Icon Tag: Fiction

Wish you were here by Jodi Picoult

Wish you were here by Jodi Picoult Published by Ballantine Books on November 30th, 2021 Genres: Fiction Pages: 336 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads A deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis. Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time. But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes. Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. The whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders […]

Posted February 28, 2022
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The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves

The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves Published by Crooked Lane Publishers on November 9th, 2021 Genres: Mystery Pages: 282 Format: ARC Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads On a chilly fall evening at the prestigious Performing Arts High School of Boston, best friends Tali Carrington and June Danforth go missing after auditioning for a play. They’re last seen in grainy, out-of-focus surveillance footage that shows them walking side-by-side. Two days later in a town south of Boston, Tali is found disoriented and traumatized by the ocean’s edge, while June is pronounced dead at the scene. Tali’s mother, Nell, is so bent on protecting her daughter from further emotional harm that she enlists the help of Cynthia Rawlins, a renowned therapist for families. Meanwhile, Detective Fitz Jameson is assigned to the investigation and dives into the lives of high-performing students who may be harboring dark secrets. As Nell, Cynthia, and Fitz confront their own contributions to the tragedies and scandals that beleaguer them, their lives turn out to be more deeply intertwined than they’d ever imagined. And they must decide what lengths they’re willing to go to protect the people they love while also saving themselves. For the […]

Posted February 23, 2022
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Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie Series: Hercule Poirot #17 on November 1st, 1937 Genres: Mystery Pages: 333 Format: eBook, Paperback Source: My Bookshelf Buy on Amazon Goodreads Agatha Christie’s most daring travel mystery. The tranquility of a lovely cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life. Who’s also on board? Christie’s great detective Hercule Poirot. He recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: ‘I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.’ Despite the exotic setting, nothing is ever quite what it seems… Some of my fondest childhood memories, is visiting my Granny and my aunt over Summer Holidays and to this day can recall exactly where their vast Agatha Christie Collection was on the shelf. I remember how frightful some of those paperback covers were (why on earth did they ever do that? Did people honestly appealed to those?). Too scared to try to read them, Agatha Christie remained a name on a well-known bookshelf until I was practically an adult. Thankfully […]

Posted February 20, 2022
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Jolly and Deadly (Florence Winters #3)

Jolly and Deadly by May Bridges Series: Florence Winters #3 on December 14th, 2021 Genres: Cozy Mystery Pages: 227 Format: ARC Source: Author’s Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads A holiday dinner party turns deadly and the plucky young woman who takes the case has to make a crucial decision. Can she prove her detective skills when they’re put to the test? New York City, 1925. Florence Winters wants this Christmas to be perfect. Her first holiday in the big city brings with it new friends, new dreams, and maybe even a new beau. But not everything is calm and bright. What starts as a dinner party meant to convince the town’s Scrooge of opening his heart and pockets to the needy ends in murder, and Florence is the one to discover the old miser in a most mysterious manner. She’ll have to put aside her dream of penning the next Great American Novel in order to track down the clues and find the killer before the next body drops faster than the New Year’s Eve ball. Jolly And Deadly is the third book in the Florence Winters Mystery series – a historical cozy mystery series set in the 1920s. They’re […]

Posted January 22, 2022
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Over My Dead Body by Jeffrey Archer

Over My Dead Body by Jeffrey Archer Series: Detective William Warwick #4 Published by Harper Collins on October 19th 2021 Genres: Fiction, Mystery Pages: 384 Format: ARC Source: The Pigeonhole Buy on Amazon Goodreads THE CLOCK IS TICKING IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF A THRILLER… In London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit—a cold case squad—to catch the criminals nobody else can. In Geneva, millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner—convicted of forgery and theft—was pronounced dead two months ago. So why is his unscrupulous lawyer still representing a dead client? On a luxury liner en route to New York, the battle for power at the heart of a wealthy dynasty is about to turn to murder. And at the heart of all three investigations are Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the department, and ex-undercover agent Ross Hogan, brought in from the cold. But can they catch the killers before it’s too late? My Mommy says she remembers signing up for The Pigeonhole a couple of years ago and then life got in the way…. She hasn’t used the book club in your pocket in such a long time and actually discovered the app again on […]

Posted November 13, 2021
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Secrets and Showgirls by Catherine McCullagh

