An interesting take on the crime novel. Joseph knox author, is also a character in what appears to be a true crime narrative, conducted through interviews by a female journalist Evelyn , who is also writing to knox for advice. Complicated yes but as we learn more about the disappearance of a Manchester University student ,Zoe, the twists and turns are compelling. I enjoyed reading a bk that pushes the boundaries of writing form and very readable

This is a well told story about 2 sisters who in 1941 Belfast experience 4 terrible days of bombing. The city is destroyed as Emma and Audrey's lives and future are also changed dramatically. I loved this novel which combines the emotional drama of family, love, and loss, with a picture of the horror of the blitz on a city whose story in the time is not much told. It also draws from many 1st hand stories which are tough to read but an excellent bk

I rattled through this thriller at the weekend set in Belfast as a peace treaty may bring the end of the troubles. When bbc producer Tessa sees on a news flash an appeal for witnesses to a robbery she recognises her paramedic sister as one of the IRA gang . The ensuing story is a tense tale of where truth lies amidst conflicting loyalties. Certainly a page turner.

2nd in the trilogy ,set in 1924.Hervey Russell is again at the centre as she becomes romantically involved with her cousin, Nicholas, while both have unhappy marriages, + Hervey is still managing her child and working life. It also focuses on politics in the 20s pilloring the greed/corruption of bosses, press + establishment while poverty cripples working men. The1st Labour govt is also featured with the zinoviev letter.An Interesting read

The 1st part of this fits
#involvesanexploration #booked2022
as 3 men, on a geographical team at the antarctic are caught in a terrible wind storm. The story is a then different tale abt the older man Doc, + his wife who is used to his absence, managing his rehabilitation from a stroke.Macgregor writes brilliantly abt people + circumstances, his is a unique voice. And So my summer challenge ends
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

The opening of this bk show the horror of the 1966 Aberfan tragedy through the eyes of young embalmer William. The story tells his life managing both his untold trauma, as well as a troubled childhood, his angelic voice as a chorister, the power of love +friendship. An incredibly moving story, sensitively told which left me bereft at the end. Such a sad piece of history.
#newin2022 #booked2022 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

The joy of challenges is picking up books you wd not have read to find an author you will like again , so with
#setinacanadianprovince #booked2022
The story by 3 narrators, a man recently split from his partner who moves to a house he inherits in a small ontario town, an 8 yr old girl whose sister is missing, + an elderly lady in a care home. Great storytelling + characters, + a gradual reveal
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

Among my weekend reading was the finale of the frieda klein series. Thuis has been a very enjoyable set of books in which the psychotherapist investigated numerous crimes but always with the shadow of the protagonist from bk 1, Dean Reeve, in the background. In the final episode the eventual clash builds to a thrilling climax. I do hope frieda returns one day.

This story set in 1913 Russia is seet over a few weeks. Frank Reid, an English industrialist, who has lived most of his life in this country on the cusp of dramatic change, returns home to find his wife Nellie having left him to return to England but When his 3 children return to the door his life is in turmoil. I enjoyed this book a lot which contains some wonderful writing of landscape as spring approaches, but also dialogue and character

I'm sure you are all like me in the library, the sweetshop of the mind. I despair sometimes when I am constantly buying books that I can still take 2 books back and leave with 6 !! Anyway i'll finish the tagged bk in the series , then 3 of these will help me finish #booked2022 Summer. The only problem is what to read first.

A random pick from library , a set of short stories abt the civil rights movement of the 60s, the force of feminism, + an exploration of inter racial couples. I'd never heard of Kathleen Collins until I read this, such an interesting life. A shout out, I stood in the library, curious, searched on litsy + saw the last review was @ReadingEnvy so had to pick it up. I love finding books, writers + stories that are new to me, plus a film to find.

I'm sure the bosch books get better and better. Here in bk 7 Harry is key witness in a Holywood celebrity murder trial. Terry McCaleb from the last spin off book is also asked by an LA detective to look at a strange murder which is worrying. When the 2 cases become connected the clash makes for a compelling read.
Part of my
#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65

#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65
I'm mid 2 bks at mo in the challenge but I thought I'd share a bit of a coincidence. My next rd for irl grp is the penelope Fitzgerald who is also an art expert in my current delve into the wonderful world of hieronymus bosch. I'm hoping she doesn't meet a sticky end .

