WWW Wednesday #74 – 29 March 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam A. Stevens on Taking on a World of Words.

The three Ws are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’re read next?

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop

Novelist who lives in the shadow of her successful film director husband wanders through a haze of overblown prose after he falls overboard on their anniversary cruise and dies. I’m struggling through this one, the writing doesn’t appeal, but I’ll get there.

After That Night by Karin Slaughter

Will Trent and Sara Linton are back. So excited to have been approved for this e-ARC on NetGalley and loving every page of it. Just trying to stagger reading so that I don’t rush through it to quickly and also because I need to actually work and not just read (sadly).

The Liar by Steve Cavanagh

Eddie is contacted by a new client whose teenage daughter has been kidnapped. The police are involved, but the client – an old friend of Eddie’s conman father – is planning to do whatever it takes to get his daughter back, including breaking the law. Meantime Eddie’s mentor Judge Harry is forced to defend his professional judgment when an old case comes up for appeal. Once again Eddie’s moral compass combined with his flexible approach to the law in the interests of justice make this compelling reading. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TBC

I have no idea what’s next. Will see how I feel if I finally manage to finish The Anniversary.

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Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my TBR list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

WWW Wednesday #73 – 22 March 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam A. Stevens on Taking on a World of Words.

The three Ws are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’re read next?

The Liar by Steve Cavanagh

Continuing my Eddie Flynn Series re-read.

The Curator by Owen King

My review.

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

Trying to balance keeping his estranged wife free of prison for a crime she technically committed and keeping his innocent client also free for a crime Eddie’s convinced he didn’t commit, push his con man skills of persuasion and hustling to the limit. I don’t know why I knocked off a star the first time I read this, but on a re-read it’s most definitely a five out of five. Eddie continues to be a sympathetic character and the plotting is clever, gripping and a pleasure to read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop

I’ll be starting this shortly via online book club The Pigeonhole.

Description: Novelist J.B. Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Her former professor, Patrick is much older than J.B.. But when they met, he seemed somehow ageless, as all new gods appear in the eyes of those who worship them. He is a film director. A cult figure. But now his success is starting to wane and J.B. is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize. Her art has been forever overseen by him, now it may overshadow his.

For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them.
Then a storm hits and Patrick falls off the ship. J.B. is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick – and the truth about their marriage – begins.

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Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my TBR list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Review: The Curator by Owen King

Publication date

7 March 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

No

Why I picked this

While I’ve read Sleeping Beauties by the same author that was a joint project so I wanted to try a book where they were the sole writer.

Review copy or purchase

Purchased as ebook.

What it’s about

In the aftermath of the revolution Dora leaves her job as a maid at the university and becomes the curator of a forgotten museum. But with the screams of tortured people coming from one neighbouring property and museum artefacts which seem to link to an organisation her beloved brother was a member of before he died, Dora’s new life isn’t simple.

Review

How do you review a book like The Curator?

It doesn’t follow any genre structure I’m familiar with, although there are fantasy and sci-fi elements. The whole thing is set in a semi-feudal society in a world similar to ours, but not ours. There is a plot, but the context behind it all only becomes clear in the final 20 per cent. The characters often border on the farcical. It’s readable, but slow-going, yet is sub-500 pages.

The only thing I’m sure about is that I liked the main character of Dora. She’s strong and determined and much more sensible than any of the people supposed to be setting up a new government.

It reminds me a little of War and Peace. There’s the war, or revolution in this case, based around big ideals. Then there’s the reality for the everyday people the revolutionaries claim to be fighting for. And for a lot of the book we’re just following the stories of the former maid, the street kid, the idealistic revolutionary and the career soldier who feels patronised by him. All set in the limbo of no stability or sense of order to replace the overturned regime.

But, then you’ve got the mysterious Society for Psykical Research, the torture chamber in the Embassy next door to Dora’s museum, a floating ghost ship and lots and lots of cats.

