WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
It has been a shamefully long time since I last did one of these posts! This is all the books I have read since my May Wrap-Up.
Continue reading WWW Wednesday: 16th June, 2021In the place of my usual WWW Wednesday post, I have my end of my end of month wrap up and a look at what is coming up in my bookish world in April.
Links provided are affiliate links – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.
March Wrap-Up
It’s been a good reading month – I’ve read some great books, including a few outside my comfort zone! This month, I’ve read 13 books. I’ve struggled a bit with digital reading, so these have been mainly physical books – unusual for me and a lovely change.
My NetGalley is at 76% – this will be a focus for me in April as I really want to get back to that elusive 80%!
Continue reading March 2021 Wrap-Up and April TBRWelcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Shadow in the Glass’ by JJA Harwood.
This tour was organised by Random Things Tours. The novel was published in hardback on 18th March, 2021.
Thank you to the tour organiser and publisher for my review copy – this has not influenced my views and opinions are – as always – entirely my own.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Sally Rigby’s ‘Silent Graves’, the ninth book in the Cavendish and Walker crime fiction series.
This tour was organised by the lovely Emma at Damp Pebbles and I’d like to thank her and the author for my free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book was published in paperback and digital formats on 15th January 2021.
Book Blurb:
Nothing remains buried forever…
When the bodies of two teenage girls are discovered on a building site, DCI Whitney Walker knows she’s on the hunt for a killer. The problem is the murders happened forty years ago and this is her first case with the new team. What makes it even tougher is that with budgetary restrictions in place, she only has two weeks to solve it.
Once again, she enlists the help of forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish, but as she digs deeper into the past, she uncovers hidden truths that hurtle through the decades and into the present.
Silent Graves is the ninth book in the acclaimed Cavendish & Walker series. Perfect for fans of L J Ross, J M Dalgleish and Rachel Abbott.
My Review:
I love police procedurals and doubly so when there’s a strong female lead – so I jumped at the chance to join this blog tour.
I hadn’t read any of this series before (this is the ninth book) but I managed just fine with it. This book works well as a stand alone – everything relevant is explained.
The opening pages introduce us to DCI Whitney Walker who is about to meet her new team in the shiny new Lenchester police station. She’s worked with some of them before, but there are new additions and she has a new boss – all very unnerving for her, but useful for those of us catching up with who’s who!
The team’s first case comes about when two bodies are found on farmland that is being developed for a housing estate. The two skeletons present a problem – this is clearly a historical case and there will be limited forensic evidence. When the bodies are established to be connected to the 1980 disappearance of two teenage girls, Walker and her team are faced with the difficulties of investigating a cold case with limited time – Lenchester Police are unwilling to fund a long investigation that might ultimately lead nowhere…
This is a solid police procedural with a good range of characters – Walker’s team are an interesting bunch, all recognisably real and human, from the slightly cocky new DS who has big career plans to the timid researcher whose brilliant work gets overshadowed by her more confident teammates.
Walker herself is also engaging – although she is slightly prickly and would be terrifying to actually work for, I think! Her friendship with Dr Georgina Cavendish, a forensic psychologist and another spiky character, is well developed and the two women have complementary skills that further the investigation.
I have no clue as to whether this is a realistic portrayal of police work – I did have a few questions – but it is an enjoyable and well-plotted police procedural. I thought there would be issues with keeping the momentum going on a 40 year-old case, but this is well managed and I was keen to keep reading.
I would recommend this to lovers of crime fiction with a strong (female) detective at the helm. It isn’t gruesome or full of peril, but it is an engaging and interesting read – and equally accessible whether you are a die-hard Cavendish and Walker fan or (like me) brand new to the series.
About the Author:
Sally Rigby was born in Northampton, in the UK. She has always had the travel bug, and after living in both Manchester and London, eventually moved overseas. From 2001 she has lived with her family in New Zealand (apart from five years in Australia), which she considers to be the most beautiful place in the world. After writing young adult fiction for many years, under a pen name, Sally decided to move into crime fiction. Her Cavendish & Walker series brings together two headstrong, and very different, women – DCI Whitney Walker, and forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish. Sally has a background in education, and has always loved crime fiction books, films and TV programmes. She has a particular fascination with the psychology of serial killers.
