Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year - Joanna Nell

 

Description

It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime . . .

Heather Winterbottom has worked side by side with her husband as GPs in their idyllic rural practice for over forty years. But as the time comes to hang up their stethoscopes, the Winterbottoms discover that they have rather different visions of retirement . . .

Heather dreams of exploring the Greek Islands, of escaping the shackles of her routine life and embracing an exciting new adventure. Alan dreams of growing his own vegetables.

When things come to a head at a family lunch, Heather announces that she has decided to take a year off. From her old life, from her marriage - from Alan. Alone in beautiful Greece, Heather embarks on her very own odyssey - complete with peak experiences, pitfalls and temptations. But what if coming home is the biggest adventure yet?

Review

There were so many facets to this story and I enjoyed all of them.

What I loved most about this book is that it covered lots of things I found really interesting. For instance how patients stop the Dr and want advice on their aliments and the medical jargon. The insights into The Odyssey by Homer, and most of all how someone someone you think you know can have such a different outlook on your life. 

There were so many facets to this story and I enjoyed all of them. The characters were given depth through the eyes of Heather as she sifted through what she knew of them and what they meant to her. How her relationships and path in life had changed now she was officially retired. There were also flashbacks to the past covering how she met her husband.

Slightly comical was her unexpected travelling companion to the Greek Isles who had introduced her to The Odyssey. As was the couple she breakfasted with when she couldn't avoid them. Each time I put this book down I couldn't wait to get back to it, which is always for me the sign that I am really enjoying a story. It was a wonderful read, just like all the other books I've read by this author.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 2 November 2023.

This Christmas - Emma Heatherington

 

Description

Rose used to love Christmas – until the year everything changed. She hasn’t been home to visit her family for the holidays since.

Charlie is facing his first Christmas alone. It may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, but not for him. Not this year.

In search of comfort and seclusion, Rose escapes to a cottage in rural Donegal to hunker down for the festive season alone.

But when Charlie opens the door to Seaview Cottage, the two strangers realise that their holiday rental has been double-booked.

Both of them expected to spend this Christmas alone. But their lives could be changed forever if they agree to spend it together. . .

Review

A lovely read, especially for fans of The Holiday.

Whilst this books was quite similar to the premise of the movie "The Holiday", it does have a little more depth, and is not so sugar coated. We don't know why Rose and Charlie chose to go away by themselves for Christmas, only that it doesn't hold happy memories for them this year.

However, as the cottage is double booked, they don't spend Christmas alone but with each other, almost! Charlie is not at all keen to acknowledge Rose and insists they text each other if they are to share the cottage together. They also each have a dog which is a nice touch.

Difficult to say more without giving too much away. It isn't too Christmassy that you need to save it to the holiday season, in fact due to some of the issues raised I was glad I hadn't read it at Christmas.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 26 October 2023.

The Traitor - Ava Glass

Description

Tension, danger and pace, pace, pace . . . Emma Makepeace is being tracked by a deadly traitor in the second novel in the Alias Emma series.

'Thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced, entertaining spy thriller' Shari Lapena
‘A gripping new read… the perfect thriller’ Sunday Times
'The glamour and glitz of the Riviera is brought to life in this nail-biting thriller' The Sun
'You're in for a treat ... The hottest new page turner of 2023' Cosmopolitan
____________

LONDON - EARLY MORNING . . .

A body is found in a padlocked suitcase.

Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it's murder. And it's personal.

She quickly establishes that the dead man had been shadowing two oligarchs suspected of procuring illegal weapons in the UK. And it seems likely that an insider working deep within the British government is helping them.

To find out who the traitor is, Emma goes deep undercover on a superyacht owned by one of the oligarchs.

But the glamorous veneer of the rich hides dark secrets. Out at sea, Emma is both hunter and prey, and no one can protect her.

Never has the turquoise sea and golden sands of the Rivera seemed so dangerous.

As the hunt intensifies, Emma knows that she is in mortal danger. And that she needs to find the traitor before they find her . . .

Review

Although I enjoyed the first book in this series I had difficulty getting into this one. It was nearly a DNF for me, but I read reviews that said it picked up, (and it did) so I stuck with it. 

It seems like MI6 don't think their spy Emma is ready for anything too dangerous, despite her  wonderful success in the first book. It felt like Emma thought so too, with her doing little at the beginning of her mission to get the heart racing. 

