Our final meeting for 2020- on Zoom - 8 December

Just 4 of us logged into Zoom today.

Enjoyable catchup - we meet again on the 2nd Tuesday of February - hopefully f2f.

Many thanks for everyone who supplied lists hereunder

Merry Christmas, have a good break and lots of reading.

Cheers

Kerrie

Barbara A
THE GLASS HOUSE by Eve Chase
also titled THE DAUGHTERS OF FOXCOTE MANOR.
Another suspenseful mystery by the author of Black Rabbit Hall. ☆☆☆

THE FORGOTTEN SISTER by Nicola Cornick
1560
An entertaining fictional account of Amy Robsart, and her plan to escape from her husband, Robert Dudley, who is obsessed with Elizabeth Tudor.
Present Day
Lizzie Kingdom encounters a young man, Johnny Robsart whose fate will combine with hers. Johnny is convinced Lizzie is linked to a terrible secret dating back to Tudor England. Most enjoyable ☆☆☆☆

ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware, Author of THE TURN OF THE KEY
Suspenseful thriller about 10 people who go to a ski lodge for a company retreat. There are disagreements within the group concerning a buyout offer. Then one of the directors disappears, feared dead. An avalanche isolates the group, there are more deaths, who is the killer?
Reminiscent of THE HUNTING PARTY by Lucy Foley., which I enjoyed more than ONE BY ONE ☆☆☆

Gwenyth
WALKING ONE STEP AT A TIME (well worth reading)
THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LAWRENCE ( Maggie O'Farrel )
THE ASSASSINATION OF MARGARET THATCHER ( Hilary Mantel ) short stories good for tea or coffee break.

Audio Good For Car Trips

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE (Eric Idle)
CHOCOLATE WARS (Deborah Cadbury)

Heather
THE AMBLESIDE ALIBI Rebecca Tope
After losing a baby and a becoming divorced. Simmy (Persimmon Brown) begins a new life as a florist in a small village near her parents’ B & B home. She delivers a bouquet of flowers with a mysterious message to an old lady and then becomes embroiled in secrets, danger and attempts on her life. While trying to unravel the mystery she is thrown off a bridge into a river and her battered body arrives downstream in a carpark. She survives with a cracked skull, fractured pelvis and hypothermia. She is aided by her part time assistant and a young friend (a teenaged boy) and must convince a detective that one or two previous deaths were murder.
BLOOD ON THE ROSARY Sue Smethurst and Margaret Harrod reread
True story of Margaret, an Australian survivor, who is abused, manipulated and controlled by her father from aged two to twenty-two. Her father is a well-known and well-respected member of the local community who later boasts to her that he has abused other children including a member of her family. As a teenager she is also abused by a priest while on a youth camp. Her reason for joining the convent is twofold: her strong faith and to escape her father who still manages some control as she stays a nun for seven years. While vulnerable after leaving the convent, she admits the abuse to another priest who advises counselling and gives sympathy then he also abuses her. Within a few years she meets a wonderful compassionate and caring man, marries and has two children. Although a happy family, Margaret experiences PTSD, depression, mental health issues and hospitalisation as she tries to bury the trauma. Fighting for justice against a closed system she eventually exposes her own, loved, twin brother as a paedophile priest splitting her family and carrying much guilt. Her brother has moved around and risen to positions of authority and power in education in several states. He eventually confesses and at the first trial is sentenced to nine months!!! imprisonment and seven years at a subsequent trial on different charges.
Horror, heartbreak, sorrow, despair, suicide, anger and injustice. (I know that this is not a grammatical sentence.)
BRUNY Heather Rose
Astrid, a sixth generation Tasmanian and a conflict resolution consultant for the UN, is called home from the Northern Hemisphere war zones to help settle things in Tasmania. For four years the building of a bridge from the Tasmanian mainland to the island of Bruny off the south east coast, has caused much debate and opposition from activists, environmentalists, the Greens and other protest groups. Astrid’s family has been involved in local politics for three generations and currently her twin brother is Premier of the State and her older sister is Leader of the Opposition. How far does loyalty stretch (and in which direction)? The bridge must be completed by 4 March, the day before the state election, however, several weeks before the event the bridge is blown up at night and a great span of it must be replaced. Three hundred Chinese workers are flown in to assist in the bridge’s completion. Thought provoking ideas about ownership and what lies in our future. I enjoyed this novel.
THE PEPPERMINT TEA CHRONICLES Alexander McCall Smith
One of the Scotland Street Series. I thought this a little disjointed and whilst I love language and enjoyed some of the references, I think that the words and thoughts attributed to Bertie, a seven-year-old boy were quite unrealistic.
DEADLY INTENT Lynda LaPlante reread
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION Peter Robinson
DCI Banks is trying to solve the murder of an old man (Ex college professor) fell/ thrown from a railway bridge. Is it an accident, suicide or murder? The man was ill, a suspected drug user, undernourished, and deeply in debt, yet in his pockets were £5,000. After interviewing the local ‘Lady of the Manor’, Banks is warned off by his superiors but continues to investigate quietly. Events from forty years ago puzzle banks and there is an attempt on his life and the Lady’s life before the mystery is concluded.
DAED WATER Anne Cleeves
Another in the Shetland series. This is an earlier one after Jimmy Perez’s partner Fran has been murdered and he is still suffering depression and only just beginning to return to police work part time. A new DI questions Jimmy’s methods as they investigate several murders including the murder of a journalist, a former resident of the Islands whose parents own and operate a large swanky hotel. Local environmentalists are very much against the further development of the newer wind, tidal water and existing coal and gas industry in the North Sea.
LIES THAT BIND, Stella Cameron
Alex Duggan owner of the Black Dog pub again becomes involved in a murder while hoping to protect and care for two young boys who have been isolated in a cottage outside the village while their father is absent in dubious long distance truck driving. With the help of her mother, her Vet boyfriend, his father a retired doctor and several pub staff they care for the boys after one discovers the brutally murdered body of a female out in the field at the edge of the woods behind the boys’ cottage. Alex with holds information from the police as she has come up against the Chief Inspector before in other murder cases.
PARIS BY THE BOOK, Liam Callahan
An American mother of two young girls loses her writer husband, (who leaves tickets to Paris when he vanishes) Leah goes to Paris for a short visit, something her husband had always promised her they would do. While staying in an apartment over a small and rather unsuccessful bookshop the elderly landlady, grandmother of very young twins, agrees to let them stay and rent the bookshop if they also look after her grandchildren which has become too much for her. In the mornings after the children are all in school Leah wanders around Paris looking for and thinking she sees her supposedly dead husband (there has been no body found) in the men she follows. Visas are extended, the girls settle into school and learn more of the language which Leah finds difficult to speak. She makes friends with her few regular customers in the bookshop including a young man who would like to be more than just friends.

