Reading Roundup for July 2023

 

Here we are at the end of another month. It is summertime here in the UK and the weather has not relected the season. We had a few nice days but other than that it has been warm but muggy with lots of showers. Never mind - I have still got plenty of books read but mostly have had to do it indoors.

What have you been reading in July?

Books I Have Read

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt - This is based on the story of Lizzie Borden. I found the book to be rather disappointing.

The Village Vicar by Julie Houston - Another lovely novel from Julie Houston. This is the first in a series and I enjoyed it very much. You can read my review of this book by clicking here.  

Purchase link - Bookshop.org*

Good Girls Die Last by Natali Simmonds - This was my favourite book this month. It made for a fantastic read and I highly recommend it. You can read my review by clicking here.

Purchase link - Bookshop.org*

Lucky Jack by S. Bavey - A lovely biography of Jack Rogers which has been written by his granddaughter. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Golden Bell by Robert L. Stone - This book of scholarly fiction set in the eleventh/twelfth centuries made for an interesting read. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Highlander's Bridal Bid by Nicole Locke - I enjoyed this book published by Mills & Boon. I am really enjoying their books at the moment. If you would like to read my review you can find it here.  

Purchase link - Bookshop.org*

This Child of Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson - A heartfelt and emotional debut book is well worth reading. You can find my review by clicking here. Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

Miracle Number Four by Paul Marriner - This novel gave me a trip down memory lane by being set in 1970's London. I enjoyed it very much. You can find my review by clicking here.

Lessons by Ian McEwan - I am a fan of Ian McEwan but I was very disappointed by this novel.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves - A fantastic new book series from the author of Shetland and Vera. I'm looking forward to reading more of the series. You can read my review by clicking here.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

An Invitation to Seashell Bay by Bella Osborne - I really enjoyed this light-hearted rom-com. You can read my review by clicking here.  Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

The Nurse by Valerie Keogh - This was a fast, gripping read that I did not want to put down. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Associate by Victoria Goldman - An excellent second book in the Shanna Regan series. You can read my review by clicking here.

#Living the Dream by Ed. Carrie Frais - A collection of essays and reflections on living as an expat. You can read my review by clicking here.

A Midlife Gamble by Cary Hansson - The last book in the Midlife trilogy. You can read my review by clicking here.

Never Trust  a Gemini by Freya Nicole Wolf - I only finished reading this book in bed last night and I will be posting my review this week.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

Books I am Partway Through

Don't Look Away by Rachel Abbott

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

A Midlife Gamble by Cary J. Hansson - #BookReview

 

So now you know the full truth of it. And that makes a grand total of five. I haven't told Helen. I've left that with Caro because it means they'll have to talk to each other. Things haven't been good between them since we got back from Cyprus, but that's a long story. My worry is that they're both Alex's godmothers, and if they're not even talking to each other, I don't know how they're going to be able to help him when ...

***

A terrifying future. Fragile forgiveness. Can three good friends rebuild their connection from the wreckage of burned bridges?

Helen Winters can’t ignore the ache in her heart. With one beloved friend facing a shocking diagnosis and the other still walking on eggshells after their blowout fight, the bubbly fifty-year-old craves the lost comfort of their familiar dynamic. So when someone suggests a trio of tickets to Vegas, the determined woman hopes the trip will rescue their decades-long friendship.

Landing in Sin City, Helen struggles to reclaim her devil-may-care university spirit. And as everyone plays their cards close to their vest and tries to make it alone, she worries that time is running out for reconciliation.

Will laughter, tears, and shared vulnerabilities help them salvage their lifelong bond?

***

This book is the third in the Midlife Trilogy. It begins with A Midlife Holiday, and you can read my review by clicking here. It is followed by A Midlife Baby and my review can be found here.

This book is every bit as good as it predecessors and I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to spend more time with Caro, Helen and Kay. Now in their late fifties, they have been close friends since university, and one of the things that this book looks at is what happens when a fracture appears in such a friendship.

Although this book is the third in the trilogy, it would work as a stand alone novel. However, I think a reader will enjoy it more by understanding the backstory behind these three women and the way in which their friendship has evolved over the years. 

At times it was humourous read. At other times it was emotional which has probably come from spending three books with these characters. The author totally understands and inhabits these women and consequently, the reader becomes totally invested in them. 

