Tag Archives: Books

Top Books To Read In 2022

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We have been sent more wonderful books. Here is a selection to get stuck into.

Wild At Once by Vivianne Crowley. Perfect for spiritual people who want to unleash the wild magic within them. Out March 10. 

What secret power is hiding within you?

There is an untamed wildness within each of us. Once found and nurtured, this wild power can lead to true and boundless freedom, creativity and purpose, and discovery of your deepest inner wisdom.

Witch, high priestess, doctor of psychology: Vivianne Crowley has been given many labels over the years. Wild Once is the extraordinary and inspiring tale of a life lived magically, of adventures into the unknown and of finding spiritual nourishment through reconnection with the natural world. It shows what can happen when you have the courage to step into the unexplainable and live untamed.

It is also an evocative, intricate account of a hidden world, a rich tour of modern magical practices, from meditation to manifestation, shamanism to spellwork. Magic is waiting to be discovered. It is here, just beneath the surface, if only you know where to look…

We all have wild magic within us; this book will inspire you to find it.

One For Sorrow by Helen Fields. Perfect for thriller fans: this a clever and riveting book. Out in March.

One for sorrow, two for joy
Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known. A lone bomber is targeting victims across the city and no one is safe.

Three for a girl, four for a boy
DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach face death every day – and not just the deaths of the people being taken hostage by the killer.

Five for silver, six for gold
When it becomes clear that with every tip-off they are walking into a trap designed to kill them too, Ava and Luc know that finding the truth could mean paying the ultimate price.

Seven for a secret never to be told…
But with the threat – and body count – rising daily, and no clue as to who’s behind it, neither Ava nor Luc know whether they will live long enough to tell the tale…
A Spoonful of Murder by J.M Hall. Perfect for fans of fun and  cosy crime. Out March 17th.

Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.

But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy.

By the next Thursday, Topsy’s dead.

The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.

But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it…

Sit down with a cup of tea and this perfectly witty, page-turning cosy crime novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders will be hooked from the very first page.

Sorry isn’t Good Enough by Jane Bailey. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers. This was a huge hit at Frost, an intelligent and pacy read that leaves you wanting more. Out February 7th.

‘The trouble is, we don’t recognise every danger when we see it. And that’s how Mr Man manages to creep into our lives.’

It is 1966, and things are changing in the close-knit Napier Road. Stephanie is 9 years old, and she has plans:

1. Get Jesus to heal her wonky foot
2. Escape her spiteful friend Dawn
3. Persuade her mum to love her

But everything changes when Stephanie strikes up a relationship with Mr Man, who always seems pleased to see her. When Dawn goes missing in the woods during the World Cup final, no one appears to know what happened to her – but more than one of them is lying.

May 1997, and Stephanie has spent her life trying to bury the events of that terrible summer. When a man starts following her on the train home from London, she realises the dark truth of what happened may have finally caught up with her.

The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien. Perfect for fans of historical fiction. This is a glorious and compelling read.

England, 1444. Three women challenge the course of history…

King Henry VI’s grip on the crown hangs by a thread as the Wars of the Roses starts to tear England apart. And from the ashes of war, the House of Paston begins its rise to power.

Led by three visionary women, the Pastons are a family from humble peasant beginnings who rely upon cunning, raw ambition, and good fortune in order to survive.

Their ability to plot and scheme sees them overcome imprisonment, violence and betrayal, to eventually secure for their family a castle and a place at the heart of the Yorkist Court. But success breeds jealousy and brings them dangerous enemies…

An inspirational story of courage and resilience, The Royal Game, charts the rise of three remarkable women from obscurity to the very heart of Court politics and intrigue.

Her Last Request by Mari Hannah. This is another stunner from Mari Hannah, she is at the top of her game.

Some victims leave clues to their killers…

A Hidden Clue

A victim leaves a note for the SIO who will investigate her death. This not what DCI Kate Daniels expects to find concealed at a crime scene.

A Desperate Plea

The note contains a last request: ‘Find Aaron’. But is Kate searching for a potential second victim, or a killer?

