Murder by Natural Causes - Helen Erichsen

Description

A double life with a single purpose, getting away with murder. Cilla is a 22-year-old contract killer, specialising in the dry job: a murder interpreted as death by natural causes. Her main client, Vladimir Haugr, is the owner of TGR's bridge club in London. In return for a flat, a retainer and expenses, Cilla does five jobs a year. She occasionally works freelance. Neither strong, nor beautiful, Cilla isn't your typical female protagonist. In fact, she is so unremarkable as to render her almost invisible, an advantage in her line of work. She has survived because she is clever, stubborn and lucky. But Cilla knows that, statistically, her luck is about to run out. She must find a way to reinvent herself. Soon.

Review

If you like Killing Eve then I think you will really enjoy this book.

Cilla is a contract killer and her client Haugr owns a bridge club. The beginning of the book focusses a lot on the bridge playing aspect,  it may deter you from reading on if you aren't into gambling. This doesn't last very long and you don't really need to understand bridge to make sense of the rest of the book.

The storyline is dual in that we visit Cilla in her youth and find out about her upbringing, and what has led her to the present day career. A career Cilla has decided doesn't have a long term future for her. At only 22 she's already killed a lot of people and got away with it. But she wants something else for her life before she gets caught. 

She might only be 22 but her character has such depth and has lived on her wits for so long that she has a maturity of someone much older. I really liked her character and was intrigued by her methods of delivering the hits her freelance clients desire. 

It's a fast paced read and a real page turner. I was interested to find out if Cilla really could outwit everyone or would she finally be turned on by those she works for.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Pigeonhole for the readalong of this book.

The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

 

Description

The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

Review

A magical and enchanting read.

The book is set over two time lines. One begins in the 1920s and the other is present day. There are three narrators and we see the story through their experiences. 

The story is very surreal, which will not appeal to everyone. However, it is not all magic and fairy tales. There are some very real abuse against women issues explored, and they aren't sugar coated. My emotions flitted between calmness, interest and disgust as I read. Appreciation for the wonderful writing was my overall feeling though. How the author imagined all of this story within a story is amazing. 

There are some strong female characters in the book, which I liked. Opaline in particular is not really of her era with her views and vision. Henry in the present time line reminded me of someone from the 1920s. At times I wondered if that was to be the twist, of which towards the end there were a few. When the final twist did come I was open mouthed as I had not figured that one out at all.

A great read, particularly if you like books within books and a bit of a mystery too. I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to One More Chapter and Netgalley for the ARC to review and for the invite to the #readalong this week.