Check out her website for a FREE prequel story….. www.sallyrigby.com
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SallyRigby4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Sally-Rigby-131414630527848/posts/?ref=page_internal
Website: https://sallyrigby.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sally.rigby.author/
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/373TnGQ
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/39ZDwL1
Welcome to my stop on the Damp Pebbles blog tour for ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon. This engaging and lively historical mystery was published by January Press in paperback and digital formats on 30th May 2020.
Book Blurb:
June 1910.
Fighting her corner in a man’s world, Dr Margaret Demeray works as a pathologist in a London hospital for the poor. Suppressing her worry that she’s breaching confidentiality, Margaret gives a stranger called Fox information about a dead down-and-out, in the hope he’ll use it to raise awareness of bad working conditions.
But when a second man appears to die the same way, Margaret starts to wonder why the enigmatic Fox keeps turning up to ask ever more complex questions.
She decides to work alone, uncertain of his motives and wary of her attraction to him. Once she starts investigating however, her home is burgled, she’s attacked in broad daylight and a close friend becomes distant. Fox offers the chance to forge an alliance, saying he knows why the men have died but needs her to find out what is killing them and who is behind it.
Yet how come the closer she gets to him the more danger she faces? And how can a memory she’d buried possibly be linked to the deaths?
Margaret must discover the truth before someone – known or unknown – silences her for good.
My Review:
I love a good mystery book. I also love historical fiction. Furthermore, I love a sassy and strong female protagonist, especially those pushing at societal boundaries, so choosing to read this book was a no-brainer for me!
I really loved the character of Dr Margaret Demeray who works as a pathologist in a London hospital for the poor – this was unknown for women at this time and it seemed a regular occurrence in the novel that men visited the hospital expecting to meet a male Doctor – it was frustrating to both Margaret and me that she was often treated as a nurse or some kind of helper!
When the death of what appears to be a rough-sleeper is brought to Margaret’s attention, she investigates his lungs for signs of disease as was common among those suffering poverty in London. However, she is mystified to find signs of another issue, almost a kind of poisoning of the tissue, and worries that it is caused by working conditions.
When another body is discovered with the same signs, Dr Margaret Demeray becomes embroiled in a mystery that proves dangerous to her personally. Her only ally seems to be a man called Fox, about whom she knows nothing other than he helps her out and keeps digging for information.
As Margaret is led into ever-more perilous situations, I couldn’t wait to turn the pages and race through the book to find out what happened. I really liked the fact that – although she faces some real danger – Margaret is a heroine that rarely needs saving by a man! Instead, she is tough and makes considered and thoughtful decisions – and she can see off an attacker if needed!
The plot is well-paced and the clues gradually begin to add up to something that is much beyond Margaret’s expectations. As the events of the novel began to race towards a denouement, I had everything crossed for Margaret! I wasn’t sure how the strands of the story would come together but they do – and well.
I would heartily recommend this to anyone who likes intelligent historical fiction with a crime and mystery element. This is no cosy crime – the diseased lungs and pathology put paid to that idea early on – but it is an engaging and lively novel with a heroine who is to be admired.
About Paula Harmon:
Paula Harmon writes chiefly but not only historical mysteries. Paula Harmon was born in North London to parents of English, Scottish and Irish descent. Perhaps feeling the need to add a Welsh connection, her father relocated the family every two years from country town to country town moving slowly westwards until they settled in South Wales when Paula was eight. She later graduated from Chichester University before making her home in Gloucestershire and then Dorset where she has lived since 2005.
She is a civil servant, married with two adult children. Paula started making up stories before she could write but didn’t take the plunge and do it seriously until 2015. Now she has several writing projects underway and wonders where the housework fairies are, because the house is a mess and she can’t think why.