I do not want to give the ending away but I was a little concerned that the book would end on a depressing theme. However, the book was life-affirming and hopeful and my fears were unfounded.

As with the previous two books I enjoyed reading this very much and highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 9198758771

Publisher:  Hansson Publishing

Formats:  e-book and paperback - currently available on Kindle Unlimited

No. of Pages:  324 (paperback)

About the Author:

Cary grew up in the UK, but now lives in Sweden. After a varied career that saw her tap-dancing in musicals and selling towels on shopping channels, she settled down to write contemporary fiction. She swims in the Baltic all year round, stands on her head once a day and prefers Merlot over Shiraz.

(ARC courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

#Living the Dream: Expat life stripped bare - Edited by Carrie Frais - Commentry by Leigh Matthews - #BookReview

From Calling 'Time' on Drinking Culture

In 2012 my husband, David, and I divulged to our friends that we were relocating from the UK to Hong Kong. The riposte from one of my cousins etched itself uncomforably into my mind. "You'll fit perfectly into the expat lifestyle", she said. The inference, that I was a 'seasoned lush', jarred. However, despite feeling judged, I knew she was probably right. My husband and I were party people, who rarely survived a weekend without an accompanying hangover and we were more often than not, the last ones to leave any party...

***

Returning from foreign holidays or watching TV's 'A Place in the Sun', who hasn't dreamt of moving abroad to settle in paradise? Be careful what you wish for...

Nine women share the emotional and practical realities of life away from 'home'.

Grief, loneliness, Brexit, motherhood, identity, belonging, rootlessness, drinking culture and integration are just some of the issues tackled in a series of powerful stories written by nine women on the challenges of expat life. In one of the first books of its kind, these women reveal some of the emotional upheavals and struggles that go hand-in-hand with moving away from their native ‘home’, which have, until now, remained largely untold.

***

I suspect that at some point in our lives most of us have toyed with the idea of moving somewhere warm and sunny. If it is something that you are considering you might well want to read this book first.

It is a collection of  nine essays written by women who have done just that, and it makes for insightful reading. Each section tells of the experience of these individual women and is followed by their reflections, as well as a commentary by psychologist, Leigh Matthews. 

It is not designed to deter anyone from following this dream, but it highlights the drama, culture shock and loneliness that can exist following a move to another part of the world. It showcases the courage, honesty and resilience needed to move abroad and it was inspiring to read how each of these women dealt with the challenges accompanying such a move.

The editor, Carrie Frais, writes of her experiences as an expat living in Barcelona, Spain. She provides her personal account of grieving her parents from a distance. Adrienne Walder writes of how she dealt with the drinking culture surrounding expats in Hong Kong and Avivit Delgoshen tells of how she dealt with pregnancy, childbirth and the lack of familial support when she had her four children during the period when she moved from Israel to London via spells in Belgium and France. These are just a few of the inspiring accounts contained in this short book. 

Personally, I am far too much of a home bird to have ever seriously considered such a move. However, it was extremely interesting to read of the experiences of this group of women who Carrie Frais has brought together within the pages of this book.

ISBN:  978 1838174675

Publisher:  Springtime Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  202 (paperback)

About the Author:

Carrie is a British born TV & radio journalist, podcaster, events host, moderator. writer, blogger, content creator and entrepreneur based in Barcelona and London. During her time working for some of the world’s leading broadcasters she has covered a number of major global news and sports events.  

About the Psychologist:

Leigh Matthews moved from Brisbane, Australia (where she had a successful private practice) to Barcelona in 2011 (to marry a local man). She leads the Therapy in Barcelona Centre, an international team of therapists who specialise in the complexities that expat life can bring to adults, couples, kids, teens and families.

(book courtesy of the publicist) 

(all opinions are my own)

Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown - #bookpromo #blogtour #bookspotlight

 

I am delighted to be shining the spotlight of Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown. It is based on William Blake's characters and ideas and looks fascinating.

The Blurb

A seamless melding of the intricate plotting of Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose; the side-splitting humor of John Kennedy Toole in A Confederacy of Dunces; and the fabulous world of William Blake.

In 1977, Ickey Jerusalem, San Francisco's golden-boy poet laureate, is found dead in a locked, first-class toilet on an arriving red-eye flight.

Ded Smith, a desperately unhappy, intelligent philistine with a highly developed philosophy to match, is called in to investigate the poet's death. Thus begins a series of hilarious encounters with the members of Jerusalem's coterie.