A troubling story of a woman + an unnamed mental illness. I felt constantly on edge as Martha narrated her life with a manic mother, a patient father, a sister who manages life just about, + her devoted husband. I want to talk abt it even though I found in turns; frustrating, tender, annoying,+sad. Still thinking abt the bk as it touches on an important issue of mental illness in an accessible way which has to be positive despite some problems.

This is IRL bk grp choice + I'm not sure I wd have read this otherwise so really pleased as it was a joy to immerse myself in Count Rostov's forced occupation of the Moscow metropole Hotel from 1922 to 1954. The story is gentle and the bk long but I was never bored as he meets so many different characters. I just wished I'd known what happened to nina. Perfect for;
#booked2022 #setinahotel @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

A short novel + remarkable in the profound message at the centre of wonderful prose. Set in 1985 Furlong, coal merchant + father of 5 daughters is just coping financially. His childhood story haunts him as he encounters in the local convent the inhumanity of the magdelene laundries. On Christmas eve he has to choose what path he takes. I was on tenterhooks as I turned each page and put it down feeling overwhelmed. A brilliant piece of writing .⬇️

An absolutely brilliant piece of writing which evoked the blood ,mud, + more of 18c west Yorkshire's Calder Valley + the world of coin forgers. I loved it but lord if I could time travel the very last place I would go to would be Halifax in 1770. I'm sure if I was reincarnated I was probably a toothless peasant and the terrifying David Hartley would be scaring the living daylights out of me. Can't wait to see the Shane Meadows TV adaptation.

The #PersephoneClub is introducing me to such great stories from neglected authors who capture the societal issues present at the time of writing. Like the Holtby this bk focuses on how a woman's ambitions + vivacity is subsumed to the life of her husband and family. Patricia is a girl who rides wild horses with abandon + is untamed until she meets Hugh an inverted intellectual snob. Family takes over + Patricia flounders to assert her identity.

Back to work tomorrow and thus was my last holiday read. Sam Wyndham's second outing was a very enjoyable read. Set in 1920 Sam finds himself at the beginning in same car as a Prince from an Indian state when he is assassinated. With political sensitivity about independence and the geological wealth of provinces when Sam ends up in the province he can't help but step on toes + raise eyebrows as the plot thickens. Captures time + place really well.

#PersephoneClub
My library hold came in on my return from holiday so have launched into this one and enjoying it so far but just stopped for a mo at this point.
Poor Patricia, I thought Hugh might be a good egg but the analogy with the wild horses she used to ride being tamed is evident.

Finishing off my holiday reading stack with this very enjoyable chiller/crime novel. As a young boy goes missing it mirrors crime committed 20 yrs earlier whose perpetrator is in prison. The connection brings the original detective back into the investigation while at the same time a widowed father and son move into the local creepy house and strange things start occurring. Really well told story which kept me guessing to the end .

I enjoyed this Swedish based thriller/courtroom drama in which we meet husband,wife and daughter in three separate parts. The premise is that 18 yr old Stella, comes home after a night out in the early hours. Her father, a pastor in the church, then gives her an alibi for the murder that she is charged with. The use of 3 perspectives allows the plot to be slowly revealed and the final twist is satisfying. Really enjoyed this one.

I have had on my shelf for ages so perfect for;
#includes a recipe #booked2022
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft
In this 'novel' we meet Rachel a famous TV cook, who is pregnant when her journalist husband has an affair with Thelma, a woman with a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb. The story is peppered with bitter humour + simple recipes.
Loved this book from a director whose films made a generation laugh.

I know this is a really popular series so I won't dwell on my negatives. Having visited lindisfarne last year I was looking forward to this crime novel in such a setting but the broad chest, rippling muscles, + hypnotic eyes of DCI Ryan quickly became annoying as the plot got sillier + sillier. There is so much more I could say but as Ryan + Dr Anna Taylor walk hand in hand into the next mystery, their passion aflame I don't think I will join them

just about to start summer on
#booked2022 #aboutsisters
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft
With this twisty thriller in which 2 sisters call 911 at the same time alleging the other has just murdered their father. Eddie Flynn is called to defend one of them .
Off on holiday now for a week with a suitable pile of bks.