The Countdown is on…

Following the clues, Kate becomes the obsession of her adversary who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will she find Aaron before he does? Emily and Daisy by Paul Yates. A lovely and thoroughly enjoyable time slip novel.

This is a love story. A love story with a difference that lives across time and space and explores the ways in which the accidents of love can combine in the forging of a life.

Rural Devon, World War II. In her last year of school and living above the family shop, Daisy studies for her exams and keeps her journal. After he paints a watercolour portrait of her, she falls for James, a young army captain.

Paris, the end of the twentieth century. Emily lives comfortably with her father, having just left university and unsure of what comes next. Upon discovering Daisy’s portrait, she becomes enchanted by the young woman who seems to have inexplicably disappeared from her uncle’s life.

Campiston house in rural Sussex connects the two women. In her teens Emily spends her Summer vacations with her great uncle, but he never speaks of Daisy. Later, James wills the house to Emily who pursues the mystery of Daisy’s disappearance.

Their lives may have different trajectories, but something resonates with Emily as she delves deeper into the traces of Daisy’s world. Each revelation demands that Emily see herself and her world in new ways.

The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide. An old-school novel with a new twist. Lots of fun.

The seductive and relentless figure of Raymond Chandler’s detective, Philip Marlowe, is vividly re-imagined in present-day Los Angeles. Here is a city of scheming Malibu actresses, ruthless gang members, virulent inequality, and washed-out police. Acclaimed and award-winning novelist Joe Ide imagines a Marlowe very much of our time: he’s a quiet, lonely, and remarkably capable and confident private detective, though he lives beneath the shadow of his father, a once-decorated LAPD homicide detective, famous throughout the city, who’s given in to drink after the death of Marlowe’s mother.

Marlowe, against his better judgement, accepts two missing person cases, the first a daughter of a faded, tyrannical Hollywood starlet, and the second, a British child stolen from his mother by his father. At the center of The Goodbye Coast is Marlowe’s troubled and confounding relationship with his father, a son who despises yet respects his dad, and a dad who’s unable to hide his bitter disappointment with his grown boy.

Steeped in the richly detailed ethnic neighborhoods of modern LA, Ide’s The Goodbye Coast is a bold recreation that is viciously funny, ingeniously plotted, and surprisingly tender.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet. A well-researched and timely novel. Essential reading.

A source of terror, a misogynistic image of woman inherited from the trials and the pyres of the great early modern witch hunts – in In Defence of Witches the witch is recast as a powerful role model to women today: an emblem of power, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women.

Whether selling grimoires on Etsy, posting photos of their crystal-adorned altar on Instagram, or gathering to cast spells on Donald Trump, witches are everywhere. But who exactly were the forebears of these modern witches? Who was historically accused of witchcraft, often meeting violent ends? What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries?

Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing. Finally, Chollet argues that by considering the lives of those who dared to live differently, we can learn more about the richness of roles available, just how many different things a woman can choose to be.

Available here.

 

One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner Book Review

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Any regular readers of Frost will know that I love Lisa Gardner. She is one of my favourite writers. I was unbelievably excited when book two in her new Frankie Elkin series arrived. Don’t let that put you off if you haven’t read the first one though, this works as a stand alone. I also loved the growth of Frankie in this book and I was left excited for what she would do next.

It is hard to think what is not in this book: it has everything you want in a crime thriller, and then a whole lot more stuff you didn’t even know you did. When a young man disappears into the woods on his stag do he leaves behind a trail of grief and guilt. He leaves no traces behind, so where did he go? It is up to ex-alcoholic Frankie Elkin to find him, with a group that includes his friends from his stag do, and his grieving father. What’s happens next grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go.

My biggest hope is that the Frankie Elkin series gets made into a TV series sometime soon. It’s what we all deserve.

one step too far by Lisa Gardner book review

If he never left the woods, where did he go?

A young man disappears during a stag weekend in the woods. Years later, he’s still missing.

