Happy publication day to ‘The Christmas Appeal’ – 26th October, 2023.
I absolutely loved Janice Hallett’s ‘The Appeal’ so it was a joy to be given access to ‘The Christmas Appeal’ – a chance to rejoin the Fairway Players as they grapple with a pantomime, plus an unexpected dead body!
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Christmas Appeal’ by Janice HallettI’ll finish 2021 on about 130 books, way ahead of my Goodreads Challenge target of 100 (yay!)
I just thought I’d take a few minutes to share some of the BRILLIANT books I’ve read this year – 5 fiction, 5 non-fiction. Hope you find something to pique your interest here, just in case Santa didn’t bring you enough books!
This will be my last post of 2021, so wishing you all a Happy New Year and I’ll see you in 2022. Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog this year or chatted to me on Twitter – it has been an absolute pleasure.
Links are affiliate ones - thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you),Continue reading My Books of 2021
Let me get this out here first: I loved Janice Hallett’s debut novel, ‘The Appeal’. Everything about it was fantastic, from the modern epistolary style to the brilliantly relatable setting of a small-town amateur dramatics society. The characters were immediately recognisable types and the plot was unpredictable in all the best ways. Cosy, witty and so clever – I absolutely gulped it down and put ‘The Twyford Code’ at the top of my most anticipated books of 2022.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Twyford Code’ by Janice HallettI’m halfway to my Goodreads 2021 target of 100 books!
With 50 (mostly) great books under my belt, I thought it was time to take stock and pick my favourites so far.
These five in particular have helped light up my 2021…
I've included affiliate links in this post - thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.Continue reading Woah-oh, I’m halfway there!
It has been – quite simply – the longest month ever. I’ve found it hard to concentrate on reading at times and have fallen back on the genre that I know keeps me engaged – crime fiction!
I’ve read 10 books this month, of which 7 were crime novels.
Links below are affiliate ones – thank you for supporting my blog with any purchases.
January Wrap-Up
I started the month with the rather interesting ‘How Not To Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind’ by James O’Brien. I loved his previous book (‘How to be Right’), but was particularly fascinated by O’Brien’s exploration of his own prejudices and entrenched beliefs. It certainly gave me food for thought and I would recommend it.
Next up were a slew of brilliant crime novels that I would recommend whole-heartedly.
I read ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry, the latest in the DS Nikki Parekh series set in the seedy underworld of Bradford. This is a shocking tale of crime and abuse, but the fabulous Parekh/Malik investigative team at the heart of the novel makes it compelling. My review (for a blog tour for Rachel’s Random Resources) is here.
Another blog tour read was ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby and this proved another excellent police procedural. Although is the 9th book in the Cavendish and Walker series (a female duo of investigators), I think it works well as a standalone. In this book, West Mercia Police are grappling with a historical case as two skeletons turn up on a building site. You can read my blog tour review (for Damp Pebbles) here.
This was followed by ‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett which I read as a buddy read organised by Viper Books. Along with the lovely LockyLovesBooks, I tried to guess the murderer in this innovative and engaging crime novel – a novel presented through the emails, voicemails and texts of its main protagonists. I proved a terrible detective but had a lot of fun – you can read my review here.
Next up was ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie. I read this with my blogger friends at The Write Reads and we had a lot of fun discussing it – although, once again, I got nowhere near the solution! A classic crime novel with such clever plotting – Christie really was a master of her craft!
After this, I had a brief break from crime to read Margaret Atwood’s new poetry collection, ‘Dearly’. This is a beautiful and insightful book about loss, grief, ageing, female bodies and the environment – and I loved it. I was lucky enough to have both the hardback (purchased) and audiobook (from NetGalley) – you can read my review about both formats here.
Following this, I went back to crime for the tense and pacey ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson – I won a copy of this from the publisher and was so excited to read it ahead of publication. This serial killer crime novel is gruesome and terrifying – and I raced through it. My review will follow nearer publication later on in February.