An interesting read.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐️

WWW Wednesday #72 – 15 March 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam A. Stevens on Taking on a World of Words.

The three Ws are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’re read next?

The Curator by Owen King

This has been slower going than I expected, but that’s as much about how much time I have had for reading this week than it’s been about the book. Book details.

Nothing to report.

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

Book 2 in the Eddie Flynn series.

Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my TBR list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

WWW Wednesday #71 – 8 March 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam A. Stevens on Taking on a World of Words.

The three Ws are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’re read next?

The Curator by Owen King

Just opened this last night, but looking forward to reading this. Book details.

Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler

My review.

The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Publication date: 27 April 2023 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman

Publication date: 11 May 2023 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

End of Story by Louise Swanson

My review.

The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone

My review.

The Defence by Steve Cavanagh

Started a re-read of the Eddie Flynn series. This debut still holds its own offering tension, wit, and a fantastic introduction to conman turned lawyer Eddie. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

Book 2 in the Eddie Flynn series.

Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my TBR list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Review: Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler

Publication date

2 March 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

Yes

Why I picked this

I’ve always felt Lady Macbeth was vilified for ambition that in a man of her time would have been seen as a positive, so I was interested in reading a different take on her story.

Review copy or purchase

Thank you to the author, publisher Raven Books, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.

What it’s about

Gruoch is the daughter of a Scottish noble and granddaughter of a defeated Scottish king. Her druidic grandmother makes a prediction to the young Gruoch which suggests she will regain the monarchy for her line as Queen of Alba (Scotland). Her life is focussed on the achievement of that ambition.

Review

I’m not normally a big fan of historical fiction, but this is a worthy exception.

While there are lots of references to Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, this story is based on more of the recorded history than Shakespeare used to build a story which refuted the legitimacy of any counterclaim to the throne of any other family than the ruling King James VI (King James I of England and the union). Of course the written history of that time is so sparse there’s still a heavy dose of dramatic licence to this book.

Gruoch herself embodies all of the ambition you would expect from the young Lady Macbeth of the play. However, instead of a prophecy made to her husband that he would be king, this story centres around a prophecy made to Gruoch that she would rule as Queen. Every decision of her life from then on is focussed on achieving that reality.

Gruoch is a strong-willed woman, but the author is careful to paint her as sympathetic to the extent that her drive to rule comes along with a wish to lead her people and build the place she rules. However, her ability to rationalise away the decisions she makes along the way as necessary steps to achieve the prophecy, do come across as very cold. But, it’s all within the context of a time when the only accepted way a woman could gain power was through who she married.

I really enjoyed the storytelling and development of the characters. Gruoch walks a fine line between being unlikeable for her ambition, naivety about how easily men could remove even the small victories she achieved for herself, and a champion to cheer on.

A great read.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐️

Review: The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone

Publication date

2 March 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

No

Why I picked this

From the moment I heard the author mention this book at an online launch for his last Skelfs book, I knew I wanted to read it.

Review copy or purchase

Thank you to the author and publisher Orenda Books for access to read this as an advance reader’s ebook as part of a blog tour with Random Things Tours. This is an honest and voluntary review.

What it’s about

Lennox, Ava and Heather are brought together by accident. Amongst over a dozen afflicted by a massive stroke on the same night, these three are the only ones to recover, doing so at a pace and to an extent that stuns doctors. Drawn to a stranded octopus-like creature they call Sandy, the three turn their lives upside down to try and help them.

Review

I loved this story. For anyone who has read the author’s crime series The Skelfs, his foray into science fiction won’t come as a huge surprise. A sense of awe at the possibilities of the universe emerges through the science student youngest in that family. A similar sense of the vastness of space and the wonders of worlds beyond ours permeates this book.

But, at its heart it’s a story of connection, of belonging and wanting to belong. Of found families providing stability and support, and hope, even if some of the members happen to have tentacles.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

Review: Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell

Publication date

9 February 2023

Standalone or series

Series (third in The Stranger Times series)

First time reading this author?

