On the blog last week
Tuesday – For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic I shared a list of Books To Make You Smile.
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.
Friday – I shared an excerpt from historical novel In Leicester Fields by Ross Gilfillan.
Saturday – I published my Q&A with Zoe Caryl, author of historical novel Julia Sleeps.
New on my shelves
The He Was Gone by Isobel Booth (eARC, Crooked Lane Books)
When attorney Elizabeth English and her husband, Paul, catch up to their energetic sons at the end of their hike, they expect to find the two boys waiting by their car. It’s been only minutes since Henry and Nick bolted ahead. But when Elizabeth and Paul emerge from the trail, Henry is gone, and all Nick says is that he saw a lone truck leaving the lot shortly after Henry went to the bathroom.
Gritty park ranger Hollis Monroe launches a massive search and teams up with a local detective to investigate the possibility that Henry was kidnapped. Elizabeth and Paul aren’t sure which is worse: their six-year-old lost in Rocky Mountain National Park or scared and bound in the back of a stranger’s pickup.
The search drives the couple to their breaking point, and secrets they have been keeping from each other are revealed for Henry’s sake. With every hour that passes, finding Henry becomes less likely, and Elizabeth becomes ferocious in her determination to make the impossible come true and find her son.
Dark is the Morning by Rupert Thomson (eARC, Head of Zeus)
Sometimes love isn’t where you belong.
Gino, a troubled young man, suddenly realises that his childhood sweetheart Franca can give his life the happiness and stability he needs. They seem made for each other, and move to a remote house in the countryside. Franca soon gives birth to a son so handsome that people come from miles around to see him – but his sheer beauty causes Gino to doubt that he is truly the boy’s father.
Descending into pathological jealousy towards a married man who had been Franca’s lover, Gino is unable to stop himself imagining the worst, and embarks on a violent path that has catastrophic effects on those around him.
Julia Sleeps by Zoe Caryl
Glasgow 1936. In the very heart of the city, Evie Jameson, the child of a poor tenement family is determined to follow her dreams of becoming a singer, but must persuade her loving family of where her vocation truly lies. Her path is paved with triumphs and setbacks.
‘The world is bigger than Glasgow – do you want to see it?’ her agent challenges her, sparking excitement in her heart. ‘Yes! Yes, I do!’ she exclaims, and her resolve only deepens when war breaks out and she is called on to serve her country. The conflict thrusts Evie into dangers and adventures she could never have imagined, but amid the chaos, will she also find love?
From London in the blitz to magical, mysterious India her courage and integrity are put to the test and she must draw on the strength forged by her proud Scottish heritage.
Inspired by a true story, Evie’s tale is one of nostalgia, ambition and resilience where true friendships and love shape both the woman and the singer she is destined to become.
What I’m currently reading
I’m reading The Assassin of Verona from my TBR pile, The City And Its Uncertain Walls for my book club and I’m listening to the audiobook of Swan Song
Look out for…
- Book Review: Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey
- Book Review: Transcription by Kate Atkinson
- Book Review: A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang
- Q&A with Ross Gilfillan, author of In Leicester Fields
What Cathy Read Next... 