Category Archives: Fiction

August 22, 2023 · 12:18 pm

Geneva – Richard Armitage

Geneva – Richard Armitage

This was in Mr H’s audible library and I like both Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker, so I thought I would give it a go.

Here’s the blurb …

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has started to show the same tell-tale signs of the Alzheimer’s disease as her father: memory loss, even blackouts. So she is reluctant to accept the invitation to be the guest of honour at a prestigious biotech conference – until her husband Daniel, also a neuroscientist, persuades her that the publicity storm will be worth it. The technology being unveiled at this conference could revolutionise medicine forever. More than that, it could save Sarah’s life.

In Geneva, the couple are feted as stars – at least, Sarah is. But behind the five-star luxury, investors are circling, controversial blogger Terri Landau is all over the story, and Sarah’s symptoms are getting worse. As events begin to spiral out of control, Sarah can’t be sure who to trust – including herself.

I do read the odd thriller/crime, but it is not my favourite genre. I found this one fascinating; the chapters were from different perspectives, which meant, firstly, they could be unreliable narrators and secondly you could only learn what they knew. It was a good structure for the novel (I wonder if you write things in order and then move things around?). I am not going to spoil it for anyone, I will just say I did not think the story would end the way it did.

This was a fast-paced, modern novel and it was a real page turner (If I had been reading it – I get finding jobs to do, so I could listen).

A review

3 Comments

Filed under 4, Fiction, Recommended, Thriller

Tagged as , , ,

August 20, 2023 · 2:48 pm

Wild Apples – Minnie Darke

Wild Apples – Minnie Darke

This was free from Audible and it sounded like something I would like. It’s quite short – about five hours – so I was prepared to give it a go. And I enjoyed it. A nice romance with a mature heroine.

Here’s the blurb …

Jane Bancroft has returned to Lovett, Tasmania after 20 years away, minus one ex-husband but plus one outraged teenage daughter. Life in the city – life in general – hasn’t quite panned out as she would have liked. With her mother unwell, now seems as good a time as any to come back to where it all began, and perhaps even start a new life here in the heart of Tasmanian apple country. But the legacy of Jane’s wild apple youth has not been forgotten by small-town Lovett and her homecoming is haunted by past tragedy.

Jane’s not the only child of Lovett returning home. Drew Pascoe, one-time scrawny kid working the pub kitchens, now handsome celebrity chef, is also back in town and looking to re-establish his roots. With the blessing of the locals and in an effort to reinvigorate tourism to Lovett, Drew has restored the old homestead Valleyfield, and plans to televise its opening as Tasmania’s hottest new dining destination. He knows a key ingredient to success is a unique homegrown flavour: Jane’s mother Thea, crowned Apple Queen of Lovett and the cantankerous guardian of the legendary recipe for apple snow. But the charm offensive he’s launched on Thea is not the only reason he’s keen to spend quite so much time with Jane.

Between her mother’s bitterness, her daughter’s escapades and the struggle to rebuild a her life, helping Lovett’s new golden boy with his grand plans are not Jane’s priority. But Drew’s enchanting persistence is making Jane realise that mending old wounds and a homegrown romance may in fact be the only way to start a fresh new chapter.

This was an easy to read (listen to) story. Drew was a lovely hero (possibly a bit too understanding). I think many of stuck in the sandwich generation (teen-aged children and aging parents) can appreciate the difficulties of Jane’s life. I always like a return to a small town romance.

Leave a Comment

Filed under 3, Fiction, Romance

Tagged as , ,

August 19, 2023 · 4:04 pm

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – Alison Goodman

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – Alison Goodman

Miss A, who works in a book store, told me all of the ‘Old Ladies’ were buying this book and she thought I might like it. She was right.

Here’s the blurb …

A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an ‘old maid’ to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents to rescue their friend’s goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.

The sisters set out to Caroline’s country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots and injures the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

Back in London, Gus can’t stop thinking about her unlikely (not to mention handsome) comrade-in-arms. She is convinced Lord Evan was falsely accused of murder, and she is going to prove it. She persuades Julia to join her in a quest to help Lord Evan, and others in need—society be damned! And so begins the beguiling secret life and adventures of the Colebrook twins.

This is part regency romance and part action and adventure. Our heroines Augusta and Julia are mature – 42 (no less), which I think is a good thing. Think of the novels of Georgette Heyer mixed with an adventure story (where things don’t always go to plan) and along the way we learn some history – most of it quite awful (the virgin cure? mental asylums for women – locked up because their guardians (husbands, brothers, fathers) found them annoying). Our hero, Lord Evan, is on the run after returning to England before completing his sentence for killing someone in a duel (I am sure there will be more about that in a later novel). The way they all meet is brilliant, but no spoilers here. The language is very heyeresque and the world building (creating regency England) is well done.

