#WWWWednesday – 10th 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-five 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).

The Most Difficult ThingThe Most Difficult Thing/Part of the Family by Charlotte Philby (The Borough Press via NetGalley)

How do you know who’s on your side, if you don’t know whose side you’re on?

David is the heir to global company TradeSmart, run by his philanthropic father Clive Witherall. Meg is an ambitious intern at a national newspaper, determined to break into the media world. Anna is hiding a dark secret, desperately clinging onto her new identity.

When the three friends meet Harry, everything changes…

As Anna finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of espionage, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the people who have recruited her – and about herself.

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

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

The Distant Dead (The Detective’s Daughter #8) by Lesley Thomson (Head of Zeus)


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.

#TopTenTuesday Most Anticipated Books Releasing January to June 2024 #TuesdayBookBlog

Top Ten TuesdayTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2024, a good excuse to browse NetGalley for forthcoming releases and add lots to my wishlist. Links from the titles will take you to the full book description on Goodreads.

  1. To Kill a King by David Gilman (1st February, Head of Zeus) – ‘The eighth adventure in the critically acclaimed ‘Master of War’ series set in fourteenth-century Europe.’
  2. Diva by Daisy Goodwin (14th March, Head of Zeus) – ‘In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend.’ 
  3. The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola (21st March, Orion) – ‘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.’
  4. How to Make a Bomb by Rupert Thomson (11th April, Head of Zeus) – ‘If he suddenly found what surrounded him unbearable, it was because it was artificial. Everything had been designed and manufactured, and he was trapped in it’
  5. Girl Friends by Alex Dahl (11th April, Head of Zeus) – ‘Two best friends. A girls’ trip to Ibiza.One night that changes everything…’
  6. James by Percival Everett (11th April, Mantle) – ‘The powerful reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  7. The Household by Stacey Halls (11th April, Manilla Press) – ‘Inspired by real historical figures and events . . . NOT ALL WHO ARE FALLEN WANT TO BE SAVED’
  8. The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux by M. J. Rowbotham (11th April, Head of Zeus) – ‘Everyone knows Ruby Devereaux’s books. But no one knows her story… until now.’
  9. A Plague of Serpents by K.J. Maitland (25th April, Headline) – ‘K.J. Maitland’s gripping Jacobean historical thriller series comes to a dramatic conclusion…’
  10. Sufferance by Charles Palliser (1st May, Guernica) – ‘From the bestselling author of The Quincunx, comes a deeply unsettling psychological novel about the hideous decisions that people are forced to make when living under tyrannical regimes.’

What books are you looking forward to in 2024?