But his friends who were with him that day are still searching for him. Still hunting for answers.

They hike deep into the wilderness.

With them is missing person specialist Frankie Elkin.

What they don’t know is that they are putting their own lives in terrifying danger, and may not come back alive . . .

One Step Too Far is available here.

Fits And Starts by Franziska Thomas Book Review

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Fits and Starts: A Memoir of Living with Epilepsy

Memoirs are brave at the best of times but in this blistering and profound book Franziska Thomas is the bravest of all. Fits and Starts brings us into the world of epilepsy and how hard it is to live with the condition. Yet this book is about thriving, not just surviving, There are so many moments of joy that bump along with the sadness. I was fuming at the paramedic who repeatedly slapped the author when she was pregnant, because he assumed she was a junkie. Franziska brings us totally into her world and asserts herself as a writer of immense talent. She has guts galore and is an advocate for epilepsy. I loved this brave and glorious book.

Fits and Starts: A Memoir of Living with Epilepsy

Fits and Starts has sold many thousands of copies making it one of the BESTSELLING books about living with Epilepsy. It is currently in the top 10 for the Amazon Audible charts and top 100 Kindle books published on Amazon.

Any questions you have about Epilepsy, either as an epileptic or someone who knows and loves an Epilepsy sufferer, your questions could be answered here.’Fits and Starts’ recently got 4/4 in a professional book review with the www.onlinebookclub.org and was nominated for their BOOK OF THE YEAR.

‘I understand this doesn’t look good. Please trust me when I say it isn’t as bad as it first appears. I’m not being ironical, facetious or glib. Physical pain is inevitable when you have a tendency to throw yourself around, suffering is optional.’

In 1992 Franziska Thomas had her first seizure and her whole world was turned upside down- literally. In Fits and Starts Franziska gives a compelling personal description of living with Epilepsy, an illness shrouded in secrecy and antiquated myths. Laden with self -deprecating humour she describes her own coming of age- as an epileptic, a teacher, and ultimately, a mother. She is alternately stubborn and mischievous, down trodden and determined.

Despite the constant set backs Franziska remains ever hopeful and instinctively refuses to conform to the role the outside world has chosen for her. This searingly honest and thought-provoking memoir is the story of the author’s fits, injuries, and memory loss, set inside the wider story of Epilepsy and society. Focussing on her own experience of repeatedly falling down, getting up, then falling down again. This is the second edition and includes some never seen before additions to the book.

About the author: Franziska has previously worked as a journalist and History teacher. She is currently working as an author and Fundraising Manager for a UK and Nepal based charity. She lives in London with her husband Tim, their children Oskar and Kurt and two misbehaving Maine Coons.

 

Fits and Starts is available here.

Top Books of 2021: A List of Brilliance.

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top books of 2021It’s that time of year where I try to whittle down all of the amazing books I have read into a short(ish) list. Each one is an essential read. So here goes…

Shiver by Allie Reynolds.

The Serial Killer’s wife by Alice Hunter.

Ahead of Her Time by Judy Piatkus.

The Garfield Conspiracy by Owen Dwyer.

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens.

Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks.

The Receptionist by Kate Myles.

The Perfect Marriage by Adam Mitzner.

Her Last Breathe by Hilary David.

Animal by Lisa Taddeo.

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh.

Water Memory by Daniel Pyne.

Autopsy by Patricia Cornwell.

Wild Girls By Phoebe Morgan.

One August Night by Victoria Hislop.

A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris.

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner.

Perfect Timing by Owen Nicholls.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day.

Look What You Made Me Do by Nikki Smith.

Safe And Sound by Philippa East.

Perfect On Paper by Gillian Harvey.

A Poet  For Every Day of The Year by Allie Esiri.

And one for 2022: The Patient by Jane Shemilt.

Frost editor Jane Cable chooses Claire Dyer’s Yield and Polly Heron’s The Surplus Girls’ Orphans as her books of the year.

What would you add?

