Before the Rains Come and more

Spring is almost here and I know for sure that when I get to Book Club this month there will have been a spring clean of our book bags. You just can't heave them all around so we are quite ruthless and the books that you bought when it was your turn to choose, get returned to you and some find the way into the Walmer Library, as donations. My attendance at book club is a bit sporadic with my travelling these but here is what I hear the ladies are enjoying:-

Leaving Before the Rains Come

Another book by one of our favourite authors was very welcome! Alexander Fuller's 'Don't lets go to the Dogs Tonight' and 'Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness' were memoirs of her childhood in Rhodesia and her eccentric mother. This book tells how she met Charlie Ross, an American adventurer in Africa whom she marries and has three children. They are attracted by their differences and their  marriage unravels over two continents when those differences become the reason not to be together, I really enjoy her writing, her use of language, her humour and admire the interesting life she has lived and I cant wait to get my hands on this.
Interestingly enough no one seems to talk about her second novel 'Scribbling the Cat' which I loved. Perhaps the topic is not as popular as it tells the story of a veteran of the Rhodesian bush war. I believe anything by Alexander Fuller will be a fantastic read.

I am Pilgrim

I remember the 70s and 80s when books where big, thick, epic stories usually family sagas set over generations. These days we don't have time to wade through all those pages any more so I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes is not for the faint hearted. Nearly 700 three pages long, its a spy thriller kicked off by a gruesome murder scene and its driven by the stories of a large number of interlocking and interweaving lives of the man Pilgrim and the narrator and man who is on a mission to catch him before he destroys the world. The plot twists and turns like a python in a sack and this fast paced turn pager is an astonishing debut novel which I believe will be on the big screen in no time. A second book is already due for release in May next year. Definitely on the popular list in our book club.

Life After Life

This is my best read this year. If I was forced to choose one author as my favourite, Kate Atkinson would be the one. I loved her 'Behind the Scenes in the Museum' and became to slave to her next book after each release. Her latest novel is her most ambitious to date and tells the story of the Todd family and in particular Ursula who is born during a snowstorm in England in 1911, and dies before she can take her first breath. In 1911 during a snowstorm Ursula is born again and this time lives and dies several times throughout her life. Complex I know, but its a story of 'what ifs' a little like the movie sliding doors which has multiple stories within stories all leading to different endings. Its challenging but addictive and so well written - a masterpiece really! The main part of the book is set during the war years, both first and second, and her characters brought to life as if they are relations of yours. It's a long time since I have wanted to get home so I can read and this book does that - I couldn't wait to spend time with Ursula and the Todds and find out what happens to them. Again there is a sequel - out now - which tells the story of her much loved brother, Teddy a fighter bomber pilot. This will be my holiday read as I visit England next month and as my dad and grandfather were RAF pilots I am really looking forward to it.

A Spool of Blue Thread

Anne Tyler is a popular choice with book club and her books are quiet observations of family life and relationships. This one is no different - its the story of three generations of Whitshanks and a family gathering to discuss what is to be done about Abby and Red, who are getting older and what is to happen to their beloved family home. Its a gentle book to climb into bed with a night but none the less beautifully written and a compelling tale that we can all relate to. I was reading it at the airport in Zimbabwe and an American tourist came to ask if I was enjoying it,  as Anne Tyler is one of her favourites - we spoke about books, reading and book clubs, families, Africa, travelling and the world in general  for over an hour while waiting to board, A book can really bring people together - if I had been reading it on Kindle I would not have had that interesting conversation!

Its book club on Tuesday and I am looking forward to catching up and hearing what else is being enjoyed. I will try not to leave my blog entry so long next time. Happy Reading!

Bookclub catch up and books for Everyone!

Back home after after a spell in Natal and some travelling and we had such a lovely bookclub last week with lots to talk about.....and even books!
It was my turn to buy books this month and I left it a little late to research and order the best reviews books online so I resorted to a visit to the local bookstore and took 2 of their recommendations plus two random choices. I was horrified at the price of books here in SA (am so used to downloading onto my Kindle) or ordering from Amazon. Anyway I bought Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins; Esther's House

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

As fast as an express train and compulsively readable - this kept me awake late into the night!
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their patio. As lonely as she is she begins to  feel as if she knows them and creates names for them.  Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. 

