My Christmas Week in Books – 24th December 2022

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

Monday – I published my review of historical crime mystery, Skelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses by David Stafford.

Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books I Hope Santa Brings This Year.

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 sign-up post for the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.

Friday – Another day, another sign-up post – this time for the What’s In A Name? 2023 reading challenge.


New arrivals

No fancy publisher’s gift boxes like some lucky people, instead three lovely ARCs via NetGalley. 

The Lace WeaverThe Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

1941, Estonia. As Stalin’s brutal Red Army crushes everything in its path, Katarina and her family survive only because their precious farm produce is needed to feed the occupying forces. Fiercely partisan, Katarina battles to protect her grandmother’s precious legacy – the weaving of gossamer lace shawls stitched with intricate patterns that tell the stories passed down through generations.

While Katarina struggles to survive the daily oppression, another young woman is suffocating in her prison of privilege in Moscow. Yearning for freedom and to discover her beloved mother’s Baltic heritage, Lydia escapes to Estonia.

Facing the threat of invasion by Hitler’s encroaching Third Reich, Katarina and Lydia and two idealistic young soldiers, insurgents in the battle for their homeland, find themselves in a fight for life, liberty and love.

No Life for a LadyNo Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

It’s remarkable how men react when women break the rules… but the people of Hastings are about to discover, women can be remarkable too…

1896. At 28, Violet’s father is beginning to fear she will never marry. But every suitor he puts forward, she finds an increasingly creative way of rebuffing. Because Violet is a woman who knows her own mind – and her mind is on her mother, who went missing 10 years earlier, vanishing from Hastings Pier without a trace.

Looking for the missing is not a suitable pastime for a lady. But when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off an unexpected chain of events that will throw her life into chaos.

Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton’s vanishing? Or will trying cost her more than she can afford to lose? 

The Last Party at Silverton HallThe Last Party at Silverton Hall by Rachel Burton (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Two women. Two centuries. A life-changing night…

1952: Vivien and Max collide in the thick London smog. Within a few years, their whirlwind romance sees them living a quiet life on the Norfolk coast, blissfully happy with their beautiful daughter – at least, that’s how it appears…

2019: Isobel is hoping for a fresh start when she inherits her beloved grandmother Vivien’s house in Silverton Bay. But when she discovers an old photograph of Vivien at one of the infamous parties held at Silverton Hall in the 1950s, Isobel is forced to question how well she really knew her grandmother. Silverton Hall is a place Vivien swore she never went and never would – but why would she lie? And what other secrets was she keeping?

Together with an old friend, Isobel searches for answers. But is she prepared for the truth? 


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: Devils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste Andrea
  • Book Review: The Girl from Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch
  • Book Review: Resurrection by David Gilman
  • Book Review: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

My Week in Books – 18th December 2022

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

Tuesday – IThis week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books on My Winter 2022/2023 To-Read List.

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 published my review of The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually by Helen Cullen.

Friday – I shared my review of The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel OReilly.


New arrivals

The Spy Across the WaterThe Spy Across the Water by James Naughtie (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

We live with our history, but it can kill us.

Faces from the past appear from nowhere at a family funeral, and Will Flemyng, spy-turned-ambassador, is drawn into twin mysteries that threaten everything he holds dear.

From Washington, he’s pitched back into the Troubles in Northern Ireland and an explosive secret hidden deep in the most dangerous but fulfilling friendship he has known.

And while he confronts shadowy adversaries in American streets, and looks for solace at home in the Scottish Highlands, he discovers that his government’s most precious Cold War agent is in mortal danger and needs his help to survive.

In an electric story of courage and betrayal, Flemyng learns the truth that his life has left him a man with many friends, but still alone.

A Gift of PoisonA Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis (eARC, Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley)

Haworth 1847 – Anne and Emily Brontë have had their books accepted for publication, while Charlotte’s has been rejected everywhere, creating a strained atmosphere at the parsonage.

At the same time, a shocking court case has recently concluded, acquitting a workhouse master of murdering his wife by poison. Everyone thinks this famously odious and abusive man is guilty. However, he insists he is many bad things but not a murderer. When an attempt is made on his life, he believes it to be the same person who killed his wife and applies to the detecting sisters for their help.

Despite reservations, they decide that perhaps, as before, it is only they who can get to the truth and prove him innocent – or guilty – without a shadow of doubt. 


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: Devils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste Andrea
  • Book Review: Skelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses by David Stafford 
  • Book REview: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor