Book #80 The Nightingale

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Nightingale will linger long in my mind. I have ready many factual accounts about French resistance and the Maquis. I do not recall reading such a spellbinding fictional account such as this. It has left an indelible memory of the bravery and courage of two sisters, each involved in the 2nd World War in juxtaposed places. Each face the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France, endure deprivations that are heartbreaking, atrocities so inhumane as to leave one reeling with a profound sense of anger and loss. The final redemption is bitter-sweet and defines fear and love in a time of war. Other reviewers have explored the plot in greater detail. For me the story of Vianne and Isabelle is beautifully written and required a great deal of research by the author Kristin Hannah.

It is a remarkable novel - one of my best reads this year and highly recommended.

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Book #79 Last Voyage of the Valentina

Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Glorious. This great big canvas of a story that spans a period from the 2nd World War to the 70s, a romance, a mystery, a book about enduring love, a passion for the Amalfi Coast, an Italian family haunted by a secret, a British naval officer who meets Valentina in Incantellaria during the war and falls hopelessly in love and returns to England with his baby daughter, Alba, after the sudden death of her mother, the beautiful Valentina. The complex plot sees the hedonistic Alba, twenty six years later, determined to find out what happened to her mother all those years ago and to track down her Italian family. She leaves her father's houseboat (named after her mother, Valentina) where she lives, moored in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea and sets out on her quest....

There is so much more to this suspenseful story that blends the history of a wealthy English family with Alba's Italian ancestors. What will she discover in Italy, will she sort out her own love life with Fitz, will her father finally find redemption for what happened all those years ago?

Last Voyage of the Valentina is a fabulous read; my first book by Santa Montefiore. It won't be my last. I have The Italian Matchmaker near the top of my to-read pile!



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Book #78 Lily And The Octopus

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book resonated so much with me. Edward and Lily. A man and his dog, but unlike anything else I have read in a story that explores grief. Profound, inconsolable grief. It is quirky, bizarre, original. Lily the dachshund is twelve, which is eighty-four in dog years. Edward is forty-two, which is two hundred and ninety-four in dog years. And therein lies a portent of what is to come. It is difficult to review this moving, heartbreaking story without spoilers. But read it you must. It moved me to tears and, yes, I sobbed. A grown man and I sobbed.

If you share your life with a dog, or any pet this is for you. Have the tissues handy…..

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Book #77 Lovely Bits of Old England

Lovely Bits of Old England: Selected Writings from The Telegraph by John Betjeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been dipping in and out of this for around three weeks, whilst reading other books. A selection of writings from John Betjeman published in The Telegraph in the 50s and 60s. These articles have become something of an historical eulogy; one might say that they have no relevance nowadays. Nevertheless, they are worth reading to understand Betjeman's love of architecture and his disdain for 'developers' in a country still recovering from the deprivations of the 2nd World War. He loved churches and on 30th May 1952 he wrote a wonderful article entitled "The Churches of England are Part of Our Life". He was a stalwart supporter of St. Pancras station and the St. Pancras hotel and I am sure he would be delighted to know that these great architectural edifices have been restored to their former glory.

His book reviews were often dismissive. In 1951 'The Catcher in the Rye' and 'The Day of The Triffids' were afforded a single paragraph in The Telegraph. In 1953 about 'Casino Royale' he says: "It suffers from falling apart two-thirds of the way through..." Rather amusing for a book that is still in print more than 60 years later!

John Betjeman will always be remembered for his passionate defence of Britain's Victorian heritage. He was knighted in 1969 and appointed Poet Laureate in 1972. He died in 1984.

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Book #76 Bath by Insight Guides

Bath by Insight Guides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had read most of this guide before my wife and I enjoyed a long weekend in this beautiful city. We lived in Bristol when we were first married (more than 40 years ago) but never took the time then to explore Bath. This guide is an excellent companion for anyone considering a visit. It is well laid out, suggests and catalogues various tours to different parts of the city and provides practical information on how to get there, where to stay and where to eat and covers Bath's stunning architecture in considerable detail. It is well worth the cover price of £7.99 to help you enjoy one of Britain's most beautiful cities.

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Book #75 Conclave

Conclave by Robert Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The power of God. The ambition of men. This is a remarkable novel; in some respects it is almost audacious in scope as Robert Harris enters the secret world of the Conclave when a new Pope is to be appointed by the Roman Catholic cardinals in a world becoming increasingly secular. I found myself immersed in the papal conclave - St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Palace, Casa Santa Marta, and the ambitions and rivalries amongst one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe. There is intrigue, there are those who worship God, others who perhaps worship the church more. The liberals, the traditionalists, the reformers. The overly ambitious… And in seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth…

So, how do you create a thriller from such a scenario? How do you create a sense of deep foreboding that something is amiss? How do you rock the very foundation of the catholic church with an ending that leaves the reader numb with shock? Robert Harris achieves all of this, focusing the plot around Cardinal Lomeli, Dean of the College of Cardinals, whose task is to conduct the Conclave.

Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks… Who could foresee the crisis coming….

A most intelligent thriller. One of the best that I have read this year. Highly recommended.

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Book #74 Moriarty

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sherlock Holmes stories are somewhat akin to Marmite. You love them or hate them. I am in the former category. But now, Sherlock Holmes is dead and darkness falls. In the capable hands of Anthony Horowitz the late Victorian era once again becomes alive, the streets of London redolent with mist and fog, Hackney and Brougham cabs and the eerie cry of "The game's afoot" - but not uttered by our famous consultative detective. Holmes and Moriarty have fallen to their deaths at the Reichenbach Falls; well, they have, haven't they? Is everything what it seems? What is the Pinkerton agent, Frederick Chase, doing in Meiringen? Does he want to confirm the death of Moriarty? And who is the master criminal who has journeyed from New York to London, determined to take over Moriarty's criminal empire? You might think you know, but do you? How does Chase meet Inspector Athelney Jones from Scotland Yard in Meiringen? Why is he there? Will they work together to run this new master criminal to earth? And will you, like me, have the wind completely blown from your sails in the final quarter of the story when everything you thought you knew is completely turned on its head?!

Moriarty is a master class in crime fiction. Horowitz has managed once again to capture Conan Doyle's narrative style (as he did in The House of Silk) with brilliant plotting. It will leave your head spinning.

Highly recommended.

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