Esther's House by Carol Campbell

I haven't read this yet but I love a local read and this title made me think of The Housemaids Daughter that bookclub so enjoyed,
Random Struik tell us,"Esther Gelderblom has been waiting for a house for twenty years. In the bitter Oudtshoorn winter she and her friend Katjie queue to ask when their names will finally appear on the government’s list of housing recipients. Esther dreams of a home for her daughter Liedjie, who plays the keyboard for the Bless Me Jesus church, and for her husband, Neville, who will then get his life in order. But corruption is rife as housing officials manipulate the list for favours. When Katjie’s shack burns down, the two women take matters into their own hands, occupying two empty houses and setting in motion events that will compromise everything they hold dear. 
Esther’s House is a story of greed, power, and the fight for what is right when good people are pushed too far.

The School of Life Cookery School by Nicky Pellegrino

In a remote Sicilian mountain town, four women arrive at a cookery school, each at a turning point in their lives. Moll is a foodie and an exhausted working mum on the holiday of a lifetime, Tricia a top lawyer is taking a break from the demands of her job and family. Valerie, consumed by grief  following the death of her partner, is trying to figure out how to live without him, And recently divorced Poppy has come to Sicily to learn about the place that her grandfather was born before emigrating to Australia, Luca Amore runs the school, using recipes passed down to him by generations of Amore women and he expects this course to be much like the others - but as sparks fly, friendships are made, secrets shared and nothing will ever be the same again. 

I haven't sampled this but it looks a nice holiday read and with Easter around the corner I though it was a good buy, Also the cover looked delicious!

My second random selection is The Widow's Confession by Sophia Tobin. Its a thriller set in Broadstairs in 1851 and was inspired by a painting of Ramsgate seaside exhibited in 1854. What can I say - it just looked readable and I hope that bookclub will enjoy it!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

 I am currently reading this and thoroughly enjoying it. Most of bookclub have read it and I got a last minute request to look for the sequel "The Rosie Effect" which was my 5th book purchase. If its as good as the first book - its a winner. The Rosie Project is laugh out loud funny! 

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.  Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

So they are our reads this month. I also enjoyed Mrs Hemmingway by Naomi Wood whilst travelling and while in Singapore I started to read Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan which is still waiting to be finished on my Kindle. 

Happy Reading everyone - nothing like settling down at night with a good book and Easter Chocolates!

Book Club Current Favourites

I made a decision the other day to read something everyday - even if it was one page - and being mindful has done its trick and despite a lot of travel, a lot of work and a lot of fun, I have managed to read 2 books.

The book starts in 1920s when twins are born to Jewish parents - one twin died but by coincidence a mother dies in childbirth the same evening, after giving birth to a healthy baby boy and  Frieda  takes him to her heart and adopts him.  As youngsters the boys are part of a Saturday club where they share there hopes, dreams and love blossoms. Both brothers fall in love with the same girl and as she blossoms into a beautiful teenager, they dedicate themselves to protecting her.The brothers grow up believing that they are birth twins but as Germany marches into its Nazi terror the family is tested to the limits of endurance. Its Ben Elton's most personal book to date and echoes with the stories of his ancestors. Its not the easiest of books to read because of the terrifying era that the book is set in, but the stories of the boys growing are peppered with humour. This book made me laugh and it made my cry - sometimes at the same time!



I loved The Debutant by Kathleen Tessaro so when I saw her latest book I knew that it would be a winner. The cover is beautiful, the characters enchanting and I was drawn in from the start as the story introduces you to Grace, a newly wed and longing for more out of life than fashion, tea parties and gossip. One day she receives a letter from a French law firm to tell her that she is the sole beneficiary of Eve d'Orsey - but she has never been to France or heard of Eve. From then on the story flits between the 1920s and the 1950s as we follow Eve and Grace's journey to live life on their terms.  Tessaro captures the essence of Paris and I felt myself transported to the streets and buildings that she searches to find out why it is that she should be left the Perfume Collectors secret. The fact that I love perfume just added to my enjoyment of this book. Delicate, mysterious and lingering - the same as I like my perfume!

