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

Book Review – Diva by Daisy Goodwin

About the Book

Book cover of Diva by Daisy Goodwin

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas is known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she’s the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. Yet her fame has been hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her, Maria learned early in life how to protect herself.

When she meets the fabulously rich shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, her isolation melts away. For the first time in her life, she believes she’s found a man who sees the woman rather than the legendary soprano. Desperately in love, Onassis introduces her to a life of unbelievable luxury, mixing with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then, suddenly, it’s over. The international press announce that Onassis will marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

Format: eARC (336 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 14th March 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Diva on Goodreads

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My Review

It’s 1956 and Maria Callas is at the height of her fame but conscious that her extraordinary vocal ability cannot last forever. Her life is a whirlwind: travelling to different cities across the globe for performances, having dress fittings with her couturier and attending glamorous parties – the sort of parties where Cary Grant greets you as he walks past your table, Maurice Chevalier comes over to wish you happy birthday, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor pop over for a chat.

But maintaining the persona of la divina comes at a cost. Conscious of having been overweight as a child, Maria seemingly subsists on a diet of steak tartare and green salad in order to maintain an unnaturally trim figure, hides her shortsightedness behind sunglasses and avoids anything that might risk damaging her voice.

The author shows us Maria the woman, not just the diva. Maria’s relationship with her mother – never strong because of Maria’s suspicion that she always favoured her sister – has broken down completely and will later descend into a war of words and accusations. She’s in a stale marriage in which her husband has become more a manager of her theatrical engagements than a lover. (He, however, remains fiercely devoted to her and I felt great sympathy for him.) Although surrounded by people, she comes across as rather lonely, with her maid the only person she can truly rely on or confide in.

It’s no surprise then that Maria is attracted to Aristotle Onassis, who showers her with attention and a constant stream of expensive gifts. She believes it is Maria Callas the woman he desires, not Maria Callas the opera star. They embark on a passionate affair, under the nose of Onassis’s wife who is finding her own pleasure elsewhere. (I confess I found the sex scenes between Onassis and Maria a little squirmy.) Ignoring the warnings of others and despite being aware of Onassis’s many past dalliances, she believes their relationship is different. ‘Maria knew that she was not some conquest, she was his equal: a Greek of humble origins who had made herself into a world-famous star but who, underneath, was like him – a simple soul.’

Oh dear, how wrong can she be… As she eventually discovers – and only after an act of the utmost cruelty and a very public humiliation – she’s just one in a long line of conquests. Another notch on his bedpost, if you like. While he’s servicing the current conquest, he’s already grooming the next one. And setting his sights higher than the world’s most famous opera singer, as it turns out.

In the end, all Maria is left with is what dignity she can muster and her ability to hold an audience spellbound with that glorious voice, a thing that only time can take away.

Diva gives us the highs and lows, the triumphs and tragedies of Maria’s life. It’s an absorbing work of fiction but necessarily departs from fact in some places.

Book cover of The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography by Sophia Lambton

If you’re keen to learn more about the life and career of Maria Callas, The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography by Sophia Lambton contains never-before-seen correspondence, including letters between Callas and her manager, and interviews with friends of Callas, many of whom have rarely spoken before.

The Callas Imprint was published on 2nd December 2023, the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas’ birth. You can find more details about the book here.

I received a digital review copy of Diva courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.

In three words: Romantic, glamorous, compelling
Try something similar: The Second Marriage by Gill Paul


About the Author

Author Daisy Goodwin

Daisy Goodwin’s work as a TV producer and presenter includes Reader I Married HimBookworm and The Nation’s Favourite Poems; she is also the creator of Grand Designs and the hit Itv drama Victoria, which has sold to 134 countries. She has edited numerous poetry anthologies, including the bestselling 101 Poems That Could Save Your Life, and is the author of Silver River, a memoir, as well as three bestselling novels: My Last DuchessThe Fortune Hunter and Victoria. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages. (Photo/bio: Publisher author page)

Connect with Daisy
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