A poetic love song to Sheffield ,its beautiful landscape,and climbing(photos from a walking trip enjoyed in that beautiful area). It is also a moving story of the effect of the Hillsborough tragedy on individuals in the city. Told from 3 voices, 2 young women + an older man, but also the voice of landmarks of the area this was a bk I enjoyed from an author I hadn't encountered before but heard on radio 4 book program abt Sheffield writing.

This was 1st in series (I'd read 2nd Different class already) + a really well plotted thriller set in the claustrophobic setting of a North of England private boys school. Elderly Latin teacher Roy straitley finds that with a new term he is under pressure to retire but suddenly the school seems cursed by misfortune which appears to be orchestrated by a malign presence in the school. Really enjoyed the characters and twists, an enjoyable read.

At 800p if I'd nodded off in bed rdg this h/back it might have knocked me out but it was worth (albeit it cd have lost 100 pages or so) the heavy lifting. Shardlake is a fave character + here in the reign of Edward VI he is asked by Elizabeth to go to Norwich where her distant relative faces a murder charge. He is drawn into a rebellion (true event) as enclosures are resisted with force. V good story + fascinating history, this is a great series

I wouldn't have found this brilliant book save for #persephoneclub . It's the combination of the history behind the story, that the author created a narrative for an unknown soldier, and the lives of the other characters, mrs Osborne, Horry, and garnet. It would be hard to read Felicity's letter w/o wondering about what might have been and noticing a bit of grit in your eye. There is so much restrained emotion, and lost lives. Loved it.

Book 2 in #jubilantjuly @Andrew65 is in anticipation of my finishing the trilogy soon. I found this one in a library sale + it is a roller coaster of a story of the drug trade + Mexican cartels. Chon, Ben and g/f O (ophelia) are a trio of characters who end up pulled into the cartel plan to move into the drug supply taking over Ben's business. The consequent v small chapters makes for a fast moving violent thriller.

I finished this at weekend and my first for the
#jubilantjuly @Andrew65 challenge. I should finish 2 more bks hopefully.
In Ruth's 8th outing the story is set in Walsingham as a woman's body is discovered dressed in blue cloak and white dress. As the investigation delves into the religious community an old friend of Ruth, now a female priest asks for help. As always an easy read , usual formula, enjoyable characters 3*.

Hard to caregorise this story of letty fox from teenager to young woman in New York from the late 1920s to 1945. Chaotic + comic the book shows in 1st person a girl exploring her sexuality amid a host of odd characters incl friends family and lovers. Radical in political thought letty is also flighty but determined. While at times I struggled with the style + length I put it down pleased to have read it + fascinated by the author's biography ⬇️

I enjoyed this memoir of Trevor Noah's young life in South Africa where he grows up with his indomitable African mother but is both an illegal and misfit in a society where white and black relationships are illegal and the colour of skin is fundamental to your status within all groups. The relationship with his mother is beautifully rendered and Trevor himself is a rebel in a place where life is a constant battle to survive.

A domestic story set in the 1970s about the fall out within a family when a TV company want to make a film about a archaeologist. His dtr kate + her academic bfriend tom are called to support the flighty widow laura, who now lives with her sister. Emotions rise + tensions abound as old resentments and new traumas lead to a middle class English Melodrama which is a genre to which I am partial and I love penelope lively's easy writing style.

I really enjoyed this bk, last yrs booker winner which is for July rdg grp. Told in 10yr intervals from 86 to 2016 a family in South Africa has to live with a promise made on the mother's death bed to gift a farmhouse to the black housekeeper. The style shifts within paragraphs from different protaganists but I was completely absorbed by the changes over those 30 years in such a fractured country.Great writing combined with excellent storytelling

#bookmoods #royalty #silence #inthemountains #setinthe60s
I've neglected this challenge after a burst of enthusiastic posting at the beginning of the month but its been a busy few weeks. So in no particular order I've gone thru my back list to reference Catherine The Great, Alan Turing (murmur is nearly slience), a ghost story in the himalayas, and a 60s folk rock group. Hopefully I'll finish June with a burst of posts !!!

