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Missing, Presumed - Susie Steiner

Description A MISSING GIRL Edith Hind is gone, leaving just her coat, a smear of blood and a half-open door. A DESPERATE FAMILY Each of her friends and relatives has a version of the truth. But none quite adds up. A DETECTIVE AT BREAKING POINT The press grows hungrier by the day. Can DS Manon Bradshaw fend them off, before a missing persons case becomes a murder investigation? Review Something in the description of this book made me think that this wouldn't be a normal run of the mill crime read - and I was right. The basic plot of the book is that Edith is missing - cue the usual police procedure, press conference etc. However the book goes further with a look behind not only DS Manon Bradshaw and her love life, but also her colleagues and the friends and family of the missing girl. This book really hooked me in - not only in the whodunnit sense but also what would become of DS Manon - is she going to find love or go a step too far in her investigations preve

One Less Problem Without You - Beth Harbison

Description Meet Prinny, Chelsea and Diana. Prinny is the owner of Cosmos, a shop that sells crystals, potions, candles, and hope. It’s also a place where no one turns down a little extra-special cocktail that can work as a romance potion or heal a broken heart. But Prinny is in love with her married lawyer and she’ll need nothing short of magic to forget about him. Chelsea works as a living statue at tourist sites around Washington, DC. It's a thankless job, but it helps pay the rent. That, and her part-time job at Cosmos. As her dream of becoming a successful actress starts to seem more remote and the possibility of being a permanently struggling one seems more realistic, Chelsea begins to wonder: at one point do you give up on your dreams? And will love ever be in the cards for her? Diana Tiesman is married to Leif, a charismatic man who isn’t faithful. But no matter how many times he lets her down, Diana just can't let him go. She knows the only way she can truly break

A Shoe Addict's Christmas - Beth Harbison

Description Noelle is not a fan of the holidays and to make matters worse, she is at a crossroads in her life when it seems that love and adventure are no longer possible. When she stays late at her job in a department store on a snowy Christmas Eve she accidentally gets locked in after closing. She isn’t too concerned about the prospect of spending the night in the store…until a woman appears out of nowhere and tells Noelle that she’s her guardian angel. Soon Noelle finds herself camped out in the shoe department facing several “ghosts” of Christmases past, present, and future...Will visiting the holidays of yesterday and tomorrow help Noelle see the true spirit of Christmas? And will the love she has longed for all her life be the best surprise gift of all? Review I loved Beth Harbison's If I Could Turn Back Time and was eager to read this novella which is 176 pages long.  I wasn't disappointed this is a lovely tale - very Christmassy in the setting but you could rea

Timekeepers - Simon Garfield

Description An entertaining and authoritative exploration of how and why time has come to rule our lives from the bestselling author of  Just My Type . Not so long ago we timed our lives by the movement of the sun. These days our time arrives atomically and insistently, and our lives are propelled by the notion that we will never have enough of the one thing we crave the most. How have we come to be dominated by something so arbitrary? The compelling stories in this book explore our obsessions with time. An Englishman arrives back from Calcutta but refuses to adjust his watch. Beethoven has his symphonic wishes ignored. A moment of war is frozen forever. The timetable arrives by steam train. A woman designs a ten-hour clock and reinvents the calendar. Roger Bannister becomes stuck in the same four minutes forever. A British watchmaker competes with mighty Switzerland. And a prince attempts to stop time in its tracks. Timekeepers  is a vivid exploration of the ways we have p

The Husband's Secret - Laine Moriarty

Description At the heart of the top ten bestselling  The Husband's Secret  by Liane Moriarty is a letter that's not meant to be read . . . Mother of three and wife of John-Paul, Cecilia discovers an old envelope in the attic. Written in her husband's hand, it says: to be opened only in the event of my death. Curious, she opens it - and time stops. John-Paul's letter confesses to a terrible mistake which, if revealed, would wreck their family as well as the lives of others. Cecilia - betrayed, angry and distraught - wants to do the right thing, but right for who? If she protects her family by staying silent, the truth will worm through her heart. But if she reveals her husband's secret, she will hurt those she loves most . . . Review I've read a few of Liane Moriarty's books now and I am always amazed by the absolute minutiae of human life that she manages to get into a book. I find myself thinking - oh I didn't know other people did th

Time Travelling With A Hamster - Ross Welford

Description A truly original debut novel from an extraordinarily talented new voice in children’s books. Laugh, cry and wonder at this race-against-time story of a boy who travels back to 1984 to prevent a go-kart accident, and save his father’s life… “My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve. The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn’t been for his ‘time machine’…” When Al Chaudhury discovers his late dad’s time machine, he finds that going back to the 1980s requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, burglary. Review This is a young adult novel which I requested from Netgalley because I love time travel novels. I wasn't disappointed, it is probably one of the best time travel novels I have read (and I have read a lot). The book is very good at "explaining" time travel which isn't always the case in a novel

The Good Retirement Guide 2017

Description Whether it is a relaxing, action-packed or financially rewarding retirement you are looking for, this is the book for you. In retirement, personal ambitions can be realized and new experiences enjoyed. Yet with so much to consider, people are often unsure how best to plan for their future and the scope for concern and confusion is even greater with changing retirement ages and pension rules. The Good Retirement Guide  offers clear and concise suggestions on a broad range of retirement-related subjects. The Guide includes information on: Pensions/ Tax / Investment / Starting your own business / Leisure activities / Paid work / Voluntary work / How to avoid being scammed / Health / Holidays / Looking after elderly parents / Wills Revised and updated, the 2017 edition is packed with hundreds of useful suggestions and helpful websites to browse. This is an indispensable book that you will refer to again and again. Review I was expecting this book to be full of t