Murder at the Bailey by Henry Milner Book Review

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muder at the baileyThis is a brilliant and believable novel due to the author being one of the UK’s top criminal lawyers. Gorgeously entertaining. A fantastic debut from a new rising star.

A notorious loan shark is shot dead, in broad daylight, right outside the front doors of the Old Bailey. The killer is arrested at the scene and Adrian Stanford is lined up to take on the toughest defence case of his career. Can he steer his client past the no-nonsense Detective Chief Superintendent ‘Iron-Rod’ Stokes, hell-bent on achieving a murder conviction in his last case before retirement? That’s assuming he can keep his client alive in prison long enough for the trial to go ahead. Can his illustrious defence QC, Patrick ‘The Edge’ Gorman, swerve the case past the acerbic judge known to all as Mack the Knife, whose own resolve is being tested to the limit by an adulterous wife? And why is London underworld numero uno Big Jake Davenport showing such a keen interest in the proceedings?

A wickedly eccentric cast of brilliantly drawn characters populate this daring debut from one of Britain’s top criminal defence lawyers. Dripping with sparkling dialogue and delicious wit, Murder at the Bailey is a masterly picaresque romp through the courtrooms, custody suites and London restaurants graced by the cognoscenti.

Murder at the Bailey is available here.

 

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly Book Review

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The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly Book Review

I always get excited when a new Michael Connolly book arrives. I also love the characters Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch. As a team they are brilliant and so interesting. The Dark Hours is a tightly-wound thriller which reaches an explosive and satisfying ending. Another triumph for Michael Connolly.

A brazen and methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve and LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch must join forces to find justice for the victim in a city scarred by fear and social unrest, in the new thriller from the #1 Sunday Times bestseller Michael Connelly.

There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD Detective Renée Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revellers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party.

Ballard quickly concludes that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky and that it is linked to another unsolved murder – a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch. At the same time, Ballard hunts a fiendish pair of serial rapists, the Midnight Men, who have been terrorizing women and leaving no trace.

Determined to solve both cases, Ballard feels like she is constantly running uphill in a police department indelibly changed by the pandemic and recent social unrest. It is a department so hampered by inertia and low morale that Ballard must go outside to the one detective she can count on: Harry Bosch. But as the two inexorable detectives work together to find out where old and new cases intersect, they must constantly look over their shoulders. The brutal predators they are tracking are ready to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly is available here.

 

The Garfield Conspiracy by Owen Dwyer Book Review

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I have to admit, I thought The Garfield Conspiracy sounded weird. I did not think it would be a good book. More fool me because: wow. What a masterpiece. This is a blisteringly original novel, filled with glorious prose that you want to file away in your memory bank and fascinating historical facts. It’s a modern novel haunted with ghosts from the past. This novel is intelligent and thought-provoking. Give your brain a fun workout and read some Owen Dwyer. Just perfection.

the Garfield conspiracy , owen dwyer

A burnt-out writer is visited by the characters he is researching while writing a book about the mysterious assassination of US President James Garfield.

Richard Todd, an award-winning writer, is outwardly successful but inwardly plagued by uncertainties. Worst of all, he can’t seem to write any more. When a bright young editor, Jenny Lambe, arrives on his doorstep to work with him on his latest book, about the assassination of US president James Garfield, his life is sent spinning off in a new direction.

 

President Garfield was killed by Charles Guiteau, who was tried and hanged for the murder. But was he acting alone, in July 1881, or was there a more sinister force at work? Richard hears Guiteau’s voice in his head, and as his relationship with Jenny deepens, he is visited by other characters from the assassination drama – including Garfield himself, his Secretary of State James Blaine, Republican senator Roscoe Conkling, Conkling’s mistress Kate Chase Sprague, and the investigating police officer, Detective McElfresh. Are they helping Richard to solve the mystery surrounding Garfield’s murder – or pushing him further towards the edge?

 

A remarkable, disturbing portrait of a middle-aged man torn between his carefully constructed life and new adventures which may beckon, in the present and the past, from one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging authors, and based on original research into a little-known period in US history.