I wish all a very safe and happy Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy new year.

Jan
THE CHAMPAGNE WARS – Fiona McIntosh
A CHANGE OF ALTITUDE – Anita Shreve (Set in Kenya - climbing Mt Kenya!!)
THE FAMILY INHERITANCE – Tricia Stringer

Cindy
THE GODMOTHERS Monica McInerney
GRANDMOTHERS Sally Vickers
YOU DON'T KNOW ME Sara Foster
MEANT TO BE Fiona McCallum
BECAUSE OF YOU Dawn French
MAO'S LAST DANCER Li Cunxin

Valerie
THE SPINSTER DIARIES, Gina Fattore
THE WOMAN WHO CRACKED THE ANXIETY CODE, Judith Hoare

Kerrie
4.5, FAIR WARNING, Michael Connelly
4.6, THOSE PEOPLE, Louise Candlish
4.4, THE SECOND SLEEP, Robert Harris
4.8, A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES, Kate Grenville
4.3, THE HOUSE ON FRIPP ISLAND, Rebecca Kauffman
4.8, THE SILENCE, Susan Allott
4.6, SILENT KILL, Jane Casey
4.4, THE MAN WITH A LOAD OF MISCHIEF, Martha Grimes
4.8, A SONG FOR DARK TIMES, Ian Rankin

Annie
THE DRESSMAKER'S SECRET, Rosalie Ham - quirky
WILD FIRE, Ann Cleeves (Shetland)
THE GODMOTHERS, Monic McInerney
THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS, Michael Robotham
TRIO, William Boyd
CONSOLATION, Garry Disher
THE SCHOLAR, Dervla McTiernan

BarbW
THE GOVERNESS – Wendy Farrell. Young teacher Marion Crawford becomes the governess to young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. It’s a lovely story and worth reading.

THE CHAMPAGNE WARS – Fiona McIntosh. This was a very engaging audio book about a French family who produces Champagne. The story begins at the commencement of the 2nd World War but interestingly it is told from the French aspect. The basis is a love story but there are a lot of twists and turns throughout the story. A good read.

THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS – Joy Ellis. This was another audio book. It’s a detective story set in Ireland. Several young girls go missing in a remote area and the local detectives are engaged to find them. This was a very intense story which kept me very involved and there were some interesting twists & turns.

