Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

Summary:

Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.

Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?

My Review:

I do love a Christmas crime novel and last year I really enjoyed reading The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and Alexandra returns with another Christmas murder mystery. Murder on the Christmas Express (Simon & Schuster) is very much in the mind of an Agatha Christie murder mystery.

Every murder mystery needs its great characters to keep you guessing and Alexandra Benedict has written in some, well lets just say interesting characters that will keep you guessing. It is Christmas and everyone is trying to be somewhere but the weather is setting in and there is travel chaos. As the title suggests the main scene is aboard the sleeper and it is heading north to the Highlands but the snow is getting worse and so the train is not going to be stopping at all the stops. On board the train is the former Met detective Roz Parker, but one by one you get to meet the leading characters and what a real mix they are. There is a social media celebrity who is constantly engaging with her followers, then we have a quiz team, there is even a stowaway on board the train, there is a TV star and many others. In the small hours of Christmas eve, miles from anywhere the train is derailed and passengers are tossed around or jolted from their sleep. And a killer strikes. Now they are all alone and who is going to be next. It is down to our heroine Roz to take control and find the killer before there are more bodies to be found.

What I really enjoyed about Murder on the Christmas Express is the complex characters and just how the storyline flowed and the twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing. The train is going nowhere and it is a race against time to find the killer. Roz has her candidates but now she has to catch the killer. Probably not the book to read if you are heading to the Scottish Highlands on a sleeper on Christmas eve. There are a number of fun quiz games and anagrams to keep you involved as you read, in a similar frame as last Christmases offering from Alexandra Benedict.

All told I would be happy to recommend to anyone looking for a Christmas based crime novel. There are a number of themes involved in the story but I really enjoyed Murder on the Christmas Express.

352 Pages.

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict is Published by Simon & Schuster and is now available in hardback through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Opera by Julie Anderson

Opera by Julie Anderson

Summary:

It had been solely personal. Not anymore.

Determined to lay the ghosts of her past, Cassandra Fortune asks a former head of GCHQ for help, only to receive a message from beyond the grave. A riddle to puzzle out and a murder to solve. She revisits an old betrayal in an ancient land, uncovering subterfuge and treason, but finds that it is linked with her own quest for the truth.

As Christmas approaches, a shadowy presence haunts her footsteps. Is this because of the case, or is it the return of an old enemy? His criminal network shattered, is he seeking revenge?

What is real and what only appears to be? Who can be trusted and who is double-dealing? Cassie must find the truth. And survive.

My Review:

I have followed this brilliant series by Julie Anderson that stars Cassandra Fortune from Plague (2020) and Oracle (2021) and now arrived is the third in the series comes Opera (Claret Press). Now I enjoy going to the Opera when I can, but little did, I know that the third book would involve just that.

If like me, you have followed the series from the start you will know that Cassandra Fortune is our heroine. With questions still lurking at the back of her mind about why she was more or less hung out to dry and had to leave her previous role, Cassandra Fortune now back from Greece must settle her mind and find out what really lay behind her being forced out and to get to the truth there is risk and there is always an adversary to get past and the risks to her wellbeing are real and apparent.

To finally get to the truth, our heroine pays a visit to her old GCHQ boss Angela Kayser, but someone has got there before she has and now Angela is dead, so the scene is well and truly set as Cassie now has a murder to solve. The past must be solved and to find the killer may well answer more questions about her own past.
One of the great aspects of Julie Anderson’s books is her knowledge of the how the Palace of Westminster works and having been there earlier this year, this really made Opera stand out even more, after all the Prime Minister is Cassandra’s boss. As the title of the novel says, Opera plays a part in this book and now as Christmas fast approaches Cassandra must arrange a visit for a Greek delegation to go to the Royal Opera House for a performance of Tosca. There really are some tense situations in this game of cat and mouse where death seems to follow Cassie around. Crime and politics don’t mix, and it is a dirty business. But not only is she now trying to solve a murder and it is clear it is someone she knows but at the same time she must keep some important people safe while in London. That is not easy as someone clearly wants Cassie to come to some harm.

Opera is a fabulous crime and spy thriller that has just about everything in it and you really get into the mindset of Cassandra Fortune by the way Julie Anderson has set up her leading character. Without giving too much away the ending is something wait for that includes a chase deep underground. If it is the end of the series, then what a way to go out on. If you have missed the first two. You are in for a treat.

