WWW Wednesdays 11th December ‘19

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

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Currently reading

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau (eARC, courtesy of Endeavour Quill)

The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.

The invitation to the luxurious Oriental Hotel a mile from Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.

But soon it transpires that the hedonism of nearby Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.

Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamour of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything…even murder.

Extravagant, intoxicating and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class and dangerous obsession.

Joan Smokes by Angela Meyer (paperback, advance review copy 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.

Augustus by John Buchan (hardcover)

In 27 BC, out of the carnage of two civil wars, one man emerged to rule absolutely the Roman world. This man was Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, and he was perhaps the least likely candidate to return stability to the Republic.

But by AD 14 Octavian had established peace over an empire that stretched from the shores of Britain to Anatolia. Power, prosperity and propaganda had seen him renamed as Augustus, ‘The Divinely Favoured One.’ He had become a God, and had changed the face of the Republic forever.

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Recently finished

Cold, Cold Heart (Katie Flanagan #2)by Christine Poulson (ebook, courtesy of the author and Lion Hudson)

Midwinter in Antarctica. Six months of darkness are about to begin. Scientist Katie Flanagan has an undeserved reputation as a trouble-maker and her career has foundered. When an accident creates an opening on a remote Antarctic research base she seizes it, flying in on the last plane before the subzero temperatures make it impossible to leave.

Meanwhile patent lawyer Daniel Marchmont has been asked to undertake due diligence on a breakthrough cancer cure. But the key scientist is strangely elusive and Daniel uncovers a dark secret that leads to Antarctica.

Out on the ice a storm is gathering. As the crew lock down the station they discover a body and realise that they are trapped with a killer… (Review to follow)

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What Cathy (will) Read Next

Snow Kills by R. C. Bridgestock (paperback, review copy courtesy of The Dome Press)

The fourth in the D.I. Jack Dylan series, set in Yorkshire and written by the husband and wife team who are the storyline consultants to TV’s Happy Valley and Scott & Bailey.

When hairdresser Kayleigh Harwood is reported missing by her mother in the worst blizzards Harrowfield has experienced in years, D.I. Jack Dylan and his team are called in. Kayleigh’s car is found abandoned with her mobile phone inside but there is no sign of her. At the edge of the local quarry on the desolate Yorkshire moors, items of clothing are found. They are identified as belonging to the hairdresser, and an intense police search of the area begins.

The investigation turns to a loner living close to where Kayleigh’s car was discovered, and it soon becomes apparent to the investigators that the loner is hiding a bizarre secret.

To Dylan’s disbelief Divisional Commander Hugo-Watkins assumes that skeletal remains found in a lay-by are connected to the young woman’s disappearance, and without seeking Dylan’s advice, calls out the entire Major Incident Team. Refusing to be distracted, Dylan and his team continue to work round the clock in the hope of finding Kayleigh alive.

Meanwhile Dylan’s wife, Jen, is distracted and distant. Unbeknown to him her ex fiancé is in their midst, and stalking her.