Here are my five favourite of the eleven books I managed to read in December. Links from the titles will take you to my reviews.
You can find details of all the books I read in 2019 here with links to my reviews. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.
First up is The Boy With Blue Trousers by Carol Jones. Moving between nineteenth century China and Australia, I really enjoyed its compelling story of love, duty, sacrifice and vengeance, and its wealth of cultural detail.
Next, we turn to crime with Cold, Cold Heart by Christine Poulson. The setting, an Antarctic research station cut off from the outside world during a time of perpetual darkness and with a killer on the loose, makes for an atmospheric, tense and gripping mystery.
More mystery but this time in America’s Coney Island during the early part of the twentieth century. Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau sees heiress Peggy Batternberg seeking to escape from the constraints of family and social expectations. However, she is seen drawn into the investigation of suspicious deaths.
Finally, two novellas – Joan Smokes by Angela Meyer and El Hacho by Luis Carrasco – that both demonstrate the art of writing memorable and compelling stories in a limited number of pages.
What were your favourite books you read in December? Have you read any of my picks?
First up it’s historical fiction and The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey. The story moves between 1936, as nine year old Alice seeks to uncover the secrets of her mother’s past, and 1925 in which her mother, Selina, recalls her days as one of the ‘Bright Young People’.
Next it’s Asylum Road by James L. Weaver, the fourth book in the Jake Caldwell crime series. When I need a break from historical fiction this is the series I turn to for some gripping, page-turning action. I’m never disappointed.
Back to historical fiction and a book that’s also the latest in a series, A Ration Book Childhood by Jean Fullerton. The book follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Brogan family in London’s East End during World War 2. I particularly like the way the author completely immerses you in the atmosphere of the period. Read my full review 
Next it’s Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout the long-anticipated sequel to the much-praised Olive Kitteridge.
Did you know John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, wrote historical fiction? Well, he did and The Blanket of the Dark is widely considered one of his best. Set in the reign of Henry VIII in the Oxfordshire countryside Buchan knew so well, its premise is a ‘what if’ of history. Read my full review 
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