New arrivals
A much needed, quiet week for acquisitions. I’ve been able to catch up on reviews, NetGalley ARCs and preparation for blog tours…. I almost feel in control!
The Ice by Laline Paull (ebook, NetGalley)
It’s the day after tomorrow and the Arctic sea ice has melted. While global business carves up the new frontier, cruise ships race each other to ever-rarer wildlife sightings. The passengers of the Vanir have come seeking a polar bear. What they find is even more astonishing: a dead body. It is Tom Harding, lost in an accident three years ago and now revealed by the melting ice of Midgard glacier. Tom had come to Midgard to help launch the new venture of his best friend of thirty years, Sean Cawson, a man whose business relies on discretion and powerful connections – and who was the last person to see him alive. Their friendship had been forged by a shared obsession with Arctic exploration. And although Tom’s need to save the world often clashed with Sean’s desire to conquer it, Sean has always believed that underneath it all, they shared the same goals. But as the inquest into Tom’s death begins, the choices made by both men – in love and in life – are put on the stand. And when cracks appear in the foundations of Sean’s glamorous world, he is forced to question what price he has really paid for a seat at the establishment’s table. Just how deep do the lies go?
The Fall by Martin Lee (ebook, free)
It’s 1998, and Michael O’Neill arrives in Singapore, on his latest mission. His taxi driver recognises him as a famous actor, but long before that, he was a young soldier with the Manchester Regiment, stationed in Singapore.
Manchester, 1938. There’s no jobs to be had, and Reg Dwyer has children to clothe and feed, so he enlists in the army, certain he’ll never see action. He’s sent to Singapore, where he must overcome the stifling heat and the constant longing he feels for his wife Marjorie and his three children by writing endless letters home. The Manchester Regiment is a good bunch of lads, and they all get on, mostly. Then there’s Michael O’Neill, an Irish lad. Being a soldier is not for him, and the others think he is doolally. But when it comes time to fight, he takes orders better than any of them. And then there’s Sergeant Percy B Shelley who works tirelessly to keep the men in line and ready to fight. And then war breaks out and Manchester is bombed. And on a hazy February Day in 1942, everything changes for the Manchester Regiment, when Lieutenant Whitehead gives an order no soldier should have to follow. Now, fifty years later, Michael O’Neill, in the biggest role of his life, returns to say goodbye to the men he knew as lads, who never got to see Manchester again.
You Can’t Make Old Friends by Tom Trott (ebook, free)
Blacklisted by the police. Being sued by a client. And broke. Things can’t get any worse for Brighton’s No.1 Private Detectiv e, Joe Grabarz, in this blistering debut novel from award-winning writer Tom Trott.That’s when his best friend’s body washes up on the beach. Could it really have been ten years? What happened? How could his life have ended like this? He needs answers. But with the city in the grips of organised crime, and struggling to deal with an influx of legal highs, who cares about just another dead drug dealer? Joe, that’s who. After all, you can’t make old friends.
On What Cathy Read Next last week
Book Reviews
On Wednesday I published my review of The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh, a historical mystery with a feisty heroine. I’m great fan of Marina Fiorato’s historical fiction and her latest book, Crimson & Bone is a dark, compelling gothic melodrama. I shared my review as part of the blog tour on Friday. There’s a giveaway as well – a chance to win a hardback copy of Crimson & Bone (UK/ROI only) – make sure you enter! Saturday saw my review of Vindolanda by Adrian Goldsworthy. Set in Roman Britain in AD98, this was a cracking, action-packed read and, I hope, the start of a series.
Other posts
On Monday, I shared a list of 10 Book Blogs I Love, risking the wrath of all those other wonderful bloggers I missed off my list! On Tuesday I featured a Q&A with Simon Bourke, author of And The Birds Kept on Singing. Simon shared the inspiration behind this, his debut novel. On Thursday, I was delighted to put another indie author was in the spotlight – S. R. Wilsher, author of The Good Father.
Challenge updates
- Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge – 59 out of 78 books read (2 more than last week)
- Classics Club – 2 out of 50 books reviewed (same as last week)
- NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2017 (Gold) – 33 ARCs reviewed out of 50 (2 more than last week)
- From Page to Screen – 6 book/film comparisons completed (same as last week)
- The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Shortlist 2017 – 3 out of 7 read (same as last week)
On What Cathy Read Next this week
Currently reading
Planned posts
- Book Blitz: Dawn Girl by Leslie Wolfe
- Guest Post: Letters to Strabo by David Smith
- Blog Tour/Q&A: Sugar, Sugar by Lainy Malkani
- Book Review: Widdershins by Helen Steadman
Reviews to be added to NetGalley
- Fata Morgana by Steven R. Boyett & Ken Mitchroney
How was your week in books? Pulitzer prize winning or slush pile candidate?
My read of the month
What Cathy Read Next... 