Category: My Week in Books

New arrivals

Mrs. Whistler by Matthew Pamplin (ebook, courtesy of The Borough Press and NetGalley)

‘Maud could tell the whole story, but she will not.‘

1876. On the wet cobbled streets of Chelsea, London harassed artist Jimmy Whistler argues with his client. The argument: that Mr Whistler’s two peacocks that now adorn Mr Leyland’s dining room, are to one man a disgrace and to the other, a masterpiece. Stuck in the middle is the one person who knows the artist, his creative vision and his soul more than any other, his model, his lover, Miss Maud Franklin.

We follow Maud, a young artist herself who must play the part of wife in the life of a painter crippled by rumours and debts. But it’s only a part, no muse ever had the rights of a wife…

A beautiful and compelling blend of naivety and strength, Maud is an irresistible character spinning through a world of beauty and sacrifice, art and ambition.

A Devil Comes To Town by Paolo Maurensig (paperback, advance review copy courtesy of World Editions)

A small village full of aspiring writers + The devil in the form of a hot-shot publisher = A refined and engaging literary fable on narcissism, vainglory and human weakness 

Wild rabies runs rampant through the woods. The foxes are gaining ground, boldly making their way into the village. In Dichtersruhe, an insular yet charming haven stifled by the Swiss mountains, these omens go unnoticed by all but the new parish priest. The residents have other things on their mind: Literature.  Everyone’s a writer – the nights are alive with reworked manuscripts. So when the devil turns up in a black car claiming to be a hot-shot publisher, unsatisfied authorial desires are unleashed and the village’s former harmony is shattered.

Taut with foreboding and Gothic suspense, Paolo Maurensig gives us a refined and engaging literary parable on narcissism, vainglory, and our inextinguishable thirst for stories.

The Lost Shrine (Hills & Barbrook #2) by Nicola Ford (hardcover, advance review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby)

Clare Hills, archaeologist and sometime sleuth, is struggling to finance her recently established university research institute along with her long-time friend, Dr David Barbrook. When Professor Margaret Bockford finds the Hart Unit commercial work with a housing developer on a site in the Cotswolds, the pair are hardly in a position to refuse. There is just one slight catch: the previous site director, Beth Kinsella, was found hanged in a copse on-site, surrounded by mutilated wildlife.

Despite initial misgivings, Clare leads a team to continue work on the dig, but with rumours about Beth’s mental state and her claims that the site was historically significant refusing to be laid to rest, and lingering disquiet between local residents and the developers, progress is impeded at every turn. When one of the workers finds something unsettling, Clare suspects there may be more to Beth’s claims than first thought. But can she uncover the truth before it is hidden for ever?

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On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Tuesday – I published my review of The Storyteller by Pierre Jarawan as part of the blog tour.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next…and have a good nose around to see what other bloggers are reading. I also hosted a stop on the blog tour for The Spitfire Girl in the Skies by Fenella J Miller.

Friday – I shared my review of historical mystery The Golden Hour by Malia Zaidi, the fourth book in the author’s ‘The Lady Evelyn Mysteries’ series.

Saturday – I published my review of The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins alongside a giveaway (UK & ROI only).

As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or shared my blog posts on social media this week.

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On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

• Event Review: Ursula Buchan at Oxford Literary Festival
• Blog Tour/Book Review: Pilgrim by Louise Hall
• Buchan of the Month: Introducing…Midwinter by John Buchan
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Blog Tour/Book Review: The New Achilles by Christian Cameron
• Book Review: Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps by Ursula Buchan

New arrivals

Tell Me Where You Are by Moira Forsyth (paperback, courtesy of Sandstone Press and Ruth Killick Publicity)

Frances spent thirteen years not wanting to hear her sister’s name.

The last thing Frances wants is a phone call from Alec, the husband who left her for her sister thirteen years ago. But Susan has disappeared, abandoning Alec and her daughter Kate, a surly teenager with an explosive secret. Reluctantly, Frances is drawn into her sister’s turbulent life.

