new arrivals

MyWeekinBooks

The Party by Elizabeth Day (ebook)

Martin Gilmour is an outsider. When he wins a scholarship to Burtonbury School, he doesn’t wear the right clothes or speak with the right kind of accent. But then he meets the dazzling, popular and wealthy Ben Fitzmaurice, and gains admission to an exclusive world. Soon Martin is enjoying tennis parties and Easter egg hunts at the Fitzmaurice family’s estate, as Ben becomes the brother he never had.

But Martin has a secret. He knows something about Ben, something he will never tell. It is a secret that will bind the two of them together for the best part of 25 years.

At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the great and the good of British society are gathering to celebrate in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the hundreds of guests – the politicians, the celebrities, the old-money and newly rich – Martin once again feels that disturbing pang of not-quite belonging. His wife, Lucy, has her reservations too. There is disquiet in the air. But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship.

Would he?

The One from the Other (Bernie Gunther #4) by Phillip Kerr (ebook)

Munich, 1949: Amid the chaos of defeat, it is home to all the backstabbing intrigue that prospers in the aftermath of war. A place where a private eye like Bernie Gunther can find a lot of not-quite-reputable work: cleaning up the Nazi past of well-to-do locals, abetting fugitives in the flight abroad, sorting out rival claims to stolen goods. It is work that fills Bernie with disgust – but it also fills his sorely depleted wallet.

Then a woman seeks him out. Her husband has disappeared. She’s not looking to get him back – he’s a wanted man who ran one of the most vicious concentration camps in Poland. She just wants confirmation that he’s dead.

It is a simple enough job. But in post-war Germany, nothing is simple.

The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway by Rhys Thomas (eARC, review copy courtesy of Headline and Random Things Tours)

Sam Holloway has survived the worst that life can throw at you. But he’s not really living. His meticulous routines keep everything nice and safe – with just one exception . . .

Three nights a week, Sam dons his superhero costume and patrols the streets. It makes him feel invincible – but his unlikely heroics are getting him into some sticky situations.

Then a girl comes along and starts to shatter the walls Sam has built around himself. Now, he needs to decide if he’s brave enough to take off the mask, and to confront the grief he’s been avoiding for so long . . .

Hilarious and heart-warming, this is a story about grief, loneliness, and the life-changing power of kindness.

Published in paperback on 9^th August 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here

The Secrets of Primrose Square by Claudia Carroll (hardcover, prize courtesy of Readers First and Zaffre)

There are so many stories hidden behind closed doors . . .

It’s late at night and the rain is pouring down on the Dublin city streets. A mother is grieving for her dead child. She stands silently outside the home of the teenage boy she believes responsible. She watches . . .

In a kitchen on the same square, a girl waits anxiously for her mum to come home. She knows exactly where she is, but she knows she cannot reach her.

A few doors down, and a widow sits alone in her room. She has just delivered a bombshell to her family during dinner and her life is about to change forever.

And an aspiring theatre director has just moved in to a flat across the street. Her landlord is absent, but there are already things about him that don’t quite add up . . .

Welcome to Primrose Square.

Published on 26^th July 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I joined the blog tour for The Underground River by Martha Conway, sharing my review of this historical fiction novel, published under the title The Floating Theatre in the UK. I also published my review of another historical fiction title, The Year of the Snake, this time of the historical crime variety, set in ancient Rome.

Tuesday – Top Ten Tuesday saw me compiling a list of Books with Read, White and Blue Covers in honour of the 4^th July holiday in the United States the following day. I also shared my review of a terrific historical crime mystery, The Devil’s Half Mile by Paddy Hirsch. Thanks to Readers First for my wonderful prize copy. Finally, I did a round-up of my Five Favourite Reads in June.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now and what I’ll be reading next. Following on from my review of the book Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarten last week, I reviewed the film version (for which McCarten wrote the screenplay) and shared my thoughts on the comparison between the two. I also joined the blog tour for Nadine Dorries’ latest novel, Shadows in Heaven, hosting a giveaway (UK & ROI only) that closes on 10^th July.

Thursday – I hosted a slot on the blog tour for Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks, publishing my review of this deliciously creepy and atmospheric dual time story.

Friday – I published an excerpt from a historical fiction novel set in WW2 Eritrea that is in my author review pile, The Italian Couple by J. R. Rogers.

Saturday – I took part in the monthly Six Degrees of Separation meme creating a bookish chain that commenced with Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City and ended with The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Look out for the #6Degrees hashtag on Twitter for brilliantly imaginative chains by other book bloggers. I also published my (spoiler-free) introduction to this month’s Buchan of the Month, The Watcher by the Threshold. It’s a collection of short stories many of which have a supernatural feel.

Challenge updates

Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge – 99 out of 156 books read, 3 more than last week
Classics Club Challenge – 16 out of 50 books read, same as last week
NetGalley/Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2018 (Gold) – 35 ARCs read and reviewed out of 50, 2 more than last week
From Page to Screen– 11 book/film comparisons out of 15 completed, 1 more than last week
2018 TBR Pile Challenge – 5 out of 12 books read, same as last week
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2018 – 48 books out of 50 read, 2 more than last week
When Are You Reading? Challenge 2018 – 7 out of 12 books read, same as last week
What’s In A Name Reading Challenge – 1 out of 6 books read, same as last week
Buchan of the Month – 6 out of 12 books read, same as last week
NEW 20 Books of Summer Challenge – 7 out of 20 books read, 1 more than last week

On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

Book Review: Song by Michelle Jana Chan
Blog Tour/Extract: The Distance by Zoe Folbigg
Book Review: Legionary: The Blood Road (Legionary #7) by Gordon Doherty
Book Review: The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen
Book Review: Hold by Michael Donkor
Book Review: Grace by Paul Lynch
Guest Post: Sheriff and Priest by Nicky Moxey
Blog Tour/Q&A: The Girl in the Pink Raincoat by Alrene Hughes

New arrivals

The Mistress of Pennington’s by Rachel Brimble (ebook, review copy courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources )

Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?
Published on 1^st July 2018, to purchase from Amazon click here

Smart Moves by Adrian Magson (eARC, review copy courtesy of The Dome Press)

International trouble-shooter Jake Foreman loses his job, house and wife all in one day. And when an impulsive move lands him in even deeper water – the kind that could lose him his life – he decides it’s time to make some smart decisions.

The trouble is, knowing the right moves and making them is a whole different game. And Jake, who has been happily rubbing along things he always suspected were just a shade away from being dodgy, finds it all too easy to go with the flow. Now he’s got to start learning new tricks.

If he doesn’t, he could end up dead.
Published on 16^th August 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here

A Quiet Genocide by Glenn Bryant (eARC, courtesy of the author and Amsterdam Publishers)

Germany, 1954. Jozef grows up in a happy household – so it seems. But his father Gerhard still harbours disturbing National Socialism ideals, while mother Catharina is quietly broken. She cannot feign happiness for much longer and rediscovers love elsewhere. Jozef is uncertain and alone. Who is he? Are Gerhard and Catharina his real parents?

A dark mystery gradually unfolds, revealing an inescapable truth the entire nation is afraid to confront. But Jozef is determined to find out about the past and a horror is finally unmasked which continues to question our idea of what, in the last hour, makes each of us human.

A terrifying and heartbreaking story.
Published on 22^nd August 2018, to pre-order from Amazon click here – pre-order price currently £0.99