I have only just started this book but it comes well recommended. Also about an inheritance (is there some wishful thinking on my part here?). The book is set on Arran and the legacy is a house - Elizabeth's story is told through her journal. This is what Kalahari has to say about it...."When Elizabeth Pringle dies she leaves her beloved house 'Holmlea' to a woman she saw over thirty years ago. That young mother, Anna, had put a letter through Elizabeth's door asking to buy the house but Elizabeth never pursued her. But time passed and Anna is now in a home with dementia and it falls to her daughter Martha, the baby in the pram, to come and take up their inheritance. Once on the island Martha meets a brother and sister Niall and Catriona Anderson and a Buddhist monk called Saul, each of whom leads her closer to Elizabeth while revealing their surprising friendships with this old woman. Martha is drawn into Elizabeth's past which is filled with surprising and heart-breaking revelations."
Kirsty Wark is not known here but she is a broadcaster, journalist and presenter of NewNight in the UK.  According to the Daily Mail I am about to be engulfed by a story full of love, memory, households, holidays, happiness and heartache - I cant wait! 

BookClub are enjoying.....Americanah, A Walk across the Sun, The World Versus Alex Woods and if you want a laugh - and who doesn't -  Dear Lumpy (by the author of Dear Lupin) ENJOY!

Three Good Reads

I may not have written my blog for a while but I have been reading - in fact one of my 2014 resolutions is to read something every day. I haven't quite managed to do that but I have certainly reconnected with my reading this year. So far I have finished reading Maggie O Farrell's latest book

Instructions for a Heatwave - Set in London, during the heatwave of 1976, we meet Gretta Riordan, a Catholic Irish woman, mother to three grown-up children, and her husband, Robert, a retired bank employee. As yet another hot and listless day begins, Robert goes out for his daily newspaper, just as he does every morning - however, today, he doesn't return home. As the day wears on, Gretta becomes more and more worried and, when it is discovered that Robert has taken money and his passport, she realizes that her husband had no intention of returning home when he left their house that morning.
Gretta now has to tell her three children that Robert has disappeared; firstly there is her eldest child, Michael Francis, a teacher, married to Claire and whose marriage is in difficulty; then there is Monica, the middle child, whose first marriage broke up after a tragic event and is now married to antiques dealer, Peter, and living in the countryside; however, Monica is not entirely happy - she not only misses London, but Peter's two daughters bitterly resent her and make her life very difficult. And finally there is Gretta and Robert's younger daughter, Aoife, their 'problem' child, whose difficult and challenging behaviour has caused problems for the rest of the family, especially since she has "gone off the rails". (When, in fact, most of Aoife's problems are due to her painful battle with undiagnosed dyslexia).

I love Maggie O' Farrell's writing and her intricate observations of family life and relationships and this novel delivered on that score but I felt the story wasn't as captivating as her previous novels,"The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox" and The Hand that first held mine." Never the less, its a good read.

Bookclub are enjoying The Seamstress. I am about half way through it and when I pick it up I am transported back to the time of the Spanish Civil War by the author's rich descriptions. It is Maria Duena's debut novel and is told from the perspective of Sira Quiroga, a talented seamstress who is engaged to Ignacio, a reliable and dependable young man. As Sira prepares for her wedding, she feels that her life lacks excitement and when she meets Ramiro Arribas, a handsome, charming, older man, she is ready to fall in love. She quickly breaks off her engagement to the bewildered and shocked Ignacio and, as Spain enters a period of instability and civil war looms, she allows herself to be persuaded by Arribas into leaving her homeland and starting a new life in Morocco. However, Sira's life does not turn out as she expected because, after a few months of hedonistic living, Arribas abandons her leaving her heavily in debt. Trapped in Morocco by these debts, and by the worsening political situation in Spain, Sira works hard to build a new life for herself and, with the help of a friend, she starts a dressmaking business and earns enough money to pay off her debts. As the civil war ends in Spain and Europe becomes embroiled in the Second World War, Sira is persuaded to return to Madrid and to take on a new identity as a couturier for Nazi officer's wives and, in her new role, she is employed by the British to infiltrate and spy on the Germans who are stationed in Madrid.This book has taken Spain by storm and has become an international bestseller - I can well imagine this being made into a Oscar winning film starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Tracey Chevalier is another favourite of mine and from "Girl with a Pearl Earring" to  Remarkable Creatures her writing really captures the era in which her novels are set and the lives of women living at that time. The Last Runnaway is no exception as it follows the journey of Honor Bright, a Quaker girl, who accompanies her sister to New England where she is to be married. Her sister dies tragically soon after thier arrival but instead of returning home to Dorset, she is drawn into the Quaker community 

