The Book Post – May

Alrighty, it’s been a big month of reading with five books that in any other month would win my “Read of the Month” award, so let’s get stuck into it!

Fiction

A Death In The Parish by the Rev Richard Coles

It’s been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart. As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new tide of unwanted change.But church politics soon become the least of Daniel’s problems. His mother – headstrong, fearless Audrey – is obviously up to something, something she is determined to keep from him. And she is not the only one.And then all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing…

A sequel to Murder Before Evensong, the mystery this time was more compelling, and while I had my suspicions as to whodunnit, the whydunnit was a complete surprise. I look forward to Canon Clement’s next adventure.

The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris

Scottish Highlands, 1727.

In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.

Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack. It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn’t known since her father’s death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth and whispers more dangerous even than fire.

When I picked this one up, I’d not long completed my research into the English witch trials as background for my current Philly novel, so I suppose I had the facts. I’d also Googled the main character and her mother. This story provided the substance to those cold facts.

To say there were several times when I had to do the reading equivalent of covering my eyes would be an understatement, and there were times when I didn’t know if I could go on – knowing how I thought it ended. None of that takes away from how good this book is. Did I enjoy it? No. Do I think you should read it? Absolutely.

The List of Suspicious Things, by Jennie Godfrey

Yorkshire, 1979

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list- a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

Told from the POV of 12-year-old Miv (at least, I think she’s 12), the action takes place against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders. But it’s more than a coming-of-age story; it’s also about class, race, friendship and community – and it’s brilliant. This would easily be my read of the month in any other month.

The Long Weekend, by Veronica Henry

In a gorgeous quayside hotel in Cornwall, the long weekend is just beginning . . .

Claire Marlowe owns ‘The Townhouse by the Sea’ with Luca, the hotel’s charismatic chef. She ensures that everything runs smoothly – until an unexpected arrival checks in and turns her whole world upside-down.

The rest of the guests arrive with their own baggage. There’s a couple looking for distraction from a family tragedy; a man trying to make amends for an affair he bitterly regrets . . .and the young woman who thinks the Cornish village might hold the key to her past.

Here are affairs of the heart, secrets, lies and scandal – all wrapped up in one long, hot weekend.

Veronica Henry is now a go-to author for me, although this one was published back in 2012 (it was initially going to be my “published in the year of the dragon” choice in the 2024 reading challenge).

I could smell the salty air and hear the gulls – and felt like I’d been on my own Cornish long weekend by the time I finished. Another contender for Read of the Month.

Finding Hope In Starshine Cove, by Debbie Johnson

Lucy Brown has spent years hiding from the world, as far away as she could get from her old life – and her ex-husband – back in London. But when she reluctantly agrees to leave her safe haven to attend her old friend Ella’s wedding in Starshine Cove, little does she know what’s in store for her down in Dorset…

When a chance airport encounter with a handsome stranger unexpectedly leads to a deeper connection, Lucy finds her trip becoming much more than just a last-minute holiday. But then her dark past comes knocking, just as she always feared it would. Will the magic of Starshine Cove be enough to heal the hurts that Lucy has carried with her all these years, or has this one-of-a-kind village by the sea finally met its match?

Okay, can I just say this feel-good very relevant novel was another contender for Read of the Month and move on? Good.

The Wedding of the Year, by Jill Mansell

It’s set to be the perfect wedding – till the chauffeur is asked to keep driving the bride round the church. This wedding is not going as planned.

Lottie is a guest at the wedding when she sees Max for the first time in fifteen years. No kiss since has matched their last kiss together. They were on the brink of a beautiful love story. Then something shocking happened that tore them apart. Now here he is, handsome as ever, teasing Lottie in the old way – and that tingling electric attraction is back. But Max is out of bounds.

Ruby has been the perfect vicar’s wife. But when she finds out the truth about her husband Peter, outrage and disbelief drive her to act impulsively, without a thought for the consequences. And nothing will ever be the same again. There will be a wedding of the year – but maybe not yet. When love is in the air, anything can happen . . 

Another go-to author, another contender for Read of the Month until it was just pipped at the post by …

The Happiest Ever After, by Milly Johnson

Polly Potter is surviving, not thriving. She used to love her job – until her mentor died and her new boss decided to make her life hell. She used to love her partner Chris – until he cheated on her, and now she can’t forget. The only place where her life is working is on the pages of the novel she is writing – there she can create a feistier, bolder, more successful version of herself – as the ­fictional Sabrina Anderson.

But what if it was possible to start over again? To leave everything behind, forget all that went before, and live the life you’d always dreamed of?

After a set of unforeseen circumstances, Polly ends up believing she really IS Sabrina, living at the heart of a noisy Italian family restaurant by the sea. Run by Teddy, the son of her new landlady Marielle, it’s a much-loved place, facing threat of closure as a rival restaurant moves in next door. Sabrina can’t remember her life as Polly, but she knows she is living a different life from the one she used to have.

But what if this new life could belong to her after all?

Damn you Milly Johnson. I stayed up way too late reading this. I was still reading the following day at a time when I usually read the news and have a cup of tea. I was early to the chiropractors, so I read some more – and I was annoyed when my chiro called me in on time. Then, with just 10 minutes of reading time left (according to my Kindle), Grant was early to pick me up. Yes, you guessed it – this was my Read of the Month.

Bookclub

Howards End, by E.M. Forster

‘Only connect…’

A chance acquaintance brings together the preposterous bourgeois Wilcox family and the clever, cultured and idealistic Schlegel sisters. As clear-eyed Margaret develops a friendship with Mrs Wilcox, the impetuous Helen brings into their midst a young bank clerk named Leonard Bast, who lives at the edge of poverty and ruin. When Mrs Wilcox dies, her family discovers that she wants to leave her country home, Howards End, to Margaret. Thus as Forster sets in motion a chain of events that will entangle three different families, he brilliantly portrays their aspirations to personal and social harmony.

For me, the beauty of this novel lay in the time it was written – those Edwardian years before WW1 swept through and changed everything. Classes were beginning to change; cars and horse carriages would appear on the same London streets; new ideas were being expressed. The Wilcox’s represent the old way and business, the Schlegel sisters represent culture, literature and the new ideas of the burgeoning Bloomsbury set. Who will come out on top?

Afterwards, I watched the 1992 movie (starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins as Margaret Schlegel and Henry Wilcox) and the 2017 TV series (starring Hayley Atwell and Matthew MacFadyen as Margaret and Henry). While I’d never understood how Margaret could fall in love with Anthony Hopkin’s Henry, I certainly had no problems with MacFadyen in the role.

Non Fiction

Marketing Books to Australian Libraries by Ebony McKenna

This is my first craft book for the year, and wow, I have some homework from this one. For everyone who tosses a throwaway line to me that goes something like, ‘you should get your books into libraries,’ or ‘I don’t understand why you don’t have your books in libraries,’ let me tell you it’s not as easy as rocking up to the door with a copy and sweet talking the lovely librarian into taking it. In fact, as I’ve found out, that’s absolutely what you should not do.

Cookbook

Italian Coastal, by Amber Guinness

Kali the wonder spaniel has again chosen well in her Mother’s Day gift to me. I’m looking forward to reading the stories in this one – and cooking some of the beautiful (mostly) veg-centric dishes.

Your turn…

Deb, Donna, Sue, and I would love you to share what you’ve been reading…the linky is below.

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