All for You by Louise Jenson

 

The book:-

MEET THE WALSH FAMILY

Lucy: Loving mother. Devoted wife. And falling to pieces.
Aidan: Dedicated father. Faithful husband. And in too deep.
Connor:Hardworking son. Loyal friend. But can never tell the truth.

Everyone in this family is hiding something, but one secret will turn out to be the deadliest of all . . .

Can this family ever recover when the truth finally comes out?

What I thought:-

Louise Jensen has done it again, but even twistier and darker than before!  This story describes a devoted family, but like most families, each member has secrets, and secrets can be dangerous. The slow dig below the surface of their lives had me gasping with surprise as events unfurled.  Meanwhile, their community is sent reeling by the disappearance of a teenaged boy.  All is very much not as it seems.

Louise Jenson has written some excellent psychological thrillers but this one has more suspense, twists and surprises than any other of hers I have enjoyed: she has taken it to another level.  I was absolutely gripped by the story and rode the rollercoaster of twists and disclosures with a mounting sense of excitement and dread.  An amazing, brave piece of writing, domestic noir at its best.  How far would you go for your loved ones?

A Secret at Tansy Falls by Cate Woods

 Last May I made my first visit to Tansy Falls in the company of Cate Woods, and fell in love with this charming corner of Vermont.  I was therefore delighted to be invited to participate in the blog tour for its sequel, A Secret at Tansy Falls.  Tansy Falls is the same place with the same quirky population, but time has moved on a few months, and the main focus of this story is Connie, who manages the lovely Covered Bridge Inn, for its owners.

 Publisher's description:-

 The old farmhouse at Tansy Falls. A little patch of paradise in the hills of Vermont. Home to happy couple Connie and Nate. And a long-buried secret that will ignite a devastating spark…

As the summer sun sets over the sleepy Vermont town of Tansy Falls, Connie is reminded of how lucky she is. Every day, when she leaves the job she loves, managing the Covered Bridge Inn with her best friend Piper, she looks forward to returning to the farmhouse she shares with her husband Nate. At home, her flowerbeds overflow with day lilies and the weathered brick walls of her beautiful house glow in the evening light. The air is filled with the scent of the puffed apple pancakes she prepared that morning.

But one night, when Nate returns home, he is distant. He and Connie have been married for a long time, and while the laughter and lingering kisses have dwindled, Connie believed they would be together forever. So when a stranger arrives on their doorstep with a shocking secret about Nate, Connie’s life changes beyond all recognition.

Connie never thought she’d need to start over and live a life without Nate by her side. But as her heart breaks, Piper and the team at the inn are ready to help stitch it back together, with thoughtful advice washed down with warm spiced cider. As Connie begins to feel whole again, distraction arrives in the form of olive-skinned, broad-shouldered newcomer James. Nate has taught Connie that she doesn’t need a man, but James’s arrival helps her discover that she can follow her own dreams too. But as more secrets come to the surface, Connie wonders if she’ll ever truly be able to leave behind her past for good.

What I thought

Change is afoot in Tansy Falls as a new resort is being developed on the hillside.  Connie feels concerned that it will pose serious competition for the Inn, and that they need to up their game.  Her home life is also under strain, as her husband Nate seems to be becoming increasingly withdrawn and remote after twenty years of marriage, and she wonders what is going wrong and why he doesn't seems to care so much any more.  Both Connie and Nate and the wider community have challenges to face and secrets to discover in the course of this book, and I was really rooting for their survival and success.  Connie has challenges, temptation and potential change to come to terms with, but will she make the right choices?

Cate Woods has further developed the world she created in the first book, and maintained its charm and sense of community.  The characters reappear like old friends and I found myself absolutely caring about what happened to them.  It was cleverly and plausibly plotted so that there were surprises as secrets were revealed and not everything was at it seemed, but in the end good prevails.  This is an entertaining and satisfying read, a feel-good novel to get engrossed in, and a worthy sequel in this series.  

A personal muddle means I am posting late to this book tour - apologies.  Do visit some of the other participants' blogs to see what they thought of this heart-warming tale.

