Tag: family
+ 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
+ family, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, loss, love, motherhood, review, sisterhood, suffragette movement, war, World War One
The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams
In 1901, the word ‘Bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it. Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the ‘Scriptorium’, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. … Read More The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams
+ 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
+ child abduction, family, female friendship, fiction, friends, grief, jealousy, journalist, kidnapping, lies, London, marriage, motherhood, obsession, Psychological fiction, revenge, review, secrets, sisters, stalker, thriller, University
No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara
No one saw it happen. You stand on a crowded tube platform in London. Your two little girls jump on the train ahead of you. As you try to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away, leaving you behind. Everyone is lying. By the time you get to the next stop, you’ve convinced yourself that everything will be fine. But … Read More No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara
+ family, fiction, forgiveness, grief, lies, obsession, Psychological fiction, revenge, review, secrets, stalker, thriller
I Know Who You Are by Mark Gillespie
Rowan Wilson has finally escaped her dark past. Or so she thinks. Rowan Wilson has humiliated another woman online. But she took it too far and caused a shocking tragedy which rocked her hometown to the core. Rowan is advised to leave – quickly. She’s given a new identity and, desperate to make up for the damage she’s caused, works hard to redeem herself.Now … Read More I Know Who You Are by Mark Gillespie
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit 