#WWWWednesday – 3rd January 2024

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

One of the ninety-six unread books on my Kindle and a book for my personal Backlist Burrow reading challenge (that I hoped to complete by the end of 2023 but didn’t).

History of WolvesHistory of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

How far would you go to belong? 

Fourteen-year-old Linda lives with her parents in an ex-commune beside a lake in the beautiful, austere backwoods of northern Minnesota. The other girls at school call Linda ‘Freak’, or ‘Commie’. Her parents mostly leave her to her own devices, whilst the other inhabitants have grown up and moved on. So when the perfect family – mother, father and their little boy, Paul – move into the cabin across the lake, Linda insinuates her way into their orbit. She begins to babysit Paul and feels welcome, that she finally has a place to belong.

Yet something isn’t right. Drawn into secrets she doesn’t understand, Linda must make a choice. But how can a girl with no real knowledge of the world understand what the consequences will be?

All Day at the MoviesAll Day at the Movies by Fiona Kidman (Gallic Books)

When war widow Irene Sandle goes to work in New Zealand’s tobacco fields in 1952, she hopes to start a new, independent life for herself and her daughter – but the tragic repercussions of her decision will resonate long after Irene has gone.

Each of Irene’s children carries the events of their childhood throughout their lives, played out against a backdrop of great change – new opportunities emerge for women, but social problems continue to hold many back. Headstrong Belinda becomes a successful filmmaker, but struggles to deal with her own family drama as her younger siblings are haunted by the past.


Recently finished

The German Messenger by David Malcolm (Crime Wave Press)

The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)

An ex-soldier and recovering alcoholic living quietly in Somerset, Stephen Rose has just begun to form a bond with Maggie, the daughter he barely knows, when he receives a summons – to an inquiry in Belfast about an incident during the Troubles, which he hoped he had long outdistanced.  Now, to testify about it could wreck his fragile relationship with Maggie. And if he loses her, he loses everything.

He decides instead to write her an account of his life – a confession, a defence, a love letter. Also a means of buying time. But as time runs out, the day comes when he must face again what happened in that distant summer of 1982. (Book review to follow)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

His Bloody ProjectHis Bloody Project by Gordon Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

The year is 1869. A brutal triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish Highlands leads to the arrest of a young man by the name of Roderick Macrae.

A memoir written by the accused makes it clear that he is guilty, but it falls to the country’s finest legal and psychiatric minds to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence.

Was he mad? Only the persuasive powers of his advocate stand between Macrae and the gallows.

My Five Favourite December 2023 Reads

Life events this month meant December was a slow reading month. I only managed seven books which didn’t make choosing the five I liked best particulatly easy. Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads. (I’m behind with reviews as well.)

You can find a list of all the books I read in 2023 here.  My round-up of my favourite books of 2023 will be published tomorrow as part of Top Ten Tuesday.

If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Zaffre for providing me with digital review copies via NetGalley.


The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (Transworld) – A sweeping and emotional story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, with welcome touches of humour along the way.

Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler (Gallic Books) – An accomplished and insightful family drama exploring how personal choices resonate down the generations.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (Hodder & Stoughton) – A moving, powerful and immersive story about a Malaysian family living through the Second World War.

Munich Wolf by Rory Clements (Zaffre) – Compelling thriller set in 1930s Munich in which Detective Sebastian Wolff must walk the thin line between doing his job and falling foul of the Nazi party he despises.

The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller (Sceptre) – A quietly powerful story about a man struggling to come to terms with events of the past.

What were the best books you read last month? Have you read any of my picks?

My Five Favourite Reads (11)