Realised I had 2 copies of this so rd the penguin but took much from the virago intro. If you like End of the affair I think you'd like this story of 2 sisters who meet after their mother's funeral. Then follows a tale of how dinah had an affair with madeleines husband + the split that ensued. At times a hard read as the dialogue was intense but I soldiered on + enjyd an emotional story set both pre + during the war. And what an interesting life.

#joysofjune @andrew65
I finished on Sunday my 3rd book of the readathon with the 9th episode of the ever reliable dave robicheaux series. Here a former Klansman, locked up in prison for killing an naacp advocate seeks daves help to prove him innocence just as a very manipulative couple who dave knows of old aim for the governship. All the usual themes and characters but so long as I leave a gap btwn bks I'm never disappointed.

I've had this ex library book on my shelf for some time so with no challenges or rdg grp pending I gave it a go. Not quite as compelling as the exorcist I still enjoyed this story abt an assassin who escapes torture before landing in Jerusalem however no one appears to know who he is. Much discussion of religion, + a lot of interviews to explain whats going . An ok read.
Hopefully as I'm halfway bk3 in
#joysofjune @andrew65 I may get to 4.

This was a new author to me but what a great piece of gritty crime writing. Joe Cashin is a police officer who, following injury in duty, is seconded to a small Australian town near his home town. He gets drawn into investigation of death of a local businessman. This highlights racial tensions in Australia. The language + character rings true ,a powerful crime novel, can't wait to read more.
Book 1 in
#joysofjune @Andrew65 . I'll try for 2 more

#bookmoods #dnf
I rarely if ever bail but in the year of its publication I have to confess tried twice, failed twice. One day !!!!!!

#bookmoods #byyourfavouriteauthor
I 1st came to John Irving when I borrowed a vhs of the tagged bk, over the years Ive read everything he's produced, often with joy ,sometimes less so but always with excited anticipation + even managed to see Jeanette winteron interview him for his last bk. Definitely my favourite author although I've never reread, except again for the tagged bk, I'm scared to do so in case Owen meany isn't as joyous as my memory

This was a challenging rd abt a woman Elizabeth who moves from SA to Botswana after learning of her mixed heritage. She has a yng son + joins a village grp growing food yet also troubled by vivid hallucinations which dominate the narrative. Echoing the writers own life this is both troubling + hypnotic so while I struggled with the story I was determined to finish.
#authorborninafrica #booked2022 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

Just back from reading group and an interesting discussion abt this remarkable bk abt the mother/dtr relationship. The prose and dialogue is haunting while also exposing fragile characters with a few words as well as what is unsaid. Bridget has to manage her lonely and unfulfilled mother as she grows older but as a reader we wonder why Bridget is so cold to 'Hen', + who is the more troubled. Loved it, raced through it and plan to read again soon.

#bookmoods #600+pages
I had a look at my litsy photos to find the last biggie I read and noticed it was in that great time for reading between Christmas and New year. I'd had this on my shelf for a while and as ever when I put it down wondered why it had taken me so long to get to it.

#BookMoods #4wordtitle
Looked down at my current read and hey presto!
A demanding read so far but interesting picture of a fractured mind. My review will be later on in the week and after I've given it some thought.

#bookmoods #laughoutloud
This series, as I recently posted , has me laughing out loud to the annoyance of my wife who is usually sat next to me concentrating on something else. The glorious Adrian Mole gave commentary through his diaries to much of the events of English society and politics from the 80s to the 2000s and Sue Townsend was a brilliant comic writer whose sharp wit would have been appreciated in our current strange world .

#makeyourownprompt #booked2022 @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage
I've chosen bks set in the pandemic with this thriller set as Dublin goes into lockdown in March 2022 and two people meet, form an attachment + move in together but something doesn't feel right, which one is deceiving the other. A very enjoyable page turner and tackles that strange period well.

The cover doesnt reflect a dramatic story based on a true crime. We know at the opening that a woman has been killed but then the bk tells the story of Theresa Dunn, her life as sister,dtr, teacher, in 60's NY who lives a life where she enjoys sexual encounters in the city's bars.The bk gives voice to the victim, a tough read but compelling. I've not seen the film but plan to do so if I can find it. A remarkable bk that feels ahead of its time.

#BookMoods #secondinaseries
I've recently booked our summer holiday with a few days in Suffolk then Norfolk so plan to take my 8th in the series of forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway as the books are set in that unique landscape. This was bk 2.