MISS BENSON'S BEETLE – Rachel Joyce. I selected this book because it was another author I hadn’t read before and the title intrigued me. It was a fascinating story of Miss Benson, a middle-aged teacher who had never been married, but had an obsession with beetles which her Father had instilled in her as a child. He used to talk about a gold beetle which lived in New Caledonia. On a whim one day she decides she wants to try to find the beetle and proceeds to interview a few people to accompany her as her assistant. There are some very funny incidents and some tragedy as well. It was a really enjoyable story.

Meredith
RETURN TO TASMANIA, Alan C. Williams
THE CHAMPAGNE WARS, Fiona McIntosh
THE WEDDING DRESS, Danielle Steele
WEDDING BELLS FOR WOOLWORTHS, Elaine Everest
THE SURPLUS GIRLS, Polly Heron

Our meeting on 13 October 2020

We had a very welcome return to "normality" on Tuesday 13 October, carefully observing our social distancing in the front room of the Marchant Community Centre.
Our lists of books are below.

Annette

WOMAN ON THE EDGE by Samantha M Bailey.   
Morgan is waiting  for her train when a woman hands her a baby and then jumps in front of the train. Morgan doesn't  know the woman or baby but she soon becomes a suspect in.the investigation  .

KEEP HIM CLOSE by Emily Koch
When Alice meets the mother accused of murdering her son she keeps her own identity  hidden. How long can she keep her pretense up and what other secrets are hidden ?

WILD by Kristin Hannah
A 6 year old child appears from a National Forest in the U S A
She is speechless and alone with no clue to her identity or past. A child psychiatrist  begins working with the child and is determined  to discover the truth about her.

FIREFLY LANE by Kristin Hannah
The story of 2 friends Tully and Kate beginning in the 1970s.

HOME FRONT by Kristin Hannah
The story of a family when the  soldier wife Jolene is deployed to the war in Iraq.

I enjoyed all books but top of the list is WOMAN ON THE EDGE.

Annie
THE DARKEST EVENING by Ann Cleeves.
This is one of her Vera novels and the first of Cleeves's books that I have read. Vera is travelling home in a snow storm when she comes across a stationery car with the driver's door open and a baby in the back seat. She rescues the baby and this leads her into the home of her estranged family and a mystery of course. A good read.

LOCKDOWN - Peter May.
May's first novel written in 2005 and which was rejected by the publishers. it was put aside and revised and published this year. It is very pertinent to present day events as it depicts a lockdown in London because of a global pandemic. In these circumstances D.I. Jack MacNeil becomes involved in a child trafficking/abuse investigation which impinges on his personal life in a dangerous way. Not one of May's best novels but well worth your time if you like crime novels.

MONOGAMY - Sue Miller.
Miller writes about the lives of ordinary American families and the secrets people keep. Annie marries Graham, who owns a bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Graham is a man who loves life and is an extrovert. Annie is a more reserved person who is carried along with Graham's lust for life. When Graham died suddenly, Annie is grief stricken, and as time passes, she discovers things about Graham that devastate her. This is a beautifully written and sensitive exploration of the life of Annie and Graham as Annie discovers what really matters in a marriage.

RUN AWAY - Harlan Coben.
A new writer to me who has written a mystery, once again about secrets in a marriage. In this novel the secrets lead to consequences in the future where lives are threatened as the one who has had the secret hidden from him tries to find out what is going on. Quite a good plot but the writing, in my view, is patchy. In the latter part of the book I thought the writer was having trouble pulling the threads together to get a resolution and it became rather clumsy.  

TROUBLED BLOOD - Robert Galbraith.
A new novel in the series featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. This novel is 927 pages long and is a formidable read! The mere fact of its size makes the arms ache in trying to juggle the weight. It is a more complicated plot than in the previous novels but the writing is superb and I loved every minute of it. This time the investigation is into the disappearance of a woman 40 years ago which was never solved and has been relegated to the cold case department of the Police system. The woman's daughter, who was a baby when her mother disappeared, has been haunted by the mystery and comes to Strike to investigate and look for answers. It is a complicated plot but Robert Galbraith holds all the pieces together with masterly expertise. To add colour to the plot there is the developing relationship between Strike and Robin as they navigate their personal lives along with the investigation. I thoroughly recommend this book in spite of the size.