This is a fun, fast-paced romp.

A review

2 Comments

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Recommended, Romance

Tagged as , ,

August 7, 2023 · 8:29 pm

Lessons – Ian McEwan

Lessons – Ian McEwan

I have had this book in my tbr pile for a while and then I saw I could get the audio version (this version)from Borrowbox, so I did that.

Here’s the blurb …

When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines’s life is turned upside down. Two thousand miles from his mother’s protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts piano teacher Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.

Now, when his wife vanishes, leaving him alone with his tiny son, Roland is forced to confront the reality of his restless existence. As the radiation from Chernobyl spreads across Europe, he begins a search for answers that looks deep into his family history and will last for the rest of his life.

Haunted by lost opportunities, Roland seeks solace through every possible means—music, literature, friends, sex, politics, and, finally, love cut tragically short, then love ultimately redeemed. His journey raises important questions for us all. Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without causing damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape our lives and our memories? And what can we really learn from the traumas of the past?

Epic, mesmerizing, and deeply humane, Lessons is a chronicle for our times—a powerful meditation on history and humanity through the prism of one man’s lifetime.

This is what I think of as a ‘cradle to grave’ narrative – we follow Roland through most of his life, and get some history and politics into the bargain. It’s a long novel and it covers territory that I think would appeal to baby boomers (because they would have lived through similar times). Some of the tangents didn’t really work for me, I wanted to continue with the main story. However, it is a compelling story and I wanted to know what would happen to Roland, Lawrence (and even Miss Cornell).

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction

Tagged as , ,

August 1, 2023 · 6:21 am

The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese

The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese

I had about this novel at book club and I bought a copy as a gift, which came back to me so I could read it too – perfect gift.

Here’s the blurb …

A stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala and following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. The family is part of a Christian community that traces itself to the time of the apostles, but times are shifting, and the matriarch of this family, known as Big Ammachi—literally “Big Mother”—will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life. All of Verghese’s great gifts are on display in this new work: there are astonishing scenes of medical ingenuity, fantastic moments of humor, a surprising and deeply moving story, and characters imbued with the essence of life.

A shimmering evocation of a lost India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

I read Cutting for Stone – a few years ago and enjoyed it, so I was keen to read this one. It is quite the epic, over 700 pages, but, unusually, I didn’t think it could do with some editing. It’s beautifully evocative. The settings, the characters, the family “condition” where every generation someone (or multiple people) drown were intriguing and compelling. At its heart it’s about love and family.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Recommended

Tagged as , ,

July 25, 2023 · 5:01 pm

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson

Everyone in my Family has Tried to Kill Someone – Benjamin Stevenson

I needed a new audible book, so I scrolled through my husband’s audible account and selected this one. My new way of selecting is to choose the first thing that appeals to me. The audible book is narrated by Barton Welch.

Here’s the blurb …

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let’s get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me

I had seen this book in various book stores, but for some reason had been a bit dismissive. That was a mistake, I really enjoyed this novel. And, the ending, which I won’t spoil, was unexpected. This novel has a lovely chatty style, with a classic Poirot type reveal at the end. The audible narration is fabulous.

If you like crime or detective stories, then I think you will enjoy this novel.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Crime, Fiction, Recommended

Tagged as , ,

July 20, 2023 · 5:16 pm

A Whistling Woman – AS Byatt

A Whistling Woman – A S Byatt

The last of the Frederica Potter series. I enjoyed this one more than number 3 (Babel Tower).

Here’s the blurb …

The Booker Prize-winning author of Possession delivers a brilliant and thought-provoking novel about the 1960s and how the psychology, science, religion, ethics, and radicalism of the times affected ordinary lives. 

“Rich, acerbic, wise…. [Byatt] tackles nothing less than what it means to be human.” — Vogue

Frederica Potter, a smart, spirited 33-year-old single mother, lucks into a job hosting a groundbreaking television talk show based in London. Meanwhile, in her native Yorkshire where her lover is involved in academic research, the university is planning a prestigious conference on body and mind, and a group of students and agitators is establishing an “anti-university.” And nearby a therapeutic community is beginning to take the shape of a religious cult under the influence of its charismatic religious leader.

A Whistling Woman portrays the antic, thrilling, and dangerous period of the late ‘60s as seen through the eyes of a woman whose life is forever changed by her times.