Maybe being set on a yacht wasn't the best plot device, as there wasn't really much she could do without drawing attention to herself. But for me it was all a bit too pedestrian, with further trips into her back story. This can definitely be read as a stand alone book. If you've read the first book there may be a little too much of a recap.

Once the action got going I did begin to enjoy the book, especially when a little twist happened. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Clues to You - Claire Huston

 

Description

One murder mystery weekend. Two rival sleuths.
They’re looking for answers. But will they find love?

Kate Brannon is delighted to be attending her first murder mystery weekend in a movie-worthy Victorian manor house. Still getting over being dumped, cracking the case would be a welcome boost to her flagging confidence. And the prize money wouldn’t hurt either.

But Kate’s dreams of victory become a nightmare with the arrival of Max Ravenscroft. Smart, enigmatic and annoyingly handsome, Max is Kate’s sleuthing nemesis.

When she and Max are forced to work together, Kate despairs. But, as the investigation brings them closer, she finds being his partner in solving crime isn’t all bad.

With growing suspicions that the game is rigged against them, can Kate and Max beat the odds to find the killer? And, as their partnership deepens, can they find romance too?

A sweet romantic comedy with a cosy mystery at its heart. Perfect for fans of Kathryn Freeman, Laura Jane Williams and Katie Fforde.

Book Three in the Love in the Comptons series. These are standalone romcoms with recurring characters and locations and can be read in any order.

1. Art and Soul (Becky and Charlie)
2. The Only Exception (Lucinda and Alex)
3. Clues to You (Kate and Max)

Review

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.

I've always wondered what a murder mystery weekend would be like, so I was eager to read this fictional account of one. 

Kate Brannon has attended many murder mystery events, but this is her first weekend one. She's annoyed her friend Bella didn't say her nemesis Max would be attending and on her team. In fact she seems annoyed about a lot of things, and so to begin with I really didn't warm to Kate. Despite her having recently broken up with her long term partner my sympathy for her wasn't too high.

The plot to this book is so clever, as really it is two books in one. When the "murder" happens and the sleuthing begins set back in the 1930s, the modern day romcom world is forgotten - almost. Her lovely bubbly friend Bella livened the book up as did some of the actors playing in the murder mystery. There are a few modern day interruptions which actually made me warm more to Kate. In the end I was team Kate!

I loved the murder mystery aspect of the book, but couldn't quite figure it out for myself. It's such an intriguing book and idea, that to say more would give too many clues to you!

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Claire for the ARC to review. You can pre-order on Amazon - the book is out on 19 September 2023.

About the Author

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire, UK, with her husband and two children. She writes

uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but need a little

help to realise it.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as

eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul, her first novel,

at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 150 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and

reviews books.

Social Media Links

You can also find Claire on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Goodreads and Pinterest:

https://linktr.ee/clairehuston_author

Wednesday's Child - Yiyun Li

Description

‘One of our major novelists’ Salman Rushdie‘One of our finest living authors’ New York Times

A dazzling new collection of short stories, spanning 15 years of writing, from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose and Where Reasons End

A dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, aging and the strangeness of contemporary life – from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose

A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she’s lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li’s stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces – death, violence, estrangement – come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years, until it must be seen.

Li is a breathtakingly original writer, an alchemist of opposites: tender and unsentimental, metaphysical and blunt, funny and horrifying, omniscient and yet acutely aware of just how much we cannot know. Beloved for her novels and memoirs, she returns here to her earliest form, gathering short stories and a remarkable novella never before published in the UK. Taken together, the stories in Wednesday's Child articulate the true cost of living with all Li’s trademark unnerving beauty and searing wisdom.

Review

The stories may be described as short but each one is varied and rich in content and writing.

I found I had to take my time to read these stories. I couldn't finish one and start the next straightaway as there was so much depth to the writing that the story lingered with me. It made it impossible for me to concentrate on another story so soon afterwards.

Each story has a twist of sorts. Some unexpected and even comical. My favourite was about a lady in her late 80s who had only recently stopped ice skating. She had a live in carer and the two of them began to discover so much about each other.

