My Top 5 March 2024 Reads

My Top Five March 2024 ReadsWelcome to my wrap-up of the books I read in March. Mindful of how many ARCs I have that publish in April, I powered through the books in March in an effort to get ahead. I read some great books again this month including one – finally – that deserved five stars.

Links from each title will take you to my full review or the book description on Goodreads. Check out the list of all the books I’ve read so far in 2024. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Head of Zeus, Granta, Bloomsbury and Orion for the review copies.


Diva by Daisy Goodwin (Head of Zeus) – The absorbing (fictional) story of the highs and lows, the triumphs and tragedies of Maria Callas’s life.

Clear by Carys Davies (Granta) – A tender love story, and a hymn to a lost way of life and the raw beauty of the natural world, set on a remote Scottish island in 1843.

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein (Bloomsbury) – Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, a powerful story set in 1940s Trinidad about ‘violence, religion, family and class’.

The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola (Orion) – A compelling story set in 17th century Rome, and based on actual events, about a group of women accused of responsibility for the suspicious deaths of a number of men.

A Better Place by Stephen Daisley (Text Publishing) – Set in WW2 and focusing on two brothers from New Zealand, a visceral and moving exposition of the brutality of war. Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

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

 

My Week in Books – 31st March 2024

My Week in Books

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Monday – I published my review of crime novel, Death on the Thames by Alan Johnson.

Tuesday – I shared my publication day Q&A with Maria McDonald, author of historical romance, The Keeper of Secrets.  I went slightly off-topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic with a list some of my favourite book to film adaptations.   

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. 

Thursday – I shared an extract from Kill All the Dogs by Rick Berry, the author’s debut novel described as ‘part psychological drama, part political satire‘.

Friday – I published my review of Diva by Daisy Goodwin.

Saturday – I shared my review of The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola.


New arrivals

The Montford ManiacThe Montford Maniac by M.R.C. Kasasian (ARC, Canelo) 

A crazed killer. A town in terror. A mystery ten years in the making…

Lady Violet Thorn’s awful Aunt Igitha arrives uninvited to stay, wreaking havoc in the household. When Violet plucks up courage to ask her to leave, Igitha’s chilling threats are soon realised with deadly effect.

In a devastating series of events, a woman is impaled, another is hanged outside Violet’s window, and a wild beast is delivered to her house.

Violet is soon struck by the similarities between these events, and the unsolved murders committed ten years earlier by the sadistic serial killer known as the Montford Maniac.

Could he have returned? Is Igitha behind the crimes? Or could there be someone even more terrifying on the prowl? The horrors have only just begun.

The Paris PeacemakersThe Paris Peacemakers by Flora Johnston (ARC, Allison & Busby)

Paris, 1919. As the fragile negotiations of the International Peace Conference get underway, typist Stella Rutherford throws herself into her work and the mixture of glamour and devastation the City of Light reveals. She will do anything to escape the grief coming in waves for her beloved brother Jack, buried near Arras.

Her sister Corran is about to put her academic career to use teaching the troops in France, a chance to see what the experience was like for countless men, including her fiancé Rob Campbell.

Rob was part of the celebrated Scottish rugby team who were swept up in war fever and mown down in battle. He has been profoundly marked by his time as a surgeon on the front line, devastated by the incessant grind of the injured, dying and dead.

The Paris Peacemakers follows three Scots as they attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives while the fabric of Europe is stitched together for good or ill.

Possible HappinessPossible Happiness by David Ebenbach (eARC, Fitzroy Books)

Eleventh-grader Jacob Wasserman is just trying to get by.

Under the radar, he spends his weekends at home by himself, leaning on TV and video games to distract himself from the weight — these days we would call it depression — inside him.

But he’s secretly got a quirky sense of humor, and, when he starts letting it show, he finally gets noticed. In fact, before he knows it, Jacob’s ability to keep people entertained has drawn him into a full-time social life, complete with a circle of friends, parties, and even a girlfriend.

But is this newfound acceptance enough to unlock meaningful well-being? Is this entertainer even the real Jacob?

Possible Happiness is a funny and tender coming-of-age story about developing the courage to face and understand yourself.


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading


Planned posts

  • My Five Favourite March Reads
  • Book Review: A Better Place by Stephen Daisley
  • Author Q&A: Sardines by Angel Dionne
  • #6Degrees of Separation
  • Author Q&A: A Place Without Pain by Simon Bourke