Ded soon realizes that to find out what happened, he must not only collect his usual detective's clues but also, despite his own poetically challenged outlook, get into the dead poet's mind. Fighting his way through blasphemous funerals, drug-induced dreams, poetry-charged love-making, offbeat philosophical discussions, and much, much more, he begins to piece together Jerusalem's seductive, all-encompassing metaphysics.

But by then, the attempts to kill Ded and the others have begun. Before Ded's death-dodging luck runs out, will he be able to solve the case, and perhaps in the process, develop a new way of looking at the world that might allow him to replace his unhappiness with joy?

ISBN:  978 1737774426

Publisher:  Galbraith Literary Publishers

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages:  576 (hardback)

About the Author:

George Albert Brown, a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law, started as a hippie in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury and retired at age 40 after having co-founded a successful international finance company. Following stints thereafter as a humorous author (The Airline

Passenger’s Guerrilla Handbook) and an angel investor in over a score of high-tech university spinouts, he built a catamaran in Chile and for more than a decade, cruised it across the globe with his significant other. Today, as a father of three grown children, a grandfather of four not-yet-grown children, and an involuntary lover of stray cats, he continues his peripatetic lifestyle by other means.

Who Killed Jerusalem? is the book that George, a life-long devotee of William Blake, had

always wanted to write.

(all info. courtesy of R&R Book Tours)

The Associate: A Shanna Regan Murder Mystery by Victoria Goldman - #BookReview

Two fresh pig's ears, pink and plump, hang from a rusty wall light. Blood trickles down into a shiny red pool on the yellowing flagstones.

For years I explored the globe, tracking down news stories. But I don't need to travel far to see the worst of human nature, it seems. Sometimes it's right on my doorstep.

Rubberneckers jostle around me, peering through the black railings. A small crowd - ten, maybe fifteen. Some cheering, some jeering, some seeming as bewildered as I am.

A handful carry white placards...

***

THE BODY COUNT IS RISING ... AND GETTING FAR TOO CLOSE

A missing architect. An interfaith charity project. Vandalism and online threats. Can racist slogans lead to kidnap – or even murder?

When an architect vanishes in East London, her concerned fiancé asks journalist Shanna Regan to find her. The missing woman has been leading an interfaith Jewish-Muslim charity project that’s become the target of malicious damage and racist threats.

After Shanna witnesses a teenage girl fall to her death, she’s convinced the architect’s disappearance is also linked to a local youth outreach project. And then another woman is reported missing.

Amid rising local tensions, danger appears to be lurking around every corner. Even the safest sanctuaries seem to be hiding the darkest secrets. As Shanna uncovers a tangled web of lies, she puts her own life on the line. Will she find the missing architect before it’s too late?

The Associate is the compelling and thought-provoking sequel to The Redeemer.

***

This book is the second in the Shanna Regan series. It follows on from The Redeemer, which began Shanna's story. If you would like to read my review of The Redeemer you can find it by clicking here.

Whilst The Redeemer was an excellent debut, in The Associate, we find the author appearing more self-assured and mature in her writing. She has given us an accomplished novel which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

It is an engaging and compelling story centred around a Jewish and Muslim community project, and which serves to highlight the commonalities surrounding the two religions rather than their differences. For some readers this will provide an illustrative and educational aspect to the story which the author accomplishes without being remotely preachy.

Rather, it is built around a believable story and setting with a plot with sufficient twists and turns to keep the reader enthralled. There is a tension, mystery and suspense throughout. With the theme of asylum seekers, gun crime and gang culture included this is a very relevant story.

Shanna is a fantastic character. She is a bold and determined woman who deals with her own flaws and insecurities. I enjoyed her backstory playing out alongside the plot of the book.  Any reader who has ever questioned where they come from will readily identify with Shanna.

The Associate is a well written and engaging book. I certainly hope that this is not the last of Shanna, and that the talented Ms. Goldman will be bringing us another book in the series.

I highly recommend this book.

ISBN: 978 1739695439

Publisher:  Three Crowns Publishing UK

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  328 (paperback)

About the Author:

VICTORIA GOLDMAN is a freelance journalist, editor and proofreader. She was given an honourable mention for The Redeemer in the Capital Crime/DHH Literary Agency New Voices Award 2019 and was shortlisted for Best Debut Crime Novel of 2022 in the Crime Fiction Lover Awards.