It is a time of great upheaval in America as the country inches towards civil war with a variety of runaways, both black slaves and white settlers, trying to forge a better life for themselves. Honor finds life hard as a single woman unaccustomed to the American way but she is aided by the flamboyant Belle Mills, a milliner, who takes Honor under her wing. Belle's brother, Donovan, sets his sights on Honor but his reputation as a dissolute slave hunter makes him an unlikely suitor. Reminiscent of Gone with the Wind, this is a novel with strong female characters who use their wits to survive difficult times. Those travelling the Underground Railway are not the only runaways in this well-researched and eloquently written novel. I loved it!

On the bookclub front - We all survived the Christmas Party - I was away in the UK for the January meeting and I am really looking forward to checking in with Shakespeare's Sisters this week!

What's New Pussy Cat?

"When a book begins with.......
 "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Jelaluddin Rumi. So then, you want a story and I will tell you one!
You just know that you have a great book in your hands - and so it was with And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini.

 He has two previous bestsellers, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns - Mr Hosseini is a truly gifted teller of tales who is not afraid to pull every string in your heart to make it sing. 
This is a story that spans generations, yet starts and finishes with the same characters. In 1952 a father and his two young children are travelling across Afghanistan, father has been promised some much needed work. The children; Abdullah and his little sister Pari are happy to be together, they adore each other and Abdullah has become more of a parent than a brother to Pari. When their mother died just after giving birth to Pari and then their father re-married and new half-siblings joined the family, Abdullah took on the protection and care of Pari. Neither of them can know that this journey will be the beginning of heartbreak that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
With heart-breaking realism, Hosseini tells the tale of a family split apart by poverty and desperation. From the small rural villages to the large bustling cities of Afghanistan, the writing transports the reader into the heart of the story, experiencing the sounds, the smells and the changing political landscapes. From immense poverty, to the greatest riches. From the modest and humble, to the arrogant and the proud, the cast of characters are a triumph.That one event in Kabul in 1952 leads on to many others, including characters and settings from Paris, to the Greek Islands and back to Afghanistan. Characters who appear, on the face of it, to be so different and so diverse are all connected in one way or another to the day that a loving father told his two small children the story of farmer Baba Ayub - it is this story, and its meaning that is threaded through the whole novel and which eventually turns from a fable to the truth.
Whilst And The Mountains Echoed does not have the shock-factor of Hosseini's two previous novels, it is still a very important epic story that will leave a mark on anyone who reads it. The cast of characters is huge and the narrative often slips back and forward, which can at times, appear a little disjointed. However, this really does not detract from the story, or from the wonderfully evocative writing.
Once again, Khaled Hosseini has produced a story that will break hearts and leave his fans, new and old, gasping for more. I loved it!

My second read this month is by Lisa Genova - also a third successful novel! This time its a book about friendship and a mother coping with the loss of her autistic son
Olivia Donatelli's dream of a 'normal' life was shattered when her son, Anthony, was diagnosed with autism at age three. He didn't speak. He hated to be touched. He almost never made eye contact. And just as Olivia was starting to realise that happiness and autism could coexist, Anthony died. Now she's alone in a cottage on Nantucket, separated from her husband, desperate to understand the meaning of her son's short life, when a chance encounter with another woman facing her own loss brings Anthony alive again for Olivia in a most unexpected way. In a piercing story about motherhood, love and female friendship, Lisa Genova offers us two unforgettable women on the verge of change who discover the small but exuberant voice that helps them both find the answers they need. It is beautifully written and poignantly observed and really heartwarming. I sped through this book in a matter of days but some of the writing is so beautiful I have returned to it a few times to read sections - Stunning!

