocalyptic story (if that is a correct description - it's not dystopian) is depressing. It is very well written but I came close to abandoning before finishing on a number of occasions. After cataclysmic events the tale unfolds around 100 years post 'the event' when the world's population is apparently reduced to around 7,500 (of what used to be 7.5 billion before 'the Gelding'). No electricity, no computers, no communication, no hope.

If this is 'the end of the world' I'll take a rain-check...

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Book #5/2019 American Politics: A Beginner's Guide

American Politics: A Beginner's Guide by Jon Roper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent introduction to American politics for anyone who wants to know more about government and politics in the USA. Jon Roper is Professor of American Studies at the University of Swansea, UK and has formerly held positions at the University of Tennessee, the University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University. He takes us on a journey starting with the founding fathers in 1620, explores the founding principles enshrined in the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He provides a sharp analysis of how history, religion and ideology have forged the way America governs itself. He discusses state politics, the original thirteen colonies on the Atlantic seaboard, the creation of the federal government, the Tea Party movement, American foreign policy - isolationism verses internationalism - and the power of lobby groups.

This is an engaging guide for anyone including readers in the United States.

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Book #4/2019 The Horseman

The Horseman by Tim Pears
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A list of some twenty-eight characters at the beginning of the book is somewhat confounding. It is necessary to get your head around these from the start, otherwise confusion will spoil your enjoyment of this gentle, pastoral novel set in Devon in 1911/1912. Composed as a calendar through the months and seasons and following the daily, hardworking lives of the Sercombe family: Albert Sercombe, a ploughman, Ruth, his wife, Fred, Sidney and Leopold (Leo), the three sons and Kizzie, their daughter. These are the central characters - in particular the twelve year old Leo - along with Arthur, Lord Prideaux, owner of the estate and Charlotte (Lottie), his only child.

A bucolic blend of Flora Thompson, Laurie Lee and Thomas Hardy, sprinkled with countryside words and events through the seasons: how to groom a Shire horse, how to plough a field, how to slaughter and butcher a pig (in graphic detail), the harvest cycle of collecting, stack-building and threshing. It's all here in forensic detail. One wonders - where is this going? Is there a plot?

Remember Leo and Lottie? Working class, humble lad and privileged daughter of landed gentry. Leo loves horses. His mind is set on working with them, one day. Lottie is at first antagonistic towards him, but at the same time intrigued by this quiet lad. They share a love of all things equine. It will take them on a journey through their age of innocence to a simple act, misinterpreted, that leads to devastating consequences. The last ten minutes of this beautiful story left me stunned...

My thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for this ebook.

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Book #3/2019 Barack Obama: Quotable Wisdom

Barack Obama: Quotable Wisdom by Carol Kelly-Gangi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Passages selected from Barack Obama's speeches, interviews, essays, books, social media posts and other writings over the past twenty years. Arranged thematically the selections reveal his thoughts and feelings and even the occasional joke - about the many issues he faced during his two terms as president:
- universal healthcare
- same-sex marriage equality
- racial equality
- the threat of terrorism
to name a few

These extracts reveal a great intellect, dynamic leadership style and steadfast determination.

Edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi.




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Book #2/2019 Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How can I do justice in a review of this remarkable book? This huge tapestry spread over 430 large pages of small print. The story of this iconic American woman, her story, beautifully composed - full of love, hope, endeavour and achievement. An intimate, powerful and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of The United States.

From the South Side of Chicago, where she and her brother Craig shared a bedroom; where her parents Fraser and Marian Robinson raised her to be outspoken and unafraid and from whom she learned the importance of education. Michelle graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School and started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley and Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She recounts the struggle to balance her work and family with her husband's fast-moving political career, nurturing her daughters Malia and Sasha, gives a behind-the-scenes account of her family's history-making launch into the global limelight and life inside the White House, with some wonderful anecdotes about meeting our Queen Elizabeth. This alone endeared me to her.

Michelle Obama tells her story with honesty and boldness and has my unbounded admiration. I recommend Becoming without reservation.

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New Year Makeover

I just thought that it was about time that I gave my blog a fresh look. So, here it is. I might try adding some posts that have nothing to do with books, although it should be evident that I spend a lot of time reading! I also enjoy playing my Gibson Studio acoustic guitar, for personal enjoyment only I might add. Happy New Year to all my readers - feel free to comment....

Book #1/2019 The Secret of Nightingale Wood

The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful debut novel aimed at readers from age nine to the typical septuagenarian, like me - a big kid at heart! Set in 1919, a pitch perfect, hauntingly beautiful story that is quite frightening at times (young readers beware!). Henrietta is twelve years old (known as Henry), her family has moved from London to Hope House, a place full of strange secrets, a forgotten attic and ghostly figures.

Her Mama is ill and kept in her room behind a locked door (doctor's orders), her father has taken a job abroad and Nanny Jane is too busy to pay any attention to Henry and the things she sees - like her dead brother. Henry is also very concerned about the welfare of her baby sister, Roberta - known affectionately as Piglet.

All alone, at night Henrietta sees mysterious firelight that flitters in the trees beyond the garden - Nightingale Wood. When she ventures into the darkness of the wood, what she finds there will change her whole world...

There is that character you will love to hate as well. I wanted to climb into the pages of the book at times - and punch him on the nose! That's right - Dr. Hardy!

I loved this book - even though it is aimed at a young readership. It doesn't really matter how young or old you are, this is a beautifully told story.

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