Another blog tour read followed, ‘Bad Habits’ by Flynn Meaney. This is a very funny and lively YA comedy which sees its heroine, Alex, try to stage a version of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ at her strict Catholic boarding school. Thanks to the publisher (Penguin) and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review. My review, for The Write Reads, will be on the blog tomorrow.
My last books of the month took me back to crime fiction (of course!).
I read ‘An Eye for an Eye’ by Carol Wyer for a Damp Pebbles blog tour – this is another brilliant police procedural with a female lead, in this case the damaged but insightful DI Kate Young. The plotting of this one, based around a serial killer in Staffordshire, is so clever and it is an absolute page turner. My review is due up on 7th February.
I finished this month with ‘Dark Truths’ by AJ Cross, another cleverly-plotted police procedural featuring DI Bernard Watts and his rookie sidekick, PC Chloe Judd investigating the brutal murder of a jogger on a rural trail. They are being helped in their investigations by forensic psychologist Will Traynor, but he seems to have his own agenda… This is the first in a series featuring Traynor and I look forward to reading more. The paperback is published on 4th February and my review will follow on the blog.
As always, thanks to blog tour organisers, publishers, authors and NetGalley for granting me access to books in exchange for an honest review.
February TBR
As always, I have more books to read than I can possibly get through! Any TBR I write is always a small proportion of books I have to read for blog tours, books I should read for NetGalley and a wish list of many other fabulous-looking reads. I am never accurate in predicting what I will actually read!
So, here is my best guess of books that have caught my eye for February. Affiliate links are at the end of the list for anyone who likes the look of any of these…
That’s the plan anyway. See you here in a month’s time when I reveal that I actually read 10 more police procedurals because I am OBSESSED…
Header photo with thanks to Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash.
Have a fab Feb – K x
Happy publication day to this fabulous crime story with a difference! With thanks to Viper Books for my gifted copy and my buddy reader, Locky Loves Books, for lots of chat along the way.
Although the book was given to me by the publisher, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
Someone was murdered.
Someone went to prison.
And everyone’s a suspect.
Can you uncover the truth?
Dear Reader,
Enclosed are documents relating to the events surrounding the Fairway Players’ staging of All My Sons, and the tragic death of one of its members. Another member is currently in prison for the crime. We have reason to suspect that they are innocent, and that there were far darker secrets that have yet to be revealed.
We believe that the killer has given themselves away. It’s there in writing, hidden in the emails, texts, and letters. In the events surrounding the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick, and the question of whether that money was truly being used to fund her life-saving cancer treatment. Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth? Do you dare?
The Appeal by Janice Hallett is the standout debut thriller of 2021 in which the reader is challenged to solve the crime… and predict the victim. With the small-town intrigue of The Casual Vacancy and the deft plotting of Agatha Christie, it will change the way you think about the modern crime novel.
‘An addictive read’ – Michelle Frances
‘Brilliantly original, inventive and clever’ – Phoebe Morgan
TV RIGHTS OPTIONED BY ABC STUDIOS
My Review:
Look at that strapline! ‘Someone was murdered. Someone went to prison. And everyone’s a suspect. Can you uncover the truth?’ What an intriguing prospect! I volunteered to read the book based on that alone, with absolutely no sense of what the book was actually about. Indeed, I assumed the appeal of the title was something…legal-ish?
It turns out that ‘The Appeal’ is actually about a fundraising appeal to provide medication for a sick child, Poppy Reswick. The story of the appeal and the community undertaking this charitable venture is told through a series of letters, notes, texts, transcripts and voicemails between the key players. Alongside this main focus, a lot of the community also form the theatrical group rehearsing for a production of ‘All My Sons’ by Arthur Miller and a further sub-set are involved in the local healthcare system. Some are long-term members of the community or deeply embedded in family networks, while others are more peripheral – work colleagues, members of the Fairway Players or friends.