Pre-order Tell Me Where You Are from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)

The Playground Murders (The Detective’s Daughter #7) by Lesley Thomson (hardcover, advance review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus)

Wormwood Scrubs playground, 1980. The wind blows across the common, and the girl in her shorts shivers. The playground is isolated, timeless. Far from the prying eyes of grown-ups, she and her friends can play make-believe here. The looming slide is a mountain; the upturned log a pirate ship. But six-year-old Sarah Ferris does not know that in two days’ time, she will be dead: a victim of jealousy, betrayal, and her own innocence.

Hammersmith, 2019. Cleaner Stella Darnell loves rooting into shadowy places and restoring order. She’ll clear your attic, polish your kitchen and scrub your bath – but she also investigates cold cases. Stella can spend hours sifting through forgotten evidence looking for shreds of evidence the police might have missed. So when a woman is found dead, and the killer is linked to the Sarah Ferris murder, Stella is the woman for the case. But dredging up the past can be dangerous. Especially if the playground killer is back.

The Long Take by Robin Robertson (audiobook)

Walker, a young Canadian recently demobilised after war and his active service in the Normandy landings and subsequent European operations. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and unable to face a return to his family home in rural Nova Scotia, he goes in search of freedom, change, anonymity and repair. We follow Walker through a sequence of poems as he moves through post-war American cities of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Shortlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2019)

De Bohun’s Destiny (The Meonbridge Chronicles #3) by Carolyn Hughes (eARC, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources

How can you uphold a lie when you know it could destroy your family?

Margaret, Lady de Bohun, is horrified when her husband lies about their grandson Dickon’s entitlement to inherit Meonbridge. Margaret knows that Richard lied for the very best of reasons – to safeguard his family and its future – but lying is a sin, and an assured road to ruin. Yet Margaret has no option but to perpetuate her husband’s falsehood…

Margaret’s companion, Matilda Fletcher, decides that the truth about young Dickon’s birth really must be told, if only to Thorkell Boune, the man she’s set her heart on winning. But Matilda’s “honesty” serves only her own interests, and she is oblivious to the potential for disaster.

Thorkell doesn’t scruple to pursue exactly what he wants, by whatever means are necessary, no matter who or what gets in his way…

Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, trans. by Sondra Silverston (paperback)

If being old meant making up things so you wouldn’t be alone, then it really wasn’t very different from being seventeen.

Nofar is just an average teenage girl – so average, she’s almost invisible. Serving customers ice cream all summer long, she is desperate for some kind of escape. One afternoon, a terrible lie slips from her tongue. And suddenly everyone wants to talk to her: the press, her schoolmates, and the boy upstairs – the only one who knows the truth.

Then Nofar meets Raymonde, an elderly woman whose best friend has just died. Raymonde keeps her friend alive the only way she knows how – by inhabiting her stories. But soon, Raymonde’s lies take on a life of their own.

A heart-stopping novel about deception and its consequences, Liar brilliantly explores how far a lie can travel – and how much we are willing to believe.

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On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Tuesday – I published my review of The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby as part of the blog tour.  This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic  was Things That Make Me Pick Up A Book.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next…and have a good nose around to see what other bloggers are reading.

Thursday – I published my review of Sunwise by Helen Steadman, the sequel to Widdershins as part of the blog tour.  I also picked my five favourite books I read in March.

Friday – I shared my review of historical fiction novel Josephine’s Daughter by A.B. Michaels, the fifth book in the author’s ‘The Golden’ City series.

Saturday – I took part in the blog tour for historical mystery, Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Cursed Serpent by Columbkill Noonan by publishing a spotlight post.  I also participated in the monthly Six Degrees of Separation meme.

As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or shared my blog posts on social media this week.

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On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

• Event Review: Ursula Buchan at Oxford Literary Festival
• Blog Tour/Book Review: The Storyteller by Pierre Jarawan
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Blog Tour/Guest Post: The Spitfire Girl in the Skies by Fenella J. Miller
• Blog Tour/Book Review: The Golden Hour (The Lady Evelyn Mysteries #4) by Malia Zaidi
• Book Review/Giveaway: The Confessions of Frannie Langston by Sara Collins