FREEBIES

Oops. Something went wrong here.  This post had reverted to draft.  It was written in the early part of August, certainly long before 25 August!

I've spent the past couple of weeks mainly reading 'free' downloads for Kindle.

I used to trawl through the Amazon 100 bestsellers (free) for Kindle.  I would 'buy' all sorts of books in the hope of finding a wee gem - and quite often there would be a book that was an excellent read.

There were others of course that were not so good, thankfully though not too many that were completely unreadable.

As I said before, nowadays I use Bookbub and The Book Hippo.  I get a daily email from each of those offering books that are either free or great bargains. Sometimes the 'bargain' is for a very limited time.   I set the criteria for books offered.  Both sites are easy to use, even my 80 year old mother can now download her Kindle books easily.

So this weeks's books were The Good Lawyer by Thomas Benigno.  A typical courtroom/crime story but a good read.  A young, ambitious lawyer, brought up with connections to the Mafia, serial rapist/murderer and the suicide of a young victim, family secrets - all cleverly connected.  I bought this book for free but I think you now have to pay.

I also read The Good Sister by Leanne Davis.  Also free when I bought it.  Again it was a good read. I suppose it is a romance but the main character is a victim of domestic abuse who is unable to escape  /leave her controlling husband.  Apparently it is the second book in a series but it was still enjoyable even although I hadn't read the first book.

Lindsay is the sister who seems to have the success: nice house, handsome husband who intends to run for state governor. Growing up she was her Father's favourite daughter and always tried her best to please him.   However she is basically a prisoner and can only do what her monster of a husband allows. She also suffers frequent vicious assaults at his hands.

Jessie on the other hand had a very troubled rebellious childhood and was hated by her father.  She now lives on the other side of the country with her husband and is expecting a baby.  She also works for a good looking vet.  Somehow her sister Lindsay is permitted to visit her sister.  Over a few weeks she blossoms and begins to find her voice.  Of course there is that good looking man.

It's a well written book, making it easy to read although the subject matter makes it quite difficult to read without feeling angry, sad, frustrated.

The book is also quite explicit so is really only suitable for adults.

I also managed to fit in another couple of books that I actully paid for.

One was The Shadow Wife by Diane Chamberlain.  I think this might be one of her earlier books but it was still enjoyable.  Her books tend to have some kind of moral dilemma.  I would say this was good romantic fiction with that dilemma.

The other book was Still Alice by Lisa Genova.  I loved this book. I haven't watched the film and I'm not sure if I will.  The book is well written and although you might think it would be depressing (it's about a Harvard Professor who is diagnosed with Alzheimers at the age of 50) I didn't find it so.  The diagnosis changes her relationships with her husband and grown children, she has to stop working sooner than she had planned,

Unfortunately Alzheimers is something that seems to be touching the lives of more and more people. I just found this book remarkable and I would definitely recommend it.

NOT MUCH WORK DONE TODAY!

I've been under the weather with a bit of a head cold but I did manage to finish an advance copy of The Tea Planter's Wife (Dinah Jefferies).  It's a great book.  In fact I sat up until 2 in the morning to finish it.  The book kept me interested right to the end.

It's set in Ceylon in the 1920s and 30s.  Gwen is a young bride who has just arrived in Ceylon to join her husband.

It a bit of a culture shock to say the least.  Her husband is occupied with plantation business and as he is often away he has an estate manager.  Gwen is told she is in charge of the household including the inside servants.  She is not to concern herself with the plantation workers.  She does.  She helps one who is injured and it is made very clear to her she must not interfere.  She is horrified by the racism she sees.

There are secrets.  Her husband was married before but his wife and child died.  No one will talk about this.

She soon falls pregnant and gives birth to a healthy son. Gwen has to make a very difficult choice. This gives rise to more secrets.  However her husband is happy he has a boy.  I'm not going to give any more away.

The books is really well written.  The author is very good at describing locations and giving you a sense of place.   It is complex enough to make it good story but not so complicated that you give up.  I think this is probably one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year.

I NEED MORE TIME

I need more time!  I have 3 books waiting to be read, two via NetGalley and one that I bought on Amazon.

The one I am currently reading is Madeleine's Kiss by Peter Gilboy. The cover says "A love Story of Suspense" - and it certainly is.  The story is told in the first person and the storyteller is a professor of art history, Adam Snow.

He seems rather strange.  There is calmness about the book but it seems a false calm and there are underlying tensions.

We learn there has been an incident, possibly involving the disappearance of 'Madeleine'.  The book opens with Adam Snow writing his account of the events leading to his arrest and trial.  The Jury are out and he is waiting to hear their verdict. He hasn't taken the stand during the trial.

We can't be sure if Adam Snow is lying or not.  He gives an explanation for everything that has happened (not necessarily in chronological order) but is it the truth or something that he believes is true or a complete lie?  His explanations are plausible and could be the truth.  He suggests that witnesses didn't see what actually happened. There is no doubt they did see the events that have led to him appearing in court but perhaps they have somehow added details that didn't actually happen.

Is 'Madeleine' real, or imaginary, or a ghost.  She is also rather a strange character if we are to believe Adam Snow.   Or is he just completely off his head?

The book is certainly suspenseful.  I wanted to read to the end to find out what actually happened.  On   the other hand it wasn't one of those books that you just couldn't put down, (you know, the book you read until 2 or 3 in the morning just to finish it) not initially at least,  I was probably just over-tired last week.  I certainly enjoyed the story.

 I found it gripping (I think that's the word I want).  It's certainly different to the books I usually read and I would be happy to read more by this author.  The writing style was good - easy to read and easy to imagine the locations and even the 'action'.   The dialogue was believable in a crazy sort of way. The suspense is kept up all the way to the end. I really liked this book.