It’s these overlapping stories and characters that form the thrust of this book – yes, there’s a murder, but the main part of the book is getting to know the characters and the events that lead up to the killing. The reader (along with two legal trainees, Femi and Charlotte) is left to read between the lines of the communications, make assumptions and judgements and try to work out what on earth was going on!
The characters are only ever seen through their own words (in the emails, etc.) and from the perspectives of the other characters. This immediately throws up lots of questions for us armchair sleuths. Isabel seems lovely and chatty so why isn’t she liked? How does SJ get away with being so blunt? Who is caught out in lies? Who is pretending to be something they aren’t? And who is causing enough friction to set themselves up as the murder victim?
The strapline asks ‘Can you uncover the truth?’ and – for me – the answer was a very definitive no! I enthusiastically took up every red herring, went off on all kinds of irrelevant tangents and totally missed some of the biggest clues. I would make a terrible detective, it turns out.
Still, I absolutely loved this book. I got so caught up in the lives of the Fairway Players, the appeal for Poppy, the petty jealousies and rivalries within the community, that the cast started to feel like people I actually knew!
I really loved the flashes of humour in the book too – some of the minor characters are very funny and Isabel’s notes of the committee meeting are hilarious. For anyone who has ever sat through committee meetings (or tried to document them), there is so much here that is relatable. All of life is here – the people taking offense, the sniping, the power struggles, the deception, the gossip. It felt like being thrown into a community and trying to work out who might be a good friend and who to watch out for – something I really enjoyed.
I’d highly recommend this book – it’s my first 5 star read of 2021 – and suggest that you too take up the challenge. Can you uncover the truth? You could not be worse at it than me and you’ll have a lot of fun along the way!
About the Author:
Janice Hallett is a former magazine editor, award-winning journalist, and government speechwriter. She co-wrote the psychological thriller feature film The Retreat (starring Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell) with director Carl Tibbetts. She’s now a full-time writer of fiction in various forms, with several plays produced and scripts in development. The Appeal is her first novel.
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?
Since my last update, I finished ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry, the third book in the series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and her partner DC Saj Malik. This is a nail-bitingly tense instalment in which the Bradford-based detectives rush to uncover the links between a sequence of brutal murders – and is seems the connection is closer to Nikki than she would like. This is – as the title suggests – incredibly dark, but the lead detectives are a fabulous pair and this is a pacey and lively read.
A full review will follow on my blog later in the month as this is a blog tour book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Also for a January blog tour, I read ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby, a crime fiction novel in the Cavendish and Walker series. Although this is the ninth book in the series (but my first), I had no problems with immersing myself in the world of Lanchester Police and their investigation into a double murder that took place in 1980 but only uncovered 40 years later.
The lead characters, DCI Whitney Walker and Dr Georgina Cavendish, are a formidable pair – both prickly and tough – and this is a solid police procedural.
My review will follow later in January – with thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours and the author for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rounding off my week of obsessively reading crime fiction, I also finished ‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett. This is a hugely inventive murder mystery where the reader is put into the position of investigator! Alongside two legal trainees reviewing the case notes, the reader works their way through emails, voicemails, texts and notes from all the key characters. It’s immersive and mind-boggling and I loved it!
I read this as a buddy read with Locky Loves Books and my review will be on the blog on the book’s publication date (tomorrow!). With thanks to the kind people at Viper Books for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
What are you reading now?
As crime fiction seems to be the thing that is cutting through my brain fog, I’m reading ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson. I was lucky to win a proof copy of this book which is due out in February 2021. So far, it’s thrown me in the deep end with a whole load of gruesome discoveries – and I can’t wait to read on!
I’m still reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie as a readalong with my blogger friends at The Write Reads. I had to stop halfway through so we could discuss it and that was so hard to do – I need to read the rest!
I’m also still reading ‘Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ by Sian Evans. I absolutely love this book – it is a fascinating insight into the history of women at sea, from those working as stewardesses on the huge ocean liners to those enjoying the luxuries afforded to the first class passengers. The accompanying pictures in my hardback edition are also interesting. This book has already sent me off on several Google trips to find out even more about these amazing women.
