The Guest List - Lucy Foley

 

Description

Another murder. Another mystery.

 
The brand new thriller from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.

On a remote island, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.
 
Old friends.
Past grudges.
 
Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.
 
Thirteen guests.
One body.
 
The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.

All have a secret. All have a motive.
One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

Review

I was eager to read this book after loving the author's previous book The Hunting Party. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much though. It has again the classic Agatha Christie feel to the plot. A Wedding party on a remote island - bad weather and not too good a phone signal, help to make it feel more like the 1920's than the 2020's and ensure that the plot thickens.

I understand the scene needs to be set, but for me the first half of the book went on for far too long and needed some serious editing. Flipping between the different mainly over privileged characters, who I cared nothing for, in fact at one point I wouldn't have minded if they had all been killed off. The book also flips between now, then, the day before and several months and weeks before. You have to keep up to get a handle on what you think might be happening.

Then it happened - the action and the red herrings and everything began to get interesting and moved it up in my estimation. Just like that all the red herrings then began to be tied off a little too neatly, too many coincidences and I was a little disappointed in this book.

I'm giving this book three out of four stars. My thanks to netgalley for an ARC to review.

Orfeia - Joanne M Harris

 

I am absolutely delighted to be on the book tour today.

Published in hardback by Gollancz on 3rd September 2020, £14.99 

The stunning new novella from No 1 bestselling author Joanne Harris: Orfeia is a  gender-flipped retelling of the Orpheus Myth, beautifully illustrated by  Bonnie Helen Hawkins 

Description

When you can find me an acre of land,
Every sage grows merry in time,
Between the ocean and the sand
Then will you be united again.
(Inspired by The Child Ballads 2 & 19)

So begins a beautiful and tragic quest as a heartbroken mother sets out to save her lost daughter, through the realms of the real, of dream, and even into the underworld itself.

But determination alone is not enough. For to save something precious, she must give up something precious, be it a song, a memory, or her freedom itself . . .

Beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, this is a stunning and original modern fairytale.

Review

I recommend getting the hardback copy of this book to read. The beautiful gilding on the cover and the gorgeous end papers ensure the fairytale begins even before you start to read!

Once you do commence reading you will be immersed into a fairytale for grown ups set amongst familiar London landmarks such as Kings Cross and Piccadilly. For me this contemporary setting meant whilst being a fairytale, it had some anchors in places I knew and could picture. For the underworld London, which had such charming names as London Beyond and London Beneath there are beautiful illustrations to help you imagine that world.

Fay's daughter Daisy has died and Fay doesn't feel like she belongs in this world anymore without her. She has a grief councillor who isn't helping and she goes running at night to try and forget. Is everything that happens to her just a dream, or is she really in an underworld with a chance to find and bring back her daughter?

When Fay first arrives in London Beyond she thinks there must have been a power cut, for she can see the stars, and there are no stars visible in London. It's these modern day references that really brought the story alive for me and I believed in a world that is just out of our grasp through the cracks in the pavement. 

This novella whilst not long should not in my opinion be rushed. I looked forward to delving between the covers and into the amazing and detailed illustrations each time. It was so delicious, like slipping into a bath of warm chocolate. Like all good fairytales there is darkness and light. I can see the similarities to the tale of Orpheus, however this modern twist brings home the feelings of loss and grief in a more accessible way. 

The name of the author may seem familiar to you? - it is of course Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame and whilst she has added the "M" for this series of books, you can be assured as always of a wonderfully expressive written book.

I'm giving this delightful and charming book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours and Joanne M Harris for a copy of this beautifully bound book to review.

Praise for Joanne’s previous novellas: 

“It may be a little book, but it has considerable power to enchant” – METRO on A Pocketful of Crows 

“Love, treachery, the call of the ocean: this wintry modern fairy tale features all three… perfect for anyone who  loves a good story.” MAIL ON SUNDAY on The Blue Salt Road

Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French writer, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. CHOCOLAT has sold over a million copies in the UK alone and was a global bestseller. She is an Honorary Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Cambridge, and in 2013 was awarded an MBE by the Queen. Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She plays bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16 and runs the musical storytelling show Storytime. Joanne lives with her husband in Yorkshire, about 15 miles from the place she was born. Find out more at www.joanne-harris.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @Joannechocolat

My Sister the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

Description

When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This'll be the third boyfriend Ayoola's dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede's long been in love with him, and isn't prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other...

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a blackly comic novel about how blood is thicker - and more difficult to get out of the carpet - than water...

Review

At 240 pages this didn't take me long to read. But is there ever a lot packed into those pages. Korede's sister has murdered her boyfriend, it's happened before and this leads Korede to Google, "how many murders makes a serial killer?" - the answer "three or more", so it's official her sister is a serial killer.

