Category: childhood
+ adventure, child abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, fiction, friendship, healing, Historical fiction, kidnapping, literature, loss, love, Native American, review, slavery, superstition
The East Indian by Brinda Charry
Inspired by a historical figure, an exhilarating debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to arrive in Colonial America—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi. Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast … Read More The East Indian by Brinda Charry
+ childhood, cookery, crime fiction, family, fiction, holiday, lies, review, secrets, sisters, thriller
Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant
Reminiscent of the works of Patricia Highsmith and Lucy Foley, a compulsive psychological thriller—“the perfect poolside reading” ( Guardian )—involving gorgeous grifters on the loose in the south of France who prey on a group of unsuspecting vacationers . . . and each other. The heat is intense. The secrets are stifling. And there is no escape. In a tiny village in Provence, nine … Read More Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant
What’s In My Fridge? by Paul Guy Hurrell
Terry, ten years old, is being bullied at school due to his weight. He particularly hates going to school on Fridays because this is P.E. day. One Friday, feeling glum as ever at the prospect of going to school, Terry reaches into the fridge for his packed lunch box, and is suddenly pulled into the fridge, thrusted into a magical world where an adventure … Read More What’s In My Fridge? by Paul Guy Hurrell
+ childhood, dementia, diary, family, fiction, fifties, friendship, grief, journal, memory, mystery, psychic, review, secrets
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
On a suburban street filled with secrets, 84 year old Edie Green must look back into the past to discover what happened to her friend Lucy, who went missing years before . . . A mystery she can’t remember. A friend she can’t forget. I kept your secret Lucy. I’ve kept it for more than sixty years . . . It is 1951, and at … Read More One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
+ alcoholism, childhood, fiction, friendship, Historical fiction, obsession, prostitution, relationships, review
The Misadventures of Margaret Finch by Claire McGlasson
Blackpool, 1938. Miss Margaret Finch – a rather demure young woman – has just begun work in a position that relies on her discretion and powers of observation. Then, her path is crossed by the disgraced Rector of Stiffkey (aka Harold Davidson), who is the subject of a national scandal. Margaret is determined to discover the truth behind the headlines: is Davidson a maligned hero or an … Read More The Misadventures of Margaret Finch by Claire McGlasson
+ child abuse, childhood, crime fiction, family, fiction, mental illness, motherhood, murder, psychopath, review, secrets, split personality, thriller
The Bone House (Slayton Thrillers #3) by Caroline Mitchell
When hundreds of birds fall from the sky into Slayton’s lake in a terrifying freak event, the waters are dredged – revealing a dark, long-held secret. An old pram is pulled from the depths, with the bones of a baby still strapped inside. It’s the moment that new mother, Cora, has been dreading since she moved to Slayton – because someone knows, and is going … Read More The Bone House (Slayton Thrillers #3) by Caroline Mitchell
+ adventure, child abduction, childhood, eighties, fantasy, fiction, friends, friendship, Ghost story, horror, kidnapping, mythology, paranormal, review, supernatural, superstition
Amongst the Mists by M.L Rayner
It was the most anticipated summer break of their young lives. For Bran Lampshire, that summer of 1986 would be far different. The lure of a wilderness adventure sends him and his friends on a troublesome journey that would see them far from home and into the isolated shadows of the Sleathton Estate. #AmongTheMists #MLRayner @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour In a forgotten land where nature … Read More Amongst the Mists by M.L Rayner
+ abuse, adventure, alcoholism, autism, childhood, crime fiction, dark humour, family, feel-good, fiction, friendship, grief, lies, List, literature, loss, love, Malaya, marriage, mental health, motherhood, murder, obsession, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, secrets, superstition, thriller, writer
My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part One
Here are my favourite eight books of the first quarter of 2023. One of these will definitely make it into my top three books of 2023. While I read a lot of crime novels all these books are other genres, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. So Pretty by Ronnie Turner Part way through … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part One
+ child abduction, childhood, crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, kidnapping, lies, loss, marriage, motherhood, obsession, Psychological fiction, review, secrets
The Silent Midwinter by Jamie-Lee Brooke
Kate processes the mail day in, day out at Standington Prison. With her home life turning stale, she spends her days obsessing over the correspondence between an inmate and his girlfriend. Who is sexy Anna West and what does she see in a cold-blooded killer? Kate also suspects her husband of having an affair. Harper, her stepdaughter, is full of teenage angst and resentment … Read More The Silent Midwinter by Jamie-Lee Brooke
+ alcoholism, childhood, dark humour, family, fiction, motherhood, music, relationships, review, thriller
Mother’s Day by Abigail Burdess
SHE GAVE YOU LIFE. WHAT IF SHE WANTS IT BACK? The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family. But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes – because the same day, she learns she’s going to be a mother too. #MothersDay @AbigailBurdess @headlinepg @Wildfirebks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Marlene is eccentric, … Read More Mother’s Day by Abigail Burdess
+ childhood, crime fiction, family, fiction, grief, jealousy, lies, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, murder, obsession, review, secrets, therapy, thriller
The Sleepwalker by LC George
Our dreams can be forgotten. But our nightmares will haunt us forever. Sam Fulford is living a perfectly normal life, except for one little thing: a strange sleep condition that causes him to roam in the night and occasionally become violent. So when Sam wakes one devastating morning to discover his wife dead beside him and his baby daughter missing, his whole world implodes. … Read More The Sleepwalker by LC George
+ autism, childhood, coming-of-age, family, fiction, literature, love, motherhood, relationships, review
All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards. Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of … Read More All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