The writing is quite extraordinary and unlike anything I have read before. Each story stands alone and is not connected by characters but at the same time there is a bond with each story.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Three Card Murder

 

Description

One sister is a cop. The other a con artist. Both are suspects.

When DI Tess Fox arrives at her first murder scene there are already two big problems. First, the victim was thrown from the balcony of an apartment locked from the inside. Second, Tess knows the victim, and a clue left at the scene means the killer knows that too.

Only one person knows about Tess’s link to the victim and has the skills and criminal background to mastermind a locked-room murder. But Tess’s half-sister Sarah is a con-artist, not a killer. And Tess is going to need her expertise if she’s ever going to crack the case.

Soon two more bodies turn up in equally mysterious circumstances and also known to the sisters. Tess now has three locked room mysteries to solve and even more reason to be suspicious of Sarah. Can she trust someone who breaks the law for a living, even if she is family?

Review

A great fast paced read.

I just love a locked door mystery and this was certainly a page turner for me. The words seemed to just flow so well that I was a quarter way through the book before I realised it. I couldn't put it down as more and more intrigue was unveiled. What made it all the more intriguing was the good sister (cop) bad sister (con artist).

DI Tess Fox is on the brink of promotion. So when she gets a murder case of her own to head up it's not ideal that it's apparently been committed by an invisible person and she knows the victim. She can't reveal that she knows the victim, or she probably wouldn't be in the Police Force anymore. Little by little her past is catching up to her and there is no one she can tell, or can she? What makes it worse is that two more "impossible" murders happen and only Tess knows the link.

Sarah is Tess's half sister and a very clever and skilful con artist. With a link to the first victim Tess decides to confide in her even though she's been estranged from her for many years. But is Sarah going to be a help to the case or the undoing of Tess's Police career?

It could be said that some of this book was unbelievable. I can do unbelievable if it is also clever, and this was very clever. My only disappointment was the ending. I never saw it coming and maybe we have to wait to find out what happens next?

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

The Invisible Women's Club - Helen Paris

 

Description

Readers have fallen in love with this beautiful, heart-warming and uplifting story about one woman's journey from invisibility to being seen once more...

'A heart-lifting and thoughtful read, that gives a huge shout out to the power and strength of women'
'This book is all heart and soul ... and just the right amount of humour'
'A story of courage and strength that's witty, warm and filled with wisdom'
'Helen writes so sympathetically about characters who may not fit into the 'normal' bracket but are so likeable and instantly relatable'

-------------------------------------------------

Ignored.
Seventy-something Janet Pimm is invisible. Spending most of her days alone, she tends her beloved allotment with the care and love she doesn't receive from people. Plants, Janet thinks, are more important than friends.

Overlooked.
Janet's neighbour, Bev, has reached the age when a cloak of invisibility threatens to descend. Her friendly advances are rebuffed by Janet, but when the council threatens to close the allotments, Janet must swallow her pride and enlist Bev's help.

But they're about to prove everyone wrong.
As the two join forces, Janet realises that she isn't happy to be a wallflower after all. And that maybe there's more to Bev than she thought. As the bulldozers roll in and they fight to save Janet's treasured allotment, both women find their voice again. And no one can silence them now...

Review

Amazing story.

This book began a little slowly and I was wondering if I had made a mistake to read it. I decided to keep reading and I am so glad I did because I would have missed one heck of a story.

Janet is retired and lives alone, she loves the plants at her allotment more than anything. She doesn't need anyone she thinks, least of all her neighbour Bev.  Bev appears to be making Janet a charity case by offering her help and looking out for her which Janet definitely doesn't need. All that changes when Janet decides to take a trip to Windermere to seek help to save her beloved allotment being bulldozed. 

Whilst Janet is waiting for the bus to the train station Bev offers her a lift. It was really from the moment that Janet got into Bev's car that this book changed for me. I couldn't put it down. As Bev unlocked Janet's character on the journey, it also unlocked the book for me. There was so much to Janet that had lain hidden for years.

With wonderful descriptions of plants and their traits and uses, the book is not only a story about invisible women but a delight to read. The ensuing camaraderie at the allotments and the cloak and dagger exploits of Janet were wonderful as were the straight talking delights of Bev. Janet and Bev become two unstoppable forces with a trail of minor crimes and a rage against the establishment. I would love to read a follow up book. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars despite the slow start, because once it got going this book was on fire. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.