Shambolic Tapestry by Mark Walker

 Mark Walker has been responsible for some transformative work in my garden which has brought considerable pleasure.  He has other skills, as this book reveals.  He is fascinated by nature and humankind's relationship with it, a lifelong connection with my local landscape as well as a remarkable imagination.  This tale is truly genre-bending, a mix of memoir and legend, natural history, ecology and botanical knowledge, and as unique as Mark is.  It engagingly takes us travelling through time to the beginning of life on earth and much is told through the voices of a group of native trees growing on a Somerset hillside.  Tree time is on a very different scale to that of humanity, so their perspective gives a long view of the development of society and our stewardship of the environment.  Mark's charming illustrations give added dimension to the book.

We should all try harder to live in harmony alongside the shambolic tapestry wrought by nature which forms our world, as the climate crisis and other environmental issues indicate.  Quirky and gently humourous, "Shambolic Tapestry" will provide food for thought and raise funds for YACWAG, our local wildlife action group.  It can be purchased here and through other bookshops.  It is published by Honeybee Books.

Cover Reveal: Little Sister by Gytha Lodge

 As the last dark days of December 2021 fade into the New Year, I am thrilled to be the bearer of glad tidings.  Gytha Lodge, who wrote the amazing good and suspenseful Lie Beside Me, has penned another novel (out in April 2022).  For a flavour of what to expect, here is a video to publicise Little Sister, which reveals the beautiful cover.  Definitely one to watch out for and look forward to.  I will be reviewing it here in due course.

The Newcomer by Laura Elizabeth Woollett

 

I enjoyed the opportunity to read this unusual murder story, set on an island off the Australian Coast in the Pacific Ocean which bears some resemblance to Norfolk Island, hence the beautiful pine trees adorning the cover of the book, but called Fairfolk in this fictionalised account based on real life events.  A trip to the southern hemisphere seemed highly desirable in these dull, dark December days, even if by means of a novel and I was ready to be transported.

The publishers describe it thus:- 

When her 29-year-old daughter Paulina goes missing on a sleepy pacific island, Judy Novak suspects the worst. Her fears are soon realised as Paulina’s body is discovered, murdered.

Every man on the island is a suspect, yet none are as maligned as Paulina herself, the captivating newcomer known for her hard drinking, disastrous relationships, and a habit for walking alone. But even death won’t stop Judy Novak from fighting for her daughter’s life.

Paulina's life on the mainland is not making her happy, and she decides to escape to the island in the hope of finding a better life.  The island has a fierce sense of tradition and heritage which perhaps she lacks, and seems a good place to start anew.  She soon finds work and new relationships, but things go wrong.

Paulina's mother, Judy, is still very much involved in her daughter's life, albeit at a distance and by telephone, and she is worried when Paulina disappears off the radar unexpectedly.  So in parallel with the events that bring about Paulina's death we follow Judy's fight for justice and closure.  She is heartbroken.

Few of us can justifiably claim to be perfect and we all have secrets and weaknesses.  Paulina is a damaged person seeking some kind of wholeness but in ways that are unlikely to be successful.  She wants to be loved but she tests her lovers to the limit.  She drinks too much.  She is exciting but vulnerable.

It is difficult for the truth of events to be determined and we follow the investigation as different people come into focus as suspects.  Fairfolk Island is very traditional and seemingly very much a man's world, with women expected to keep to their place and not rock the boat.

It was an engaging read and a sad story, which provided much food for thought about how we live.  I was relieved that there was closure for Judy, at least, and I would recommend "The Newcomer" as a rather different murder mystery.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

 

What Penguin say:-

Nina Dean has arrived at her early thirties as a successful food writer with loving friends and family, plus a new home and neighbourhood. When she meets Max, a beguiling romantic hero who tells her on date one that he's going to marry her, it feels like all is going to plan.

A new relationship couldn't have come at a better time - her thirties have not been the liberating, uncomplicated experience she was sold. Everywhere she turns, she is reminded of time passing and opportunities dwindling. Friendships are fading, ex-boyfriends are moving on and, worse, everyone's moving to the suburbs. There's no solace to be found in her family, with a mum who's caught in a baffling mid-life makeover and a beloved dad who is vanishing in slow-motion into dementia.

Dolly Alderton's debut novel is funny and tender, filled with whip-smart observations about relationships, family, memory, and how we live now.

