Weekly Wrap Up (September 9)

I know I’m getting old because each time I come to write one of these posts I am shocked at how far through the year we are already – I mean how can the summer holidays have passed in such a blur. It’s been fun, we’ve had a number of guests, a wedding and fortunately there is more to look forward to with a trip to Stratford next week for a surprise birthday party. I have to admit that I am secretly looking forward to the autumn getting started so that I can sit quietly at home and read to my heart’s content.

This Week on the Blog

My week started with my review for A Double Life by Flynn Berry which used the disappearance of Lord Lucan as inspiration.

My excerpt post was from The Lost Letters by Sarah Mitchell as I looked for something a little less crime heavy in my future reads.

This Week in Books featured the authors Jenny Blackhurst, Sarah Ward and Martin Edwards.

On Thursday I took part in a Blog Tour which is running to celebrate Roald Dahl day on 13 September and featured four of the collection of books aimed at adults; Fear, Innocence, Trickery and War.

Friday saw me reviewing The Night She Died by Jenny Blackhurst, a brilliantly constructed psychological thriller about a woman who jumps to her death on the night of her wedding.

Yesterday’s review was from a book I read back in June on holiday; Sisters of Mercy by Caroline Overington was another winner from this Australian author.

 

This Time Last Year…

I was reading the terrific Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner. This multi-layered story uses real-life issues as well as having a crime at its centre, with an involved and intricate plot.

A man murdered in a park sets off a police investigation but this book feels less like a standard police procedural and could be considered a commentary on the time we live in. The storyline is linear with the main part running over a few weeks starting in December with each section featuring the date and chapter headed up by the name of the narrator and where necessary the place because whilst for the most part the action is in Cambridge, some takes us back to Kilburn, London.

I was hooked right from the start.

 

You can read my full review here or click on the book cover

 

 

Blurb

A brutal murder. A detective with no one left to trust.

A YOUNG MAN MURDERED
A city banker bleeds to death yards from a Cambridgeshire police headquarters.

A DETECTIVE OUT OF HER DEPTH
DI Manon Bradshaw’s world is turned upside down when the victim turns out to be closer to her than she could have guessed.

WHO SHOULD SHE BELIEVE?
When even her trusted colleagues turn their backs on her, it’s time to contemplate the unthinkable: are those she holds dear capable of murder? Amazon

Stacking the Shelves

I have added just one book to the bookshelf since my last post, but it is one I’m very excited about! Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty will be published on 4 October 2018.

Blurb

The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation.

Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.

Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other.

Watching over them is the resort’s director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined.

For behind the retreat’s glamorous facade lies a dark agenda.

These nine perfect strangers have no idea what’s about to hit them . . . Amazon

 

Since I last reported my figures I’ve read 8 books and somehow in the same time I’ve acquired just 1! The total is therefore down to the record low of 167!
Physical Books – 110
Kindle Books – 40
NetGalley Books –15
Audio Books –2

 

I have also added 3 reviews of my own books which means I get to add another complete tokens to the one I already had – up to a massive 4! I can feel a spending spree coming on…