200 Pages.

My thanks to Claret Press for the review Copy of Opera by Julie Anderson    Published on 5^th September 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

Summary:

IX BROTHERS AND SISTERS. ONE INJUSTICE THAT WILL SHATTER THEIR BOND FOREVER.

Junius is the patriarch, a celebrated Shakespearean actor who fled bigamy charges in England, both a mesmerising talent and a man of terrifying instability. As his children grow up in a remote farmstead in 1830s rural Baltimore, the country draws ever closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.

Of the six Booth siblings who survive to adulthood, each has their own dreams they must fight to realise – but it is Johnny who makes the terrible decision that will change the course of history – the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Booth is a riveting novel focused on the very things that bind, and break, a family.

My Review:

If there has been on book that I have read this year that upon opening the first page I was not sure what to expect, then Booth (Serpent’s Tail) by Karen Joy Fowler is that one book. But at the same time if there was one book that I am so pleased I have ended up reading then this was it. Booth is just an incredibly powerful look at one complex family that begins in 1822 and the name of John Wilkes Booth.

The story begins in 1822 and Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann have moved to the United States and set up home on a farm near Baltimore. Junius is a well-known Shakespearean actor. The years pass and not only are they now maintaining a farm, but they have a large family and over the next 16 years they have ten children. Each one will have the hopes and aspirations to be successful in whatever they choose to do with their lives, that is those that make it to adulthood.

Junius though has his demons and drink is one of them and this alone causes real worry and anxiety in the family as well as scandals along the way. But it is one of these children who makes the wrong decision that will have serious consequences for him, for his family and the course of history. John Wilkes Booth. He becomes one of the most notorious assassins in the history of America. He assassinates President Abraham Lincoln on that fateful day, 14^th April 1865. But what drove John Booth to want to kill the President?

The story of the family is narrated by three siblings, two sisters Rosalie and Asia and his brother Edwin. Each will tell their story in their own words just as each one of them is different. Some of the family follow their father into stage acting, but it is John’s beliefs surrounding the civil war finally boil over and it is while attending a performance with his wife John Booth shot the President in the back of the head. Abraham Lincoln died the next day.

Through the story there are moments about Lincoln’s life as the timeline is weaved together. It is an outstanding book and how Karen Joy Fowler has created a story out of history is simply brilliant. It is an epic story of a family that no-one would know anything about had it not been for John Wilkes Booth. The family were complex but at the same time a celebrated family of actors. But now all they will be forever known as the family of John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot President Abraham Lincoln. Booth is one of those books that I was hooked on and found difficult to leave alone, I wanted to know more about the family and especially John Wilkes Booth.

480 Pages.

My thanks to Serpent’s Tail for Copy of Booth by Karen Joy Fowler. Published on 17 March 2022 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre

Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre

Summary:

HE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE MOST INFAMOUS PRISON IN HISTORY — FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAS: ROGUE HEROES AND THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR

In a forbidding Gothic castle on a hilltop in the heart of Nazi Germany, an unlikely band of British officers spent the Second World War plotting daring escapes from their German captors. Or so the story of Colditz has gone, unchallenged for 70 years. But that tale contains only part of the truth.

The astonishing inside story, revealed for the first time in this new book by bestselling historian Ben Macintyre, is a tale of the indomitable human spirit, but also one of snobbery, class conflict, homosexuality, bullying, espionage, boredom, insanity and farce. With access to an astonishing range of material, Macintyre reveals a remarkable cast of characters of multiple nationalities hitherto hidden from history, with captors and prisoners living for years cheek-by-jowl in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.

From the elitist members of the Colditz Bullingdon Club to America’s oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent, the soldier-prisoners of Colditz were courageous and resilient as well as vulnerable and fearful — and astonishingly imaginative in their desperate escape attempts. Deeply researched and full of incredible human stories, this is the definitive book on Colditz.

My Review:

Just mentioning the name Colditz Castle and many will undoubtedly recall the 1955 film starring John Mills and Eric Portman, but what really is the true story of the famous castle that housed WWII Prisoners of War. Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle (Viking Books) by Ben Macintyre is out now and really gets behind the story and some of POW’s who were held at the castle.

Colditz Castle or Schloss Colditz is situated near Leipzig, Dresden, which is part of the State of Saxony in Germany. It was at the start of WWII that the famous castle was transformed into a Prisoners of War camp and in November 1940 the first British soldiers would arrive. What Ben Macintyre does is an incredible job in research and getting behind the story of the prisoners and their captors of the castle and many would become well known for their stories of escaping from the castle fortress or the many attempts and the tunnels that would be dug right under the noses of the German guards. Many of the stories contained within the book I have never known before, and it tells the real story of life within the walls of the castle and some of the stories are quite sad not just the stories we all read about in years gone by.