What I thought:-

An extraordinary treat of a book, one to savour and take time over, because it proved thought-provoking for me. Nina's situation is one many people would recognise, single and unattached in a world of coupledom, while her parents are facing new challenges as they grow older and her scholarly father begins the descent into dementia.

Persuaded to give dating apps a try, she chats on line with some decided frogs before her path crosses with Max and it seems almost perfect. But can anything - or anyone - be as perfect as he seems?  

Dolly writes beautifully and wittily, with an original turn of phrase and a real gift for description.  

The Berlin Zookeeper

Two women. One shocking wartime secret. And a family mystery just waiting to be discovered...

Berlin Zoo, 1943: Ten-year-old Adelaide and her newborn sister are orphaned after a devastating night of bombing. Heartbroken and frightened, Adelaide runs to her mother’s closest friend, Katharina Heinroth, and the kind zookeeper takes the two little girls under her protection. As the bombing intensifies, Adelaide tries to shut out the horrors of war by caring for her tiny sister and playing with the adorable baby monkeys. But when Katharina organises a dangerous operation to enable children and animals to escape the battle-scarred city, something goes wrong. And Adelaide has to promise her adopted mother to keep a shocking secret. A secret that will change Adelaide’s life forever.

Berlin Zoo, 2019: Bethan Taylor notices the elderly lady sitting on the bench next to her seems confused, her thoughts flitting between past and present. Ada talks of her childhood, played out in an underground bunker beneath the animal enclosures during the war. As Ada’s story unfolds, Bethan is surprised to hear a name she recognises…

Katharina Heinroth is at the top of a list of German names Bethan found in a hidden compartment of her late mother’s jewellery box. Bethan’s father couldn’t tell her anything about the crumpled piece of paper and she’s been searching for the meaning ever since.

As the two women are brought together by the pain of the past can they help each other to heal? And after decades of silence, can Ada help Bethan to uncover a long-buried family mystery?

An unforgettable and heart-wrenching novel of a brave orphan girl and a shocking wartime secret, inspired by a true WW2 story.

This is a fascinating story, unusual in that it takes place in war-torn Germany with ordinary people of the time, and that is a perspective we are not often exposed to.  Not all Germans were Nazis, and they had a horrific time during WW2.  This is an extraordinary story of survival and resilience, and it is also a mystery as, in the present day, Bethan tries to discover the truth of her ancestry which her mother had failed to uncover before she died.  It is beautifully written and the characters engaging.  The admirable, extraordinary attempts by the keepers to keep Berlin Zoo going and its animals alive and safe despite the privation and widespread destruction towards the end of the war are inspiring, and the members of the Zoo Family become ever closer in their efforts.

Bethan is our present day heroine who manages to secure a temporary prestigious post at the zoo to develop her veterinary knowledge and experience, as well as the opportunity to discover who she is and an interlude to reconsider where her life is going. 

I found this book hard to put down, enjoying the mix of historic heroism in the course of everyday life, the relationships within the zoo community and also a satisfying element of love and romance.

It was engrossing, satisfying and thought provoking and a really good read.

This review should have been posted in 7th May, but was delayed by illness.  Unfortunately I missed my stop on the book tour organised by Bookouture, but I caught the next available opportunity and, hopefully, better late than never.  Apologies, Anna Stuart and Bookouture.

The Inn at Tansy Falls by Cate Woods

Happy publication day to Cate Woods for The Inn at Tansy Falls.

I am honoured to have been asked to participate in the blog tour for this enjoyable novel, and really loved reading it.  Being stuck in bed with a non-Covid virus was almost a pleasure when I had a trip to the Inn at Tansy Falls to entertain me.

Poor Nell has had a lot of loss and sadness to deal with, and then she receives this letter:

Dearest Nell, if you’re reading this letter, I’m already gone. You’re my best friend in the world, and as my last request I’m asking you to lay me to rest hundreds of miles away, in my crazy gorgeous, totally one-of-a-kind hometown of Tansy Falls. I know you’re a born-and-bred city girl, but hear me out. After first losing Adrian, and then me… I know your heart is hurting, Nell. I think you’ll find that you need Tansy Falls as much as I do.

