Author: whatcathyreadnext

My Week in Books – 3rd December ’17

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MyWeekinBooks

New arrivals

The Twelve-Mile StraightThe Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson (eARC, NetGalley)

Cotton County, Georgia, 1930: in a house full of secrets, two babies-one light-skinned, the other dark-are born to Elma Jesup, a white sharecropper’s daughter. Accused of her rape, field hand Genus Jackson is lynched and dragged behind a truck down the Twelve-Mile Straight, the road to the nearby town. In the aftermath, the farm’s inhabitants are forced to contend with their complicity in a series of events that left a man dead and a family irrevocably fractured.

Despite the prying eyes and curious whispers of the townspeople, Elma begins to raise her babies as best as she can, under the roof of her mercurial father, Juke, and with the help of Nan, the young black housekeeper who is as close to Elma as a sister. But soon it becomes clear that the ties that bind all of them together are more intricate than any could have ever imagined. As startling revelations mount, a web of lies begins to collapse around the family, destabilizing their precarious world and forcing all to reckon with the painful truth.

Three Things About ElsieThree Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon (eARC, NetGalley)

There are three things you should know about Elsie. The first thing is that she’s my best friend. The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better. And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly a man who died sixty years ago?

ElenaElena by Rupert Colley (ebook, free with newsletter sign-up)

Naples, 1944. Elena, aged twelve, is left orphaned and traumatized by war. But a gift from an American soldier shows her that kindness can still exist in a cruel world.

Post-war, and now a young woman, the memory of the soldier obsesses her. Eleven years after their first meeting, their paths cross again and Elena’s life will never be the same.

 

Beautiful StarBeautiful Star & Other Stories by Andrew Swanston (paperback, review copy courtesy of The Dome Press)

History is brought alive by the people it affects, rather than those who created it.

In Beautiful Star we meet Eilmer, a monk in 1010 with Icarus-like dreams; Charles I, hiding in 1651, and befriended by a small boy; the trial of Jane Wenham, witch of Walkern, seen through the eyes of her granddaughter. This is a moving and affecting journey through time, bringing a new perspective to the defence of Corfe Castle, the battle of Waterloo, the siege of Toulon and, in the title story, the devastating dangers of the life of the sea in 1875.

Cold, Cold HeartCold, Cold Heart (Katie Flanagan #2) by Christine Poulson (eARC, courtesy of the author)

After the events of Deep Water, scientist Katie Flanagan has gained an undeserved reputation as a troublemaker. Her research career has foundered. When an accident creates an opening at an Antarctic station, she seizes the opportunity, flying in on the last plane before winter and the months of darkness close off all escape routes. Unfortunately for Katie, a revenge-seeking killer is at large at the station. Meanwhile patent lawyer Daniel Marchmont has been asked by a venture capitalist to conduct background research into a company involved in Antarctic experiments. His investigations threaten to uncover scientific fraud and expose powerful individuals, some of them at the Antarctic station. Hitting too close to the truth, Daniel’s sleuthing puts Katie in fresh danger. Then the power at the research station fails. Will the killer help save them all . . . or kill them one by one?

The Mermaid & Mrs HancockThe Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (eARC, NetGalley)

This voyage is special. It will change everything…

One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid. As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost. Where will their ambitions lead? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I published my review of The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman. Loads of my fellow book bloggers have raved about this book and I now know why. I loved lots of things about it but managed to reduce it down to just ten.

Tuesday – I shared my review of a chilling set of cautionary tales, The Sixth Man by Rupert Colley. I also compiled my list of the Top Ten Books on my Winter TBR List. Anyone who knows me will realise there are far more than ten books on my TBR. How many? Er….shall we just move on?

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now and what I’ll be reading next.

Thursday – As part of the Throwback Thursday meme I published my review of The Existence of Pity by Jeannie Zokan, a really interesting coming-of-age story set in Colombia. Thursday is fast becoming the day where I review books that have been far too long in my review pile. Watch out for another one next week!

Friday – I was delighted to help publicise the publication day of A Queen’s Traitor by Sam Burnell, the follow-up to A Queen’s Spy (which is still languishing in my review pile. It’s in good company. Oh dear).

Saturday –I shared My 5 Favourite November Reads. It was a hard choice as I read a lot (for me) of books last month – 19, in fact – and most of them were really good.