These novels are full of detail and information, which I love. I read a review where someone was complaining about the description of clothes, but I love that. These novels are rich in description, literary allusions, science, etc.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Recommended

Tagged as , ,

July 12, 2023 · 4:05 pm

Babel Tower – AS Byatt

Babel Tower – AS Byatt

I am still listening to the Frederica Potter series of novels, this one is number three. These novels have so much going on – there is stories within stories. There is the plot of the novel and then there is bits of Babel Tower (a novel written by one of the characters) and there is another story written by yet another character. The novels are full of literary, scientific and art references. The characters are articulate.

Here’s the blurb …

Babel Tower follows The Virgin in the Garden and Still Life in tracing Frederica Potter, a lover of books who reflects the author’s life and times. It centers around two lawsuits: in one, Frederica — a young intellectual who has married outside her social set — is challenging her wealthy and violent husband for custody of their child; in the other, an unkempt but charismatic rebel is charged with having written an obscene book, a novel-within-a-novel about a small band of revolutionaries who attempt to set up an ideal community. And in the background, rebellion gains a major toehold in the London of the Sixties, and society will never be the same.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading these novels – I remember waiting impatiently for the final one to be released. They’re interesting; there are a variety of characters of all sorts (weird, clever, violent, angry, kind, mad) and I think it gives the reader an insight into life in the 1960s and 70s as a clever and ambitious woman.

It’s also about language and its slipperiness.

A review

1 Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Recommended

Tagged as , ,

July 11, 2023 · 6:34 pm

The Wind Knows My Name – Isabel Allende

The Wind Knows My Name – Isabel Allende

A friend lent me this novel. I wouldn’t have read it otherwise – I read something by her years ago and wasn’t that taken with it. However, I really enjoyed this one, so I am glad I read it.

Here’s the blurb …

This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019.

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler was six years old when his father disappeared during Kristallnacht—the night their family lost everything. Samuel’s mother secured a spot for him on the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to the United Kingdom, which he boarded alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Diaz, a blind seven-year-old girl, and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. However, their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination she created with her sister back home.

Anita’s case is assigned to Selena Duran, a young social worker who enlists the help of a promising lawyer from one of San Francisco’s top law firms. Together they discover that Anita has another family member in the United States: Leticia Cordero, who is employed at the home of now eighty-six-year-old Samuel Adler, linking these two lives.

Spanning time and place, The Wind Knows My Name is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers—and never stop dreaming.

This is a novel about child refugees; a small boy fleeing Germany, a young girl and her dad leaving El Salvador, a mother and daughter also leaving El Salvador. It’s about acts of cruelty (both thoughtless and deliberate) and acts of kindness. It is about families – biological and the ones we make for ourselves. But, at its heart, it is about the strength of the human spiriit.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 3, Fiction

Tagged as , ,

July 1, 2023 · 2:32 pm

Love By Design – Elizabeth Everett

Love by Design – Elizabeth Everett
My new book bag (it’s from Redbubble)

This was a mothers day gift from the lovely Miss A. I have already read A Perfect Equation and was keen to read more of Ms Everett’s work.

Here’s the blurb …

You couldn’t design a better hero than the very eligible and extremely charming Earl Grantham. Unless, of course, you are Margaret Gault, who wants nothing to do with the man who broke her youthful heart.

Widowed and determined, Margaret Gault has returned to Athena’s Retreat and the welcoming arms of her fellow secret scientists with an ambitious plan in mind: to establish England’s first woman-owned engineering firm. But from the moment she sets foot in London her plans are threatened by greedy investors and–at literally every turn–the irritatingly attractive Earl Grantham, a man she can never forgive.

George Willis, the Earl Grantham, is thrilled that the woman he has loved since childhood has returned to London. Not as thrilling, however, is her decision to undertake an engineering commission from his political archnemesis. When Margaret’s future and Grantham’s parliamentary reforms come into conflict, Grantham must use every ounce of charm he possesses–along with his stunning good looks and flawless physique, of course–to win Margaret over to his cause.

Facing obstacles seemingly too large to dismantle, will Grantham and Margaret remain forever disconnected or can they find a way to bridge their differences, rekindle the passion of their youth, and construct a love built to last?

I would describe this novel as a grown-up romance; Margaret is independent and self-reliant, she is not looking to be rescued or swept off her feet. In this series, the women are scientists, engineers, mathematicians, biologists, etc who want to participate in the world. Having said that, there are still traditional romance elements; the hero is an earl, Margaret is beautiful.

If you enjoy romance and romantic comedies, than this novel is for you.

A review

Leave a Comment

Filed under 4, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

Tagged as , , ,