A Mixed Bag of Books

It's been a while since I've added a new blog post.

I have a couple of book reviews ready to post but have to wait until nearer the publication date.  I have actually now read all the books on my NetGalley shelf!  It's difficult not to keep requesting books as there are so many with intriguing descriptions.  I really want to request them but I know I am likely to be busy between now and the Christmas holidays.

In the meantime I'll mention a few more books I've read - some for review and some simply for pleasure.


Thanksgiving by Mary R Arno

I very much enjoyed reading this beautifully written book although there are some heartbreaking and even shocking moments.

The book is set in Louisiana and begins in 1965 when the three principal characters are still girls, all from different backgrounds. We then get glimpses of them at various stages in their lives until an unexpected and shocking event decades later.

Mary R Arno cleverly shows how their lives and the lives of those around them all come to interconnect over the years and how the lies and deceits of the past lead to a shocking end.


The main events all take place around the Thanksgiving holiday.

I liked the (slightly) unusual device where the story is told in a third person narrative but then it changes to a first person voice so that we get the particular character's thoughts on the situation in more detail.

I found it easy to imagine the characters and locations and the believable dialogue flowed smoothly - a really well written book.

It's not a long book.  I read it immediately after struggling through the 900 + page book. Thanksgiving was the perfect antidote.

Author's website:   www.maryarno.com
Published:              26 November 2015

According to Yes by Dawn French

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Dawn French's new book from Good Housekeeping Book Room on Facebook.

It made a change having a physical hardcover book rather than a kindle edition.  Although it's nice to be able to turn pages it did take up more room in my bag (I like to read on bus journeys) and I think I appreciate the kindle app on my phone and tablet even more now.

This was quite a funny book.  You could definitely 'hear' Dawn French's voice.  I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like it, but it grew on me.

Rosie Kitto is a 38 year old primary school teacher who takes a job as nanny to a wealthy Manhattan Family.  The matriarch has very fixed ideas of what is acceptable and suitable and what is not.  Rosie proceeds to break all the rules and tries to bring some fun into the family's life.

The book is way over the top and into the realms of farce but it kept me entertained for a day!

More short reviews to follow ......

My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni

Sometimes I inadvertently do things back to front.  In an earlier blog I mentioned Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni.  That book was the second in a series of crime thrillers set in the Seattle area.  It was a good book that I enjoyed without having read the first in the series.

I have now managed to read the first book in the series,  My Sister's Grave.

This book was just as good.  I liked the characters (some of whom I had met in the second book of the series) and the pace of the story was good.  Like "Her Final Breath", there is no slow start - the action starts almost immediately and interest is maintained throughout.

Tracy Crosswhite is a homicide detective.  Her sister Sarah had disappeared, and was believed murdered 20 years previously.  Tracey has spent those years questioning the facts surrounding her sister's disappearance and the trial of Edmund House who was convicted of the murder.  She thinks they may have convicted the wrong person.

When human remains are found near the town where Tracy's family lived, they are identified as her sister's remains. Tracy decides to investigate further and to get the answers she has been seeking. There are a few twists and turns and shocks along the way.

The story is told in the present (after the remains are found) and in the past (the events leading up to and following her sister's disappearance) but the shifts in time are clear.

I actually don't read a lot of crime thrillers (I just happen to have read more of them recently).  I enjoyed this one, and once I had started reading it I found it hard to put down.

Apparently there is a third book in the series due out in May 2016.



Author website:    www.robertdugoni.com

The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne

At last I've managed to clear my Netgalley reading list.  There are so many books I want to read and just not enough time. Two of the books will be published in December and February so I'll probably write about them in a future blog.

Since clearing that shelf I've managed to read a book that I bought from Amazon a couple of months ago and I'm halfway through another one.

The Secret Life & Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne by Andrew Nicoll is a gem of a book.  It's an Edwardian murder mystery set in the town of Broughty Ferry in Scotland.

October 1912.  The body of a wealthy spinster is found in a locked house.  She has shocking wounds and it seems obvious she has been brutally murdered in a frenzy.  Nothing seems to have been stolen however.

The characters in the book are well drawn -  from the rather pompous Chief Constable, the hard working local sergeant and the detective brought in from Glasgow to help track down the murderer to the local worthies.

It is written in such a way that you can easily imagine the characters and locations.

When I bought this book for kindle on Amazon about three months ago it cost 49 pence  (I think it is still that price).  It is probably the best 49 pence I have spent this year.

Apparently the book is based on fact.  There really was a murder in October 1912 in Broughty Ferry but the killer was never found.  Andrew Nicoll has created a wonderful work of fiction based on the known facts.

There are a few twists and turns along the way and a rather surprising ending that I hadn't suspected.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of Victorian/Edwardian murder mysteries.