Library Loans - 9th March 2024

 It has been a while since I posted about a library visit. Well, I went this weekend and enjoyed browsing around. I love my local library. It is a fantastic place and I love going there.

Do you visit your local library? Tell me what you love about it.

From Crime to Crime by Richard Henriques

Sir Richard Henriques has been centre stage in some of the most high-profile and notorious cases of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. After taking silk in 1986, over the course of the next 14 years he appeared in no fewer than 106 murder trials, including prosecuting Harold Shipman, Britain's most prolific serial killer, and the killers of James Bulger. In 2000 he was appointed to the High Court Bench and tried the transatlantic airline plot, the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers, the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, and many other cases. He sat in the Court of Appeal on the appeals of Barry George, then convicted of murdering Jill Dando, and Jeremy Bamber, the White House Farm killer.

In From Crime to Crime he not only recreates some of his most famous cases but also includes his trenchant views on the state of the British judicial system; how it works - or doesn't - and the current threats to the rule of law that affect us all.

A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell

'Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.'

Eunice, the Coverdales' housekeeper, guns down four of her employers in the space of fifteen minutes one Valentine's Day. None of them suspected anything. Her motive remained hidden.

As the police investigate, Eunice schemes to escape the blame - desperate to preserve the terrible secret of her illiteracy.

But Eunice's blindness to a crucial aspect of the world throws her plans into jeopardy...

The Silent Stars Go By by Sally Nicholls

Three years ago, Margot’s life was turned upside down when her fiancé, Harry, went missing in action on the Western Front. Worse, she was left with a devastating secret which threatened to ruin her life and destroy the reputation of her family. As a respectable vicar’s daughter, Margot has had to guard that secret with great care ever since, no matter how much pain it causes her.

Now it’s Christmas 1919, and Margot’s family is gathering back home in the vicarage for the first time since the end of the Great War. And miraculously Harry has returned, hoping to see Margot and rekindle their romance. Can Margot ever reveal the shocking truth to the only man she has ever loved?

The Vintage Shop by Libby Page

One dress. Three women. A lifetime of secrets.

Among the cobbled streets of Frome in Somerset, Lou is about to start something new. After losing her mother, she knows it's time to take a chance and open her own vintage clothes shop.

In upstate New York, Donna receives some news about her family which throws everything she thought she knew into question. The only clue she has to unlock her past is a picture of a yellow dress.

Maggy is in her seventies, newly divorced and all alone in an empty house. Visiting the little vintage shop in Frome, with its rows of beautiful dresses, brings back cherished memories she'd long put aside.

For these three women, only by uncovering the secrets of the yellow dress can they unlock their next chapter...

The Appeal by Janice Hallett - #BookReview

 

To Olufemi Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd.

Dear both,

As discussed, it is best you know nothing before you read the enclosed. Please bear in mind:

1. Only a limited number of emails, texts and messages could be recovered, so correspondence is not complete.

2. It is, however, broadly chronological.

3. I've included various extras - i.e. newspaper clippings, social media activity and other sundries - in the pursuit of context.

4. If I come across anything else of interest I will forward it to you.

***

ONE MURDER. FIFTEEN SUSPECTS. CAN YOU UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

There is a mystery to solve in the sleepy town of Lower Lockwood. It starts with the arrival of two secretive newcomers, and ends with a tragic death. Roderick Tanner QC has assigned law students Charlotte and Femi to the case. Someone has already been sent to prison for murder, but he suspects that they are innocent. And that far darker secrets have yet to be revealed...

Throughout the amateur dramatics society's disastrous staging of All My Sons and the shady charity appeal for a little girl's medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. The evidence is all there, waiting to be found. But will Charlotte and Femi solve the case? Will you?

***

This was one of those books which I could hardly tear myself away from. It is an incredibly clever book and written in a unique style as it is written in the form of emails and text messages throughout, with the occasional newspaper clipping thrown in.

Initially, I was daunted by the number of characters, all of whom are suspects of the crimes which are committed. However, there are occasions whereby the two characters who are working their way through the correspondence, Femi and Charlotte, write out a list of who is who and the reader is able to peruse these also and keep track.

Along with Femi and Charlotte, as readers, we are also enlightened little by little of what has gone on here. It is a journey of discovery as opposed to a traditional crime/mystery novel. This made me feel almost as though I was one of the characters involved in the uncovering of the crime. A uniquely intelligent format in which to present the book.

This was a refreshing and thrilling book to read as it is completely different to the usual crime format. There may be other books out there written in a similar style but I unaware of any.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a puzzle, or who enjoys a murder mystery. 

ISBN: 978 1788165303

Publisher: Viper

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 464 (paperback)

About the Author:

Janice Hallett studied English at UCL, and spent several years as a magazine editor, winning two awards for journalism. After gaining an MA in Screenwriting at Royal Holloway, she co-wrote the feature film Retreat. The Appeal is inspired by her lifelong interest in amateur dramatics. Her second novel, The Twyford Code, will be published by Viper in 2022. When not indulging her passion for global adventure travel, she is based in West London.

(author photo and bio. info. courtesy of Viper Publishing)