The Book Post - June

What's been on my bookshelf...

Yes, yes, yes, I know I said I’d read less this year, but I’ve been on holidays, and that means reading on planes (goodness knows there was little on the in-flight entertainment to hold my interest), on the beach, by the pool, as well as at the end of a day’s walking.

So, without further ado, here we go…

Making Your Mind Up, by Jill Mansell

Lottie Carlyle is happy enough. Living in a beautiful cottage with her two adorable--sometimes--kids in an idyllic village, on good terms with her ex-husband, and with friends all around, everything is going just fine. But when she meets her new boss, her peaceful world is thrown into delightful, exciting, and frustrating chaos. Tyler is perfect for Lottie, but her kids do not agree. To make matters worse, the handsome and mysterious Seb appears on the scene, intriguing--and distracting--Lottie and charming her children, making it more and more difficult for her to make up her mind..

How I missed this one by Jill Mansell when it first came out 10 years ago is a mystery. I have now, however, caught up. And delightfully so.

An Almost Perfect Summer, by Jill Mansell

Nick is the most attractive man Nella has met in a while. It's not just his 9* good looks (no one gets a 10!), but also that infectious smile. And he's definitely noticed her. But with their homes so far apart, it's one of those delightful flirty moments you enjoy and forget.

Then Nella loses her job. There's a perfect new role on offer at a luxury Cotswolds holiday retreat. The catch is that her boss would be Nick. The good news: she'd be seeing him again. The bad news? Nella never mixes work with pleasure; she knows exactly how wrong that can go. Nick is the one man she can't risk falling in love with.

While Nella struggles with an attraction that won't go away, a Hollywood star has found her perfect escape at the retreat. Lizzie's sworn off people - especially men. But the warmth of her new neighbours entices her out of her shell. Even though one grumpy local - Matthew - seems in no hurry to join her fan club. Could Lizzie ever make a connection with someone so disapproving of her? A secret revealed will change everything . . .

Pure escapist bliss. The perfect holiday read. If I have to be critical, the title seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the book, and that really irks me. Stepping off my soapbox now.

The Wife and the Widow, by Christian White

Set against the backdrop of an island town in the dead of winter, The Wife and the Widow is a thriller told from two perspectives: Kate, a widow whose grief is compounded by what she learns about her husband’s secret life; and Abby, an island local who is forced to confront the evidence that her husband is a murderer.

But nothing on this island is quite as it seems. Only when these women are pushed to the edge can they uncover the whole, crashing truth about the men in their lives.

When Sarah was finishing year 12 (was that really 10 years ago???) we received an email telling us she had books that needed to be returned to the library before finishing. It came as a shock, not that she had unreturned books, but that she knew where the library was. It’s fair to say she wasn’t a reader. In the years since finishing university, however, she’s begun to read books. So on our recent holiday in Vietnam, when Sarah said she needed to stay down at the pool until she finished a book and I really should read it too, I wasn’t going to argue.

I’m very glad I did - and gasped aloud when the twist came.

We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers the pub quiz and afternoons at home with his cat Trouble. His days of adventure are over – that’s his daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul, which makes being a private security officer to billionaires the perfect job. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending Steve an SOS . . .

As a breakneck race around the world begins, can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?

This one was my read of the month.

The critics haven’t been very kind to Richard Osman this time round, but since when am I going to allow a critic to dampen my enjoyment of something? Never - that’s when.

Sure, it’s not the Thursday Murder Club, but who cares about that? I certainly don’t, and I loved every minute of this book.

The Ledge, by Christian White

When human remains are discovered in the forests of regional Victoria, the police are baffled, the locals are shocked, and one group of old friends starts to panic. Their long-held secret is about to be uncovered.

It all began in 1999 when sixteen-year-old Aaron ran away from home, dragging his friends into an unforeseeable chain of events that no one escaped from unscathed ...

Another Sarah recommendation, the twist in this one blew me away.

