Category: childhood
+ childhood, fiction, folklore, Historical fiction, List, Magical realism, review, supernatural, superstition, USA, whimsical
My Top 5 Books of 2025
I’m a bit late this year with my reflection on my favourite books of 2025. It’s always hard. There weren’t obvious instant standouts as in previous years. I have tried to include a mix of genres and although I read a lot of crime fiction, which occasionally make my quarterly selections, my top books of the year tend to be something a bit different, so … Read More My Top 5 Books of 2025
+ childhood, family, fiction, gay, ghosts, loneliness, loss, love, motherhood, mystery, review, secrets, siblings, supernatural
The Season of Secrets by DE McCluskey
To make sense of what was happening around you, could you believe? ‘This could be your mother’s last Christmas,’ were not the words Alison wanted to hear so close to the holidays. Determined to spend one last festive season with her ailing mother, Alison, her daughter Grace, and Anthony her brother, decide to make the journey back to the town where they grew up. … Read More The Season of Secrets by DE McCluskey
+ 1950s, alcoholism, bullying, childhood, family, family drama, fiction, marriage, motherhood, review
The Butterfly Bush by Josephine DeFalco (Book 1 of The Butterfly Series)
Growing up and figuring out who you are has never been easy. It’s the early 1950s, and following her husband’s death in WWII, Leandra’s mama yanks her off the family’s Appalachian farm to fulfill her personal dream to live in a big city. Leandra, only thirteen years old, learns that survival is best accomplished by pushing aside her country identity to fit into city … Read More The Butterfly Bush by Josephine DeFalco (Book 1 of The Butterfly Series)
+ cancer support, childhood, family, fiction, friendship, grief, love, review
The Wish by Heather Morris
Jesse is 15. She loves her friends, her little brother and her parents – even when they’re arguing, which feels like constantly these days. But most of all, she loves playing video games. Even from her hospital bed. Alex is 29. He doesn’t love a lot of things. To be honest, he’s not really sure he knows how to. His desk at work, as … Read More The Wish by Heather Morris
+ childhood, family, fiction, grief, Italy, loss, love, Magical realism, marriage, murder, review, secrets, supernatural, thriller
The Unravelling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline
When Julia’s husband is brutally murdered in a random attack, her life unravels in ways she never could have foreseen. Haunted by his death and spiraling into despair, Julia seeks refuge in a secluded Italian villa she has mysteriously inherited from a stranger. But her sanctuary becomes a prison as she uncovers disturbing connections to her own past – and faces chilling threats that … Read More The Unravelling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline
Two For Joy by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #2
Leah Smith has a new name, a new job and a new home. The sleepy seaside town, Clifton-on-Sea, is a refreshing change from the gloomy moors of Yorkshire. She couldn’t be farther away from her serial killer stalker. Or so she thinks… A new name isn’t enough to make her forget her past. Leah must come to terms with the events that occurred at … Read More Two For Joy by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #2
+ 1960s, 1970s, adoption, childhood, family, fiction, friends, grief, Iceland, Iceland noir, lies, review, Scandi noir, secrets, sisters
Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir translated by Victoria Cribb
November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsí has a secret pen pal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time. But when the date arrives, Marsí is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes … Read More Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir translated by Victoria Cribb
One For Sorrow by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #1
A chilling psychological thriller by the million-copy bestselling author of Silent Child. Who really killed Maisie Earnshaw? Within the walls of the high-security psychiatric facility, Crowmont Hospital, reside many violent offenders. To nurse Leah Smith, no matter what, all offenders are patients first and foremost. When Leah is appointed as nurse to Isabel Fielding, she is determined to remain professional despite the shocking crime … Read More One For Sorrow by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #1
+ audio book, audio drama, childhood, family, family drama, fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, review, secrets, siblings, sisters, Yorkshire
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious … Read More Mrs England by Stacey Halls
+ childhood, dementia, family, feel-good, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, marriage, neurodivergence, review
The Everyday and Far Away by Jacqueline Jones
For fans of Sally Page and Ruth Hogan, comes this heartwarming tale about love, loss and connection. Ernie has had three grand passions in his long life: his dear wife Phyllis, a vintage Norton Dominator motorcycle, and his mini-me son, Stephen. Now, as dementia overwhelms Ernie and takes away everything he can remember about the everyday, memories of those far away times remain crystalline … Read More The Everyday and Far Away by Jacqueline Jones
+ adoption, childhood, family, fiction, forgiveness, grief, loss, love, mystery, relationships, review, secrets
Her Empty Chair by Sunna Coleman
She left without a trace… not even a crumb. For student and waitress, Sylvia Morelle, it’s just another day at the French café in Covent Garden – that is, until her beloved elderly regular, Mrs Ida Laine, mysteriously disappears. As weeks go by with no sign of the glamorous Parisian, the young journalist in training begins her own investigation, only to unearth far more … Read More Her Empty Chair by Sunna Coleman
+ childhood, Detective novel, fairy tale, female friendship, fiction, grief, kidnapping, literature, loss, love, murder, murder mystery, mystery, obsession, police drama, review, serial killer, thriller, writer
Little Red Death by A K Benedict
ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU’VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE . . . DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what … Read More Little Red Death by A K Benedict
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