JUDY DE: THE LABYRINTH OF THE SPIRITS BY CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON
This is the final volume of novels set in the Universal Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Zafon is a master storyteller. This is a mystery set in Barcelona. It’s full of drama, intrigue and passion. In this story he introduces a sexy new heroine whose investigation shines a light on the dark history of Franco’s Spain. Judy read three books, but this was her favourite. She said it was well written and easy to read.
JUDY J: LOLA IN THE MIRROR BY TRENT DALTON
This was published in 2023. It’s sometimes hard to read, other times hard to put down but always compelling. His descriptions and his eye for detail are amazing. A girl and her mother have been on the run for sixteen years from the police and the monster they left in the kitchen with a knife in his throat. The girl does not know her name and only knows her mother as mum. Home is in an orange Toyota van parked by the Brisbane River. They are just 2 of the 100,000 Australian sleeping rough every night.
The girl dreams of becoming an artist. The mother becomes involved with an underworld drug queen to make money. When the mother dies her daughter takes over her position as a courier. It’s a love story and a story of victims of domestic violence. There is black humour, touching moments, drug culture, violence and the ruin of people’s lives. If you read Boy Swallows Universe you should read this book.
BEV: THE RAGING STORM BY ANNE CLEEVES
This is the third instalment in the Matthew Venn series, a new detective. The story is set in Greystone, Devon. – a small remote coastal village. When Jem Rosco, a local legend arrives in town, the community are happy to see him. Not long after he disappears and his body is found in a lifeboat off Sully Cove, a place with secrets. This is an uncomfortable case for D.I. Venn as he went there as a child. Most of the community are Barum Brethren. Venn left the sect when he was 18 and now he is not welcome. When another body is found at Scully Cove, Venn’s judgement is clouded. The village is cut off by a storm, putting his team in danger. Bev gave it a 5/5.
JUDY A: THE FROZEN RIVER BY ARIEL LAWHON
The author writes, what she calls, biographical fiction. She takes an historical figure and sets a narrative around them. The figure she uses in this novel is Martha Ballard, born in 1735 and died in 1812. She was a midwife and healer who birthed over 1,000 babies. She kept a daily diary which is now considered a valuable historical document of the times. A man’s body is pulled from the frozen river – Martha is called on to examine the body. She judges him to have been bashed and hung before being thrown into the river. He had been accused of raping the pastor’s wife. A local physician undermines Martha’s conclusion and declares the death an accident. Martha is forced to investigate the death on her own. Judy really enjoyed the way Lawhon weaves facts into a book that is historical fiction, mystery and romance all rolled into one. She gave it 5/5.
We welcome our new member, Teresa and hope to see her next month.
TERESA: DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS BY PIP WILLIAMS
This book was recommended highly but but Teresa felt it wasn’t what she expected. It was a bit slow at first. She thought it would focus more on the words rather than on women and their rights.
JOAN: THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL BY BARONESS ORCZY (Pub 1905)
This is historical and adventure fiction. It is set in 1792 during the French Revolution following the double life of English aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, the swashbuckling rescuer of French aristocrats. Joan said it was an exciting, mysterious and action-packed story. It was a very good read.
JOHN: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY BY BONNIE GARMUS
The story is set in 1950’s. Elizabeth Zott wants to be a chemical engineer, but she ends us being on television doing a cooking show. The management don’t like the way she uses chemical names etc. but the audience love her. Her personality is well portrayed by the author. John said he loved the story. He said it was a wonderful book, well written and thoroughly readable.
VAL: BEST WISHES BY RICHARD GLOVER
It’s about his 365 wishes covering all manner of subjects. Val found it a bit irritating after a while. It is humorous, but when it’s a serious subject, he has a strong view. The humorous parts are quite good.
PRUE: IMPLACABLE (THE LOST FLEET): BOOK 3 IN THE OUTLANDS SERIES BY JACK CAMPBELL
This series is about the military space adventures of Black Jack Geary – a space pilot revived from an escape pod 100 years on and his current adventures in commanding a fleet into alien spaces to set up negotiations with them. Prue loves these stories. This is book 17 in the Lost Fleet set of related stories. She said they are exciting, easy to read, out of reality entertainment.
SHEILA: DANNY DUNN BY BRYCE COURTENAY
Sheila loves Bryce Courtenay. He writes about the experiences of actual people. This is the story of a family in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Danny’s family run the local pub. He signs up to go to war. The soldiers are caught in Singapore. His face is destroyed in the prison camp. He retains integrity and the care of his men. It’s the story of his life and family in Balmain. Sheila would highly recommend this book and said it was a very easy read.
PAMELA: SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE BY KURT VONNEGUT
The first 22 pages are non-fiction. The rest is about Billy Pilgrim who survived with others from Dresden. He was a POW in Dresden. Pamela said it’s not her favourite book. It is a difficult book but not as depressing as she thought. It is set in New York, Germany and a planet. Billy has become a time traveller. He travels uncontrollably back and forth in time and place. It’s not chronological. The central theme is the horror of the Dresden bombing and the futility of war. Pamela says it’s a strange book, humorous at times.
KRIS: ONE ITALIAN SUMMER BY PIP WILLIAMS (2017)
Before Pip Williams had written her celebrated novels The Dictionary of the Lost Words and the Bookbinder of Jericho, she and her husband Shannon had dreamed of the good life on the land. They wanted to slow down their busy lives, grow their own food and spend more time with their children, family and friends. They quit their jobs and went to Italy for a summer to work as woofers on various organic farms. It’s a wonderful heartwarming and funny story about their experiences.
Kris
FEBRUARY: We will be reading books with the theme COLD LANDSCAPES, Choose your own title
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