No

Why I picked this

I love this series.

Review copy or purchase

Thank you to the author, publishers Transworld and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

What it’s about

A softer side of Banecroft, more on the mystery that is Stella, and the whole gang being drawn further and further into the delicate stand-off between the Founders and the fae. The world of The Stranger Times keeps getting stranger and more fun.

Review

The first Stranger Times novel was one of my surprise favourites of late 2020, and now on novel three (out early 2023) it has cemented its place as my favourite series. A wonderful blend of silliness, mystery, and old fashioned news room dark humour, the author always delivers.

Love Will Tear Us Apart more than lives up to the standard already set. It also gives us a chance to see Banecroft in a different way – although with far less swearing (including his creative alternatives) than in previous books, which shows that he’s not quite himself. We also get to find out more about Stella and it’s nice to get a look behind the moody teen persona to understand that there’s a lot more to find out where she came from that even she doesn’t know.

As number three in a series with developing lore you really need to have read the previous two books first. But, that’s no hardship as you’re in for a treat right from the start.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

Review: End of Story by Louise Swanson

Publication date

23 March 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

Yes

Why I picked this

I liked the sound of it.

Review copy or purchase

Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

What it’s about

Fran was a writer. Then came the fiction ban. Fran is a writer, writing the story of her life and how the fiction ban came into being. Fran wasn’t a mother. Her husband Cal died young leaving her alone. Fran reads to Hunter and cares about him.

Review

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. And I say that despite my eyes still stinging from tears in the final chapters. Until that point I didn’t feel emotionally engaged. I felt at first switched off, then irritated. Yet somewhere underneath all that these characters and the situation crept under my skin.

In many ways it feels like the book tries too hard to be clever. Then even after the underlying story is revealed there’s the need to labour what was going on.

At the same time though it’s a book using one story to tell a deeper one, and it’s the deeper one being served by the explanations in the final chapters.

I remain unsure whether I’m recommending this book or not. I think if you like a more complex book, with a core message and purpose, you may enjoy this one. If you’re looking for a simple, escapist read, this won’t be for you.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐

Review: The Dead of Winter by Stuart MacBride

Publication date

16 February 2023

Standalone or series

Standalone

First time reading this author?

No

Why I picked this

Because it’s by Stuart MacBride.

Review copy or purchase

Thank you to the author, publishers Transworld and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

What it’s about

MacBride’s characteristic dark humour takes centre stage as two police officers are trapped in the snowbound hell of a village full of the type of former prisoners no-one wants as their neighbour.

Review

Pressured into following the family legacy of a police career DC Edward Reekie is making the best of it. Then he’s drafted in as the driver when DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter is sent to accompany an ageing and terminally ill gangster from prison to Glenfarnach a remote North East Scotland village where prisoners on licence (released with conditions of curfews, daily social work monitoring etc) can live their lives in relative peace. A peace that is about to be shattered with the brutal torture-murder of one of the residents. In an epic snow storm DC Reekie and DI Montgomery-Porter are drafted in to support the skeletal on site police team to investigate.

I enjoyed this book. We see the bulk of it from DC Reekie’s perspective, including the start where he’s about to be buried in a shallow grave before the story flashes back to follow the events leading up to that moment. This is a good choice as he straddles the line between human frustration (or whinging) about tramping through drifting snow and being the whipping boy of the DCI, with a sharp mind and a commitment to policing. The DI borders of the caricature which makes her somewhat harder to read.

I enjoyed the overall plot and writing, although it did run a little long for me. I also think it might not work for new MacBride readers. While it’s a standalone, so there’s no other book knowledge that’s needed, the darkness of the humour and how that’s applied to a story about a village of sex offenders and violent criminals, may be a step too far for someone who hasn’t cut their teeth on previous books by this author.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐️