Tag: loss
+ childhood, depression, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friends, friendship, grief, loss, love, marriage, mental health, motherhood, review
Em & Me by Beth Morrey
A mother. A daughter. A secret waiting to be uncovered. The day that Delphine stands up for herself is the day that changes everything… For too long, Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting her daughter, Em, and clinging to a secret that has cast a shadow over their lives. When a chance encounter offers a way out, … Read More Em & Me by Beth Morrey
+ Catholic Church, crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, fifties, friendship, illegitimacy, Ireland, loss, love, motherhood, murder, police drama, rape, religion, review, serial killer, sisters, sixties, thriller
Blood Mothers by Gaye Maguire
Some debts can only be paid in blood. A rich socialite is found hacked to death in her Dublin home. It’s the beginning of a killing spree that leaves five apparently unconnected people brutally slain. Kate Hamilton, a brilliant and ambitious detective sergeant, is assigned to the case and soon uncovers the connection between the victims – they were all involved in an illegal adoption … Read More Blood Mothers by Gaye Maguire
+ crime fiction, fiction, grief, loss, love, motherhood, obsession, retreat, revenge, review, superstition, Sweden, University
The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore
I release myself from the shackles of the outside world and embrace the wilderness within. As Bella drops her son off at university, she’s devastated. It’s been the two of them ever since Asher was born. The only thing helping her through is the upcoming week-long wilderness retreat in Sweden. It’ll be her chance to reconnect and recharge. At the retreat, Bella basks in … Read More The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore
+ family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, fifties, forgiveness, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, museum, pandemic, relationships, review, World War Two
Dark Enough To See The Stars by Beth Duke
The long-awaited sequel to bestseller and book club favorite It All Comes Back To You has arrived! Violet Glenn. Everybody loved her. In 1946, that included her boyfriend’s best friend, Sam Davidson. Ronni Johnson wrote a book about Violet. It changed her life. Now she’s back working as a registered nurse at Fairfield Springs, loving her patients and her job. She doesn’t have another … Read More Dark Enough To See The Stars by Beth Duke
+ childhood, Dogs, feel-good, fiction, friends, friendship, homelessness, humour fiction, loneliness, loss, review
Lost & Found by James Gould Bourn
Ronnie has resigned himself to a life of loneliness. His life in the crumbling seaside town of Bingham-on-Sea never seemed that bad, but since the loss of his father, the highlights of Ronnie’s solitary days include manning the lost property office at the bus station where he works, and plaguing his local GP with increasingly outlandish ailments. Forgotten or underestimated by all those around him, … Read More Lost & Found by James Gould Bourn
+ abuse, alcoholism, brothers, childhood, domestic noir, family, fantasy, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, folklore, forgiveness, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, List, literature, loss, love, music, paranormal, piano, relationships, review, secrets, sisterhood, sisters, slavery, suffragette movement, supernatural, superstition, tradition, whimsical
My Top 4 Books of 2022
It’s approaching the very end of 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of the year. Last year it was hard but this year is even harder. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to four. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read … Read More My Top 4 Books of 2022
+ abuse, adventure, childhood, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, grief, Historical fiction, List, literature, London, loss, love, Magical realism, mental health, motherhood, murder, mystery, police drama, religion, revenge, review, secrets, short stories, short story, sisters, supernatural, thriller, twins
My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
Here are my favourite eight books of the final quarter of 2022. One of these will make it into my top four books of 2022 (I just couldn’t cut it down to three this year). The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw This is the book I have been waiting for! A gothic tale of sinister goings-on, mysterious disappearances, hauntings and macabre artefacts with special powers. … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
+ crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, Magical realism, revenge, review, secrets, supernatural, thriller
Dragonfly Summer by J H Moncrieff
No small town’s secrets can stay buried for long. Moncrieff digs into the treachery of memory and the power of female friendships… Dragonfly Summer is a gripping thriller that asks: What happens when the past comes back to haunt you? #DragonflySummer #JHMoncrieff @flametreepress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Jo Carter never thought she’d return to Clear Springs, Minnesota. But when the former journalist receives a cryptic note about … Read More Dragonfly Summer by J H Moncrieff
+ family, feminism, fiction, girl's school, grief, Historical fiction, literature, London, loss, love, mental health, motherhood, music, psychiatrist, relationships, review, sisters, twins
The Crooked Little Pieces: Volume 2 by Sophia Lambton
Mind the gap between youth’s pedestal and looming adulthood. Two years have passed since Anneliese and Isabel braved the bombardment of the Blitz. Risks are resumed and revelations rattle as the past begins to rear its ugly head. Suffering sends Isabel on downward spirals; Anneliese falls victim to society’s expectations. Skeletons come tumbling from Susanna’s closet and for some the sex-and-death divide grows thinner. … Read More The Crooked Little Pieces: Volume 2 by Sophia Lambton
+ abuse, bullying, childhood, crime fiction, family, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, murder, relationships, review
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
The most compelling, challenging and contemporary novel you will read this year – and which will start conversations we need to have around authenticity, identity and gender. From the bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan comes a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves. Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return … Read More Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, grief, loss, murder, police drama, revenge, review, serial killer, thriller
The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave
How can you catch a killerWhen the only evidence is a dream…? James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all … Read More The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave
+ female friendship, fiction, friendship, loss, psychiatric hospital, review, secrets, sisters, thriller
The Clinic by Sally Ann Martyn
Would you go to a beauty clinic that promises to transform your life? If you’re prepared to put the work in. It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. An all-inclusive stay at a top-of-the-line wellness retreat for a month of pampering and luxury. Not just anyone gets in. Guests are hand selected. #TheClinic @sallyannemartyn @JoffeBooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour They promise big results: a total transformation. All you … Read More The Clinic by Sally Ann Martyn