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paula_S_Harmon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/paulaharmonwrites
Website: https://paulaharmon.com/
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/37wEXzm
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2TioPJu
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2HsTwcg
Happy publication day to this beautiful piece of historical fiction!
Bridget Collins’ first book, ‘The Binding’ was one of my favourite books of last year, so I was very keen to get my hands on this one. I had literally no idea what to expect in terms of plot, but was hoping that it would be every bit as immersive and compelling as ‘The Binding’.
The story follows Leo Martin, a disgraced politician, who is sidelined from ‘The Party’ and sent back to his old university, Montverre. Here, he can continue his work on the ‘grand jeu’, a mysterious game that seems to have elements of music, mathematics and mysticism. The narrative follows him as he experiences life as a guest at the college and, in particular, his building of a relationship with the Magister Ludi, a teacher and ‘grand jeu’ expert.
Alongside this, we read of Leo’s first stay at the school as a student when he built relationships with fellow scholars that continue to impact his present experiences.
As with ‘The Binding’, it’s so hard to do justice to the plot and characters as the whole book is so intricately crafted and it all slots together beautifully in the end – but it’s virtually impossible to describe as everything is linked! Collins has created a book which is so incisive on humanity and relationships, yet so difficult to pin down in other regards.
It is a historical novel in the same way ‘The Binding’ was – a sense of rich history, place and time, without it ever being made totally clear. Instead, the reader is left to put together the puzzle pieces – for my money, I think Montverre is in a (possibly imagined) European country and the historical markers (e.g. a reference to the Depression) make me think this is 1930s, although I really am not sure. It’s certainly rooted in reality, even if the reader is on constantly shifting sands in relation to understanding some elements – there are references to places and historical events throughout and the corruption of the country’s government reminded me of 1930s Germany – however, in this case, the persecution is of Christians. The ‘grand jeu’ itself is another mystery and one I still have no clear idea about.
However, none of this matters – as long as you are prepared to be swept along by the narrative. The novel centres on the theme of – surprise! – betrayal, but again this is multi-layered and there are many perceived and actual betrayals in the book. Again, the reader is on shifting sands as situations and motivations become clearer and sympathies shift.
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction and dense, rich narratives. The only proviso is that you have to accept that not everything is clear – this is deliberate, but I know that some readers will find it uncomfortable. If you’re prepared to go with the flow, this is a glorious and immersive read.
With thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
You can buy a copy of this book using my affiliate link below – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases. You’re going to want a hard copy of this as it is BEAUTIFUL!
Header photo with thanks to Marius Masalar for sharing their work on Unsplash.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published/pre-orders – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
I have finished reading ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon, a historical mystery novel that is for a blog tour with Damp Pebbles. It’s an engaging story about a pioneering female pathologist in Edwardian London. My review will be on the blog tour next week.
Then I read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus, a YA thriller, for a blog tour at the end of November with The Write Reads. This one is a twisty story of family lies and long-buried secrets in a small island community on Gull Cove Island in America.
Another blog tour book also turned up this week and I devoured it in one sitting! ‘How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)’ by Gary Raymond is a hilarious skewering of the 2003 Richard Curtis film, ‘Love Actually’. It made me laugh so much and nod in agreement. My (extremely gushing) review will be on the blog later in the month as part of the Damp Pebbles tour.
What are you reading now?
I’ve joined a reading group on Twitter in order to (hopefully) knock through some of the NetGalley backlog – this was set up by the lovely Emandherbooks and is a supportive group of bloggers working on #NetGalleyNovember2020.
Due to them, I’ve made excellent in-roads to Laura Purcell’s ‘The Shape of Darkness’ which I am absolutely loving! It’s a historical, spooky, gothic tale involving spiritualism and murder – right up my street! This one will be published in January 2021.
I’m also reading ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier with the fabulous bunch at The Write Reads. It’s a book that (I’m ashamed to say) I’ve failed to read on two previous occasions but I’m making progress this time.