Cindy
BROKEN GROUND,   Val McDermid
SPLINTER THE SILENCE, Val McDermid
WIFE AFTER WIFE,    Olivia Hatfield
LIFESAVING FOR BEGINNERS  Ciara Geraghty
THE LIAR     Nora Roberts
A WEEK IN WINTER     Maeve Binchy
QUENTINS, Maeve Binchy                         
CROSSING PATHS,   Dianne Blacklock
ALLEGRA IN THREE PARTS    Suzanne Daniel
THE FIFTH LETTER     Nicole Moriarty
THE HAPPIEST REFUGEE    Anh Doh
JEMMA J.,         Jane Green

Kerrie
    4.4, THE MYSTERY OF THREE QUARTERS, Sophie Hannah - audio book
    4.8, TROUBLED BLOOD, Robert Galbraith
    4.5, THE POET, Michael Connelly
    5.0, THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT, Hilary Mantel - audio book
    4.6, WE BEGIN AT THE END, Chris Whitaker
    4.5, THE HOLIDAY, T. M. Logan
    4.4, THE BRISBANE LINE, J.P. Powell - Australian author  
    4.2, AUNTY LEE'S DELIGHTS, Ovidia Yu
    4.5, THE BOOKSHOP OF YESTERDAYS, Amy Myerson  

Sylvia
THIS CHICKEN LIFE, Fiona Scott-Norman
STORY TIME STARS, Stephanie Owen Reeder
100 CHILDREN'S BOOKS, Colin Salter
CATTLEMEN IN PEARLS, Ian and Anne Galloway
BIRD BONDS, Gisela Kaplan
THE BIRD WAY, Jennifer Ackerman
BRIDGE BURNING AND OTHER HOBBIES, Kitty Flanagan
448 RULES FOR LIFE, Kitty Flanagan
THE WOMAN WHO CRACKED THE ANXIETY CODE (about Claire weeks), Judith Hoare
IN THE SHADOW OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, Leslie S. Klinger
THE RUMOUR, Lesley Kara

BarbaraA
THE CHOICE, Gillian McAllister
THE VIENNESE GIRL, Jenny LeCoat
HOUSE OF CORRECTION, Nicci French

Meredith
MAGGIE'S GOING NOWHERE, Rose Hartley
THE CHOCOLATE PROMISE, Josephine Moon
COUNTRY BRIDES, Dilly Court
THE ROYAL SECRET aka THE LOVE LETTER, Lucinda Riley
THE LAND GIRLS, Victoria Purnam
THE PARIS MODEL, Alexandra Joel
THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR, Rebecca James
THE LEMON TREE HOTEL, Roseanna Ley
TRACE ELEMENTS, Donna Leon
THE KEW GARDEN GIRLS, Posy Lovell
GATHERING OF THE REALM, Sheryl McCorry
THE SECRET GUESTS, Benjamin Black
THE DICKENS BOY, Tom Keneally

Valerie
THE DARKEST EVENING, Ann Cleeves
LUCKY FOR ME, Frank Robson
MISS AUSTIN, Jill Hornby

Gwenyth
THE BUTTERFLY ROOM, Lucinda Riley
MYTHOS, Stephen Fry
GHOST EMPIRE, Richard Fidler

BarbaraW
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, Delia Owens
THE GOOD WOMAN OF RENMARK, Darry Fraser
THE NIGHTINGALE, Kristin Hannah
WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR, Paul Kalanithi
THE SCHOLAR, Dervla McTiernan
I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, Michell McNamara
THE SECRET OF THE SAVOY, Olivia Williams

Heather
THE LOST LETTER, Jillian Cantor
MRS GRANT AND MADAME JULE, Jennifer Chiaverini
THE GILR IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, Kate Riordan
THE WEDDING GUEST, JOnathan Kellerman
NOT ALWAYS A SAINT, Mary Jo Putney
REBECCA'S TALE, Sally Beauman
THE LAST PEARL, Leah Fleming
MURDER AT WHITEHALL, Amanda Carmack
MR CANPION'S ABDICATION, Mike Ripley
THE GIRL UNDER THE OLIVE TREE, Leah Fleming
PERFECT WIVES, Emma Hannigan
THE WINTER GARDEN, Jane Thynne
ANNA OF KLEVE, Alison Weir
LOST JEWELS, Kirsty Manning
THE MURDER HOUSE, James Patterson & David Ellis
THE ISLAND OF THE SEA WOMEN, Lisa See
THE CORONER'S DAUGHTER, Andrew Hughes
SWEET TEA AND SECRETS, Nancy Naigle
PECAN PIE AND DEADLY LIES, Nancy Naigle
THE LONG CALL, Anne Cleeves

Our Zoom meeting 8 September

Hopefully we will be able to meet face to face on Tuesday 13 October in Term 4
Follow our blog https://u3ac-ccbooks.blogspot.com/

Here are the books we have read in the last month or so

Cindy

    Val McDermid novels
    I've read several Val McDermid novels & feel as though I'm making up for time lost with her  books. I so enjoy the suspense of not knowing  'whodunnit' until the end. Three of hers are:
    INSIDIOUS INTENT   
    THE SKELETON ROAD
    BROKEN GROUND

    Other books I've read are:
    NO JOB FOR A GIRL, Meredith Appleyard
    WITHOUT CONSENT, Kathryn Fox
    THE SAFE HOUSE, Nicci French
    THE TEA CHEST, Josephine Moon's debut novel 1998, reprinted 2015
    THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SEASON, Jenn J McLeod
    WIFE AFTER WIFE, Olivia Hatfield
    NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU, Ciara Geraghty

Suzanne

WILD WOOD - Posie Graeme-Evans
Told in two time frames, across historical borders this story does not disappoint!