The Hitwoman’s Guide To Reducing Household Debt, by Mark Mupotsa-Russell

'I met my husband on the same day I committed my very last murder. There's a joke in there somewhere, about ending two men's lives.'

Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things - back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate - but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges.

When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it's the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt. So she creates situations where these bad men get themselves killed through their anger, ego and greed - all while trying to mislead the cops long enough to finish what she started.

I rarely post books I did not or could not finish on these posts. This is because it’s usually the wrong book at the wrong time rather than the book’s fault - the literary equivalent of it’s not you, it’s me. In this case, it’s not me, and it’s not the author; it’s the publisher, and that’s the problem.

If you’re after a dark story about a grief-stricken ex-hitwoman, seeking revenge and arranging the one-by-one killing of the gang members responsible for the death of her child (trigger warning - this happens in the first part of the book and should have been enough for me to close it immediately… #soznotsoz for the spoiler), you’ll enjoy this. That, however, is not what I was after - I tend not to read anything where the dog or the child dies.

I got an impression from the tongue-in-cheek title, the cover, and even the blurb: this was a cosy of sorts, with some dark humour. It wasn’t. If there was humour, I missed it. I can only assume the publisher intended to target Richard Osman readers, but this doesn’t belong on the shelf beside Richard Osman books - it’s way too dark and grittily violent.

After getting to about 75% of the way through, I decided I was enjoying it less and less, so pulled the pin. It’s a great concept, and the author has done a good job, but it’s not for me. That should have been clear the minute the kid died.

Play to the End, by Robert Goddard

Actor Toby Flood, formerly of big and small screen but now seldom seen on either, arrives in Brighton with the other cast members of the Joe Orton play Lodger in the Throat. They have been on tour since September, but hopes of a West End transfer have been abandoned and they are all looking forward to the end of the run the following Saturday.

Flood is visited that night by his estranged wife, Jenny, now living with wealthy entrepreneur Roger Colborn. Jenny runs a shop in the Lanes and is worried about a strange man who is hanging around outside. Roger has dismissed her concerns but Jenny persuades Toby, for old times' sake, to do something. The next day Flood trails the man and confronts him. Derek Oswin is an unemployed loner who blames Roger Colborn for his father's death from cancer on account of dangerous practices at the now-closed plastics factory run by Roger and his late father, Sir Walter Colborn. However, Oswin is a fan of Flood's and eventually he agrees to lay off. Then, Colborn gets wind of Flood's contact with Jenny and tries to buy him off, but Flood sees only a longed-for opportunity to win Jenny back, and presses for answers to a host of questions surrounding the death of Sir Walter seven years earlier.

Before he fully understands the risks he is running, Flood finds himself entangled in the mysterious -- and dangerous -- relationship between the Oswins and the Colborns. The prospects of him surviving until the close of the play suddenly start to look far from good.

I’d forgotten how intricately twisty Robert Goddard’s books were - it’s been years since I read one - but picked this one up at the op shop (and will take it back so someone else can read it too). As an aside, the op shop has become the next best thing to the library for me.

Anyways, a great edge-of-your-seat read.

Book Club

The Wind In The Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

This one was my choice for the Simply Stunning Classic book club. Sure, it appeared at no. 33 on the BBC’s list of the greatest British novels (as voted by critics from other countries), as well as various other lists of books you should read before you die, but the real reason I chose it was that a 1949 copy came into the Op Shop.

I now get why it’s such a comfort read for so many people, but reading it the way we did, it’s also apparent there are some very real adult themes hiding in plain sight on these pages. If you haven’t read it before, why not?

This month we’re reading PG Wodehouse’s The Code of the Woosters.

The Simply Stunning Classic Bookclub Podcast

Yes, we’re a podcast now… Or, rather, we’ve recorded our discussion of Wind in the Willows so you can listen in. Apologies for any cruddy editing - that’s my fault and I’m sure I’ll get better. Anyways, we’d love you to have a listen. You can find it here.

Your turn…

Deb, Donna, Sue, and I would love you to share what you’ve been reading … you’ll find the link up here…