I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes. I’m enjoying it but can’t seem to make much progress as it is packed with ideas and interesting stuff. I keep having to put it down to digest bits!
Finally, I’m still working my way through the audiobook of Jasper Rees’ ‘Let’s Do It’, the biography of Victoria Wood that is read by so many famous voices. Although I love the narration, I am finding it quite slow going and – coming in at about 21 hours – I have a long way to go. I’m not sure I’m going to make it.
What do you think you will read next?
I’ve just taken on another blog tour for Damp Pebbles as there was a date that needed filling so my next read is ‘The Heat’, a crime novella by Sean O’Leary.
Then it’s back to NetGalley and the brilliant ARCs vying for my attention! Top of the pile at the moment (but always subject to change) are these gems:
As always, thanks for reading and following my blog!
With thanks to the blog tour hosts, publishers, authors and NetGalley for providing me with the books in exchange for honest reviews. The only book not provided for free in this week’s round-up is ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier.
Header photo with thanks to Jessica Fadel for sharing their work on Unsplash.
This is the third book in the series featuring Leo Stanhope, a hospital porter turned journalist living with a big secret that could jeopardise everything he has worked for. This series, set in Victorian London, has been a treat from the beginning and this is another satisfying instalment.
This book will be published on 12th November, 2020.
This story follows Leo as he investigates a murder in a backstreet gaff, a low-rent wrestling venue packed with it’s own cast of tough men, dodgy management and street urchins looking for shelter. Leo, struggling to make his name on the front pages of the newspaper, writes an article that gets all the wrong sort of attention and finds himself caught up in something he cannot control or understand.
The story here is pacey and there are plenty of false turns and red herrings to keep readers guessing. The setting is appropriately seedy and the characters interesting.
What will appeal to readers returning to the series is the cast of Leo’s friends – Rosie and her pie shop, Alfie and Constance, Jacob and family, even the familiar Constable Pallett – who are all here.
This probably could be read as a stand alone novel, but I would really recommend that you start at the beginning of the series as there is so much to enjoy for lovers of historical fiction.
If you would like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link below – thanks for supporting my blog! I’ve also added a link for ‘The House on Half Moon Street’ in case you wanted to start at the beginning of the series:
Header photo with thanks to SHOT for sharing their work on Unsplash.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
I finished my audiobook of ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ which was written and read by Bill Bryson. I really enjoyed this autobiographical tale of Bryson’s childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s and would recommend it.
Then I read ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton which I LOVED! It’s a dark and twisty tale of murder and mayhem on a ship travelling between the Dutch East Indies and Amsterdam in 1634. My review is here.
Lastly, I read ‘The Whole Truth’, the new DI Fawley book from Cara Hunter which is due out in March 2021. What starts as a he said/she said investigation into a sexual assault becomes something much more deadly for Fawley and his team. Review will follow in the blog nearer to the publication date.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon for a forthcoming blog tour. This is about a female doctor in 1910, a pioneering pathologist and one making her way in a man’s world. It’s also a mystery story so it is keeping me guessing!
I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes – I really like it but it has been pushed aside for various blog tour books. I’m currently reading about Helen of Troy and it is very interesting to hear a different perspective to usual as she is normally portrayed quite negatively.
I’ve started listening to the audiobook of ‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees, the biography of Victoria Wood. It’s engaging so far and interesting to hear about the more private side of Wood, the shy perfectionist, rather than her on-screen persona. The cast reading this are absolutely brilliant so I’m glad I went for the audio version.
What do you think you will read next?
I am about to read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus for a blog tour with The Write Reads. I’m looking forward to this one as it is a standalone mystery about secrets within a family and sounds very tense!
I am also determined to get to the books that are top of my pile on Netgalley – ‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell and ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell. I’m so looking forward to these two above all others. I’m determined to make a dent in the NetGalley backlog so that will be the focus of the next month or so.
So that’s another WWW Wednesday done! This year is flying by and I’m on the countdown to Christmas now…
Header photo with thanks to Alisa Anton for sharing her work on Unsplash.