Victoria lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two sons. The Associate is her second novel in the Shanna Regan series.

Victoria also featured here on the blog with her top eight books she would take with her to a desert island. You can read this feature by clicking here.

(ARC courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

The Nurse by Valerie Keogh - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

I was ten when I made the decision to kill Jemma.

Her family - parents and an older sister - had moved from London to our small country village six months before. The first morning, Jemma had waltzed into our class completely unfazed by the wide eyes and audible whispers that followed her progress like sunflowers to her sun.

Our teacher, Miss Dryden, a tall willowy woman with steel grey hair and watery blue eyes, held a hand lightly on her shoulder and introduced her...

***

Do No Harm...

Bullied, overlooked and under-appreciated, Lissa McColl learns at an early age to do very bad things.

As a nurse, she is respected and valued for the first time in her life. But Lissa hates her job and the selfish, rude and inconsiderate people she has to deal with.

But being underestimated in this job had its advantages. Lissa can get close to people, find out their secrets...sometimes with deadly results.

***

This was a fast, and gripping read that I found difficult to put down.

The main character of this book, Lissa, is something of an anti-hero. Being told in the opening line of this novel that she was just ten years old when she planned the murder of a fellow school pupil, the reader is left in no doubt as to where the book is heading. Regardless of her murdering credentials, I could not help but like her character.

Neglected by her mother as a child, Lissa is craving love and attention, and she continues to seek this throughout her adult life. She was a fascinating character who is complex and thus made me question how reliable her narrative was.  However, there is a sadness to her character which the author portrays extremely well.

The book has been well written, and there are sufficient twists and turns in the plot to keep the story interesting and make the book compelling. It was an easy read and the words flowed across the page. Ms. Keogh demonstrates how well she understands her character and thus draws the reader in through her excellent storytelling skills.

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I am delighted that she has an extensive back catalogue as I am very keen to read more of her work.

ISBN: 978 1804154816

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardcover (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  260 (hardcover)

About the Author:

Valerie Keogh is the internationally bestselling author of several psychological thrillers and crime series, most recently published by Bloodhound. She originally comes from Dublin but now lives in Wiltshire and worked as a nurse for many years. Her first thriller for Boldwood was published in August 2022.

(ARC and media kit courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

An Invitation to Seashell Bay by Bella Osborne - #BookReview #blogtour

'Mind the gap,' said the voice over the underground tannoy as more people squeezed into the already full carriage and Nancy felt like sausage meat being squeezed into the already full carriage. Today was a blooming big day for Nancy. Big didn't really cover it. It was more of a make-or-break kind of day. One of those pivotal points in life. What Nancy didn't know was whether it would be wall-to-wall celebrations or the day her life turned to absolute poo. It all hinged on whether her little fledgling business properly took off or nosedived into a puddle, but she wasn't going to let that stress her out. Whatever happened she wanted to look back on today and at least know she'd done everything she could to seal the deal.

***

One ambitious businesswoman.

One irresponsible heir. 

A deal that will turn both their lives upside down… 

To grow her craft business, Nancy is in desperate need of two things: help and money. So when a potential investor she’s looking to impress recommends an assistant, she jumps at the chance to secure both.

Freddy Astley-Davenport is a notorious playboy with zero work experience. He’s poised to inherit his family’s estate in sunny Seashell Bay – but only if he can hold down a job for six months first. His plan is to take the assistant role in name only, then do the least work he possibly can.

Nancy has other ideas, though, and the pair butt heads from day one. However, as they argue, sparks begin to fly, and they soon discover exactly why opposites attract…

An absolutely escapist, funny, feel-good summer romance. Fans of Cathy Bramley, Katie Fforde and Milly Johnson will adore Bella Osborne.

***

This is the first book by Bella Osborne that I have read, and I am certain that it will not be my last.

I really enjoyed reading this light-hearted and humourous romance. It captured my attention from the very first page and I was completely invested in the story.

Nancy and Alice are housemates and both of their stories are being told alongside one another. The main characters, Nancy and Freddy were a delight to read, and Alice's story added another dimension to the book. Ms. Osborne possesses a sound understanding of her characters and as such they are portrayed with realism and thus come alive on the page.

I appreciated the way it was not as predictable as some novels of this genre. I do not want to give anything away so suffice to say that what I anticipated happening at the beginning was not the case.