We all know of the many escape stories and how the planned meticulously each escape plan, but for many of those held at the castle it has become clear the psychological effect it would have on those. For some desperation to escape would be too much. Many would escape but would be captured only to be march across the bridge and through the gates and back into Colditz, but the stories of those who escaped and made it back home are the stuff of legend.

Some of the prisoners would be classified as real high value POW’s and would be held away from the main prisoners these would be related to high-ranking officials, and they would so the story goes could become bargaining tools as the war came to an end with the Americans advancing on the town of Colditz and the bridge that led to the castle. Some of the incredible stories of how M19 came up with many ways of smuggling items into the camp to help those being held. It was 16 April 1945 after two days of fighting that the castle was liberated by US troops. What took place in the castle in the lead up to this makes for fascinating reading.

When you any book by Ben Macintyre, you know you are reading not just an historical book that is so well researched but books that really read like a gripping novel.

384 Pages.

Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle by Ben MacIntyre Published by Viking Books UK on and is now available in hardback through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Summary:

The Marriage Portrait is a dazzling evocation of the Italian Renaissance in all its beauty and brutality.

Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her.

Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence’s grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.

What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.

The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.

My Review:

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell was my book of the year for 2020 and now recently out in hardback is the new book from a writer I admire greatly. The Marriage Portrait (Tinder Press) is just as unforgettable and will undoubtedly be in the running for my book of the year.

The Marriage Portrait is set during the Italian Renaissance. The year is 1561 and it is the reimagining of the story of a young woman, 16-year-old Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara. Lucrezia is now forced into a marriage to a man she has not met. It was to be her older sister Maria who was to have wed Alfonso d’Este the soon to be Duke of Ferrara but after her sister died Lucrezia was to take her place. Lucrezia though a bit more outgoing than her sister and had little interests in dressing up and much preferred being in nature and so marriage was a shock to her. It was her father Cosimo, the Grand Duke of Tuscany who only wanted the very best marriages for his daughters and so it was that Lucrezia was to become the wife of Alfonso.

Very soon after the wedding Lucrezia is whisked away to a country villa or so it seems and something unusual in the fact there is none of the usual entourage that would accompany Alfonso let alone anyone to attend to Lucrezia. Something sinister is happening within the walls of villa. Alfonso is not the loving husband they believed he would be but more controlling and it soon apparent to the young Lucrezia that court life is constrained and not the life she once knew. But worse much worse is to follow. She is now at the mercy of Alfonso. She is there for one reason to make sure there is an heir to Alfonso’s dynasty. This has not happened and now lives in fear of her ever-increasing erratic husband.

I am not going to give anything away as that will spoil the book for anyone who is yet to read The Marriage Portrait but all I will say is that this is just another outstanding book by Maggie O’Farrell. A book you can easily loose a weekend to and never have any regrets. It is evocative and compelling and so beautifully written. For an historical piece of writing Maggie O’Farrell has yet again raised the bar so high you must wonder how she can follow this.

448 Pages.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell Published by Tinder Press on 30 August 2022 and is now in hardback and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson

Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson

Summary:

[A] thriller from [an] ex-doctor about a spate of mysterious deaths in a beleaguered hospital. Insightful on addiction and doctors’ lives, it reads almost like a comic medical memoir – with murder thrown in ’The Bookseller

The year is 1999. Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young Scottish doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a senior house officer in the struggling east London hospital of St Luke’s.

Amid the maelstrom of sick patients, over-worked staff and underfunded wards a darker secret soon declares itself: too many patients are dying.

Which of the medical professionals our protagonist has encountered is behind the murders? And can our unnamed narrator’s version of the events be trusted?

My Review:

The is one mysterious aspect of this novel that you pick up very quickly, there is a narrator, but you do not know who the narrator is. This is what I really liked about Sometimes People Die (The Borough Press) by Simon Stephenson this just adds to the mystery. It is set in the year 1999 in a struggling London Hospital this young Scottish doctor takes on a role that soon becomes something more than just a doctor.