What do you think you will read next?
I really need to clear some of the NetGalley shelf, but I’m finding it harder to read electronically at the moment. I’ve got my eye on ‘Dark Truths’ by AJ Cross (a forensic mystery) and ‘Bad Habits’ by Flynn Meaney (YA humour) as books that I think will keep me going!
So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks for reading and please do follow my blog for more updates.
Header photo with thanks to waad samah 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?
Since my last update, I finished reading ‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell, a serial killer crime novel with a female detective, DI Grace Archer. It is such a tense thriller, although definitely quite gruesome at times as Archer and her team find victims’ bodies turned into art installations on the streets of London. This is definitely a brilliant book for keeping readers turning pages – my review will follow
I also read ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix. Although it was nothing like I expected (I wanted a middle-aged, book club version of ‘True Blood’!), I did find it engaging.
I loved the idea of a group of women, brought together by their love of books, standing together against a vampire in their safe, middle-class neighbourhood. However, I was less prepared for the quite extreme horror elements – a bit beyond what I’d signed up for with its rats, bugs and dead animals.
Still, it kept me reading as I wanted to see the women – not a cohesive or cosy group by any means – triumph.
Then I read ‘How to Solve a Murder’ by Derek and Pauline Tremain, a rather gruesome but interesting book about forensics. The Tremains worked in the forensic department at Guy’s Hospital (where they met) and this book is packed with information about how deaths are investigated. I’d hoped for some insights into specific cases, but this was more about the science and the people doing the work – recommended for crime fiction fans.
My first book of 2021 was James O’Brien’s ‘How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing your Mind’. I really liked this non-fiction look at how broadcaster O’Brien has been led to shift his own world views by callers to his radio show or through the process of therapy. It’s an engaging and lively read, packed with O’Brien’s own reflections, transcripts of his radio show and plenty of food for thought.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading the new Liz Mistry book on NetGalley (‘Dark Memories’) – I loved the previous book in this series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and have so far been caught up in this story about Parekh investigating murders that have connections to her own poverty-stricken childhood in Bradford. The friendship between Parekh and her sidekick, Saj, is just lovely in this book and offsets some of the bleak themes.
I’m also reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie as a readalong with my blogger friends at The Write Reads. I’m only a few chapters in and remembering all the reasons I loved reading Christie’s books when I was a teenager – the characterisation, the fiendish plotting, the red herrings… I love it all!
‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett is also on my current reading pile – I’m reading this as a buddy read with Locky Loves Books. It’s a really unusual crime fiction book in that it is all written as emails, voicemail transcrips, texts and notes between the main protagonists surrounding a murder in a small community (and the lawyers who are trying to piece together the solution at the same time as the reader). Highly original and absolutely brilliant!
And (because three books on the go isn’t enough!) I’m also reading ‘Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ by Sian Evans. This is a very readable non-fiction book about women travellers mainly between the wars. The opening chapters deal with the Titanic and the ‘Unsinkable’ Violet Jessop before moving on to war time and the tragedy of the Lusitania. It’s fascinating stuff so far!
What do you think you will read next?
I have so many books, thanks to Christmas and my Waterstones’ sale spree – I am very lucky to be drowning in books. My husband is less happy about the amount of books in our house right now…
I do have a book to read for a blog tour – ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby, a crime fiction novel in the Cavendish and Walker series. I haven’t read previous books but I am totally intrigued by the fact this is a female DCI partnered with a female forensic psychologist to solve the historical murders of teenage girls who were killed in 1980.
Aside from this, I’ve got my eye on some more crime fiction – it’s becoming a bit of an obsession! I’m tempted by ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson as I won a proof, plus ‘One by One’ by Ruth Ware (who has been described as a modern-day Christie – perfect!)
So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks to NetGalley, publishers, my family and my ever-dwindling bank account for keeping me in great books.
