Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Back in the Scottish Highlands with Hamish Macbeth this week. This time on a fishing holiday with a group of people, all with a skeleton in the cupboard and another who is an outrageous gossip.
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Daughters of War by Dinah Jefferies
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Daughters of War is the story of a small village in the Dordogne area of world war two German occupied France in the second world war, told through the perspective of three sisters. The struggles to survive when the Germans took everything, the terror and horror of their treatment at Germans hands and the bravery of the Resistance fighters. and woven into this backdrop a family secret that devastates all three sisters.
Told simply but with clarity- Dinah Jeffries at her best.
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The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love those clever meddling OAP sleuths from the retirement village-authoritative Elizabeth (and ex MI5 officer), gentle Ibrahim, calm and measured Joy and rough diamond Ron are off solving another murder mystery. You can hear Richard Osman’s voice loud and clear in this clever, hilarious second Thursday Murder Club novel.
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This evening I took a trip to Cucuruzzu the enchanted forest, with Eli the moon elf and her best friend Luna. They were on a mission to find the Hallowshine dragon. On the way they met a fairy, a unicorn and an underwater witch and eventually the dragon, who turned out to be very different from what his reputation suggested.
A lovely fantasy fiction picture book to fire the imagination of all ages.
Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A military Captain, a London playwright and the Scottish landed gentry. Murder in the Scottish Highlands with Hamish Macbeth to the rescue. kept me thoroughly amused for a couple of rainy evenings.
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The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was cute. Nora sells her late grandmother’s beautiful antique possessions in a pop-up shop- The Memory Shop. Each possession has a special memory for Nora and is significant for the person that buys it. Every character has their story that intertwines with the shop and with each other, with an ending that I didn’t see coming. Clever!
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The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I like Dinah Jefferies, she is a brilliant story teller. However i thought the plot was a bit straight forward and predictable compared to her other novels. Having said that I liked Louisa- a strong, steady ‘pick yourself up’ character and of course i really enjoyed 1930’s colonial Ceylon.
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Skin and Bones by Tom Bale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Murder and mystery in a Sussex village- local thugs, corrupt business men and a deranged killer on the rampage. Kept me interested for a day or two and I always like a local setting.
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Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A re-enactment of life in Iron Age Britain. A Professor, some students and a run of the mill family. Ordinary but extraordinary. Powerful, captivating writing when it needs to be. Clever!
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Pier Review: A Road Trip in Search of the Great British Seaside by Jon Bounds
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
A Road Trip to cover all fifty five piers in England and Wales- starting at Weston-Super-Mare in the Midlands and finishing at Penarth in Wales. Writers Danny and Jon, with Midge the driver.
I love a road trip, but this ended up feeling a bit downbeat, enforcing all the reasons why I prefer to go overseas and seek sun and adventures, rather than holidaying in the UK- even if it is seaside England.
Their journey started off up-beat, but somewhere in the middle the tone changed to a darker, bleaker trip. It reminded me why I have resented every moment of having to holiday in the UK over 2020/ 2021.
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Summer Water by Sarah Moss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A series of interconnected short stories, connected by the location- holiday cabins on a Scottish loch, somewhere in the region of Glasgow, beautiful but wet. The stories of the residents take a day in their holiday lives and we see the place and time through their different perspectives and now and then, the natural perspectives. It is written in the first person narrative, through each individual stream of consciousness. Clever and captivating poetic but practical prose.
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Dearly by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My first Atwood. Again I listened to this on Audio read by Atwood herself- I don’t think I could have read these poems from a book. I didn’t even try to take the content in, or try to understand it. I just let the language wash over me as I went about my day. Every now and ten a poem or a line would resonate with me- I would have to replay it. But on the whole it was just a soothing drone of words.
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Wish You Were Dead by Peter James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have always liked the Reading Agency Quick Reads and now you can get them on audiobooks too!
A whole Peter James novel condensed into an hour’s listening, while still retaining the Peter James attention to detail.
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Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two of my favourite things are playlists and road trips. Two of my second best things are books containing these things. I loved Mix Tape. I was reminded of and introduced to songs and bands from the late seventies/ early eighties that I had either forgotten about or hadn’t heard of. All through I had to stop reading and yell at Alexa to play a song by a particular band.
This weekend will see me compiling a ‘Mix Tape’ playlist and planning a mini-break road trip to Sheffield. And a much grander, maybe in the future, trip to Adelaide!
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Under a Croatian Sun by Anthony Stancomb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
‘A fat buttock always looks for a comfy bench to sit on’
Had to be favourite line and life lesson from this likeable ‘escape to a Mediterranean island’ travelogue.
I was beguiled by the beautiful Croatian Island of Vis (where Mamma Mia 2 was filmed) and it’s quirky characters.
Still my life dream..!
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Milly Space 