 

 

About the Author

 

Owen Dwyer is a prize-winning short-story writer who has won the Hennessy Emerging Fiction Prize, the Silver Quill (twice), the Smiling Politely Very Very Short Story competition, the South Tipperary County Council Short Story competition and the Biscuit Fiction Prize, and has had stories published in Whispers and Shouts magazine. His previous novel, Number Games, was published to glowing reviews by Liberties Press in 2019, and follows The Cherry-picker (2012) and The Agitator (2004). Owen lives in Dublin with his wife and their three children.

The Garfield conspiracy is available here.

Autumn’s Top Books

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The Lost by Simon Beckett.

A brilliant and terrifying thriller. I could not put this down. Beautifully observed and tightly wound. Unmissable. I don’t normally read books about missing children but I loved this. You won’t see the twists coming. 

A MISSING CHILD

Ten years ago, the disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley’s young son almost destroyed him.

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY

A plea for help from an old friend leads Jonah to Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies. Brutally attacked and left for dead, he is the only survivor.

A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

Under suspicion himself, he uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people he thought he knew – forcing him to question what really happened all those years ago…

Available on 25 November..

dinner lady detective

The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy.

Gorgeous and quaint. Any fan of cosy crime will love this.

Murder is a dish best served ice cold…

Margery and Clementine are enjoying a peaceful middle-age together in the small, idyllic town of Dewstow, and eagerly awaiting retirement from their work on the front line serving meals to the students at Summerview secondary school.

Their calm life is shattered when their kitchen manager is found dead in the school’s walk-in freezer. The police are adamant that it’s an open-and-shut case of accidental death. Margery and Clementine are convinced there’s something far more nefarious going on, and they take it upon themselves to investigate.

As they inch closer to the truth, it becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep the pair quiet. Will the perpetrator get their just-desserts before their time runs out?

A delightful, quintessentially British cosy mystery perfect for fans of SJ Bennett and Robert Thorogood.

Published on 18th November 2021.

The Diamond Hunter by Fiona McIntosh.

A well-researched historical novel that whisks you away to another time and place. Beautiful storytelling from a master of her craft.  A rip-roaring story that grabs you by the throat and does not let go. 

During the 1870s diamond rush in southern Africa, Clementine is left to be raised by her destitute father following the death of her mother. Her care falls largely to their companion, Joseph, and the two form an unbreakable bond.

When the two men uncover a large, flawless diamond, a dark bargain is struck to ensure Clementine’s return to a respectable life in northern England. Her father believes he has finally secured their future, but the discovery of the gem comes at a considerable cost.

Years later, Clementine must confront long-buried memories of her childhood to solve the mystery of what happened to her loved ones all those years ago.

Can she find the justice she seeks?

Out Now.

The Chef, the Bird and the Blessing by Andrew Sharp. 

This is a luscious and original novel with beautiful storytelling. 

Compelling to the last page, The Chef, the Bird and the Blessing is a story about the power of suppressed memory, of friendship, and of our relationship with the natural world. Set within vivid images of a backwater in an unnamed African country, the novel is both poignant and funny.

Mozzy is a cook in a struggling safari business and dreams of escaping the perilous wilderness and his despised employer to become head chef in an upmarket restaurant in London. Spurred on by his wife, a member of a visionary religious sect, his fantasy becomes reality. But will his sanity and marriage survive in this new world? Can a small bird help him find his way?

Mozzy’s path takes him from Africa to London and back, but it is the painful journey of the heart that ultimately fulfils Mozzy’s destiny.

The Chef, the Bird and the Blessing is available here. 

shiver

Shiver by Allie Reynolds.

This book is so full of dark, delicious fun. Perfect to read at this time of year, this is a gripping, twisty debut that really draws you in. 

They don’t know what I did. And I intend to keep it that way.

How far would you go to win? Hyper-competitive people, mind games and a dangerous natural environment combine to make the must-read thriller of the year. Fans of Lucy Foley and Lisa Jewell will be gripped by spectacular debut novel Shiver.

When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can’t seem to let go.