Secrets and Showgirls by Catherine McCullagh Published by Big Sky Publishing on February 3rd 2021 Genres: Historical Fiction Pages: 360 Format: ARC Source: The History Quill Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads Le Prix d’Amour, a vibrant Paris cabaret, is caught in the crossfire of the occupation. Everyone is being watched, and some of Le Prix’s colourful performers are hiding dangerous secrets. Monsieur Maurice manages Le Prix d’Amour, a successful Parisian cabaret, which boasts glitzy performers and sassy showgirls. But with the German occupation in June 1940, Maurice treads a fine line between his German patrons, the French police and the Gestapo as he hides the dark secrets of his performers. Two of his lively showgirls, Lily and Poppy, soon join Maurice in the hunt for an informer who threatens to betray them. With the Allied landings, the tension builds and Maurice is pushed to his limits as his performers finally take the fight to the invader in their own flamboyant way. Secrets and Showgirls portrays an occupied Paris in which exotic cabarets existed uneasily under the heel of the invader. It follows the antics of Maurice, Lily and a glittering array of characters, but never loses sight of the […]

Posted October 20, 2021
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Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert

Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert Series: Booklovers B&B Mysteries #2 Published by Crooked Lane Publishers on June 8th, 2021 Genres: Cozy Mystery Pages: 336 Format: ARC Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads Meeting your favorite author in the flesh can be the chance of a lifetime. But for one unlucky fan, her plum place in line at a book signing will lead to her untimely demise. Beaufort, North Carolina, is home to Chapters Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by former schoolteacher Charlotte Reed. This historic 18th-century inn draws in voracious readers from far and wide with its lovingly curated special events celebrating a host of genres and authors. On this sunny July weekend, a visit by one of the biggest names in romantic fantasy attracts throngs of admirers to the quaint coastal village. That’s not ideal, as the author retreated to Chapters to get away from it all for a while. No matter–she’ll appease her fans with a “Tea and Talk” meet-and-greet at the B&B celebrating her bestselling series (starring a devilishly dashing, time-traveling pirate), follow that up with a quick book signing at Bookwaves, the hip indie bookstore across town, and spend the remainder of the weekend […]

Posted June 2, 2021
16 Comments

The Curious Case of Florence Winters

The Curious Case of Florence Winters by May Bridges Series: Florence Winters #1 on April 11th, 2021 Genres: Cozy Mystery Pages: 204 Format: ARC Source: Author’s Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads A kidnapping in New York City’s illustrious high society, and the inquisitive young woman who’s determined to redeem her family’s good name. Will she outsmart the culprit, even after another person winds up dead? New York City, 1925. Florence Winters is ready to escape the whispers about her. Stuck in small-town Ohio, she’s done living the spinster life and ready to move on to greener pastures, so when her wealthy and slightly eccentric Aunt Julia requests Florence’s companionship in New York City—she knows it’s an offer she can’t refuse. But she has no idea what awaits her in Aunt Julia’s ravishing brownstone in the West Village. Secret meetings. Secret passages. Secretive house staff. Even Aunt Julia’s cat seems to have something to hide! Florence isn’t the type to pry, but when one of Aunt Julia’s affluent adversaries ends up missing and another is found dead, Aunt Julia is suspected of foul play. Florence feels she owes it to her hostess to search for the truth… even if it means […]

Posted April 15, 2021
10 Comments

King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard Series: Allan Quatermain #1 on 1885 Genres: Classics Pages: 264 Format: Audiobook, Paperback Source: My Bookshelf Goodreads H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune hunter Allan Quartermain, they discover a frozen corpse, survive untold dangers in remote mountains and deserts, and encounter the merciless King Twala en route to the legendary hoard of diamonds. Audio book listened to between May 20 – May 26, 2016 (Listened to a few chapters again 25 June 2020) Librivox recording by John Nicholson (I still vote for Sean Connery to do this reading) My rating: Goodreads: H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune […]

Posted June 26, 2020
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The Companionship of Harold Fry and Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry & The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce on December 2nd, 2014 Genres: Fiction Pages: 700 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Goodreads Two beloved novels in one volume! THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie–who is 600 miles away–because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die. So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Along the way, strangers stir up memories–flashbacks, often painful, from when his marriage was filled with promise and then not, of his inadequacy as a father, and of […]

Posted July 28, 2016
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Icon Tag: Fiction

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