A PASSIONATE LIFE - Ita Buttrose
This is a beautifully written book as you would expect from Ita.

SHEILA - Robert Wainwright
This is an engaging biography about a remarkable Australian woman who lived an extraordinary life in an historically important time.

BELOVED AFRICAN - Jill Baker
This is primarily the story of a Rhodesian educationalist of great vision and moral rectitude who dedicated his life to preparing his African students for the responsibilities that would be thrust upon them with the attainment of the country's Independence.

Annette

    THE VANISHING SKY, L  Annette  Binder.
Set in Nazi Germany and told from the perspective  of a young Hitler youth member and his family.

    BETWEEN THE VINES, Tricia Stringer
    Set in the Coonawara District ..
    SOMETHING IN THE WINE, also by Tricia Stringer
    and set in Margaret River WA.

    THE DISAPPEARANCE, Katherine  Webb .
    A story of a young girls disappearance in the first World War and a young boy who is missing in World War 2
    Excellent reading !

Barbara W

AMERICAN DIRT– Jeanine Cummins.  This is the story of a mother & son who need to escape the cartels in Mexico after her reporter husband and her whole family were murdered at a birthday party.  Lydia had unknowingly become friends with the leader of the cartel at her bookshop and he sought revenge on her husband and family after a damning report had been written by her husband.  This was gripping and extremely well-written.  It was based on a real life story.

THE ROOMMATE – Derlva McTiernan.  This was a short audio book with a good story about a young girl who had issues with the Principal at school,  but when her roommate goes missing her issues become much more difficult.

THE POPPY WIFE – Caroline Scott.  This was another audio book set during the latter part of the 1st World War.  The central characters are 3 brothers who sign up for service.  The eldest brother is married but he never returns home and his wife and younger brother travel backwards and forwards to France to find his body.  This was a good story and kept me involved for many kms.

JOSEPHINE’S GARDEN – Stephanie Parkyn.  This is the story of Napoleon’s wife who was obsessed with starting a garden at Malmaison.  I preserved with this book for way too long and gave up halfway through.  If it could have been a bit shorter I may have made it to the end.

Jan Ness

THE GOOD TURN - Dervla McTiernan
PARIS ECHO – Sebastian Faulks
    (A very strange book with a confusing outcome)
THE GIRL IN THE PAINTING, Tea Cooper
    (Loved this book. Intriguing story with many twists and turns)
THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER, JoJo Moyes (lovely story)
NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU, Ciara Geraghty (Very interesting book set in Ireland. It took some time to get into the book, but then I couldn’t put  it down)
 ALL THAT IS LOST BETWEEN US, Sara Foster (A great story set in England’s  Lake District. Has some very interesting twists in it though.
THE CAKE MAKER'S WISH, Josephine Moon (A nice light easy to read story set  in the English Cotswolds)
 Currently reading THE ISLAND HOUSE, Posie Graeme-Evans (it was hard to get into this book as it is based on a current day archaeologist who inherits an Island from her father, but the story also covers the history from AD  800 during the time of Viking raiders. I found this confusing at first but  then became hooked on the story).

Kerrie

    4.5, THE POET, Michael Connelly
    5.0, THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT, Hilary Mantel - audio book
    4.5, THE PUPPET SHOW, M. W. Craven
    4.5, BLACK SUMMER, M. W. Craven
    4.7, THE GUEST LIST, Lucy Foley
    4.8, WHEN SHE WAS GOOD, Michael Robotham - Australian author
    4.3, GATHERING DARK, Candice Fox - Australian author
    4.4, MEDDLING AND MURDER, Ovidia Yu
    4.5, THIRST, L. A. Larkin - Australian author

Meredith

THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR, Rebecca James
THE GOLDEN DEATH, J.D. Robb
A BEAUTIFUL CRIME, Christopher Boland
Darry Fraser books
DAUGHTER OF THE MYRRAY
WHERE THE MURRAY RIVER RUNS
THE WIDOW OF BALLARAT
ECHOES FROM AFAR, Tamara McKinley
THE PARIS MODEL, Alexandra Joel
THE BOOK OF YESTERDAYS, Amy Myerson
LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN, Dawn McIntyre

Barbara A

THE HOLIDAY, TM. Logan
THE SILENCE, Susan Allott
THE GRAND DUCHESS OF NOWHERE, Laurie Graham
MOONFLOWER MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz

Annie

MOONFLOWER MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz
CAPITAL, John Lanchester
THE WEDDING GUEST, Jonathan Kellerman
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD, Michael Robotham
THE SAFE PLACE, Anna Downes
STILL LIFE, Val McDermid

Our Zoom meeting August 11, 2020

This meeting covered our reading for June and July so there is a lot here.

