Iain Broome – Cleopatra Loves Books

Hosted by Lipsy Lost & Found my Wednesday post gives you a taste of what I am reading this week. A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words

At the moment I am reading A Place to Lie by Rebecca Griffiths a book set in The Forest of Dean where I lived until I made my way out in the big wide world.

A Place to Lie will be published tomorrow, 6 December 2018.

Blurb

In a dark, dark wood
In Summer 1990, Caroline and Joanna are sent to stay with their great aunt, Dora, to spend their holidays in a sunlit village near the Forest of Dean. The countryside is a welcome change from the trauma they know back home in the city; a chance to make the world a joyful playground again. But in the shadowy woods at the edge of the forest hide secrets that will bring their innocence to a distressing end and make this a summer they will never forget.

There was a dark, dark house
Years later, a shocking act of violence sends Joanna back to Witchwood. In her great aunt’s lonely and dilapidating cottage, she will attempt to unearth the secrets of that terrifying summer and come to terms with the haunting effects it has left on her life. But in her quest to find answers, who can she trust? And will she be able to survive the impending danger from those trying to bury the truth? Amazon

The last book I finished was Move to Murder by Antony M. Brown, a book I chose because it features the true crime in the murder of Julia Wallace which was notable for the phone message left by the untraceable Mr Qualtrough. What I didn’t fully appreciate that the reader is invited to ‘vote’ for the scenario that they feel fits the facts the best as part of the cold case jury. My review will follow shortly.

Blurb

The puzzling murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool in 1931.

A telephone message is left at a chess club, instructing one of its members, insurance agent William Wallace, to meet a Mr Qualtrough. But the address given by the mystery caller does not exist and Wallace returns home to find his wife Julia bludgeoned to death.

The case turns on the telephone call. Who made it? The police thought it was Wallace, creating an alibi that might have come from an Agatha Christie thriller. Others believe Wallace innocent but disagree on the identity of the murderer. The Cold Case Jury must decide what happened in one of the most celebrated cold cases of all time. Amazon

Next I think I’ll have a last push to read a book from my own collection and read A is for Angelica by Iain Broom, one that has been sat upon my kindle since I purchased it on 2 November 2013. My reasons for choosing this book are long lost in the midst of time but I’m still intrigued.

Blurb

“My life is different now. I don’t go to work. I don’t have an office. I stay at home, hide behind curtains and make notes. I wait for something to happen.”

Gordon Kingdom struggles with the fate of his seriously-ill wife while patiently observing and methodically recording the lives of those around him: his neighbours. He has files on them all, including Don Donald (best friend and petty thief), Annie Carnaffan (lives next door, throws footballs over the fence), and Benny (the boy who paints with his eyes closed).

Then there’s Angelica, the new girl (42) on the street, with her multi-coloured toenails and her filthy temper. It’s when she arrives that Gordon’s world of half-truths really begins to unravel. Faced with a series of unexpected events and a faltering conscience, he’s left with an impossible decision.

Because in the banality of everyday life, what would you do if the unthinkable happened? Amazon

What does your reading week look like?

Hosted by Should be Reading

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

My finds include A is for Angelica by Iain Broome, I first heard about this book at Words and Peace and it has made its way onto my kindle.

Gordon Kingdom struggles with the fate of his seriously-ill wife while patiently observing and methodically recording the lives of those around him: his neighbours. He has files on them all, including Don Donald (best friend and petty thief), Annie Carnaffan (lives next door, throws footballs over the fence), and Benny (the boy who paints with his eyes closed).
Then there’s Angelica, the new girl (42) on the street, with her multi-coloured toenails and her filthy temper. It’s when she arrives that Gordon’s world of half-truths really begins to unravel. Faced with a series of unexpected events and a faltering conscience, he’s left with an impossible decision.
Because in the banality of everyday life, what would you do if the unthinkable happened? Amazon

A is for Angelica

Having really enjoyed The Mistresses Revenge by Tamara Cohen I was thrilled to be given a free copy of Someone Else’s Wedding courtesy of Netgalley.

Mr & Mrs Max Irving request the company of:
Mrs Fran Friedman, mourning her empty nest, her lost baby, the galloping years, and a disastrous haircut.
Mr Saul Friedman, runner of marathons, avoider of conflicts and increasingly distant husband
The two Misses Friedman, Pip and Katy, one pining over the man she can’t have, the other trying to shake off the man she no longer wants
At the marriage of their son James Irving, forbidden object of inappropriate and troubling desire
For thirty-six hours of secrets and lies, painted-on-smiles and potential ruin. And drinks, plenty of drinks.
There’s nothing like a wedding for stirring up the past. As Fran negotiates her way from Saturday morning to Sunday evening she is forced to confront things she’s long thought buried, sending shockwaves through her family, and to make decisions about the future that will have far-reaching consequences for them all. Amazon

This looks like a fun read which has already been published in hardback – the paperback is due out on May 8, 2014 .

Someone Else’s Wedding

I have also received a copy of Postcards From The Past by Marcia Willetts from Netgalley which was published on

Siblings Billa and Ed share their beautiful, grand old childhood home in rural Cornwall. Their lives are uncomplicated. With family and friends nearby and their free and easy living arrangements, life seems as content as can be.
But when postcards start arriving from a sinister figure they thought belonged well and truly in their pasts, old memories are stirred. Why is he contacting them now? And what has he been hiding all these years Goodreads

Postcards from the Past

While staying with my brother and borrowing his book on Rose West I also acquired his lovely A.A. Milne book Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories & Poems.

The A.A. Milne poems were literally a life-saver. I remember vividly one crazy day with a young baby and toddler. Having recited Forgiven many times, I was stood cooking fish-fingers for little ones dinner whilst nursing the baby (probably not a recommended, but needs must!) whilst distracting a rampaging, hungry toddler with a duet about Alexander Beetle. I’m sure anyone had witnessing this literary moments would have wondered whether every day involved quite so much multi-tasking, it did!

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure and for my fond memories of calmer recitations I share Forgiven, and for any parent of young children – poems are great,no book is required so you can carry on with one-hundred other activities at the same time!

Forgiven

I found a little beetle; so that Beetle was his name,
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
I put him in a match-box, and I kept him all the day …
And Nanny let my beetle out –
Yes, Nanny let my beetle out –
She went and let my beetle out –
And Beetle ran away.

She said she didn’t mean it, and I never said she did,
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid,
She said that she was sorry, but it’s difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you’ve mistaken for a match.

She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn’t mind,
As there’s lots and lots of beetles which she’s certain we could find,
If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid –
And we’d get another match-box and write BEETLE on the lid.

We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
“A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!”

It was Alexander Beetle I’m as certain as can be,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it must be Me,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought he ought to say
“I’m very very sorry that I tried to run away.”

And Nanny’s very sorry too for you-know-what-she-did,
And she’s writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid,
So Nan and Me are friends, because it’s difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you’ve mistaken for a match.

A.A. Milne