Tag: Currently Reading

My Week in Books – 31st March 2024

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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.

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

#WWWWednesday – 20th March 2024

whatcathyreadnext11 Comments

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

The Book of SecretsThe Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola (eARC, Orion via NetGalley)

Months after the plague ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay. The Papal authorities commission lieutenant governor Stefano Bracchi to investigate as subtly as he can.

Meanwhile, to the north of the city, Anna Maria Aldobrandini, Duchess of Cesi, is trapped in an abusive relationship with a much older man she was made to marry when she was only a girl. Her friend, Sulpizia Vitelleschi, is in a similar position, but there is no prospect of divorce or escape. To the south, Cecilia Verzellina fears that, once her jealous son-in-law is released from prison, he will kill her beautiful daughter.

Bracci’s investigation at the Tor di Nona will introduce him to horror, magic and an unthinkable discovery. And he begins to wonder: should certain deeds should remain forever unpunished…

Mrs Quinn's Rise to FameMrs Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford (ARC, Michael Joseph)

Mrs Quinn is the unlikely star of Britain’s favourite baking show, but could her newfound stardom cause her biggest secret to unravel?

Jennifer Quinn has a secret. Her love of baking has just won her a spot as a contestant on a primetime TV show. It’s only the second time in fifty-nine years that she’s kept something from her beloved husband Bernard.

She’s about to be whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras, timed challenges and celebrity judges. She could be in with a chance of being crowned the best baker in Britain.

But, as Mrs Quinn’s quiet ambitions turn into unexpected stardom, the other secret she’s been keeping is in danger of resurfacing. It was supposed to stay hidden forever.

Will Mrs Quinn rise to the challenge? Or, will her success become a recipe for disaster?

Recently finished

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein (Bloomsbury)

What Cathy Will Read Next

Death on the ThamesDeath on the Thames by Alan Johnson (eARC, Wildfire via NetGalley)

1999. A young Detective Constable Louise Mangan crosses the Thames one misty morning in pursuit of a killer. She finds a tranquil community on a leafy island close to Hampton Court Palace, but soon realises that all is not as it seems. There is something evil at play in this quiet suburb, and this junior detective’s questions seem only to scratch the surface.

Twenty years later, a horrific fire brings Detective Chief Superintendent Mangan back to that same island. Soon, she discovers that murder was just a drop in these dark waters.

The river runs deep, and the tide is rising at last. Will the truth rise with it?