Challenge updates

  • Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge – 150 out of 156 books read, 3 more than last week
  • Classics Club Challenge – 5 out of 50 books reviewed, same as last week
  • NetGalley/Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2017 (Gold) – 44 ARCs reviewed out of 50, same as last week
  • From Page to Screen 2016/7– 7 book/film comparisons out of 12 completed, same as last week
  • From Page to Screen 2017/18 – 1 out of 3 completed, same as last week

On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Review: Death at Glacier Lake by Pam Stucky
  • Review: Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes
  • Blog Tour/Q&A: The Tide Between Us by Olive Collins
  • From Page to Screen: Murder on the Orient Express
  • Review: Keep Me Safe by Daniela Sacerdoti

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My 5 Favourite November Reads

whatcathyreadnext

My 5 Favourite November Reads

Of the 19 books I read in November (wow, I think that’s a record for me!) here are my five favourite, in no particular order. It was a hard choice again as this has been another month of super books. Click on the book title to read my review.

DanceoftheHappyShadesDance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro

Alice Munro’s territory is the farms and semi-rural towns of south-western Ontario. In these dazzling stories she deals with the self-discovery of adolescence, the joys and pains of love and the despair and guilt of those caught in a narrow existence. And in sensitively exploring the lives of ordinary men and women, she makes us aware of the universal nature of their fears, sorrows and aspirations.

My Verdict: I read this for the 1968 Club organised by  Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Stuck in a Book and I was so glad I did. I’d read another collection of short stories by Alice Munro some time ago (Runaway) and didn’t get on too well with it. However, I loved Dance of the Happy Shades, her first published collection.

TheSecretofVesaliusThe Secret of Vesalius by Jordi Llobregat

Daniel Amat has left Spain and all that happened there behind him. Having just achieved a brilliant role in Ancient Languages at Oxford University and an even more advantageous engagement, the arrival of a letter – a demand – stamped Barcelona comes like a cold hand from behind. He arrives back in that old, labyrinthine and near-mythic city a few days before the great 1888 World Fair, amid dread whispers of murders – the injuries reminiscent of an ancient curse, and bearing signs of the genius 16th century anatomist, Vesalius. Daniel is soon pulled into the depths of the crime, and eventually into the tunnels below Barcelona, where his own dark past and the future of science are joined in a terrible venture – to bring the secret of Vesalius to life.

My Verdict: I love a good historical mystery and this is a great historical mystery in my opinion, full of twists and turns (do try to keep up, please) with an atmospheric setting and a great cast of colourful characters. An impressive debut.

Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer. Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.

My Verdict: I love the 1974 film version of this mystery classic starring the wonderful Albert Finney and I was keen to read the original book before seeing the new film adaptation. The book didn’t disappoint and reading it was made all the more enjoyable because of this gorgeous special edition. I’m now looking forward to seeing the film later this week.

Fires CoverFires by Tom Ward

There’s a fire on the horizon.

For Guy, a fireman, it means the death of his wife and daughter. For 19-year-old Nathan and Alexa it means a chance to fight back against austerity and abandonment. While the teenagers turn to arson, Guy searches for meaning behind his family’s deaths, battling corruption and a lost underclass, intent on fiery revolution. For all three, their actions will lead them to the precipice of disaster.

My Verdict: As a book blogger, I receive a lot of requests from authors to review their books and it’s often difficult to decide which requests to accept and which to – regretfully – decline. There was something about the description of this book that made me think I should add it to my review pile and I wasn’t disappointed. It proved to be an intriguing, thought-provoking book from a promising young writer.

TheSummerofImpossibleThingsThe Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

If you could change the past, would you?

Thirty years ago, something terrible happened to Luna’s mother. Something she’s only prepared to reveal after her death. Now Luna and her sister have a chance to go back to their mother’s birthplace and settle her affairs. But in Brooklyn they find more questions than answers, until something impossible – magical – happens to Luna, and she meets her mother as a young woman back in the summer of 1977. At first Luna’s thinks she’s going crazy, but if she can truly travel back in time, she can change things. But in doing anything – everything – to save her mother’s life, will she have to sacrifice her own?

My Verdict: So many of my fellow book bloggers have raved about this book that I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read it. Do you know what? They were all right. Romantic, magical and inventive.

What were your favourite reads last month?

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