On the blog last week
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Big Books I’ve Read.
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.
Thursday – I published my review of historical novel The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser .
Friday – I shared my review of historical thriller Evil in High Places by Rory Clements.
Saturday – I published my review of historical crime mystery The Body in the Ice by A. J. MacKenzie.
New on my shelves
A Graveyard of First Chapters by Johnny Payne (Silent Clamor Press)
What if your abandoned stories came to life?
Jasper Delgado, a once-successful novelist, has hit rock bottom. He’s lost his girlfriend, his house, and every dollar he earned day trading the stock market. All he has left is a beat-up laptop filled with a “graveyard of first chapters”—unfinished novels he could never bring himself to complete.
A mysterious inheritance. A vanished father. A journey into the unknown.
When a strange letter arrives from Peru—typed by an eccentric notary on a sticky-keyed Corona—Jasper learns he may have a half-sister and a claim to a crumbling hacienda near Cusco. With nothing to lose, he sets off in search of answers about his past…and a future that might still exist.
When fiction bleeds into life…
As Jasper’s life unravels, the surreal fragments of his abandoned stories begin to surface—blurring the line between memory, fiction, and reality. Zombies in junkyards. Antarctic explorers. Childhood memories and Inca warriors. Is he finally losing his grip—or rewriting his own story from the inside out?
Andropov’s Cuckoo by Owen Jones (Megan Publishing Services)
In the heart of the Soviet Union during the turbulent 1970’s, Natalya Petrovna – code-named Youriko – is a brilliant Kazakh linguist whose striking resemblance to her Japanese friend, who works in a government position, sparks a daring, almost suicidal plan. Natalya is suddenly plucked from her quiet, provincial life and thrust into a world of espionage, assuming a false identity to infiltrate Japan’s Foreign Office.
However, when loyalty to her country clashes with her conscience, Natalya’s life spirals into chaos. A disillusioned spy turned defector, she faces show trials, the brutal confines of a gulag, and a rôle she detests – running honey-trap operations in Soviet holiday resorts. Yet, amidst the darkness, she finds a glimmer of hope in an unlikely place: William, a British exchange student who awakens her yearning for freedom and love.
As Natalya risks everything to flee the Iron Curtain, her journey becomes a breath-taking tale of daring escapes, international intrigue, and unwavering resilience. From the icy shadows of a gulag to the bright shores of freedom, Andropov’s Cuckoo is a gripping story of sacrifice, survival, and the indomitable spirit of a woman torn between duty and her heart.
What I’m currently reading
I’m reading The Two Roberts from my NetGalley shelf, listening to the audiobook of Tombland and reading a physical copy of The Dark Isle (the last two both books on my 20 Books of Summer list).
Look out for…
- Book Review: The Mare by Angharad Hampshire
- Book Review: Cairo Gambit by S. W. Perry
What Cathy Read Next... 