Hobbies and Crafts

SuffolkVera’s recent selection looks good; Something to keep an eye out for. Thank you.

I’ve just finished ‘The Detective’s Daughter’ by Lesley Thomson.
Stella’s father has died. When clearing out his house she finds copies of the case work for an unsolved murder committed 30 years ago. She decides to solve the case.
To be honest, Stella didn’t endear herself to me, seeming to have no personality endearments. This isn’t a reflection on the author, rather that of Stella as she is portrayed. Come to think of it, most of the main characters are ‘damaged’ in someway!

There are a several mysteries going on in this book, the author cleverly leading the reader up blind alleys before eventually revealing ‘who did it’ and were the other suspects fit into the story.

Would I recommend it to readers who enjoy detective type stories? Probably not, but at 59p on Kindle it’s worth trying.

Just read 3 good books by Giselle Green on the kindle, I think they were free ones.
Falling for you, Pandora's box and Little Miracles. All good but I think the last was best.

I agree, Vera. This is a brilliant thread...thank you Mersey <3 and all who contribute. I might try that Reginald Hill book, it sounds fun and am just about to finish the O'Flynn book about the girl detective...which turned out to be very well written but a bit dark which was fine as I like a bit of dark occasionally :-)

Happy Reading <3

It's a good thread Mersey and I don't want to see it fade away. I've read a few books that I wouldn't normally have picked out because of what others have said about them. Some I liked, some I didn't, but it's good to try something new.

I don't think I would have chosen Just One Damned Thing After Another if I hadn't seen it mentioned on here, but I am in the middle of it now and really enjoying it.

~~~~~ Vera, thanks for posting :-)

I've been working my way through a few odd books lately.

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. This is a fantasy book and is a sequel to Rivers of London. Peter Grant was an ordinary PC who was discovered, in Rivers of London, to have special powers and so was seconded to a special unit to become a sort of apprentice wizard. In this book he is investigating various sudden deaths to determine whether they were caused by evil powers and to fight against that evil. The book stands alone but I think is more understandable if you have read Rivers of London first. I enjoyed it.

Blood Sympathy by Reginald Hill. Reginald Hill is the writer of the Dalziel and Pascoe novels but he also writes about a slightly inept private investigator called Joe Sixsmith. Joe lives in Luton with his cat Whitey (Joe is black), and close to his Aunt Mirabelle who is always trying to marry him off. I had read a few Joe Sixsmith books but had somehow missed this one which is the first in the series. A good, fun read if you like that sort of book.

Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers. Miss Julia Garnet, a retired schoolteacher, goes to Venice for six months after her friend and housemate dies. She becomes involved with a number of different people there and particularly with the restoration of a small chapel close to her lodgings. She is particularly affected by a statue of the Archangel Raphael. It's the story of how Venice and the people there change her. Interspersed with the chapters about her goings-on is the story of Tobias and the Angel as told in The Book of Tobit. There are some obvious parallels with her story but I kept feeling I was missing a lot of the symbolism and there was more in the book than I was getting out of it. Not an easy book.

Am sorry to say that I have been *sighs...tarting around again. Bookwise, I hasten to add or do I mean Kindlewise :-D I am sure it is a syndrome and has a name!

I started another book by Rachel Joyce (who wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry). It is called 'Perfect' and I read a bit, enjoyed it, but decided I would try an author I hadn't read before called Catherine O'Flynn, and the book is called 'What Was Lost' and so far so intriguing so I think I shall stick to this one. It starts off with a young girl who fancies herself as a detective and then.....well I have forgotten the review but I like the style of writing.

Happy Reading
<3

Just finished Just One Damned thing after another by Jodi Taylor only available on Kindle. I don't normally read Sci Fi but I thought it was brilliant.

Yeh pleaased to hear that Mersey:).....he looks quite a dish though does'nt he:))))

I am tad disappointed with the Savage years :-(

Hi Jude ive just looked them up ....thanks thats right up my street :-)

Hi Jude ive just looked them up ....thanks thats up my street :-)

Started reading The White Princess last night.

Enjoyed reading The Last Godfather about the mafia in
Sicily,Palermo and Corleone up to 2011.

Emma :-)

Recently read "A Family Affair (Truth in Lies)" by Mary Campisi, a kindle freebie. A wealthy businessman, who lives with his wife and has an adult daughter Christine, spends 4 days a month at his cabin, a rural retreat. When he is killed in a road accident there more emerges about his life. It turns out his 4 days each month are spent with his lover and their daughter.

It's an OK read but very predictable.

Also read "The Limpopo Detective Agency" - at least I think that's what it was called. It's one of Alexander McCall Smith's books about Precious Ramotswe and the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Like his other books in this series it's a very gentle read - just the thing when you want to relax and not think too hard.

Am just starting "Moon Over Soho" , a sequel to "Rivers of London" which I read two or three years ago and have downloaded "Just One Damned Thing After Another" on det's recommendation. Sounds as though I might enjoy that one.

Anyone read Owen Sheers books??

Look him up.....he looks good ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-).... not sure about his book as not read them, but Vic did a ramble to day and it was a Themed walk based on the places in Owen Sheers book "Resistance". Its based on what would happen if Germany had invaded GB!!....something like that!

jude:) x

Good book Hayley according to my OH.

Have read At My Mother's Knee and The
Devil Rides Out, still to read The Savage Years :-D

Emma :-)

Ive waited and waited for Paul O'Grady's the savage years to be reduced and finally it has so I got it and now cant put it down :-D

Have just bought The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
for my kindle, have been waiting for this one.

Emma :-)

That sounds quite a cocktail Mersey Lol!!!

Vera I quite like Marian Keyes, not sure if I have read that one.

I am reading Zara's Cut by Philippa Gregory. quite different to her historical novels and I am not sure if I like it or not yet.
A serious literary authoress is needing to make more money to support her seriously ill husband. Her worthy books don't make much money so she adopts a new and secret persona, in collusion with her agent Troy, to write a salatious novel. But life starts to imitate art.......

Hi ickle book worms..... :-D :-D <3

I am reading Tigers in Red Weather by Liz Klaussmann

Nick and her cousin Helena have grown up together, sharing long hot summers at Tiger House. Now with husbands and children of their own , they keep returning. But against a backdrop of parties , moonlight and jazz, how long can perfection really last? Tensions simmer over one summer that changes everything and, as the story is told each characters point of view in turn, they combine in a cocktail of money, sex, beauty and murder.......

Im not sure how it is going to go, so will let you know when ive finished it

~~~~~~ :-D <3 :-D <3