In what might work out to be the geekiest post ever, I thought I’d have a closer look at the 100 books I’ve read this year. I completed my Goodreads challenge this week so it seems a good time to pause and take stock.
Things that don’t surprise me a bit…
I know that I read a lot of female writers, so the gender ratio 60:40 in favour of female writers didn’t surprise me at all. A lot of my favourite detective series are written by women (Rachel Lynch, Carla Kovach, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths…I could go on!)
Also unsurprising was the number of books that I read for free this year – I’ve always read a lot through NetGalley, plus have done some blog tours, so it is to be expected that a huge proportion of my reads (74%) were free in exchange for an honest review. I am eternally grateful to NetGalley, blog tour hosts, publishers and authors for keeping me in reading material!
Finally, because of my NetGalley obsession, it makes perfect sense that my most read format this year was on Kindle (71%). I invested in a Kindle Oasis earlier this year because I thought the warm light feature might be kinder on my eyes, especially given how long I stare at it!
Things that did surprise me…
I know I read quite widely, but I thought I’d probably be very heavy on the crime and historical fiction. This did turn out to be true – 44% of my books had some kind of crime element, whether in a contemporary or historical setting. However, only 30% of my chosen reads had a historical setting – something I thought would be higher.
What I was pleasantly surprised by was the fact that 27% of the books were non-fiction. I do love non-fiction but thought it would be more overshadowed than that in the statistics. I was also happy to see that there was a range of genres in the mix too – poetry, humour, romance and ‘other’ (contemporary fiction, play scripts) made up a good chunk.
I seem to be heavily dependent on the 4* rating (71% of my books in 2020) but it was heartening to see that nearly 1/5 of the books I read this year were 5* ones. I wasn’t too surprised to see the small proportion of 3* rating (and nothing below) because I choose my books carefully and DNF any that won’t make 3 stars!
Some lists…
My 5 Star Reads of 2020 (so far) – links to reviews where possible!
Books I Bought With My Own Money and Read This Year:
| ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton |
| ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ by Bill Bryson |
| ‘Practically Perfect’ by Katy Brand |
| ‘Essex Girls’ by Sarah Perry |
| ‘The Princess and the Prick’ by Wallaburga Appleseed |
| ‘Boy’ by Roald Dahl |
| ‘More than a Woman’ by Caitlin Moran |
| ‘A Tomb With a View’ by Peter Ross |
| ‘Good Samaritans’ by Will Carver |
| ‘The Book of Humans’ by Adam Rutherford |
| ‘A Chip Shop in Poznan’ by Ben Aitken |
| ‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’ by Florence Given |
| ‘State of the Union’ by Nick Hornby |
| ‘The Great Godden’ by Meg Rosoff |
| ‘A Rising Man’ by Abir Mukherjee |
| ‘Three Women’ by Lisa Taddeo |
| ‘Dead Famous’ by Greg Jenner |
| ‘This is Shakespeare’ by Emma Smith |
| ‘A Murderous Relation’ by Deanna Raybourn |
| ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ by Brian Bilston |
| ‘When the Dogs Don’t Bark’ by Angela Gallop |
| ‘A Million Years in a Day’ by Greg Jenner |
| ‘The Golden Tresses of the Dead’ by Alan Bradley |
| ‘A Curious History of Sex’ by Kate Lister |
| ’52 Times Britain was a Bellend’ by James Felton |
| ‘Fleabag’by Phoebe Waller-Bridge |
9 Writers I’ve Read More Than One Book By This Year:
Brilliant Debut Novels
5 Surprises This Year
Affiliate links to my books of the year (so far) – I may earn a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
So that’s my Goodreads 100! It’s been an odd year – I don’t usually expect to read 100 books, let alone 100 books by October. I hope you’ve enjoyed my trawl through my reading so far this year and thank you for visiting and supporting my blog.
Header photo with thanks to Floris Andréa for sharing their work on Unsplash.