I have yet to start my third book - a stormy night and my electric blanket awaits! This is what Amazon says about it.
"This is a superb, moving and insightful book about war and its effects on the men and women who take part in it. The author, Kevin Powers, is a veteran of Iraq in 2004 where this book is set and is now a poet. This combination of first-hand experience and ability with language coupled with great insight and honesty creates something quite remarkable. The book is narrated in the first person by private John Bartle on his first tour of duty in Iraq. The language is heightened throughout, often poetic and sometimes almost hallucinatory. The timescale moves between his time in Iraq, his pre-tour training and his homecoming and after. The story is really that of Bartle's psychological journey and is quite stunning in its evocation of the war itself and of the state of mind of the young man who went through it. It is deceptively quiet in tone with even the violent action (of which there is relatively little) described without hysteria, and this lends it a remarkable power to convey things like fear, exhaustion, the rush of excitement and the dreadful problems of reintegrating once home. All this may sound forbidding, turgid or preachy but it isn't at all. This is an engrossing, readable book which is quite short but has immense impact and which will stay with me for a very long time. I think this genuinely belongs among great war books such as All Quiet On the Western Front and Dispatches. I could give a long list of examples of how thoughtful, insightful and honest it is, but I will just say that I recommend that you read it. It is truly exceptional and you will never forget it."

It looks like a hat trick for me this month when it comes to books.

Now to Shakespear's Sisters Book Club. At our July meeting we laughed a lot - A delicious dinner was served by our excellent hostess. I am still trying to remember what we laughed at.... We had a guest of honour Sally and that was a great catch up for members who know her and - Oh and a discussion around Oscar. I am still trying to remember what we laughed at.....We spoke about the up and coming travel plans for some of our members to the Ireland and Spain but I am still trying to remember why we laughed so much..... I know the three bummed cat was mentioned and that is to be our theme for the next bookclub. You will find us on the prowl in Summerstrand early in September Meiow!

Between the Covers

Is it true that people in Europe read more than people in the south just because winters are longer? I certainly seem to be enjoying my winter early nights snuggled up with a book! This week is no exception and I stayed up far too late last night reading The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh.


 I enjoyed it and found the book gave fascinating insights into the world of diamond mining in South Africa through the personal story of Frances, a young English girl forced to emigrate and marry a man effectively against her will, the only alternative being a life of drudgery in Manchester. Her new husband turns out to be an idealist, prepared to put up with penury and terrible living conditions in his pursuit of truth, setting himself against the rich diamond mine owners who wield all the power. Frances is just about coming to terms with her life and her marriage in a tumbledown cottage on the veldt when she finds herself moving to a tent in the midst of total squalor - no wonder the girl brought up in polite London society finds it hard to cope. And always in the background is the romantic figure of the man with whom she had a shipboard romance, promising to take her away from all this. So yes there are cliches, in the sense that shipboard romances and loveless marriages were fairly common currency in Victorian times, when women were beholden to men for their very survival, but this does not in any way detract from a powerful story of greed, power and the struggle for survival.

Staying with Africa - I have also enjoyed Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexander Fuller. I really enjoyed this author's previous books - Scribbling the Cat and Lets not go to the dogs tonight. I love the way she uses language and so accurately describes her characters that you will know them as old friends by the end of the book. This book is a memoir and a tribute to her mother and their family's life and experiences in Africa.  Her mother's family origins in the Isle of Skye makes it all the more surprising that Nicola Fuller should have Kenya in her blood. She left Kenya soon after independence when the life they had known was gone for ever and they moved to Rhodesia - soon finding themselves on the front line, literally, in the war which eventually brought Mugabe to power. After a spell in Derbyshire the family returned to Africa, Zambia this time, and that is where this story finishes, on the family's banana and fish farm on the banks of the Zambezi. A wonderful story, of the white settlers struggle to tame the un-tameable Africa. I love that the Tree of Forgetfulness is named from a tribal concept of having a village tree where disputes are settled, conflicts resolved and old scars left within its branches.  something every 'tribe' needs!

So now for something a little different Thursdays in the Park by Hilary Boyd - the jacket says that " one Thursday in Autumn, Jeanie meets Ray in the park, and a chance encounter blossoms into friendship as they laugh, talk, share hopes. secrets and heartbreak. they offer each other a second chance at life and love - but will they have the courage to take it"?
I have heard that its a light but enchanting read - enjoyable and not too taxing - Perfect for me right now!

