Category: loss
+ childhood, crime fiction, demon, fiction, friendship, horror, loss, murder, podcast, review, thriller
Demon by Matt Wesolowski
In 1995, the picture-perfect village of Ussalthwaite was the site of one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, in a case that shocked the world. Twelve-year-old Sidney Parsons was savagely murdered by two boys his own age. No reason was ever given for this terrible crime, and the ‘Demonic Duo’ who killed him were imprisoned until their release in 2002, when they were given … Read More Demon by Matt Wesolowski
+ Cornwall, family, fiction, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mystery, review, secrets, World War One
The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace. By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still. For Ivy is sure that there is more … Read More The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
+ childhood, community, family, family drama, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, literature, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, motherhood, photography, review, Scottish Highlands, secrets, sisters, sixties
Little Wing by Freya North
Little Wing is the powerful story of two families over three generations. In the 1960s, a pregnant 16-year-old is banished to one of the remotest parts of the UK. Years later, Nell and Dougie are both at critical moments in their lives when their paths cross. Between Camden, Colchester and the Outer Hebrides, the three story lines collide when secrets are uncovered and answers … Read More Little Wing by Freya North
+ adventure, child abduction, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, Freedom, friends, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, holocaust, Inuit, kidnapping, List, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, murder, nazi germany, poland, police drama, Polish, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, World War Two
My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
Here are my favourite eight books of the fourth quarter of 2021. So far this has been a good year for books if for nothing else, so it was a really difficult decision. Please note that there may be books amongst the list that are not published until 2022, but these are books I have read this year and may be ARCs. The Flight of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
+ child abduction, demon, family, fantasy, fiction, haunting, kidnapping, loss, love, mystery, Psychological fiction, review, supernatural, thriller
Mr Jones by Alex Woolf
Ben hears noises in his basement and witnesses weird goings-on in his local park. His eight-year-old daughter Imogen starts receiving messages from someone claiming to be her missing mother. And then there is Mr Jones —the man who haunts the imaginations of the children at Imogen’s school. But they are just stories, surely? Ben soon develops a creeping suspicion that someone is out to … Read More Mr Jones by Alex Woolf
+ childhood, family, fiction, Freedom, friendship, Historical fiction, holocaust, literature, loss, love, nazi germany, revenge, review, World War Two, WW2
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
Readers of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz and watchers of The Queen’s Gambit won’t want to miss this amazing debut set during World War II. A young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner, plays chess in exchange for her life, and in doing so fights to bring the man who destroyed her family to justice. Maria Florkowska is many … Read More The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
+ Cornwall, fiction, France, friendship, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mental health, review, World War One
The Visitors by Caroline Scott 
Esme Nicholls is to spend the summer in Cornwall. Her late husband Alec, who died fighting in the war, grew up in Penzance, and she’s hoping to learn more about the man she loved and lost. While there, she will stay with Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with his former brothers in arms. Esme is fascinated by this community of … Read More The Visitors by Caroline Scott 
+ fiction, India, literature, loss, love, magic, Magical realism, relationships, review, short stories, sisterhood, spirituality, supernatural, superstition
The Soul Catcher by Monica Bhide
Set in modern India in a dimension where time and space are fluid, Monica Bhide’s The Soul Catcher, a novel in stories, is a mosaic narrative about destiny, grief, loss, faith, love, and sisterhood. It takes us on a magical journey that begins with an unspeakable tragedy, and concludes with a surprising resolution. It chronicles the life of Yamini Goins — the Soul Catcher — … Read More The Soul Catcher by Monica Bhide
The Girl Downstairs by Iain Maitland
Rosie is homeless and winter is closing in. So she can’t believe her luck when a total stranger, Mr. Adams, invites her to stay. But Mr. Adams has a secret. He has chosen Rosie because she reminds him of someone very special from long ago. Maybe she can even help him recapture that distant happiness. #TheGirlDownstairs @iainmaitland @inkubatorbooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour Of course, she … Read More The Girl Downstairs by Iain Maitland
+ Covid, family, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, Galapagos, literature, loss, love, pandemic, relationships, review
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s … Read More Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
+ childhood, family, female friendship, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, literature, loss, love, review, secrets, sisters
The Unravelling by Polly Crosby
Tartelin has been employed by Marianne Stourbridge to hunt for butterflies, but she quickly uncovers something far more intriguing. The island and Marianne share a remarkable past, and what happened all those years ago has left its scars. The island has a strange effect on Tartelin, too, finally allowing her to confront her own, painful, memories. As she does, Marianne’s story begins to unravel … Read More The Unravelling by Polly Crosby
+ childhood, family, family drama, fiction, friendship, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, review, secrets
The Midwife’s Secret by Emily Gunnis
A little girl goes missing from Yew Tree Manor – the same house from which a girl vanished decades before. Does the key to the present lie buried even deeper in the past, in the forgotten history of an innocent midwife accused by a family of shocking betrayal? A gripping, heartwrenching story of love, loyalty and family secrets. When six-year-old Alice Hilton goes missing … Read More The Midwife’s Secret by Emily Gunnis