Set in Lagos, Nigeria this book tells the tale of Korede and her sister Ayoola. Korede has always been blamed by her mother for anything that Ayoola gets wrong, she's the older sister and should be looking out for her. So, it's unlikely she can share with her Mother what's happened for the third time. She does though share it with a patient whose in a coma in her hospital. Then there's the Dr that Korede hankers after, but nothing will come of that now he's seen her sister, will he become another one of her victims?

I'm not one for reading about serial murders but I felt this could be taken with a pinch of salt so to speak, it felt at times a little farcical even. There is a more serious side to the story when we learn more about the girl's backstory. When I got to the last page I turned to read the next page - it didn't feel like an ending, so I read it again. Actually it was a brilliant ending. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Borrowbox and my local library for lending me the ebook.

The Bookseller's Tale - Martin Latham

 

Description

'Entertaining, erudite, eccentric - The Bookseller's Tale is a delight' Alison Light, author of Common People: The History of an English Family

'The right book has a neverendingness, and so does the right bookshop.'

This is the story of our love affair with books, whether we arrange them on our shelves, inhale their smell, scrawl in their margins or just curl up with them in bed. Taking us on a journey through comfort reads, street book stalls, mythical libraries, itinerant pedlars, radical pamphleteers, extraordinary bookshop customers and fanatical collectors, Canterbury bookseller Martin Latham uncovers the curious history of our book obsession - and his own.

Part cultural history, part literary love letter and part reluctant memoir, this is the tale of one bookseller and many, many books.

Review

I'm not sure I am going to be able to do this book justice in my review, because it is just absolutely brilliant. Straightaway the book led me to other books I haven't heard of and now need to read. As well it provided me with an education in book history I was clearly lacking.

I detest folded corners in books and cannot bring myself to write in them either, despite being encouraged to do so by my past tutors. I now learn that folding corners used to be seen as a feminine device and that marginalia used to be a very big thing. It even used to be that people cut their favourite passages out of books and pasted them into commonplace books with their own thoughts. I also learnt (amongst so many other things) that In ancient times libraries were attached to bath houses - and the free browsing of libraries is akin to mindfulness. 

It appears books have been treated very shodily at times through the ages. One of the worst I was shocked to read about was in 1535, when the Parlement de Paris banned printing and burned twenty-three people associated with the book trade, not before earlier having ordered books to be burnt. A real life Farenheit 451.

"The Decameron" is not a book I had heard of, but when I read that in the past it was laid down that it was "not to be lent to women" I thought I needed to know more. It's this kind of snippet that has led me down a rabbit hole looking for books that reference other books and then when I get to the end of the book, I find several pages of sources - more book hunting.

There is so much knowledge in this book and I was reading it until my eyes hurt, I did not want to put it down. Surely this needs to be made into a TV documentary, it would be fascinating. I'm struggling to remember it all, luckily it's in this book and I will be referring to it in the future and re-reading. My favourite part of the book is the section on Bookshops in New York and a quote from my favourite film "You've Got Mail", it doesn't get much better than this.

The author ran the Canterbury Waterstone's bookshop and underneath it was discovered a Roman mosaic. An image that will stay with me is of the author reclining in a hammock suspended over the mosaic floor and then overhearing a customer's query, answering them through the wall. Thus providing the customer with what must have seemed like an outerworld experience, although apparently one customer did think there was a portal to another world within the bookshop anyway. So many anecdotes that were truly entertaining. 

This is an eloquently written book with more than a taste of humour that was a pleasure to read. I want to talk to everyone about it now and share all that I've learnt. I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and penguinrandomehouse for the ARC to review. 

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

 

Description

Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

Review

The Midnight Library is a place between life and death and so to get there you must be about to die and that is what Nora has chosen to do. Except she doesn't realise that she will end up in the library with Mrs Elm the librarian, who  helps her to choose and check out books that will enable her to live the lives she might have had.....

A little bit of Sliding Doors and Ken Grimwood's Replay, Nora gets to live alternative versions of her life. Each time she lived one I kept wanting it to be the one, for it to be the one that contained what she was looking for. I also got anxious that in each life she didn't know some of the people, what they did or she did and how was she going to be able to bluff her way through her life?

There are certainly lessons to be learned from this book. It's more than a novel, it's philosophical and self help too all to discover within it's pages. I did end up in tears at the the very end and so really have to give this book five out of five stars. 

My thanks to borrowbox and my library for the loan of the book to read.

Unravelled - Briony Marshall @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours @brionywrites @thewritinghall

 

Excited to be a part of the book tour for this book today.

Synopsis:

“For crying out loud! I can’t even cast on now.”

