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2025 Re-Read:

Not really much I can add to my 2019 review below as it pretty much covers everything. Except the fact that I'd have happily dropped Georgia down one of the septic tanks, never to be seen again.

Link to 2019 review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2731718383
Read 17th-19th Feb 2025

The true story of an American woman who married into Prussian aristocracy in the early 20th century & became a lifeline for those fleeing the Nazis. Muriel White Seherr-Thoss used her connections to send her sons away to prevent them being conscripted into the German army, & also to help Jewish families escape. When the Gestapo finally came for her, Muriel made the ultimate sacrifice to protect others.

A look at female killers in the Early Modern period in Britain (16th to 18th centuries CE), where the plethora of ballads & pamphlets would have had us believe that female killers were fairly common. This book examines the evidence & argues that then, as now, most murders were committed by men & that those committed by women were sensationalised. (continued)

Ten years ago, 6 teenagers went hiking & camping in the Australian bush - but only 5 returned alive. Now Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, Laura, & Jack return to the farm of Ed's parents, the starting point of that fateful trip to attend a memorial for Ed. When they get there, Ed's mother Mary, is obviously still struggling with his death & the more recent death of her husband. None of them want to be there & just want to get through the weekend.

This second book in the series see Agricola back in Rome with a growing family, before being sent out to Asia Minor. The province is currently under the control of Otho Titianus who turns out to be venal & corrupt but with the ear of the Emperor via his brother. Agricola has to decide what kind of man he is - will he follow his dead father's lead & stand up to corruption?

As a woman, wife, and mother, I will be thinking about this one for a while. The brutal rape of a 14 y/o Mexican girl rocks a community in 1976 Odessa, Texas. It‘s a time where women had few options and not much was expected of them, other than being good wives and mothers. Told from multiple POVs, all strong women and girls, and all great characters. The setting itself is written so strongly that it‘s like a character too.

The synopsis for this book intrigued me from the start, can houses or buildings where murders or other evils take place be 'infected' by the acts that takes place within? The author looks at several different types of buildings including tower blocks, shacks, dolls houses, & even miniature dioramas of crime scenes, using the medium of popular culture (tv, film, & books).

First time mum, Rachael, is persuaded to leave her husband & their infant daughter to winter in Antarctica. The ice shelf is breaking up & this is Rachael & her old boss Guy's only chance to get the data needed to persuade the government to stop drilling. Now weeks or months later, things did not go to plan & Rachael is alone on the Ross Ice Shelf in -70 degree cold, days from base camp. (continued)