The book delivered a lot. It is a heart-warming story that was a delight to read, has a cute child and a dog and cat to add to the story. What more could I ask for from a novel? It was entertaining and a joy to read.

I highly recommend this book.

ISBN: 978 0008587970

Publisher:  Avon

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

About the Author:

Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. Since then she’s written nine best-selling romantic comedies, two best-selling bookclub reads and won the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award.

Bella's stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She lives in Warwickshire, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.

For more about Bella, visit her website at www.bellaosborne.com or follow her on social media.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org *

(book and all info. courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

Lessons by Ian McEwan - #spotlight #promo #blogtour

 

The Blurb

While the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.

Twenty-five years later Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes, and he is left alone with their baby son. Her disappearance sparks a journey of discovery that will continue for decades, as Roland confronts the reality of his rootless existence and attempts to embrace the uncertainty - and freedom - of his future.

ISBN: 978 1529116311

Publisher:  Vintage

Formats:  e-book, paperback, audio

No. of Pages:  496 (paperback)

About the Author:

Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of seventeen novels

and two short story collections. His first published work, a collection

of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, won the Somerset Maugham

Award. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987

Whitbread Novel of the Year Award; The Cement Garden; Enduring

Love; Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize; Atonement;

Saturday; On Chesil Beach; Solar; Sweet Tooth; The Children Act;

Nutshell; and Machines Like Me, which was a number-one bestseller. 

Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach have all been adapted for the big screen.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves - #BookReview

 

The day they found the body on the shore, Matthew Venn was already haunted by thoughts of death and dying. He stood outside the North Devon Crematorium on the outskirts of Barnstaple, a bed of purple crocus spread like a pool at his feet, and he watched from a distance as the hearse carried his father to the chapel of rest. When the small group of mourners went inside, he moved closer. Nobody questioned his right to be there. He looked like a respectable man, a wearer of suits and sober ties, prematurely grey-haired and staid. Not a risk-taker or a rule breaker. Matthew thought he could have been the celebrant, arriving a little late for the service. Or a diffident mourner, sheepish and apologetic, with his soft skin and sad eyes. A stranger seeing him for the first time would expect sympathy and comfortable words. In reality, Matthew was angry, but he'd learned long ago how to hide his emotions...

***

In North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father's funeral takes place. The day Matthew turned his back on the strict evangelical community in which he grew up, he lost his family too.

Now he's back, not just to mourn his father at a distance, but to take charge of his first major case in the Two Rivers region; a complex place not quite as idyllic as tourists suppose.

A body has been found on the beach near to Matthew's new home: a man with the tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

Finding the killer is Venn’s only focus, and his team’s investigation will take him straight back into the community he left behind, and the deadly secrets that lurk there.

***

I enjoyed this book very much, and I am thrilled to have found a whole new series to read by the talented Ann Cleeves.

The main character, Detective Matthew Venn, is a super addition to the detective book genre. He is an intelligent, complex and stoic man. His family disapprove of his sexuality and he has been spurned by the community in which he grew up. His backstory is revealed throughout the book and it all makes for a fantastic main character.

Equally, the secondary characters are well portrayed and are easy to either understand or identify with. I particularly liked Jen and Lucy, who in their own individual way are strong female characters.

The book was well paced and moved along in an appropriate manner for a book of this genre. There were several threads running throughout that gradually unravelled over the course of its entirety. 

I borrowed this book from the library and have already ordered the next in the series, The Heron's Cry, and I am really looking forward to reading it. I am also thrilled to learn that it has been made into a television series and I will definitely be watching that in due course.

I highly recommend this book and readers who enjoy a good detective story will enjoy this book.

ISBN:  978 1509889600

Publisher:  Pan Macmillan

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  400 (paperback)

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

About the Author:

Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore.

In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.

For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the 'Inside Books' project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.

In February 2016, Ann was delighted to be appointed as a National Libraries Day ambassador for 2016. She found time in her busy schedule because, she said: "Libraries matter. If we believe in equality of opportunity we must fight not just for the buildings but for the range of books inside and the skilled staff who can promote reading in all its forms. Not only do libraries encourage us to be more tolerant and better informed, they contribute enormously to the wealth of the nation." In the same year, she was the first recipient of Iceland Noir's Honorary Award for Services to the Art of Crime Fiction.