Claire has never unravelled anything before, being a confident knitter. But now, to her dismay, everything she creates is a disaster, riddled with dropped stitches and glaring holes. It’s almost as if her hands have a mind of their own. Maybe it’s because her longest relationship to date has just ended, or perhaps it has something to do with the fact her career is on the ropes.

“Don’t get frustrated with your needles! The problem lies with the knitter, not the knitting,” said Adrian, owner of Oddballs wool shop. Following his advice, in the desperate hope it will cure her woolly woes, Claire begins to turn her life around. Her grand plan involves FishTank, the online dating site. She convinces Adrian that if they sign up and find love, their problems will be solved (and she’ll have at least one area of her life sorted!). The trouble starts when he has far more luck in the romance department than she does.

But it’s little wonder Claire can’t throw herself into dating. She’s already found her perfect match.

A must-read for avid knitters and those with a passion for crafting, this comical yarn will melt any reader’s heart.

Will they? Won't they? Romance enthusiasts will be rooting for the pair to be knitted together, forever!

Review:

Being a crafter and having done my fair share of knitting over the years this book appealed to me immediately. You don't have to be a crafter or knitter to enjoy the book though. But the bits where I melted at the description of yarns, their colours and a wool shop, might not be quite the same for you!

The book begins with Claire (28) having a domestic with her boyfriend of two years, it doesn't go well and so she's on Fish Tank (an online dating site) looking for Mr Right. But before that she goes looking for a self help book and literally bumps into Adrian. When she asked him what he did and he replied he owned a wool shop, I might have let out a little squeal of delight! 

What follows is a will they won't they romance of a novel between two knitters.Complete with a wool shop and a stitch and bitch group of which some maturer members even have knitting inspired tattoos! To say I loved it would be an understatement. Once the wool shop appeared I never put the book down until I had finished reading it to the end.

If you are looking for a crafting hug along with a comical look at life, then this is the read for you. If you are a crafter then really all I can say is just read it. Only don't get too downhearted that you don't have a local wool shop like the one in the book or even an owner like Adrian to go with it.

I'm giving this book four out of five stars. My thanks to Love Book Tours and Briony for my copy to review.

Author Bio:

Briony Marshall s an author from the West Midlands in the UK. She is a graduate of the University of Wolverhampton with a degree in 'Creative and Professional Writing with English'. Briony currently lives at home with her mum, dad, fiancé and fur brother: Bob the Dog. When Briony is not writing, she’s crafting, and when she’s not crafting, she’s drinking coffee.

Buy Link: 

http://hallgoodbooks.com/product/unravelled/

@lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours @brionywrites @thewritinghall

Eight Dectectives - Alex Pavesi

 

Description

'When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over' A. J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

'I couldn't put Eight Detectives down . . . I genuinely wanted to applaud at the end' Alex North, bestselling author of The Whisper Man

All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked them all out.

But that was thirty years ago. Now he's living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island - until Julia Hart, a sharp, ambitious editor, knocks on his door. His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories: an author, hiding from his past, and an editor, keen to understand it.

But as she reads, Julia is unsettled to realise that there are things in the stories that don't make sense. Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder, one that's remained unsolved for thirty years.

If Julia wants answers, she must triumph in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary. But she must tread carefully: she knows there's a mystery, but she doesn't yet realise there's already been a murder...

Review

You certainly get value for money in this book, as it contains several murder mysteries wrapped up in a mystery of its own. Probably the most unique murder mystery book I have ever read a true rival to Agatha Christie.

Grant McAllister wrote the murder mysteries 30 years ago and now Julia is the editor sent to talk to him at his home on a Mediterranean island.  Her editor is considering publishing them, but first Julia has more than a few questions about the mysteries. 

The book begins with one of the mysteries that Grant has written, this wasn't at first apparent and was my first experience of feeling wrong footed with this book. It then becomes apparent that Julia is interviewing Grant about the stories and presenting to him her findings of clues she thinks are hidden in the mysteries. The book proceeds with each of the mysteries followed by Julia and Grant discussing them. 

I loved the actual mysteries which were a mixture of Agatha Christie and Lawrence Block styles. The setting for the mysteries is the 1930/40s and you get a real feel for being in another time, very unlike today.  I also enjoyed Julia's observations and Grant's mathematical take on constructing murder mysteries. Unfortunately the explanation of the construction each time started to be too much for me, and indeed Julia herself pronounced them as "exhausting", which was just how I was feeling by this point. 

I had certainly realised it was a clever novel by this point (maybe too clever for me?), but with so many stories I began to forget what I had read. Whilst it was enjoyable I was a little disillusioned with it. Suddenly with more turns than a corkscrew the book began to be rewritten before my eyes. It was only then I truly saw the genius writing of this book and realised I could give it no less than 5 stars. So my advice would be keep reading, even when you feel you've lost the plot, just read until the end and you will not be disappointed.

I'm giving this book a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.