On What Cathy Read Next last week
Monday – I published my review of historical crime novel, In Two Minds by Alis Hawkins.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was a Hallowe’en freebie but, unable to come up with anything original on that theme, I selected ten Book Titles That Are Portmanteau Words.
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 My Five Favourite October 2023 Reads.
Friday – I came up with my (probably over-optimistic) list of books I’m intending to read for this year’s #NetGalleyNovember reading challenge.
Saturday – I took part in the monthly #6Degrees of Separation meme.
New arrivals
They’ve just kept on coming this week… A book for BBC Radio 4’s Bookclub, two purchases for my Backlist Burrow reading challenge and three ARCs
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan (Black Swan Ireland)
In the aftermath of Ireland’s financial collapse, dangerous tensions surface in an Irish town. As violence flares, the characters face a battle between public persona and inner desires. Through a chorus of unique voices, each struggling to tell their own kind of truth, a single authentic tale unfolds.
Himself by Jess Kidd (Canongate)
Having been abandoned at an orphanage as a baby, Mahony assumed all his life that his mother wanted nothing to do with him. That is, until one night in 1976 while drinking a pint at a Dublin pub, he receives an anonymous note implying that she may have been forced to give him up. Determined to find out what really happened, Mahony embarks on a pilgrimage back to his hometown, the rural village of Mulderrig. Neither he nor Mulderrig can possibly prepare for what’s in store…
From the moment he arrives, Mahony’s presence completely changes the village. Women fall all over themselves. The real and the fantastic are blurred. Chatty ghosts rise from their graves with secrets to tell, and local preacher Father Quinn will do anything to get rid of the slippery young man who is threatening the moral purity of his parish.
All 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.
A sweeping saga covering half a century, this is a powerful exploration of family ties and heartbreaks, and of learning to live with the past
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (ARC, Viper)
Jasmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China’s one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.
Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again…
The Teacher (DS Cross #6) by Tim Sullivan (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)
An eighty-year-old man is found murdered in his home. His age and standing in the community makes finding his killer difficult – why would anyone harm an elderly man? What threat could he possibly be to anyone?
With no apparent motive, DS George Cross canvases the community for potential suspects but the man was known as generous, charitable, community-minded. Each interview about who the man is muddies the picture further. So Cross decides to look for who he was – revealing a past that is far less honourable than his present . . .
The Shadow Network by Tony Kent (ARC, Elliott & Thompson)
How do you take down an enemy when no one believes they exist?
When the lawyers of alleged war criminal Hannibal Strauss are caught up in a terror attack in The Hague, barrister Michael Devlin immediately suspects all is not what it seems. Teaming up once more with Agent Joe Dempsey, they must find who’s behind it all before any more innocent lives are lost.
With their key witness on the run and assassins on their tail, their only lead is a the Monk, a legendary and mysterious foreign agent with a fearsome reputation. But what is his stake in this dangerous game? And just who is part of his shadowy network of spies? Caught in a complicated web of lies, secrets and double agents, there’s no one Dempsey and Devlin can trust but themselves.
On What Cathy Read Next this week
Currently reading
Planned posts
- Book Review: Held by Anne Michaels
- Book Review/Blog Tour: Rebellion by Simon Scarrow
What Cathy Read Next... 