The five friends haven’t seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don’t know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth.

In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.

Shiver is available here.

The Fifth Girl by Georgia Fancett.

This is a truly gripping thriller from the winner of the Daily Mail First Novel Competition. Perfect for fans of crime novels. 

When DC Rawls decided to take some time off work for his mental health, he thought he would need just a few days.

However, it’s been months since that terrible night and Rawls still hasn’t returned to the Somerset Police Dept. He can’t seem to shake the feeling that he might never be the same again.

But when a schoolgirl disappears and the police link her case to the disappearances of three other girls in Bath, it sends the media into a frenzy that places Rawls and his team at the heart of the storm.

Rawls isn’t sure that he’s ready to work on a case that hits so close to home, but he knows he can’t have any more blood on his hands. He has to find out the truth before it’s too late.

Who is behind these abductions?

And which girl will be taken next?

The Fifth Girl is available here.

The Final Child by Fran Dorricott.

This is a dark and frankly terrifying book about a serial killer. I don’t want to give too much away but it really does grab you by the throat and then does not let go. The idea is so clever and it is perfectly executed. This novel will give you whip lash. Fran Dorricott is one to watch: a brilliant writer with a stunning career ahead of her. 

He won’t forget her…

Erin and her brother Alex were the last children abducted by ‘the Father’, a serial killer who only ever took pairs of siblings. She escaped, but her brother was never seen again. Traumatised, Erin couldn’t remember anything about her ordeal, and the Father was never caught.

Eighteen years later, Erin has done her best to put the past behind her. But then she meets Harriet. Harriet’s young cousins were the Father’s first victims and, haunted by their deaths, she is writing a book about the disappearances and is desperate for an interview with the only survivor. At first, Erin wants nothing to do with her. But then she starts receiving sinister gifts, her house is broken into, and she can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. After all these years, Erin believed that the Father was gone, but now she begins to wonder if he was only waiting…

A tense and emotive thriller, The Final Child is a powerful tale of a survivor being forced to confront her painful past.

The Final Child is available here.

 

The Queen of Monsters by Aria Mossi.

Perfect for fans of epic fantasy. 

Natalia comes from a past full of darkness and a horrific childhood spent in the Siberian taiga. Her Monsters are real, and they hide in every corner of her memory. Her state of mind, fragility and child-like innocence make both humans and aliens question her sanity.

In reality, Natalia is an inspiring young woman who owns her past and fears. Her determination shapes her new alien planet’s future, defeats a Sphinx and tames the scariest Monster of all. She may be afraid of her own shadow, but she is not scared to fight for love, even when it comes in the shape of her worst nightmare: a Monster.

Natalia owns her many weaknesses until they become her strengths. She fights darkness with light and unconditional love. As it turns out, those are the only weapons able to win the fight. Natalia’s dark past taught her the most important lesson of all: One is most likely to find their angels when running from Monsters.

The Queen of Monsters is the second book in The Tarrassian Saga. It features the inspiring story of one of the five Humans taken from Earth by alien slavers. The five books in the series are individual stories and do not end in cliffhangers. However, the stories are best enjoyed when read in order. The Tarrassian Saga is aimed at a mature audience.

The Queen of Monsters is available here.

White Christmas by Katie Flynn.

We love a saga at Frost and Katie Flynn is a master of the genre. This brand new festive romance is another glorious book, perfect to be read with a hot chocolate on a wintry day.  Katie Flynn was the pseudonym of Judy Turner who sadly passed away in 2019 at the age of 82. Her daughter Holly, who used to collaborate with her mother, now writes these fantastic books. White Christmas is just glorious. 

United by diversity, divided by war . . .

December, 1938

Rozalin Sachs has grown up in the vibrant city of Frankfurt. But with the Nazi Revolution gaining power, her family is forced to flee Germany. When a tragic accident separates Roz from her parents, she finds herself aboard the Kindertransport bound for Holland.