So, I’ve got it all planned out. For two weeks, you’ll be staying at the sweet, local inn and every day you’ll be trying something new. And if you follow my instructions to the letter, you may discover there’s more to my story than you think. A surprise something… or someone at the end of it? Only you can find out!

Some last advice before you set off, Nell. Don’t forget your sturdy boots and make sure to give Boomer, the inn’s resident dog, a belly rub from me. Stay well away from former quarterback Brody Knott (boy, do I have some stories about him!). And finally, let the future bring what it brings. While Tansy Falls may look small, I know better than anyone that new beginnings can be found in all kinds of places. That little Vermont town you’d never heard of? Well, it might suddenly begin to feel just like coming home…

Stunned and bereft following the death of her best friend, she debates whether to ignore the challenge of a trip to the USA at her behest, but with little to keep her at home, she decides that she has little to lose by taking ten days out of her mundane life to fulfil Megan's last wishes.

What she doesn't expect is that by stepping out of her comfort zone, putting herself into the control of someone else (albeit her beloved bestie) and daring to say yes, she is going to have the experience of a lifetime and opportunities she would never have dreamt of.  

Cate Woods paints an immersive picture of Vermont in the "muddy season" and it was so pleasurable to be transported into this world as Nell experienced it.  It was cheering to witness the effect of the journey,  and the transformative consequences of it.  I loved this story and am now champing at the bit to read the sequel Cate is writing, as well as longing to see Vermont for myself.

A little about Cate Woods: Cate Woods made the most of her university degree in Anglo-Saxon Literature by embarking on a career making tea on programmes including The Big Breakfast, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and French & Saunders. After narrowly missing out on the chance to become a Channel 5 weather girl, she moved into the world of magazine journalism, then ghostwriting and now writes novels under her own name. She has written two best-selling romantic comedies – Just Haven't Met You Yet and More Than a Feeling – and a festive novel, The Christmas Guest, under the name Daisy Bell. Cate lives in London with her husband and two children.

https://www.facebook.com/catewoodswriter

https://www.instagram.com/catewoodswriter/

https://twitter.com/catewoodswriter

Want to know what other people thought about this book?  These are the other participants of the book tour, and the dates they are posting their reviews.

You can purchase The Inn at Tansy Falls at 

your local book shop, Hive Books UK,

Amazon: https://bit.ly/33jlw9Y

Apple: https://apple.co/3tUVyWF

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3di864i

Google: https://bit.ly/3b1tSGQ

Blog tour: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

 

February 2020, when what we worried about were named storms that caused flooding and disrupted our travel plans, I was invited to Penguin HQ in London to meet author Ann Napolitano, to launch her novel, Dear Edward, in the UK.  It was a grand day out, and meeting Ann was a delight.  Over afternoon tea, Ann told us how she came to write Dear Edward, answered our questions about the story and we were able to talk about our reactions to it, too

Now I've been invited to participate in the blog tour to mark Dear Edward's paperback release on 4th February, and it's lovely to look back on that day, before Covid lockdowns changed our lives so utterly.

Dear Edward was inspired by the true story of a boy who, against all the odds, was the sole survivor of an air crash.  Edward's family take a flight across America from New York, to start a new life on the West Coast.  Unfortunately the plane comes down on the way and miraculously Edward survives.

Although this sounds incredibly tragic, the book is actually very uplifting, as Edward and others who care for him learn to live despite their losses.  Growing up means negotiating the hopes and expectations of others as well as our own, and this is forced on Edward in the absence of the shelter of his birth family.  It is not a disaster novel, but a positive story of love and recovery.

As the publishers say, Dear Edward is:-

 "A transcendent coming-of-age story about the ways a broken heart learns to love again.

One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles: there are 192 people aboard. When the plane suddenly crashes, twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the sole survivor.

In the aftermath, Edward struggles to make sense of his grief, sudden fame and find his place in a world without his family. But then Edward and his neighbour Shay make a startling discovery; hidden in his uncle's garage are letters from the relatives of other passengers - all addressed him.

Following the passengers' final hours and Edward's unique coming-of-age, Dear Edward asks one of life's most profound questions:

What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?"