Shakespeare's Sisters are enjoying The Twelve Tribes of Hattie; The One Hundred year Old Man who Climbed out of the Window; Bring up the Bodies; Maggie O Farrell's Instructions for a Heatwave; The Mountains Echoed by Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini and The Housemaid's Daughter.

Present and Present!

I haven't blogged on books since January - I have had my own drama and there is no apology!

I attended my bookclub in February and was there but in 'screensaver' mode - not fully engaged but looking like I was. In March we met and had a surprise visitor - no not the Sunday Times columnist who poked fun at our themed evenings, but one of our precious 'old' members who now resides in the big city where folk are far too sophisticated for their own good! We laughed .....and laughed....and then some more. We also discussed that none of us are getting younger and at some date in the near future hair nets and facial hair may be a problem. Their was a consensus that hair nets will not be worn to book club - unless the theme is old age! A clever strategy has been devised so that members can let one another know that they need to visit the salon - a bookmark in the shape of a moustache is to be designed and discreetly left in your book. The thought of receiving such a book mark has sent me scurrying into Clicks to purchase a 10x magnifying mirror!

Books that are getting the thumbs up are:-

The Housemaids Daughter by Barbara Mutch.

 Love and Duty collide in Cradock during the apartheid years in a beautifully told story reminiscent of The Help.Cathleen Harrington leaves her home in Ireland in 1919 to travel to South Africa and marry the fiance she has not seen for five years. Isolated and estranged in a harsh landscape, she finds solace in her diary and the friendship of her housemaid's daughter, Ada. Cathleen recognises in her someone she can love and respond to in a way that she cannot with her own husband and daughter. Under Cathleen's tutelage, Ada grows into an accomplished pianist, and a reader who cannot resist turning the pages of the diary, discovering the secrets Cathleen sought to hide.

When Ada is compromised and finds she is expecting a mixed-race child, she flees her home, determined to spare Cathleen the knowledge of her betrayal, and the disgrace that would descend upon the family. Scorned within her own community, Ada is forced to carve a life for herself, her child, and her music. But Cathleen still believes in Ada, and risks the constraints of apartheid to search for her and persuade her to return with her daughter. Beyond the cruelty, there is love, hope and forgiveness.

 

Feildwork by Mischa Berlinski

 

Set in Thailand, this is a brilliantly original and page-turning first novel of anthropologists, missionaries, demon possession, sexual taboos, murder, and one obsessed young American reporter. When his girlfriend takes a job in Thailand, Mischa goes along for the ride, planning only to enjoy himself as much as possible. But when he hears about the suicide of a young woman, Martiya van der Leun, in the Thai prison where she was serving a life sentence for murder, what begins as mild curiosity becomes an obsession. It is clear that Martiya was guilty, but what was it that led her to kill? this book is very much in demand and I have bought a Kindle copy as I know that I will wait ages otherwise for it.

 

Gone Girl by Gillain Flynn is getting great reviews at book club and elsewhere. 

 

 An utterly gripping thriller (EMERALD STREET )

Gone Girl should be the big poolside read this year. Fresh out om paperback, it's a page-turning abduction mystery with an awful lot of twists. (MAIL ON SUNDAY )

A tautly written thriller about the unravelling of a marriage that is deservedly topping the bestseller charts. (THE OBSERVER )

The story of a husband searching for his vanished wife has everything - psychological acuity, humour, an unflagging pace and more twists than you could hope for in your most serpentine dreams...a sumptuous, satisfying read. (STYLIST )

The story-telling is incredibly compelling, with the cunning opening mystery soon turning down unpredictable routes, while the characters are superbly believable. No wonder it's the book that everyone seems to be reading. (Boyd Hilton HEAT MAGAZINE )

If you haven't yet caught up with this word-of-mouth bestseller - about a woman's mysterious disappearance and the secrets she and her husband are keeping - get hold of it soon. It really does live up to the hype. (WOMAN MAGAZINE )

 

My turn to buy books this month and I was spoilt for choice - Read my selections next week.