Audiobook Review of ‘The House at Riverton’ by Kate Morton

Summer 1924. On the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999. Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young … Continue reading Audiobook Review of ‘The House at Riverton’ by Kate Morton

Audiobook Review: ‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson

London 1926. Roaring Twenties. Corruption. Seduction. Debts due. It’s 1926. A crowd has gathered outside Holloway Prison. Ma Coker, the Queen of Clubs, is being released. In a country still recovering from the Great War, London is the focus for a delirious nightlife. In Soho clubs, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign … Continue reading Audiobook Review: ‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson

Book Review of ‘The Whispering Muse’ by Laura Purcell

Victorian England. Jenny has lost her job as a maid and finds herself in the unenviable position of supporting her orphaned siblings. Her brother has abandoned them all to run away with an actress and, with no reference, poor Jenny has neither hope nor prospects. Her saviour arrives in the form of a wealthy theatre-owner, … Continue reading Book Review of ‘The Whispering Muse’ by Laura Purcell

Review of ‘Mad Honey’ by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

I’ve enjoyed reading plenty of Jodi Picoult novels in the past, often finding them to be thought-provoking in their exploration of controversial topical issues. Although it’s really difficult to say much about it without spoiling the book for readers, it’s safe to say that fans of Picoult will not be disappointed and that I think … Continue reading Review of ‘Mad Honey’ by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Book Review of ‘The Last Girl to Die’ by Helen Fields

The picture is the cover of The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields

Private investigator Sadie Levesque specialises in finding missing teenagers, and so when sixteen-year-old Adrianna Clark goes missing on the Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland, Sadie is brought in by the family to find their daughter. Sadie is good at what she does, having spent years honing in her skills of tracking … Continue reading Book Review of ‘The Last Girl to Die’ by Helen Fields

Book Review of ‘The Silent Companions’ by Laura Purcell

The photo is of my copy of 'The Silent Companions' by Laura Purcell, along with some autumn leaves, a pumpkin and lit candle

I'm kicking off Spooky Season with this deliciously Gothic tale of creepy wooden 'companions' who cause mayhem across the centuries. Trigger warnings: Infant mortality, Murder, Violence, Fire Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge. With her new servants resentful and the … Continue reading Book Review of ‘The Silent Companions’ by Laura Purcell

Book Review of ‘The Skeleton Key’ by Erin Kelly

THIS REUNION WILL TEAR A FAMILY APART ...Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. … Continue reading Book Review of ‘The Skeleton Key’ by Erin Kelly