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland series. In addition, she has been short listed for a CWA Dagger Awards - once for her short story The Plater, and twice for the Dagger in the Library award, which is awarded not for an individual book but for an author's entire body of work.

On 26 October 2017, Ann was presented with the Diamond Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, the highest honour in British crime writing, at the CWA's Dagger Awards ceremony in London. 

She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Sunderland in 2014, in recognition of her outstanding achievements as a crime writer. In December 2018, this was followed by an honorary award of Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) from Robert Gordon University (RGU) in recognition of her contribution to the world of literature and crime writing. She was awarded a further honorary degree by the University of Liverpool in October 2022.

In December 2017, Ann's husband Tim died suddenly in hospital, after being admitted for a heart condition. 

Ann's books have been translated into twenty languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 2007. It has been adapted for radio in Germany - and in the UK where it was a Radio Times pick of the day when it was first broadcast Radio adaptations of Raven Black and White Nights have both been repeated. Twelve series of Vera, the ITV adaptation starring Brenda Blethyn, have been shown in the UK and worldwide: series twelve ended on an amazing fiftieth eposode, based on Ann's novel The Darkest Evening; there have also been seven series of Shetland, based on the characters and settings of her Shetland novels, and an eighth is in preparation. A television adaptation of The Long Call, the first in Ann's new series set in North Devon, was also broadcast in October 2021.

In the autumn of 2016, Ann celebrated the publication of 30 novels in 30 years. Her latest book is The Rising Tide, her tenth Vera Stanhope book.

On Sunday 17th February 2019, Ann was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's iconic Desert Island Discs. The programmre remains available to listen online, or download.

She was awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours List, "for services to Reading and Libraries."

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org

(author photo and bio. info. courtesy of the author's wesite https://anncleeves.com/bio.html)

(all opinions are my own)

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

Life and Death in Ephesus: A Short Story Collection by Finlay McQuade - #excerpt #extract #blogtour

 

I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt from Life and Death in Ephesus by Finlay McQuade. It is a collection of short stories and I am sure there will be something here to appeal to lots of historical fiction readers. But first, let me tell you something about the book.

The Blurb

For over a thousand years, Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of what is now Turkey, was a thriving city. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the World, and a destination for religious pilgrimage long before the advent of Christianity. In the first century CE, St. John and St. Paul introduced Christianity to Ephesus, where it survived its turbulent beginnings and, in the fifth century CE, hosted the God-defining Council of Ephesus.

Life and Death in Ephesus is a collection of stories about major events in the history of Ephesus. Characters appearing in these stories include Herostratus, first to commit a “herostratic crime”; Alexander, the warrior king; Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, both lovers of Cleopatra; Heraclitus, the philosopher who said, “You can’t put your foot in the same river twice”; St. Paul, persona non grata in Ephesus; Nestorius, whose characterization of Jesus split the Eastern and Western church, and others, also important, whose names I have had to make up.

Hilke Thür, a leading archeologist, has said of these stories, “Life and Death in Ephesus will be a delightful and enjoyable accompaniment to the many available guidebooks. Not just tourists, but anyone interested in history will benefit from reading them.”

The Excerpt

From “Nestorius.”

The next day, sure enough, the church of the Evangelist was half empty, but the murmurs of protest were twice as loud as the hissing and whispering of the day before. Even so, Nestorius persisted. Desperate to demonstrate the simple logic of his argument, he introduced a new metaphor into his sermon:

“Ferment the grape and what do you get? You get a sublime wine that buoys your spirit and lifts you heavenward. Squeeze the olive and what do you get? You get a taste of ancient earth, a hint of delight first tasted in the Garden by our earliest ancestors. But when you mix the two, what do you get? The sublime headiness of wine? No. The rich earthiness of Eden? No. You get a noxious mixture that retains the qualities of neither. Such is not the nature of Jesus Christ.

“Jesus was a man and had all the qualities of a man, including the capacity to suffer and die. And he was also and always will be a God, who did not die and did not fear the pains of death as you and I inevitably will. Our Lord Jesus Christ had two natures, the one human and the other divine. The blessed Virgin gave birth to the one, but she did not give birth to the other, because the Son of God already existed and had always existed. That is why I have said and I say again that the blessed Virgin was the Christ-bearer, not the God-bearer. And yet, from that miraculous moment of Incarnation, the God and the man were united as one: human and divine in perfect union.”

