Category: friendship
+ art, coming-of-age, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, memory, psychiatric hospital, relationships, review, secrets, Thirties, whimsical, World War Two, WW2
Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. Trapped and isolated on the East Anglian coast, Vita takes solace in watching the birds that fly over the marshes. But then she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney. The two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to escape Aubrey’s grasp and be as free as … Read More Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby
+ art, fiction, friendship, germany, jews, journalist, literature, love, nazi germany, review, secrets, World War Two, WW2
Café 7Rheinhardt by Patrick Gooch
Anton Fischer, a curator at the prestigious Belvedere art museum, stands at the crossroads. War is on the horizon. Should he stay in Vienna under Germany’s oppressive regime, hide to avoid conscription in the Wehrmacht, or flee and join those opposed to Adolf Hitler? Sacrificing his feelings for the woman he loves, Anton makes his way to England, and joins the Royal Air Force. … Read More Café 7Rheinhardt by Patrick Gooch
+ family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loneliness, loss, love, relationships, review
Preloved by Lauren Bravo
Gwen’s life has stalled. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the country and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around herbaceous borders and the council’s wheelie-bin timetable. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone? When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s time to … Read More Preloved by Lauren Bravo
+ crime fiction, family, fiction, folklore, friendship, lies, love, murder, psychopath, relationships, review, secrets, serial killer, thriller
Killing Jericho by William Hussey
Murder this twisted demands a new kind of detective. Fresh out of prison, former Detective Constable Scott Jericho is a desperate man. Disgraced and penniless after his assault on a violent suspect, he is forced to seek refuge with the fairground family he once rejected. Now, troubled by his failure, Jericho’s brilliant mind stagnates. That is until a series of bizarre murders reawaken his … Read More Killing Jericho by William Hussey
+ abuse, child abuse, crime fiction, family, fiction, friendship, kidnapping, loss, murder, police drama, police procedural, revenge, review, Scotland, serial killer
The First Cut (A Jane Renwick Thriller #1) by Val Penny
It’s hard to escape a brutal past. A vicious killer is on the loose. Victims targeted include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society. When the Murder Investigation Team find out that the killer is connected to her past, DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines and forced to look on as the manhunt ramps up at a ferocious pace. #TheFirstCut @valeriepenny … Read More The First Cut (A Jane Renwick Thriller #1) by Val Penny
+ 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
+ Ceylon, family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, history, literature, loss, love, memory, racism, relationships, review, Sri Lanka
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Welcome to Cinnamon Gardens, a home for those who are lost and the stories they treasure. Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful … Read More Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
+ adventure, cosy mystery, crime fiction, Dogs, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, love, murder, mystery, relationships, review, secrets, sisters
Barking Up The Right Tree by Leigh Russell
When Emily’s boyfriend walks out, she is devastated. As she is puzzling over what to do with the rest of her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a condition: Emily must take care of her great aunt’s pet. Not knowing what to … Read More Barking Up The Right Tree by Leigh Russell
+ 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
+ family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, Italy, literature, loss, love, murder, review, suffragette movement
Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
An isolated castle, a deadly crime. Is this real or a nightmare? In a remote castle high up in the Tuscan hills secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:The ailing gentleman art-dealerHis dazzling nieceHer handsome Fascist husbandTheir neglected young daughterThe housekeeper who knows everythingand Connie, the English widow working for them #MurderUnderTheTuscanSun #RachelRhys #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Every night, Connie hears sinister noises and a terrible … Read More Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
+ dystopia, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, reading, review, writer
End Of Story by Louise Swanson
Too much imagination can be a dangerous thing. It has been five years since writing fiction was banned by the government. Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading … Read More End Of Story by Louise Swanson
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