I was engrossed by this book and enjoyed it very much.  It provides so much food for thought and is sensitively and thoughtfully written.  It vividly illustrates a skilfully told story of the passage from childhood to adulthood and the negotiation we all have to make of becoming our own person.  It would also provide interesting threads of discussion for book clubs.  I am very happy to recommend it and look forward to reading more from Ann Napolitano.

The Island by C.L. Taylor

 

The blurb:

Lost meets The Hunger Games in the thrilling new young adult novel from C.L. Taylor, the Sunday 

Times and million-copy bestselling author.

***

Welcome to The Island.

Where your worst fears are about to come true…

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropical island.

But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime turns into a nightmare.

Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re becoming a reality.

Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret.

Who will make it off the island alive?

My thoughts:

Although this book is marketed for young adults, it could be enjoyed by a much wider audience.  This retired grandmother certainly found it very enthralling and enjoyable.

Take a group of six sets of parents who have known each other since ante-natal classes and developed the habit of taking an annual holiday together.  Transport them all to an exotic setting, Thailand, where one of the children is to celebrate a birthday with a trip to a remote and uninhabited island off the coast for a week of wilderness living together with their teenaged friends.  

When things go wrong and all six are forced to face their greatest fears, it is hard to know just what is happening and who is behind it.  Cally Taylor has written an engrossing, enthralling and enjoyable thriller which paints a vivid backdrop to challenges which will test the resilience of these young people to the full.  It is a brilliant read which I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for access to an advance readers copy in return for a fair and honest review.

Jane Corry's New Book: Cover Reveal

Exciting news: Jane Corry has a new book being published this summer, and I am privileged to be able to be part of the cover reveal today, so you'll know what to look out for in June! 

To read what I thought of her last book, read here.  And to find out more about Jane and her books (published by Penguin) follow this link.

 

"I Made A Mistake" by Jane Corry

They said: 

In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands, and those who are not. Until now, Poppy has never questioned which she was.

But when handsome, charming Matthew Gordon walks back into her life after almost two decades, that changes. Poppy makes a single mistake - and that mistake will be far more dangerous than she could imagine.

Someone is going to pay for it with their life . .

What I thought:

The Search Party by Simon Lelic

 

They Said:-

'HUGELY GRIPPING' Mark Billingham
'HEART-STOPPING' Elly Griffiths
'CLEVER AND ATMOSPHERIC' Mark Edwards

16-year-old Sadie Saunders is missing.

Five friends set out into the woods to find her.

But they're not just friends...

THEY'RE SUSPECTS.

You see, this was never a search party.

It's a witch hunt.

And not everyone will make it home alive...

THE CHALK MAN meets THE HUNTING PARTY in this gripping story; witness four suspects as, alongside DI Fleet, you attempt to discover the truth about what happened to Sadie..

What I thought:-

Such an intensely suspenseful, twisty and engrossing story this is.  I have been in thrall to Simon Lelic's writing for the last few days, enjoying the images he creates of the woodland setting and experiencing events from the viewpoints of his well-drawn characters.  

The situation of a missing teenage girl is the nightmare of most parents and it is easy to suspect the worst  possible outcome; yet with no body, there is no certainty and there is also the possibility of other explanations for the disappearance.  Sadie is popular, but within her group of friends there is ambivalence which surfaces when we follow the narrative via their different perspectives. Each relationship has its strengths and weaknesses, and these are not adults. An added twist is that the primary detective involved in the investigation has had past experience of a missing family member of his own, and he also has powerful instincts for truth.  Further, the parents of the missing girl are not the most involved or caring.  So many different strands present themselves, the truth is elusive, and the story is truly a web of possibilities.  Gradually what happened is revealed and the conclusion is poignant, surprising and moving.  The plot has been very cleverly crafted: Simon Lelic has created a stupendous novel which deserves to be widely read and enjoyed.  I really hope that this is not the last time we meet  DI Fleet and Nicky, his DS work partner, because I would love to spend more time alongside them on another case.

