Veggie hash with eggs and a lovely cappuccino. Breakfast heaven.
A wonderful week, book wise at least. Two Netgalley titles: City On Fire by Graham Bartlett (21 March), courtesy of Allison and Busby; and Lethal Vengeance by Robert Bryndza (08 Feb), courtesy of Raven Street Publishing. I *may* also have ordered a few books (I did): The Mercy Chair by MW Craven (06 Jun); Jericho’s Dead by William Hussey (29 Feb); The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster (28 Mar); The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood (28 Mar); and Tigers in the Dark by Douglas Skelton (02 Mar).
L-R: City on Fire: Lethal Vengenance; The Mercy Chair
L-R: Jericho’s Dead; The Devil You Know; The mind of a Murderer; Tigers in the Dark
I had a few deliveries (and a collection) in the week too: Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick; Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater; The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict; and my Orenda books subscription from Bert’s Books – Upstairs At The Beresford by Will Carver; and His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave (I was quoted in both books – what an honour). To top off my Orenda fest this week, I’ve even read the four Orenda proofs I had in waiting – what a fabulous week it’s been!
Left: Upstairs At The Beresford; HIs Favourite Graves; The Christmas Jigsaw Murders Centre; Upstairs At The Beresford + my quote Right: His Favourite Graves + my quote
Left: My four Orenda reads – Yule Island, Dead Sweet, Halfway House, The Guests Centre: Murder at Holly House Right: Death of a Bookseller
Books I have read
Yule Island by Johanna Gustawsson (translated by David Warriner) (23 Nov)
Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
Dead Sweet by Katrín Júlíusdóttir (translated by Quentin Bates) (07 Dec)
A murder is just the beginning… When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging. As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home… Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald (18 Jan)
They’re the housemates from Hell… When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders. Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou… And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life. Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…
The Guests by Agnes Ravatn (translated by Rosie Hedger) (18 Jan)
A young couple are entangled in a nightmare spiral of lies when they pretend to be someone else …Exquisitely dark psychological suspense by the international bestselling author of The Bird Tribunal It started with a lie… Married couple Karin and Kai are looking for a pleasant escape from their busy lives, and reluctantly accept an offer to stay in a luxurious holiday home in the Norwegian fjords. Instead of finding a relaxing retreat, however, their trip becomes a reminder of everything lacking in their own lives, and in a less-than-friendly meeting with their new neighbours, Karin tells a little white lie… Against the backdrop of the glistening water and within the claustrophobic walls of the ultra-modern house, Karin’s insecurities blossom, and her lie grows ever bigger, entangling her and her husband in a nightmare spiral of deceits with absolutely no means of escape… Simmering with suspense and dark humour, The Guests is a gripping psychological drama about envy and aspiration … and something more menacing, hiding just below that glittering surface…
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.
White lies When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
Dark humour But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
Deadly consequences… What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.
I have had a cracking reading week. Cannot grumble at all. I am one spoilt reader. A good week on the blog last week – recap below:
#Review – The First 48 Hours – Simon Kernick #Review – Gaslight – Femi Kayode #Review – His Favourite Graves – Paul Cleave #Review – Murder At Holly House – Denzil Meyrick #Review – Pulpit Rock – Kate Rhodes
Three blog tours this week – two on the same day as apparently I am an idiot. They are excellent books though and my reviews are glowing so hopefully I’ll be forgiven by the authors