Here Roz meets a young lad called Felix and they vow to stick together as their journey takes them to England. Eventually they find themselves in Liverpool with the promise of a new life, until a devastating incident takes Felix away. And, in a desperate attempt to escape the terrible situation she has found herself in, Roz decides to join the Women’s Land Army.

On the sprawling farm at Hollybank Roz meets Bernie, a dashing farmer’s son, who has more than just friendship on his mind. Roz is flattered by his affections, but will he win her heart, or will her love for Felix remain as strong as ever?

White Christmas by available here.

The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward.

This is a wonderful, creepy novel. Fantastic historical gothic mystery is dished out in spades. 

When well-to-do Hester learns of her sister Mercy’s death at a Nottinghamshire workhouse, she travels to Southwell to find out how her sister ended up at such a place.

Haunted by her sister’s ghost, Hester sets out to uncover the truth, when the official story reported by the workhouse master proves to be untrue. Mercy was pregnant – both her and the baby are said to be dead of cholera, but the workhouse hasn’t had an outbreak for years.

Hester discovers a strange trend in the workhouse of children going missing. One woman tells her about the Pale Lady, a ghostly figure that steals babies in the night. Is this lady a myth or is something more sinister afoot at the Southwell poorhouse?

As Hester investigates, she uncovers a conspiracy, one that someone is determined to keep a secret, no matter the cost…

The Shadowing is available here.

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner.

Lisa Gardner is one of my favourite novelists, full stop. This is her first stand alone novel in ten years and god, what a belter.  Gardner introduces Frankie Elkin, a forty-something former alcoholic who finds missing people. A new heroine is born. If there is any justice in this world Frankie will become a TV character soon, if ever a fictional character has to be brought to life on screen, it truly is Frankie. 

Lisa Gardner is a writer at the top of her game, as she has been for all of the books she has written. I raced through Before She Disappeared. My house was a state at the end but, needs must. Grab a copy now, you won’t regret it. 

A gripping thriller featuring an ordinary woman who will stop at nothing to find the missing people that the rest of the world has forgotten.

Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman with more regrets than belongings who spends her life doing what no one else will: searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings Frankie to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier.

Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim’s wary family tells Frankie she’s on her own. And she soon learns she’s asking questions someone doesn’t want answered.

But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing will be her …

Before She Disappeared is available here.

Song in The Key of Madeleine by Pauline Crame.

This is a beautiful and poetic book. Written with beauty. It is about a tender love story. Just lovely. 

Song in the Key of Madeleine is the story of the relationship between Madeleine and Shibu: two individuals from socially and culturally very different backgrounds.

They meet when Shibu moves into Madeleine’s house as her lodger. From the start it is clear they are attracted to each other, and soon they begin an affair. Before long, however, their burgeoning relationship is tarnished, as Shibu’s religious beliefs and cultural expectations begin to clash with Madeleine’s troubled past.

The relationship offers the opportunity for growth and new beginnings, but it is also fraught with danger. For Shibu the threat of alienation from his community. For Madeleine the risk of falling prey to her childhood experiences.

Will Shibu be able to disentangle himself from his beliefs and values? Is Madeleine capable of coming to terms with her past? Or will their differences divide them?

Song in The Key of Madeleine is available here.

perfect timing novel

Perfect Timing by Own Nicholls.

Perfect Timing is a pretty perfect novel. Both Jess and Tom are great characters, and the story is fantastic. I cannot recommend this book enough, it is so full of depth. A truly multi-layered book that will leave you racing through all the way to the last page. Glorious.

For Jess and Tom, timing is everything.

For her, it’s the moment she delivers the perfect punchline. For him, it’s the heartbeat in the music he makes with his band.

And from the night they meet, sharing the same stage at the Edinburgh Festival, their attraction is undeniable. At first, it seems their timing is as perfect in the wings as it is in front of a crowd.

But as Jess and Tom’s careers take off, the moment for true connection is always just out of reach. With fate pushing them together, only to pull them apart, will the timing ever be right?

After all, when it comes to love, the timing has to be perfect. . . Doesn’t it?

Perfect timing is available here.