Just Like The Other Girls by Claire Douglas

 

This was a really engrossing story, set in my local area so I can confirm that the locations are authentic and well-drawn.  Ageing but spry Elspeth feels safer with someone living in as a carer/companion in her Clifton mansion, and recruits Una to this role.  It is a strange set up - Aggie comes in daily to cook and there is a gardener and a cleaner, too.  Newly bereft Una is in need of a home and the good rate of pay is attractive so that she can save up to realise her dreams.  She is to have two days off per week, and on those two days Kathryn, Elspeth's daughter, who lives nearby with her husband and sons, provides the support that Elspeth requires.  She also manages Elspeth's art gallery in the arcade in Clifton Village, so she's a busy lady.

Una is thrilled to find that her room is in fact a suite of rooms in the attic and has never enjoyed so much space to herself.  However, it soon transpires that this household also holds secrets and all is not as it seems.

This psychological thriller is probably Claire Douglas's finest work so far, an absolute joy to read as the suspense and mystery increase and danger threatens.  There are twists and surprises as the story unfolds and the characters are interesting and engaging.  I am very happy to recommend this book and look forward with pleasure to reading Claire Douglas's next offering.

Supper Club by Lara Williams

They said:-

SUPPER CLUB by Lara Williams is publishing in paperback on the 16^th July. This is a joyful, empowering story about speaking up, fighting back, and reclaiming your space. It is really wonderful lockdown reading. At a time where people are exploring the escape, comfort and joy of eating and cooking more than ever, Supper Club’s visceral and seductive exploration of the psychology and pleasure of food will be the perfect companion.

Twenty-nine year old Roberta has spent her whole life hungry - until the day she invents Supper Club. Supper Club is a secret society for hungry women. Women who are sick of bad men and bad sex, of hinted expectations to be thinner, smile more, talk less. So they gather at night to feast and drink and dance, seeking the answer to a simple question: if you feed a starving woman, what will she grow into? This is a story about the hunger that never goes away. It is a story about friendship, food and female rage. Above all, it is about the people who make us who we are – who lead us astray and ultimately save us.

Lara Williams is the author of the short story collection Treats, which was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Edinburgh First Book Award and the Saboteur Awards and longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her debut novel Supper Club has been translated into five languages, won the Guardian 'Not the Booker' Prize and was listed as a Book of the Year 2019 by TIME, Vogue and other publications. Lara Williams lives in Manchester and is a contributor to the Guardian, Independent, Times Literary Supplement, Vice, Dazed and others.

What I thought:-

At first, this story and Roberta reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant: someone adrift in their own life.  Then I was reminded of "I May Destroy You", and Michaela Coel's character, Arabella.  These resemblances were not strong, but there is something of a theme, perhaps a sort of coming of age story.  We  emerge into the world at eighteen or twenty-one, independent and responsible for ourselves, but it is in our twenties that we really explore who we are and what we want from our lives.  This is an extraordinary, genre-defying book, with its themes of self-exploration, identity and appetite, learning what we want and need and being ready to commit to a path.  It is also about family and friendship, and how sexuality fits in.  Roberta learns to feel entitled to seek what she wants and the agency to say no to what is not right for her.  She explores her place in the world and her right to take up that space.  And there is also food, glorious food aplenty: but can there be too much of a good thing?  I very much enjoyed reading this tale.

1

Blogtour: Grandmothers by Salley Vickers

When I was invited by Viking Books UK to read and review a new book by Salley Vickers, I was thrilled to bits because her writing has never failed to enthrall me: I hope one day to return to Venice to search for Miss Garnet's Angel.

I was told that the new  book was entitled "Grandmothers" and I thought how apt this was, in the year when I became one.  It seemed extraordinary that my first-born baby was carrying a little one of her own and the prospect of grand-parenthood was happily anticipated by my best-beloved and me.  I confided in a friend that it seemed I was to become a grandmother and she told me, "It's the best thing, the very best," before selling me some yarn with which to commence my knitting duties.

Over the years, I developed a very close relationship with my Gran, mother of my mother.  Her memories gave me insight into who my own mother was, and I loved her tales of when her own children were little.  We would go out exploring the countryside  together, she was my confidant and fate brought us into closer proximity when we left London for rural Buckinghamshire for work.  I was devastated when she died a short while before my first-born arrived, as I had looked forward to them meeting. She had arranged for a teddy bear to be made for her  first great-grandchild, which was duly loved and treasured.  She was  an important link to my history, and where I had come from - as indeed were all my grandparents.

