Pamela: Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
The book tells and retells the story of The Sleeping Princess and is set in a Polish neighbourhood of Massachusetts, USA and in Poland. One of the themes of the book is that fairy stories don’t always have happy endings. Others are that life isn’t always as pleasant as you think and despite that, love can conquer all.
The fairy story is revealed through the book which requires very careful reading.
Pamela described it as a very good book and worth reading.
Sheila: Agatha by Ann Cathrine Boman
This is the first novel by this Danish author and Sheila was expecting a ‘cold book’ but was pleasantly surprised.
An old physiatrist is not looking forward to retirement and is counting down the patients he must see. Agatha is client 72 and he falls in love with her.
The book is about loneliness and what it means to make friends at any stage of life.
A charming and beautifully written novella set in Paris in the 1940’s and translated from Danish.
Val Adams: The Gifts of Reading. ESSAYS on the JOYS of READING, GIVING and RECEIVING BOOKS.
Several authors write about how important books are to them in many ways. Each author also lists 5 books they would give as gifts.
It’s an easy and delightful read with the profits going to a not-for-profit organisation that supply books to primary schools and girls in high schools, in third world countries.
Prue: Cry Wolf by Hans Rosenfeldt
This is the first book in a new series by the creator of ‘The Bridge’ , writer for ‘Wallander’ and other successful television productions.
This crime and mystery thriller is set in northern Sweden in a town past its glory days.
It begins with the discovery of a dead wolf containing the human remains of the Finish/Russian survivor of a drug bust gone wrong. Then the search begins for the drugs and money, and events rapidly escalate.
Prue thought it was well written, with good character development and not predictable.
Jocelyn: A Long Petal of the Sky by Isabel Allende
A poetic saga of people, politics and place but also delicate, detailed and complicated.
With the Civil War raging in Spain during the 1930s, many people were forced to flee and made the dangerous trek over the mountains. In fear of their lives, some emigrated to Chile where they were not welcome but still made a life for themselves.
Isabel Allende, with family in high places in Chilean politics, and with the aid of memories of a 103-year-old Chilean friend, has written an absorbing and convincing story of these times. A very good book.
Jo: A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie
This is book 18 featuring Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James. They have been invited to a weekend in a stately home in the Cotswolds.
A well-known chef is coming to oversee the food, but a car accident and several murders mean it won’t be a quiet weekend the guests thought they were going to have.
Jo really enjoyed it and has all the books in the series.
Lesley: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Based on the true story of the librarians at the American Library in Paris during the Nazi occupation. They risked their lives to keep the library open and to provide books to Jews (in hiding) and send boxes of books to frontline soldiers where possible.
In 1983, Lily a student in Montana, must interview an older person for school. She chooses her neighbour Odile, very reserved and almost reclusive. Lily slowly discovers Odile’s past, her passion for books and her secrets about her job in the Paris Library.
A lovely story even with the sadness, futility of war, betrayal, courage and secrets.
Joan: BAD BLOOD – Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start-up by John Carreyrou
This is the true story of a scandalous fraud and legal intimidation. Liz Holmes began a company that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier.
She managed to get funding from many high-profile businessmen to the extent that the company was valued at $9 billion. There was only one problem, the technology didn’t work.
Eventually whistle blowers, including this author, broke the story in the Wall Street Journal.
The rise and fall of Liz Holmes ( who is now in jail) is a gripping read, and a real page turner.
Diann: Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
Based on the Elm Creek Quilters, this is number 9 in the series. Some of the quilters share their story of how they came to quilting as the group tries to find 2 members to take over the running of the group. Many of the stories are very moving and emotional but it is still such an enjoyable read.
Pat: Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
A woman named Elle has an affair with a childhood friend, Jonas, when they meet up while on holidays. Elle must choose between her good life with her husband or the imagined life she could have had with Jonas if a tragic event hadn’t changed their lives forever.
Pat really enjoyed this page turner.
Judy A: A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
The book is set in a small town in northern Ontario in the early 70s. A family is in crisis and 16year old angry and rebellious Rosie, had a fight with her mother and has run away from home. Eight-year-old Clara stands at the window when she can, waiting for her return.
Meanwhile she’s keeping watch over the next door’s house and feeding the cat. Old Mrs Orchard has gone to hospital but said she would be back.
Then much to her dismay and astonishment, a stranger (Liam Kane) moves in next door. Why is he there and what he is doing?
The narrative moves between Clara, Liam and Mrs Orchard.
A beautiful story by this Canadian author.
Bev: Before the Poison by Peter Robinson
After years of success in Hollywood composing music for films, and following the death of his wife, Chris Lowdes returns to Yorkshire. He buys an isolated house, sight unseen, as he comes to terms with his grief.
But Kilnsgate House is more than he expected. He learns that a man died there 60 years ago and his wife was hanged for his murder. He becomes obsessed with whether she was guilty or not and plays amateur detective and starts his own investigation whichs gets further than he thought.
The author seems to have a fascination with music and alcohol, while the book has an interesting ending.
Julia: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Olsen
Book 1 in the series. They don’t have to be read in order, but the characters appear in each story. The books are a bit of fun.
Rosemary: The Bullet that Missed by Richard Olsen (Bk 3)
The stories are set in a retirement village with 4 characters making up the Murder Club. They solve cold case murders. The cases are real but the way they solve them is quite unreal and impossible. With each case, more snippets of their lives are revealed which makes it very interesting.
They are light reading with many amusing passages.
Lyn: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus
Basically it’s about women’s lives and their struggle for empowerment in the late 50s and early 60s. Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant scientist struggling in a ‘man’s world’. But the only man who supports her and falls in love (with her mind) is Calvin Evans, a Noble Prize nominee.
Some years later when she finds herself a single mum, she is forced to leave the company to find a better paying job.
Through unusual circumstances, she ends up as the host of a successful cooking show. As well as teaching the art of cooking, she is really challenging women to change the status quo.
Lyn described it as a ‘must read’, hard to put down and held her interest throughout.
Kris: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The story is set in Minnesota in the early 1960s. Jeremiah Land is raising his three children after his wife left him. He has a deep Christian faith and believed by some to perform small miracles.
The story is narrated by Reuben, Jeremiah’s asthmatic 11year old son who struggles with his own faith.
The older brother Davy flees after being charged with the murder of two locals who have terrorised the family. He feels he won’t be treated fairly. So Jeremiah takes the family on a journey across the Badlands of Dakota in search of the fugitive.
Kris was very moved by this book as it evoked similar feelings that she had about Atticus Finch, the strength of character and that great certainty in his beliefs, against all odds.
Judy J: Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields
In search of a new life, 16-year-old Adriana Clark’s family move from the USA to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. She then goes missing. Faced with the hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator, Sadie Levesque from Canada. Her specialty is runaway teenagers.
After finding Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave with a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.
Family secrets, witchcraft, more murders, romance and the geography of this isolated island move the story along very quickly until it finishes with the most unexpected ending!
Reviews described the author as the ‘new Anne Cleeves’, I’m not sure that she is there yet.
Judy D: Careless in Red by Elizabeth George
Following the murder of his wife, Inspector Lynley leaves the Police Force and goes home to Cornwall.
While on a walk he finds the body of a young man, dead from a fall. While Lynley is not in charge of the investigation this time, he is a witness and possibly a suspect.
Judy described it as a typical murder story, but well written with an easy-to-read style.