It seemed at first to have made an impression on his audience, for they were quiet. Later, on reflection, he thought that perhaps they were dazzled by the clarity of his argument, but no closer to accepting its truth. Then a scrawny little monk with a red clean-shaven face in the pew nearest to the altar stood and shouted in a deep bass voice, “HERETIC! HERETIC!” and continued to shout it until he was joined by a scattering of others in the dim interior of the church, and gradually by just about everyone present, “HERETIC! HERETIC! HERETIC!”

***

About the Author:

Finlay McQuade is a retired educator. He was born in Ireland, went to high school in England, and university in the USA. He has a BA in English from Pomona College, an MA in British and American literature from Harvard University, and a PhD in education from theUniversity of Pittsburgh, where he also taught writing courses in the English department. He spent some happy years as a high school English teacher and soccer coach, but after co-authoring the book How to Make a Better School he found himself in demand as a consultant to schools and school improvement projects in the USA and often, also, abroad. He ended his career in education when he retired from Bogazici University in Istanbul, where he had mentored young teachers in the school of education.

For eight years after retirement, he lived in Selcuk, Turkey, among the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. The streets and squares of Ephesus became his neighborhood. His companions included archeologists, tour guides, and souvenir sellers. His curiosity about the people who had lived in those empty buildings for over a thousand years resulted in Life and Death in Ephesus, a collection of stories chronicling major events in the city’s history.

Now, back in the USA with time on his hands, he finds himself returning again and again to memories of his boyhood on the coast of Northern Ireland. The result of these forays into his past will be another collection of stories, part memoir, part fiction, called Growing Up in Ulste​r.

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10 Exciting New Releases for August 2023

 

August is almost upon us and there are some fantastic new books being released this month.

Here are just ten that I would like to read. Does anything here catch your eye?

Jane Seymour: An Illustrated Life by Carol-Ann Johnson

Jane Seymour is the wife of Henry VIII we know the least about, often written off as 'Plain Jane'. Queen of England for just seventeen months, during her life Jane witnessed some of the most extraordinary events ever to take place in English history, later becoming a part of them. Jane ensured her place in Henry's affections by giving him his much longed for male heir only to tragically lose her life twelve days later leaving behind a motherless son and a devastated husband. For the remainder of his life Henry would honour the mother of his only legitimate son and would come to regard Jane as his 'true and loving wife'.

But who was Jane Seymour? Throughout this illustrated book we will find a woman who was neither saint or sinner, but a human being with her own beliefs and causes.

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The Good Liars by Anita Frank

In the summer of 1914 a boy vanishes, never to be seen again.

Now, in 1920, the once esteemed Stilwell family of Darkacre Hall find themselves struggling with the legacy of the First World War. Leonard bears the physical scars, while his brother Maurice has endured more than his mind can take. Maurice’s wife Ida yearns for the lost days of privilege and pleasure and family friend Victor seems unwilling to move on.

But their lives are thrown into further disarray when the missing boy’s case is reopened – and this time they themselves are under police scrutiny.

As the dead return to haunt the living, old resentments resurface and loyalties are tested, while secrets risk being unearthed that could destroy them all.

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The Forgotten Tudor Royal: Margaret Douglas by Beverley Adams

As the daughter and cousin of queens and the granddaughter and niece of kings, Lady Margaret Douglas was an integral part of the Tudor royal dynasty. A favourite of her uncle King Henry VIII and a close friend of Queen Mary I she courted scandal which saw her imprisoned in the Tower of London on more than one occasion. Against the orders of Queen Elizabeth I she plotted the marriage of her eldest son Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots with disastrous consequences.

She came as close to the executioners block as she did to the throne of England, with some believing she had a right to be queen. A devout Catholic all her life, she lived at a time when religious division split the country in half yet she remained steadfast in her beliefs. A respected and revered lady on both sides of the border, Lady Margaret Douglas, later Countess of Lennox through her marriage, suffered much heartbreak and loss. Her husband and son were both murdered at the hands of the Scots and she outlived all her children.

Despite these tragedies she never gave up on her dream of uniting the thrones of England and Scotland which was realised through her grandson King James VI/I.

The story of her life is a remarkable tale of intrigue and survival and deserves to be more widely told.

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A Wedding for the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker

Cornwall, Summer 1943

Eighteen-year-old Alice receives a mysterious work summons for a special unit in Bude. Nervous but excited, she starts training straight away.

