Category: friendship
+ abuse, diary, domestic noir, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, lies, rape, relationships, review, secrets
Good Husbands by Cate Ray
Three wives, one letter, and an explosive secret that will change everything. He said, she said. Who do you believe? Jessica, Stephanie and Priyanka are complete strangers, but they have one thing in common: they’ve each received a letter accusing their husbands of committing a sexual assault more than two decades prior. Is the accusation true or is there more to the story? It … Read More Good Husbands by Cate Ray
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, community, cult, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, germany, grief, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, lies, List, literature, loss, love, motherhood, murder, music, nazi germany, piano, rape, relationships, religion, review, secrets, sisterhood, suffragette movement, whimsical
My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
Here are my favourite eight books of the second quarter of 2022. You will notice that it doesn’t include any crime dramas, detective novels or serial killer thrillers. While I love those genres, they rarely bring something totally new to the table and my favourites tend to be feel-good, whimsical or magical realism. Or totally original or make me cry. There are a couple of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
+ crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friends, friendship, grief, lies, loss, murder, murder mystery, review, secrets, thriller
The Apartment Upstairs by Lesley Kara
Scarlett’s aunt lived – and was brutally murdered – in the apartment upstairs. But Scarlett is determined that life should return to some kind of normal, even if that means living with just a ceiling between her and the scene of such a devastating crime. After all, this is her home. She’s safe here. Isn’t she? Dee is busy balancing her job as a … Read More The Apartment Upstairs by Lesley Kara
+ brothers, child abuse, childhood, crime fiction, family, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, mental illness, murder, psychiatric hospital, Psychological fiction, revenge, review, schizophrenia, split personality, thriller
Lying Beside You (Cyrus Haven #3) by Michael Robotham
The thrilling next instalment in the award-winning Cyrus Haven series sees Cyrus reckoning with his own dark and shocking past. When a man is murdered and his daughter disappears, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must decide if Maya Kirk is running, hiding, or a hostage. Cyrus understands how killers think better than anyone; after all, he’s a survivor. Evie is a troubled teenager with an … Read More Lying Beside You (Cyrus Haven #3) by Michael Robotham
The Only Exception (Love in the Comptons #2) by Claire Huston
Lucinda Green knows something is missing from her life. But what? Her catering business is enjoying modest success and she loves her cosy house, even if she does have to share it with her irritating ex-fiancé. Whatever’s making her unsettled and edgy, Lucinda’s certain that a lack of romance isn’t the problem. How could it be when she doesn’t believe in true love? But … Read More The Only Exception (Love in the Comptons #2) by Claire Huston
+ alcoholism, brothers, child abuse, crime fiction, fiction, friendship, love, murder, mystery, revenge, review, secrets, thriller
Cielo by Jane Markland
Who do you trust when you can’t trust yourself? Following his release from prison, Nathan arrives at Cielo determined to change his life for the better. After prison, and beating addiction, he has a vision, and he’s discovered a talent, a gift with plants. Max Harrison wants him to create a special garden, The White Terrace, full of scent and white petals, Max wants … Read More Cielo by Jane Markland
+ community, Devon, fiction, folklore, friendship, literature, music, review, seventies, sixties
Villager by Tom Cox
Tom Cox’s masterful debut novel synthesises his passion for music, nature and folklore into a psychedelic and enthralling exploration of village life and the countryside that sustains it. There’s so much to know. It will never end, I suspect, even when it does. So much in all these lives, so many stories, even in this small place. Villages are full of tales: some are … Read More Villager by Tom Cox
+ coming-of-age, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, lies, literature, love, Magical realism, motherhood, review, secrets, sisters, wales, whimsical, World War Two, WW2
Only May by Carol Lovekin
A young woman haunted by ghosts, magic and long-kept family secrets, in a new novel from the author of the Wales Book of the Year 21 shortlisted Wild Spinning Girls. I give you fair warning, if you’re planning on lying to me, don’t look me in the eye. It’s May’s 17th birthday – making the air tingle with a tension she doesn’t fully understand. … Read More Only May by Carol Lovekin
+ community, dementia, feel-good, fiction, friends, friendship, loneliness, love, review, romance
The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley
Nobody ever talks to strangers on the train. It’s a rule. But what would happen if they did? From the New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of The Authenticity Project, a heartwarming novel about unexpected friendships and the joy of connecting. Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. … Read More The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley
+ family, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, Psychosis, review, sisters
The Beautiful Ones by Julia Sutton
Caitlyn Shaw has it all. Surrounded by loving friends and family, she is excited to begin her training to become a primary school teacher. Her dream job, one which she’s been working steadily towards her whole life. However in 2008 things start to go wrong. After suffering a traumatic event, Caitlyn’s idyllic life is shattered. She finds herself spiralling into an abyss of mental terror … Read More The Beautiful Ones by Julia Sutton
+ childhood, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, motherhood, religion, review, secrets, sisters, twins
The Shadow Child by Rachel Hancox
Eighteen-year-old Emma has loving parents and a promising future ahead of her. So why, one morning, does she leave home without a trace? Her parents, Cath and Jim, are devastated. They have no idea why Emma left, where she is – or even whether she is still alive. A year later, Cath and Jim are still tormented by the unanswered questions Emma left behind … Read More The Shadow Child by Rachel Hancox
+ dementia, family, fiction, friendship, literature, loss, love, review, sisters
Lost Property by Helen Paris
One lost purse. One lost woman.A chance encounter that changes everything. Dot Watson has lost her way. Wracked with guilt and struggling with grief, she has tucked herself away in the London Transport Lost Property office, finding solace in the process of cataloguing misplaced things. It’s not glamorous or exciting, but it’s solitary – just the way Dot likes it. #LostPropertyBook @drhelenparis @DoubleDayUK #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour That … Read More Lost Property by Helen Paris
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