Tag: secrets
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle. That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and … Read More The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, murder mystery, Nordic noir, review, Scandi noir, secrets, thriller
Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
Translated by Don Bartlett Fresh from rehab, PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues… PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when three … Read More Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
+ 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
+ childhood, family, fashion, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, love, marriage, motherhood, murder mystery, Nigeria, obsession, relationships, revenge, review, secrets, sisterhood
Wahala by Nikki May
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though not all of them choose to see it that way. Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full … Read More Wahala by Nikki May
+ fiction, France, friendship, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, mystery, mythology, novel-in-emails, relationships, review, secrets, sisters, supernatural, twins, whimsical, writers, writers group
My Top 3 Books of 2021
It’s January 1st 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my three favourite books of 2021. Last year it was hard but not impossible. There were instant standouts. This year I have found it much harder. I have tried to include a mix of genres but I’ve definitely failed. Maybe I should simply call them all slightly ‘whimsical’. And if that is not where … Read More My Top 3 Books of 2021
+ community, crime fiction, dark humour, diary, family, fiction, jealousy, journal, marriage, mystery, obsession, review, secrets, thriller
I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson
What if all your neighbours’ secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep?What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary? What if the police asked if you knew anything? Would you hand over the book of secrets? Or … would you try to find out what everyone had done? I Know What You’ve … Read More I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson
+ 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
+ childhood, crime fiction, family, fiction, murder, murder mystery, Psychological fiction, review, secrets, thriller
Her Perfect Secret by TJ Brearton
It’s him. Tom. The boy whose mother I helped put in prison for life. I recognise the sharp nose and flare to the nostrils. His thick eyebrows and defined cheekbones. But mostly it’s the eyes. Sea green. But my daughter, Joni, keeps calling him Michael. And they’re here at the lake house telling us they’re getting married. It can’t be him. But even if … Read More Her Perfect Secret by TJ Brearton
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
+ 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
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