Being a grandparent has only just begun for me, but I appreciate the perspective of this role.  I am free of the relentless responsibility and hard work of parenting and am not sleep deprived, but my experience of mothering my own children gives me insight into what may be going on with the baby, while understanding what my daughter is experiencing.  I can be a listening ear, sounding board and provide a slightly distanced point of view.  I am loving the cuddles, tenderness, fun and Eskimo kisses, and am fascinated with learning who my grandson is as he grows and develops.  It seems a great privilege.   

"Grandmothers" is a beautiful  book.  I did not expect to receive a beautifully cloth-bound hardback volume with a blue ribbon bookmark and William Morris end-papers, so this was certainly added value (and, having studied bookbinding, I really do appreciate the quality).  It is a joy to behold and it is also a joy to read, an immersive story populated by beautifully described characters who feel very real to me.

There are three grandmothers: Nan, Blanche and Minna, who are all very different (one lives in a tower block, one in a mansion flat and one in a shepherd's hut on a smallholding) but have in common a grandmotherly relationship to a child.  These grandmothers perform an essential role in their families, providing childcare, a bit of discipline and spoiling, and a consistent security when life is troubled.  Billy, Kitty and Rose all enjoy spending time with their grandmothers, and the grandmothers provide a touch of magic in helping problems to be solved, given time.  In the meantime, their presence through school terms and holidays oils the wheels of daily living and, when their paths cross, they help one another  and friendships develop.   

So, to me this book is about love and community across generations and a testament to being who we are and being true to ourselves.  Life is better if we are not too constrained by generational roles and if we are open to learning to give and take support from one another.  It is a wonderful read and I will be enjoying it again.  Thank you, Salley Vickers, for writing a tale both wise and delightful.

The Poison Garden by A.J. Banner

Can anyone's life ever be  perfect?  Elise Watters seems to have it all: a beautiful home on a north Pacific island; an interesting job running a herbal shop inherited, like her house, from her mother; a happy second marriage to the community doctor; friendly neighbours...  But her idyll threatens to unravel and she begins to question who she can trust.  Is she paranoid, as her husband suggests?  Or is everybody out to get her?  Who can she trust?  And why is everything going wrong?  If it all sounds rather histrionic, that's because it is.  However, there is plenty of suspense and many twists to keep the thriller-seeker satisfied,

Expectation by Anna Hope

Hannah, Cate and Lissa come together at school and college, and share a house on the edge of a Hackney park.  Their futures seem limitless and exciting: the world is their oyster.

As time passes, their golden futures have tarnished as none has managed to have it all.  A career, a relationship, a family, a home, a better life seem elusive.  We follow their paths and their relationships, get to know them better and discover what transpires.
They are three different women with three different lives that are interwoven.  I was sad to leave them at the end and would love to return to them in the future.

Expectation is an intelligent and well written book, with plenty to think about.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Nellie is a beautiful young teacher, engaged to a man who is successful and wealthy. on the brink of an exciting new life.

Vanessa, who still loves her husband, has suffered the breakdown of her marriage  and is struggling to survive alone. 

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will keep this review short and sweet.  This book is full of twists, shocks and surprises and is a pacy, engaging read.  It's well worth spending time with.

The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay

This delightful book tells the story of Somlata, a resourceful eighteen-year-old who marries into the Mitras family. Once the family was noble and grand but now they find themselves in straitened circumstances due to their ability to spend and their inability to see the need to work in order to produce the income to support their habits.  Their grand house is divided into apartments for the various family members and upstairs lives her husband's irascible and formidable widowed aunt.  It is Somlata who discovers the body of Pishima and also her ghost, who tells her to hide her jewels from the rest of her avaricious relatives, and Somlata is an obedient girl.

It also tells the story of Somlata's daughter, Basoma and how she finds her identity and destiny.  As strong and principled as her mother, Basoma is a feisty delight.

I enjoyed this window onto a slice of Bengali life.  There are a number of levels to this story and so it is a rewarding book for both the individual reader and the book club.  I just wish there had been a glossary for all the titles of various family members, although with perseverance I got the hang of it in the end.  Nonetheless, it was a good read.