BarbaraA
SIX WICKED REASONS, Jo Spain
A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES, Kate Grenville
MISS AUSTEN, Gill Hornby

Annie
A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES, Kate Grenville
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS, Pip Williams
DICTATORLAND: THE MEN WHO STOLE AFRICA, Paul Kenyon
THE MUSEUM OF DESIRE, Jonatahn Kellerman
FALSE ADVERTISING, Dianne Blacklock
WHO DID YOU TELL? Lesley Kara
GILDED CAGE, Camilla Lackberg

Meredith
THE GOOD WOMAN OF RENMARK, Darry Fraser
WILL OF THE HEART, Darry Fraser
MURDER AT THE LOCH, Eric Brown
THE BURNT COUNTRY, Joy Rhoades
TORCHED, Kimberley Starr
CROC COUNTRY, Kerry McGinnis
THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED, Robert Hillman

Suzanne

The Diamond Hunter - Fiona McIntosh:

From the harsh desert of Africa’s Kimberley diamond mine to the misty, green plains of northern England, The Diamond Hunter is a breathtaking adventure story about trust and betrayal, class structure and social justice. 

The Heart Of The Ritz - Luke Devenish:

Inspiring and dramatic story about the resistance movement in and around the Paris Hotel Ritz.

Into The Wilderness - Sara Donati:

Weaving a tapestry of fact and fiction, Sara Donati's epic novel sweeps us into another time and place...and into the heart of a forbidden affair between an unconventional Englishwoman and an American frontiersman.

Lighthouse Bay - Kimberley Freeman:

This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay.
In these two adventurous love stories, both Isabella and Libby must learn that letting go of the past is the only way to move into the future. The answers they seek lie in Lighthouse Bay.

Did You Know We Had A Screen Door? - Claire Laishley:

The hiring of a Winnebago, a thoroughly entertaining read that will leave a smile on your face long after you have turned the last page.

Les Parisiennes - Anne Sebba:

The account of the French women who dared to say no to the Nazis is compelling.

I enjoyed all the above books, but Les Parisiennes was exceptional!

Annette
EACH AND EVERY ONE, by Rachael English
THE SAFE PLACE, by Anna Downes
MR WIGG, by Inga Simpson
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, by Delia Owens

CindyK
THE COUNTRY PRACTICE, Meredith Appleyard's debut novel (an oldie, but a good read)
CONGO DAWN, Katherine Scholes
THE BEAUTIFUL MOTHER, Katherine Scholes  (brilliant)
HOW THE DEAD SPEAK, Val McDermid
THE DISTANT ECHO, Val McDermid                      "
HANNAH AND EMIL, Belinda Castles (superb++)
THE PARIS SECRET,Natasha Lester  (superb++)
THE CAKEMAKER'S WISH Josephine Moon's latest, which was simply delightful
ALL IN HER HEAD, Nikki Smith

Barb Wheatcroft

Elsa Goody - Bushranger – Darry Fraser.  I chose this book because she’s an author I haven’t read before.  The story is about 2 sisters left after their parents & 3 brothers all died within a few years of each other and they are left to run a broken-down farm.  One sister is (unhappily) married to the local baker and the youngest (Elsa) is left to look after the farm and their father with no income.  It’s a good story, well-written and I enjoyed it.

The Paris Wedding – Charlotte Nash.  This is another author I haven’t read before.  She was born in England but grew up in Brisbane.  This was a nice story with one or two twists and turns which kept me interested.  The main character, Rachael, is invited to her boyfriend from her teenage years wedding in Paris.  She hasn’t ever really moved on from him but chose to stay at the family farm with her Mother and work the property while he moved to Sydney and became a doctor. 

Lost Roses – Martha Hall Kelly.  I downloaded this as an audio book and realised I had already read it some time ago.  I listened to it and enjoyed it again.  I had forgotten parts of it and so it wasn’t a complete waste and it kept me entertained while I was driving.