Well, the eternal 2020 is finally over!
I managed to read 11 books in December, taking me to a total of 120 for the year – a lot for me and more than my Goodreads target of 100.
Affiliate links are provided below – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.
December Reading
I started the month with a NetGalley 2021 ARC, ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ by Catriona Ward. This is a really clever book about a serial killer and a missing child – to say more would really ruin the plot! Although I did read this and was pulled along by the narrative, I personally found it to be a bit bleak for my tastes. It will be published in March 2021.
Next I read ‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge, the next book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series that will be published in February 2021 (again, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review). This starts with a woman waking up next to a dead man she doesn’t recognise…and then keeps you turning the pages until you find out what happened. A review will follow nearer publication.
Then came ‘The Inverts’ by Crystal Jeans, a book set mainly in the 1920s and 1930s about a gay man and woman who decide to marry to present a respectable front to society in order to hide their love affairs. It was a lively read, although felt startlingly modern in places. A review will follow on the blog nearer the April 2021 publication date.
I followed this with ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’, the latest poetry book from Brian Bilston (to be published in January 2021). Those who love Bilston’s clever wordplay and witty takes – usually showcased on Twitter – will find lots more to love in this poetry collection – review to follow.
Then I read the *secret book* for the BBNYA judging panel which – I can now reveal – was ‘The Devil’s Apprentice’ by Kenneth B Andersen. Way outside of my usual genres, this is the first book in The Great Devil War series and was a vividly-imagined fantasy novel about a boy who finds himself in a case of mistaken identity…and in Hell. A highly engaging read.
‘The Best Things’ by Mel Giedroyc (to be published in April 2021) was next. I love Mel Giedroyc and this was an entertaining story about a wealthy family who lose everything and have to adapt to survive. There were some lovely comic touches in this fairly cosy, easy read – review to follow.
Far from a cosy read was ‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell, due for publication in February 2021. This was a gruesome and fast-paced police procedural about a serial killer who displays his victims as art installations on the streets of London. It introduces DI Grace Archer who – I think – has real potential to carry a whole series of books (I hope!) Review to follow in February.
I followed this with another gruesome book, ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix. I’d had this on my TBR for ages and was hoping for a story of female solidarity in the face of vampires, packed with Southern charm and a kind of ‘True Blood’ but with books. It didn’t deliver this at all, although I did find it quite readable.
The last book I read this month was ‘How to Solve a Murder’ by Derek and Pauline Tremain. This is a non-fiction book about the workings of a forensic department at Guy’s Hospital in London where both of the Tremains worked. This was insightful and interesting, although a bit gross at times! Review to follow nearer the publication date in January 2021.
All of the above books were provided by NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews except for ‘The Devil’s Apprentice’ which was given to me as part of the BBNYA judging panel.
Finally, I listened to two audiobooks this month – ‘Going Solo’ by Roald Dahl (read by Dan Stevens) and ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens (read by Hugh Grant). Both were fabulous and highly recommended.
January TBR
I’ve got a few blog tours coming up this month, so will be reading ‘Bad Habits’ by Flynn Meaney (YA comedy), ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry (next in the excellent DS Nikki Parekh crime series) and ‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett (a murder mystery with a difference!)
I’ll also be buddy reading (with ‘The Write Reads’ book club that isn’t a book club) ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie. I read lots of Christie as a teenager so I’m hoping I don’t remember the solution halfway through!
Apart from these, I want to work through some of the excellent books I was given for Christmas (and the ones I bought in the Waterstones’ sale – I have no self control in the face of a bargain!).
These include the non-fiction books ‘How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing your Mind’ by James O’Brien (politics and current affairs), ‘Maiden Voyages’ by Sian Evans (women’s social history about sea travel between the wars) and ‘Written in Bone’ by Professor Sue Black (forensic anthropology).
Aside from these, I’ll see where January takes me! Wishing you all a very happy new year!
Header photo by Nicole De Khors on Burst.
