BOOKSIMO

Description A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK! Addictive, dark, thrilling and full of twists! You won’t want to miss this mesmerising debut from a fresh new voice in psychological suspense. Perfect for fans of B. A. Paris, Shari Lapena and Liane Moriarty How far would you go to make all your dreams come true? Amber Patterson is tired of being a nobody: an invisible woman who melts into the background. She deserves more. She deserves a life of wealth, luxury and leisure. Daphne Parrish is the golden girl of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut. With her model looks, her picture-perfect mansion and her millionaire husband, Jackson, she has everything Amber wants. Amber’s envy could eat her alive—if she didn't have a plan. Before long, she has become Daphne’s closest friend, and is catching the eye of Jackson. But a skeleton from her past could destroy everything, and if discovered, Amber’s well-laid plan may end in disaster… Review This book had slipped down my TBR li

Description Forget about Cool Britannia and Gallic Chic. Scotland is having a fashion moment... 'Effing marvellous'  JILLY COOPER.  'Funny and smart'  INDIA KNIGHT.  'Total bliss'   DAILY MAIL . London's most glamorous glossy magazine is in trouble. Advertising revenues are non existent, and if editor  Laura Lake  can't pick them up, she's out of a job. According to those in the know,  Scotland is having a fashion moment . Haggis tempura is on Michelin-starred menus, smart spas are offering porridge facials, and a chain of eco-hotels is offering celebrity bagpipe lessons. So Laura's off to a baronial estate in the Scottish Highlands to get a slice of this ultra-high-end market. It's supposed to be gorgeous, glitzy and glamorous. But  intrigue follows Laura like night follows day . And at Glenravish Castle – a shooting lodge fit for a billionaire – Laura finds herself hunting for a scoop that won't just save her job, it could

Description ONE LIFE. LIVED TWICE. Louis and Louise are the same person born in two different lives. They are separated only by the sex announced by the doctor and a final 'e'. They have the same best friends, the same red hair, the same dream of being a writer, the same excellent whistle. They both suffer one catastrophic night, with life-changing consequences. Thirteen years later, they are both coming home. Review This is the story of one person from their birth. However the twist is that it is told in two timelines - one where they are born Louis and one where they are born Louise. I wanted to read this book as I was intrigued to see it spelt out how different a life would be whether you were born a boy or a girl. I don't want to spoil how things turn out for each of the genders, but in general I found that apart from some obvious of the time stereotypes imposed on them, their lives worked out pretty well all in all. I did think that there are fro

Description Shortlisted for the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award 2018 ‘If you like your thrillers darkly comic and outrageous this ticks all the boxes’  The Sun The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead… I haven’t killed anyone for three years and I thought that when it happened again I’d feel bad. Like an alcoholic taking a sip of whisky. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once. Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret. Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list. A kill list. From the man on the Lidl checkout who always

Description After thirty years at St Oswald’s Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. Each class has its clowns, its rebels, its underdogs, its ‘Brodie’ boys who, whilst of course he doesn’t have favourites, hold a special place in an old teacher’s heart. But every so often there’s a boy who doesn’t fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy with hidden shadows inside. With insolvency and academic failure looming, a new broom has arrived at the venerable school, bringing Powerpoint, sharp suits and even sixth form girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist this march to the future, a shadow from his past is stirring. A boy who even twenty years on haunts his teacher’s dreams. A boy capable of bad things. Review I've had this on my TBR pile for ages - initially drawn to it by the author as I loved her earlier work. This is in a different vein to the books I've read by her b

Description Time to come out of hibernation... Sylvia Penton has been hibernating for years, it's no wonder she's a little prickly... Sylvia lives alone, dedicating herself to her job at the local university. On weekends, she helps out at a local hedgehog sanctuary because it gives her something to talk about on Mondays - and it makes people think she's nicer than she is. Only Sylvia has a secret: she's been in love with her boss, Professor Lomax, for over a decade now, and she's sure he's just waiting for the right time to leave his wife. Meanwhile she stores every crumb of his affection and covertly makes trouble for anyone she feels gets in his way. But when a bright new PhD candidate catches the Professor’s eye, Sylvia’s dreams of the fairy tale ending she has craved for so long, are soon in tatters, driving her to increasingly desperate measures and an uncertain future. Sylvia might have been sleep walking through her life but things are abo

Description When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial bequest from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast. There's just one problem - Hal's real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger's funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her. Hal makes a choice that will change her life for ever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life… Review This is the third Ruth Ware novel I have read and I think it's her best yet.  Fro