My Week in Books – 6th October ‘19

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I published my review of The Mathematical Bridge by Jim Kelly.

Tuesday –  The Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books With Numbers in their Titles and I was inspired to take two different approaches to it in Part 1 and Part 2.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next…and have a good nose around to see what other bloggers are reading.   I also published my review of The Jeweller by Caryl Lewis (translated by Gwen Davies) as part of the blog tour.

Thursday – I shared my review of the latest book in one of my favourite action-packed crime series, Asylum Road by James L. Weaver.

Friday – I shared my Five Favourite Books I read in September.

Saturday – I participated in the 6 Degrees of Separation meme creating a chain from Three Women by Lisa Taddeo to The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers.

As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or shared my blog posts on social media this week.

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New arrivals

The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (uncorrected proof copy, courtesy of Michael Joseph)

A chilling exploration into obsession, reconciliation and revenge in 2020’s must-read.

Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years. She thought she needed the feeding tube, the surgeries, the wheelchair . . .

Turns out her mum, Patty, is a really good liar.

After five years in prison Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with her daughter and care for her new infant grandson. When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend.

But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty won’t rest until she has her daughter back under her thumb. Which is a smidge inconvenient because Rose Gold wants to be free of Patty. Forever.

Only one Watts will get what she wants. Will it be Patty of Rose Gold? Mother, or daughter?

Conviction by Hope Adams (uncorrected proof copy, courtesy of Michael Joseph)

London, 1841.  Two hundred Englishwomen file aboard the Rajah, embarking on a three-month voyage to the other side of the world.

They’re daughters, sisters, mothers – and convicts.  Transported for petty crimes. Except one of their number has a deadly secret, and will do anything to flee justice.

When a woman is mortally wounded, the hunt is on for the culprit.  But who would harm one of their own, and why?

Based on a true story, Conviction is a sweeping tale of confinement, loss, love, and above all, hope in the unlikeliest of places.

Christmas at Ladywell by Nicola Slade (eARC, courtesy of Crooked Cat Books and Rachel’s Random Resources)

A time for spilling secrets…

Having refurbished her inherited house and upcycled her whole life in the process, Freya – now happily married to Patrick, and with a small child – has to transform her tiny stone barn into a romantic hideaway for a mystery guest who is also looking for change. With Christmas only a week away, things don’t go according to plan…

In the past, old uncertainties are resolved when a woman seeks the truth of a legend on Christmas Eve and confesses to a deception; a Tudor wife listens to a story that must never be repeated and is given a precious relic that must never be displayed; and in the early nineteenth century, an old woman tells a younger one the story of the hares at Ladywell.

Past and present are only a whisper apart when Freya learns of an astonishing discovery that will make Ladywell famous, but while her house is full of unexpected visitors, she has a turkey to cook – and a very special secret of her own that must be told.

Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy (eARC, courtesy of Aria)

AD 838. Deep in the forests of Wessex, Dunston’s solitary existence is shattered when he stumbles on a mutilated corpse.

Accused of the murder, Dunston must clear his name and keep the dead man’s daughter alive in the face of savage pursuers desperate to prevent a terrible secret from being revealed.

Rushing headlong through Wessex, Dunston will need to use all the skills of survival garnered from a lifetime in the wilderness. And if he has any hope of victory against the implacable enemies on their trail, he must confront his long-buried past – becoming the man he once was and embracing traits he had promised he would never return to. The Wolf of Wessex must hunt again; honour and duty demand it.

Joan Smokes by Angela Meyer (ARC, courtesy of Saraband Books)

She used to be someone else, but now she’s arrived in Vegas, where she can start again. It won’t do to let the past leak in. It’s the Sixties now. She’s going to become … Joan. She makes a list: Buy a new dress (fitted, floral). Dye her hair (dark). Curl it. Buy red lipstick. Buy cigarettes and a lighter, too: Joan, she decides, is a smoker. There’s no need to dwell on why she’s here, what went before. She is just moving forward, one foot in front of the other, becoming that new person. Joan. This city of flashing neon, casinos and shows is full of distractions. Finding a job will be quick and easy. Things to do. New people to meet. A clean sheet. She’s certainly not thinking about Jack, or … No. Not anymore. Her new life starts right here, right now. (Winner of the inaugural Mslexia Novella Award 2019).

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On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

 

Planned posts

• Book Review: The Blanket of the Dark by John Buchan
• Event Review: Michael Joseph Proof Party at Henley Literary Festival 2019
• Top Ten Tuesday: Character Traits I Love
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Blog Tour/Book Review: Rivals by Sam Michaels
• Book Review: Welcome to America by Linda Bostrom Knausgard
• Blog Tour/Book Review: A Ration Book Childhood by Jean Fullerton
• Event Review: David Suchet at Henley Literary Festival 2019
• Event Review: Anne De Courcy at Henley Literary Festival 2019
• Event Review: Victoria Hislop at Henley Literary Festival 2019