How did this young Scottish doctor end up working at this London hospital, for this you have to back further as while he was working previously in Scotland, he came very close to losing everything he worked so hard for including he medical licence which would have meant that his career would have been over, he was found to be stealing drugs due to his ongoing opioid addiction. Now he is working with overworked and underpaid staff at this London Hospital. But there is something going on at this hospital, people are dying, too many people are dying.

Throughout the story the narrator talks to us about life on the wards the long and exhausting days that never seem to end and days that merge into one, the crash calls and constant beeps, but something keeps occurring and that is among of people that seem to be dying on the wards, clearly something sinister is going on, could there really be a killer stalking the patients, someone who could be a nurse or a doctor clearly taking lives? Our narrator will soon become a suspect when his own past is called into question, but somewhere in the hospital there is a killer. He must find who is responsible and quick.

I have to say that I really enjoyed how Simon Stephenson set out his novel as Simon is a trained doctor and worked in both London and Scotland, so his medical background really helps set the scene of day-to-day life on the wards of St Luke’ Hospital. At times there is humour that he brings to the story, within the story our doctor who is out to find the killer will also recount some of the famous cases of medical related murders from the years past which really adds to the story. It is both compelling and at the same time an addictive read. But what about the ending, well that is something you will have to discover for yourself.

368 Pages.

My thanks to Sophia Saghir (Midas PR) and The Borough Press for the review Copy of by Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson. Published on 1^st September 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields

The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields

Summary:

In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque.

Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.

The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?

My Review:

What is it about a murder mystery set on a Scottish Island? Well, here is one that I literally could not put down. The Last Girl to Die (Avon Books) by Helen Fields. Is one of those books that sets the scene very quickly and it never lets up until you turn the last page. Helen Fields is a former criminal law barrister so who else could really write such a gripping crime novel.

Set on the Isle of Mull, an American family have made the island their new home. But something goes horribly wrong when their 16-year-old daughter goes missing, and the days pass and the police have no clues as to what has happened to Adriana. The days now pass, and they begin to think that the local police on the Isle of Mull do not seem to be taking the case very seriously. The parents of Adriana now call in a Canadian private investigator who has a track record in finding missing teenagers. Sadie Levesque arrives on Mull and starts to look for clues as to what has happened to Adriana. It is not long before Sadie comes face to face with hostility from some of the local police officers investigating the case.

Adriana has now been missing for around eleven days and Sadie now finds her body, but something very creepy and mysterious about how she is found. She is wearing a crown made of seaweed but that is not all, Sadie has not seen anything like this before, but she will soon come face to face with another crown made of seaweed. But who is responsible for the murder of Adriana and what really lies behind her killing. There are too many loose ends on Mull and that goes for the family as well. Are they hiding something about their daughter? And why are some of the police and locals against her digging too deeply into the case. Someone clearly means Sadie harm if she digs too deeply.

It is not long before another girl goes missing and her body is found in similar circumstances, is there a connection between the two teenage girls? Adriana has a twin brother and there is a sense of unease here from the start.

What we have in this compelling crime novel is the islands mysterious past and its legends, and it is not until Sadie herself sees one of these ‘gatherings’ that she begins to understand, but there is danger here.

I really enjoyed the setting and how Helen Fields created a whole cast of characters that made the story so gripping. A story of secrets and but also of the past. It will keep you guessing until the very end.

384 Pages.

My thanks to Olivia Collier (Midas PR) and Avon Books for the review Copy of The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields. Published on 1^st September 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson – Translated by David Warriner.

The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson

Translated by David Warriner

Summary:

1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.

1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.

2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.

Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…

My Review:

Firstly, I have really enjoyed all of Johana Gustawsson’s novels to-date and I am not at all sure how to begin with my review. Could this be Johana’s best yet? The Bleeding (Orenda Books) and superbly translated as ever by David Warriner is not out until 15 September so just a few more days to wait. The first thing that strikes you is the fabulous cover design. But the storyline is just a stunning complex novel that will fit into the horror come gothic thriller. Now I don’t do horror I stopped reading those back in the 1980’s but don’t be put off by this. This will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat all the way through.

Now here is a novel not just set-in two-time setting but three. It is following the story of three women one for each time setting. The time settings are 1899, 1949 and 2002, and the women are Lucienne, Lina, and Maxine. All the women’s stories are linked and none of their stories are good. Shocking in fact and here is the basis of crux of the storyline. Be prepared for a quite a reading journey that only Johan Gustawsson can take you on.