Her Mother’s Secret – Natasha Lester.  I picked up this book because I like the author and realised this was another book I had read before.  Again, I finished the book and again, I had forgotten some parts.  I think almost everyone has read this as well.

The Portrait of Molly Dean – Katherine Kovacic.  I know many have read this one but I’d purchased the 2^nd book and realised I needed to read this one first – to set the scene.  I loved it and can’t wait to get to the next one.

The Love Letter – Lucinda Riley.   This book was not one of the series about the sisters.  It was a mystery about a letter which held the clue & the story about a love affair between a member of the aristocracy and a commoner.  It was a good story and very enjoyable.

In the Clearing – J P Pomare.  My daughter gave me this book to read and halfway through I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish it, but I’m glad I did.  It’s a novel based on The Family cult and was absolutely gripping.

Kerrie's reads - see    https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/ for reviews

    4.5, THE PUPPET SHOW, M. W. Craven
    4.5, BLACK SUMMER, M. W. Craven
    4.7, THE GUEST LIST, Lucy Foley
    4.6, SINS OF THE DEAD, Lin Anderson
    4.7, TIME FOR THE DEAD, Lin Anderson
    4.4, THE CAKEMAKER'S WISH, Josephine Moon NOT crime fiction
    4.5, DEAR CHILD, Romy Hausmann - translated
    4.4, THE MEMORY WATCHER, Minka Kent
    4.4, HUNTING GAME, Helene Tursten - translated
    4.5, WHO WE WERE, B. M. Carroll - Australian author
    4.7, INHERITANCE OF SECRETS, Sonya Bates - Australian author
    5.0, THE OTHER PASSENGER, Louise Candlish

Heather Hier

The Chocolate Promise                                                    
Josephine Moon

Set in Tasmania, Paris and Provence, France, this feel good novel was an easy and enjoyable read.

Chocolate à la Murder                                                     
Kirsten Weiss

A murder mystery set around a paranormal museum and chocolate makers.

The Van Apfel Girls are Gone                                        
Felicity McLean

Against the backdrop of the Lindy Chamberlain case, three young sisters go missing from a community event. Their good friends are haunted by the mystery and worry that they may have prevented the disappearance as they knew the sisters planned to run away from their overbearing parents.   Twenty years later when one of the friends is dying, her sister returns from America and wonders if she can solve the mystery.

Red Bones                                                                            
Anne Cleeves

Another in the Shetland series.  Inspector Jimmy Perez has two modern murders to solve amid an archaeological dig on one of the smallest islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland.  Bones turned up at the dig are mostly 16^th Century but there is doubt that one lot are much later.

The Diamond Hunter                                                        
Fiona Macintosh

Set in Africa and England a young girl lives with her father on the Kimberley Diamond fields after her mother dies. When her father dies (or is murdered) she is taken to England by an uncle who loves her and cares for her but steals her inheritance, including a huge and priceless diamond.

The Shroud Conspiracy                                                   
 John   Haubusch

Novel debating the validity of the Shroud of Turin by a panel of scientists, including a famous atheist and a young deeply religious lady working for the Vatican.

Broken Bone China                                                            
Laura Childs

A teashop mystery featuring Theodosia, Dreyton and Haley recipes, tea varieties and murder in Charleston USA.

Blue Lightening                                                                 
 Anne Cleeves

Also in the Shetland series. In this novel Jimmy Perez must solve the murders of two women at a bird sanctuary on his home island of Fair Isle. He has taken his fiancé Fran to meet his parents and there is a tragic ending.  I have been reading these whenever the Library could supply them for me and therefore, they have not been in order. Although they can be read alone this has answered a few questions I wondered about from other books in the series.

Blood Queen                                                                      
 Joanna Courtney

A novel suggesting the true story of Lady Macbeth, quite different to Shakespeare’s story.

Masterpiece                                                                        
Francine Rivers

Story of love, faith and struggles of two young people from difficult backgrounds.

The People Versus Alex Cross                                       
James Patterson

The Glovemaker’s Daughter                                          
Leah Fleming

1666 - A girl born to Quaker parents who die at her birth is raised by relatives in a restricted life but shunned as she is outspoken and forced to leave the farm and community where she lived. The Seekers (Quakers) are persecuted for their faith. Rejoice (Joy) who is rebellious and courageous, travels to Philadelphia in the New World (America).

2014 A leather bound journal is found buried in the walls of the Meeting House, Pennsylvania which begins research by the finder of the book.

