On the blog last week
Monday – I published my review of That Which May Destroy You by Abda Khan.
Tuesday – I went off-piste for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday taking a look back at how I got on with the books I put on My Winter 2024/25 To-Read List. I also shared a publication day extract from The Injustice of Valor by Gary Corbin, the latest book in the Valorie Dawes crime thriller series.
Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.
Saturday – I shared a list of books I’ve read by Irish authors for Reading Ireland Month 2025.
New on my shelves
The Night Swimmer by Simon J. Houlton (ebook, courtesy of the author)
William “Bill” Eckersley is an unemployed aspiring writer, a night swimmer, and a man drowning in isolation and alcoholism. Living in a working-class English seaside town, he finds himself trapped—by a system designed to keep him down and by the weight of his own fractured mind.
Haunted by self-doubt and a relentless search for inspiration, Bill struggles to finish his first novel. His journey takes him from the cold, moonlit waters of the sea to the depths of his own psyche, where reality blurs with fantasy. As he spirals further, he discovers love, obsession, and chaos in equal measure.
But when creativity and madness intertwine, will Bill find the breakthrough he’s searching for—or lose himself completely?
The Surgeon’s House by Jody Cooksley (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)
London, 1883. The brutal murder of Rose Parmiter seems, at first glance, to be a random and senseless act. Rose was the beloved cook at Evergreen House, a place of refuge for women and children, a place from which they can start their lives afresh.
Proprietor Rebecca Harris, is profoundly shocked by the death of her dear friend and alarmed at the mysterious events which begin to unfold shortly afterwards. Could the past be casting a shadow on the present? The malign legacy of the Everley family who called Evergreen home, cannot be ignored.
After two further deaths it becomes clear there is an evil presence infecting their sanctuary, and Rebecca must draw out the poison of the past so the Evergreen residents can finally make peace with the darkness in their lives.
Green Ink by Stephen May (Swift Press)
David Lloyd George is at Chequers for the weekend with his mistress Frances Stevenson, fretting about the fact that his involvement in selling public honours is about to be revealed by one Victor Grayson. Victor is a bisexual hedonist and former firebrand socialist MP turned secret-service informant. Intent on rebuilding his profile as the leader of the revolutionary Left, he doesn’t know exactly how much of a hornet’s nest he’s stirred up. Doesn’t know that this is, in fact, his last day.
No one really knows what happened to Victor Grayson – he vanished one night in late September 1920, having threatened to reveal all he knew about the prime minister’s involvement in selling honours. Was he murdered by the British government? By enemies in the socialist movement (who he had betrayed in the war)? Did he fall in the Thames drunk? Did he vanish to save his own life, and become an antiques dealer in Kent?
Whatever the truth, Green Ink imagines what might have been with brio, humour and humanity; and is a reminder that the past was once as alive as we are today.
Sister Rosa’s Rebellion (The Meonbridge Chronicles #6) by Carolyn Hughes (eARC, courtesy of the author)
How can you rescue what you hold most dear, when to do so you must break your vows?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
What I’m currently reading
Look out for…
- Book Review: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
- Book Review: The Injustice of Valor by Gary Corbin
- Book Review: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
- My Five Favourite March 2025 Reads
- #6Degrees of Separation
What Cathy Read Next... 