Meanwhile, land girl Penny also heads to Bude. With a new job at the village farm shop, she dreams of finding love.

Young widow Florence runs the local boarding house. When American troops are billeted to stay, Florence butts heads with their Staff Sergeant immediately.

But might sparks fly for Florence when she least expects it? Can Penny pluck up the courage to pursue romance? And will Alice be up to the task?

Most importantly, can love triumph for the Cornish Girls, even amidst the uncertainty of war?

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Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last.

A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He's turning into a great white shark, and has less than a year left to live as a human. At first, Wren resists her husband's fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis fully transforms?

But as Lewis changes, day by day, Wren begins to make peace with the inevitable. After all, this isn't the first time she's lost a loved one.

An extraordinary novel of love, loss, hope and happiness, Shark Heart explores the shapes that love takes, in all its many forms, and asks us to ask ourselves: what makes us human?

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The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

I may go by Sebastien now, but my name was originally Romeo. And hers was Juliet.

It's a frosty fairytale of an evening when Helene and Sebastien meet for the first time. Except it isn't the first time. You already know that story, though it didn't happen quite as Shakespeare told it.

To Helene, Sebastien is the flesh-and-blood hero of the love stories she's spent her life writing. But Sebastien knows better - Helene is his Juliet, and their story has always been the same. He is doomed to find brief happiness with her over and over, before she dies, and he is left to mourn.

Albrecht and Brigitta. Matteo and Amélie. Jack and Rachel. Marius and Cosmina. By any name, no matter where and when in time, the two of them are drawn together, and it always ends in tragedy.

This time, Helene is determined that things will be different. But can these star-cross'd lovers forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time?

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All Good Things by Amanda Prowse

In this captivating story from the bestselling author of Picking up the Pieces, Daisy has always envied the perfect family next door. But will a weekend of unexpected drama prove that the grass isn’t always greener?

Daisy Harrop has always felt like she exists in the background, and since her mother stopped getting out of bed, her life has come to a complete standstill. Daisy would give anything to leave the shabbiest house on the street and be more like the golden Kelleways next door, with their perfectly raked driveway and flourishing rose garden…

Winnie Kelleway is proud of the beautiful family she’s built. They’ve had their ups and downs—hasn’t everyone? But this weekend, celebrating her golden wedding anniversary is truly proof of their happiness, a joyful gathering for all the neighbours to see.

But as the festivities get underway, are the cracks in the ‘perfect’ Kelleway life beginning to show? As one bombshell revelation leads to another and events start to spiral out of control, Daisy and Winnie are about to discover that things aren’t always what they seem.

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The Wolf Hunt by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

Lilach seems to have it all: a beautiful home in the heart of Silicon Valley, a community of other Israeli immigrants, a happy marriage and a close relationship with her teenage son, Adam. But when aa local synagogue is brutally attacked, her shy, reclusive son is compelled to join a self-defense class taught by a former Israeli Special Forces officer. Then a Black teenager dies at a house party, and rumours begin to circulate that Adam and his new friends might have been involved.

As scrutiny begins to invade Lilach's peaceful home, and her family's stability is threatened, will are her own fears be the greatest danger of all?

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Modern Convenience That Would've Rewritten History by Riya Aarini

Life is more comfortable today than ever in history, thanks to a dizzying array of modern conveniences we never imagined we could live without. But if King Henry VIII, Mahatma Gandhi, or Alexander the Great had access to the modern conveniences we currently enjoy, from motivating nutrition apps to sweeping social media and life-saving antibiotics, history would've taken a dramatically different turn.

In this entertaining exploration of history merged with contemporary times, discover how a selection of modern conveniences would've impacted the lives of some of the world's most recognizable historical figures-and altered the course of humankind.

From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman

He's running out of time.

Ben Church has never done anything extraordinary in his life - until now.

Now, he needs to fulfil as many of his dreams as possible while he still can.

Time is all she has.

Vita Ambrose's life of parties and fabulous clothes looks wildly glamorous but in reality it has no meaning.

She's seen too much, lived too much and lost too much.

Together, can they make time stand still?

Ben and Vita's connection is immediate, spontaneous and passionate. But the clock is ticking.

Can they find a way to make their love live forever? Because every moment matters when it might be your last . . .

Preorder Link*

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.