Month: December 2023
+ fiction, List, literature, review
My Year in Books 2023
It’s been a successful year for reading. I’ve read some brilliant books. My reading challenge was 130 and I read 153. A few more than last year.
+ anthology, audio book, List, literature, podcast, review
My 8 Most Read Reviews of 2023
This was a new one for me last year, but I do love a good list. These books were not necessarily published in 2023 – in fact Miss Benson’s Beetle has been top for the last three years. Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel JoyceThere’s hardly a day goes by when someone doesn’t visit this review and I am not sure how or why. It … Read More My 8 Most Read Reviews of 2023
+ audio book, childhood, crime fiction, Detective novel, diary, fiction, friendship, murder, obsession, review, secrets, thriller
The Shadow Friend by Alex North
If it had happened to you, you would have run away too.Twenty-five years ago, Paul’s friend Charlie Crabtree brutally killed their classmate – and then vanished without a trace. Paul’s never forgiven himself for his part in what happened. He’s never gone back home. Until his elderly mother has a fall. It’s finally time to stop running. It’s not long before things start to … Read More The Shadow Friend by Alex North
+ crime fiction, feel-good, fiction, folklore, Ghost story, Historical fiction, List, Magical realism, review, Scandi noir
My Top 10 Books of 2023 – Part Four
Here are my favourite ten books of the fourth quarter of 2023. One or two of these might make it into my top books of 2023. Once again only a bit of ‘crime’, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. There are ten this time – it’s been a good quarter – but then hey ho … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2023 – Part Four
My 3 Favourite Audiobooks of 2023
A new list! I love a list. I have only just started listening to audiobooks, and it’s not just about the story – it’s also about the narrator/s. Which is why Geneva is the outright winner. One of my biggest issues with audiobooks has always been the length, as I am a fast reader and I don’t have the patience to listen for, say … Read More My 3 Favourite Audiobooks of 2023
Listeners by Sally Emerson
Sally Emerson’s compelling novel takes the reader into a dark labyrinth of physical danger and spiritual terror. Jennifer Hamilton is alone again – alone in the big house she and her husband bought together, alone after six years of marriage. Overwhelmed and appalled by her reaction to her husband’s desertion she turns to a spiritualist who seems ready to listen. But as she is … Read More Listeners by Sally Emerson
+ Australia, business, crime fiction, family, fiction, love, murder, nineties, racism, review, secrets, World War One
Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
NO ONE IS EVER INNOCENT IN PARADISE.A small town.A closely guarded secret, stretching back decades.And blood in the water. A body has washed up in an irrigation canal, the artery running through Yuwonderie, a man-made paradise on the border of the Outback. Stabbed through the heart, electrocuted and dumped under cover of night, there is no doubt that detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan … Read More Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
The Vicious Circle by Katherine St John
A perfect paradise? Or a perfect nightmare? On a river deep in the Mexican jungle stands the colossal villa Xanadu, a wellness center that’s home to an ardent spiritual group devoted to self-help guru Paul Bentzen and his enigmatic wife Kali. But when Paul mysteriously dies, his entire estate – including Xanadu – is left not to Kali, but to his estranged niece Sveta. … Read More The Vicious Circle by Katherine St John
+ crime fiction, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, loss, murder, murder mystery, mystery, mythology, obsession, review, Scandi noir, Sweden
Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner
Art expert Emma Lindhal is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found. As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover … Read More Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner
Amoura Awakened by Meg Kramer Extract
One girl’s quest for belonging leads to perilous secrets. Will she uncover the truth before it’s too late? Amoura Renly is anything but average, much to her dismay. When a violent confrontation with a bully awakens her connection to magic, Amoura struggles with the realization she’s farther from fitting in than she ever imagined. Desperate for a fresh start, Amoura enrolls at Elderwood School … Read More Amoura Awakened by Meg Kramer Extract
The Twelfth Scepter by Ephie Risho (The Elementalists Book 4) Out Now
In a race against time, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of a group of young elementalists. With the malevolent White Queen on the verge of obtaining unimaginable power, the brave heroes must band together to thwart her evil plan. But as they face impossible challenges and formidable foes, they realize the task is far more daunting than they ever imagined. … Read More The Twelfth Scepter by Ephie Risho (The Elementalists Book 4) Out Now
The Girl Who Fled the Picture by Jane Anderson
A girl who won’t conform. A journey across 18th Century Europe. A dangerous pursuit of forbidden love. 1742, Constantinople. Fifteen-year-old Isabella dons Turkish dress to pose for her portrait. The touch of the artist’s apprentice freeing her from corsets and draping her in sensuous silk unleashes a passion that changes her life forever. Fleeing to Rome to avoid an arranged marriage, Isabella rebuilds her life … Read More The Girl Who Fled the Picture by Jane Anderson
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