The Rooster Bar                                                                
 John Grisham

The Perfume Garden                                                        
Kate Lord Brown

The story of a pregnant, young woman, a perfumier, whose mother has died of cancer and the father of the baby she is carrying has been killed in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre (USA). Emma lives in London but is losing her famous and well-respected perfume business to her supposed friend and business partner who is also the dead partner’s old girlfriend. Emma seeks refuge in Valencia, Spain in an old dilapidated house left to her by her mother.  She renovates the house, gives birth to a son and finally unlocks the secrets of her mother’s life.

The Spice King                                                                     
Elizabeth Camden

A young girl from Kansas gains work as a botanist at the Smithsonian in Washington. She meets a businessman, owner of a well-known global spice empire and is caught up in a web of love, spying, national interests as she cares for her blind sister.

Forgiveness Road                                                              
Leah Fleming

An incredibly sad story of a young girl who kills her father and is committed to a mental hospital. Her relationships with her mother, sisters and grandmother are explored and the reason for the murder is exposed. The tragedy has a happy(possibly) ending in the final couple of pages.

Fields of Gold                                                                      
Fiona Macintosh

At the end of the Great War, two young men find themselves far from home, with everything to gain or everything to lose…

Charismatic womaniser Jack Bryant has the world at his feet, but when trouble catches up with him he's forced to flee Britain for good.

Handsome, honest Ned Sinclair is on a family adventure in Rangoon when he is dealt a bitter blow. With all the odds against him, he risks his life in a desperate bid to escape.

Both men hope to start their lives anew, seeking their fortune in India's fields of gold. Their paths collide in the colourful city of Bangalore, where they form a friendship like no other. In the years that follow, they remain inextricably bound by a dark secret, while their love for the same woman threatens to tear them apart.

From the windswept clifftops of the Cornish coast to the goldmines of southern India, this is a page-turning story of high adventure, devastating tragedy and enduring love.

Faithless                                                                                
Karin Slaughter

A chief of detectives and his wife walking in the woods discover the body of a young girl buried alive in a box underground. She has been killed by cyanide poisoning. Enquiries lead detectives to a nearby isolated community whose strange behaviours raise questions about links to other missing girls.

The Wardrobe Mistress                                                 
 Meghan Masterson

A story of Marie Antoinette seen through the eyes of one of her wardrobe attendants who gains the confidence of the queen in the time leading up to and during the French Revolution. The servant is torn between loyalty to the queen (and fear of losing her job) and the cause of the common people when she is persuaded by her uncle to spy on the royal family.

The Grand Duchess of Nowhere                                   
Laurie Graham

Ducky, (Grand Duchess Victoria Melita) grand - daughter of Queen Victoria (England) and Alexander II (Tsar of Russia) is twice cousin to the Imperial Russians, Nicholas and Alexander and related to most of the royalty of Europe. She is pressured to marry her reluctant first cousin Ernie of Hesse who is more interested in affairs with his male servants than in providing an heir with her. For many years Ducky loves from afar her other first cousin Duke Cyril who also professes to love her.  

Eventually against much opposition from family and the Tsar, Ducky manages to gain a divorce and after years and without permission from the Tsar, has a quiet wedding to her love.

Set against a backdrop of WWII and the Russian Revolution, Ducky who experiences death of her first child and other family, goes from living a life of luxury and parties to fearing for her family’s lives and wondering when they will next eat. As a keen reader of Russian History, I am familiar with most of the main characters in this novel, although Ducky has been a character on the sidelines of other stories about the Russian Royal family and their tragic massacre. Although most sympathetic to the peasants who were oppressed, starved and mistreated for generations, one can’t help feel a certain sympathy for some of the aristocracy who were naïve and largely ignorant of what was happening around them (their wealth and station in life did not protect them as they had been brought up to expect).

Harvest of Rubies ,
Tessa Afshar

Set in 450 BC, a young Jewish girl living in a Persian Community teaches herself to read and write, learns several languages and accounting – all most unusual for a female at that time and especially for an almost peasant girl. Her cousin the prophet Nehemiah has a prestigious position in the court of King Artaxerxes and surprisingly Sarah finds herself working as senior scribe to the queen.  Eventually she is placed in a marriage to a Persian aristocrat whose mother was Jewish, father a Persian Lord.  Darius does not want her for a wife and believes she is a liar who embarrasses him at court.  Left at his country home while he is away for months, she is isolated, threatened by his steward who keeps her a virtual prisoner. He is committing numerous frauds and crimes and eventually tries to poison her and kidnap her. Lacking in self confidence and feeling unloved and useless she solves a puzzle of near disaster for the queen who becomes her friend and mentor and the problems of her husband’s estate although he still does not trust her. Seriously injured by the knife wielding steward she finally tells her husband she loves him even though he is still reluctant to believe her. Throughout her faith in God grows and as she makes friend with her servants, she comes to believe she is a worthy person.