Maxine Grant is a detective and is grieving the loss of her husband who died suddenly and now she must pull all of her own resources together as she has two young children to care for, but she must now get back to work and there is a murder to solve. But what has Pauline the wife of victim got to do with the case? But what is to follow will take Maxine back in time to another tragedy and then to 1949. But how and what does this have to do with the current case that Maxine Grant is now trying to solve. There is something so incredibly spellbinding in the way the Johan has put together a who cast for The Bleeding and the setting is brilliant as is the way she pulls the whole storyline together.

Do not be put off by the multiple time settings as I found the story was a joy to follow at times there are hints of the dark, gothic, and creepy that find its way into the novel but that just adds to the suspense. I found the storyline to be chilling but outstanding and one of my books of 2022. Not to be missed.

300 Pages.

My thanks to Karen Sullivan for the review Copy of The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson. Published on 15 September 2022 and is now available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman by Elizabeth Train-Brown

Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman by Elizabeth Train-Brown

Summary:

As recounted by the Roman poet Ovid, a young nymph, Salmacis, one day spied Hermaphroditus bathing; consumed with passion, she entered the water and, begging the gods to allow them to stay together, the two became one – part man, part woman. An Eclectic Pagan, for Elizabeth Ovid’s fables are more than fiction, and form a framework for exploring identity. Drawing on the rich mythological history associated with the tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and re-examining the tale through the lens of metaphor, Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman is a stirringly relatable and powerful exploration of gender, love and identity. this is my lake salmacis, and i am the wild nymph with a hollow in her belly and nothing between her legs

My Review:

My love of poetry goes back to when I was very young, and I would in the library surrounded by poetry books. Where I got this from remains a mystery. From the classics to something more modern and just recently arrived is Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman (Renard Press). The debut poetry collection by Elizabeth Train-Brown. A dazzling new writer of poetry and this is her debut collection. The first thing that strikes you is the origami Swan on the cover, then you realise there are no capitals used on the cover. Step inside and this is exactly how it is through this small but outstanding collection.

It is pretty evident that Elizabeth Train-Brown has just let her imagination and pen run with words as she explores all things gender but your own identity. She holds nothing back in her poetry it is tantalising and unique. I just really enjoyed the way she plays with her words exploring her very being.

Ask me to choose one of the poems and I would have to say it would be ‘we all watch the same gods’ on page 45. I will let you read the poem for yourself and take in the words.

What I enjoy about poetry is that it can make you think about what you have read after you have finished reading and discuss the meanings of what the poetry is trying to tell us. Here in Salmacis, Elizabeth Train-Brown is doing just that, she wants us to think about just who we are. I am already looking forward to what comes next.

64 Pages.

My thanks to Renard Press  for the review Copy of Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman by Elizabeth Train-Brown Published on 31 August 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Summary:

And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room Rules no longer apply.’

Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.

While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems…

The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

My Review:

This is one book that could so easily slip under the radar, but I have to say I loved it. Read in two sittings. The Woman un the Library (Ultimo Press) by award-winning author Sulari Gentill is a wonderful novel that is compelling and sharp and it is unique and extremely clever. Once you have started reading it’s addictive approach and storyline together with great characters means you won’t want to stop read.

Inside this thriller there is another story so you will need to keep your wits about to keep up but that is just another twist. In the Boston Public library four people are busy doing their own research when there is a scream. So now there is a murder in the library. But who and why and who committed the murder?

The four are now kept in the reading room of the Boston Public Library while a search goes on around them to find the killer. This is when the four strike up an unlikely friendship and there is one called Freddie who also is the narrator of this novel, she has quietly been busy giving names to the other three while they were working. This seems to inspire Winifred to start writing her book and at the same time they all suspects in the crime of a murder in the library. One by one they are starting to talk about themselves and sometimes you just cannot help revealing too much about your past even if you intended not to. We all have secrets some are best kept locked away.

Meanwhile there is a murder to solved. Could one of them be the killer and could they strike again? And so, we come to the other story Dear Hannah… are the email exchanges between a successful writer Hannah Tigone and her biggest fan called Leo who is trying to get an agent and a book out there. Each of the emails at added at the end of each chapter which are all part of building the thriller and makes the story so compelling. Just where is this heading. Well you will have to read for yourself but the ending caught me completely by surprise and that is why The Woman in the Library is such a clever murder mystery and one I am more than happy to recommend.

272 Pages.

My thanks to Laura Creyke (Mark Hutchinson Management) for the review Copy of The Woman in the library by Sulari Gentill and is Published on 15 September    2022 and is now available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org