Must Reads - 30th June 2019
Morning all. Well in the space of a week we have had flash floods, severe sunburn inducing scorchers and epic thunderstorms...only in Scotland right? We are bracing for snow any second ;-)
Personally we have had an eventful week as well...Prizegiving, Daisy playing with a Pipe Band collective at Boness Childrens Fayre - live streamed across the world and filmed by the BBC - drumming in the fairies might be one of her percussing highlights to date but more on that later - a visit to the circus and today my gorgeous and clever wee girl is off to summer school at St Andrews University to sample their English and Classics courses. Very proud moment. (Finally, validation for a house constantly overflowing with books).
In the meantime here are my top picks of the recent new releases that are definitely on my wish list...
(General Fiction / Mystery & Thriller)
She becomes aware of the silence at the other end of the line. A prickling sensation crawls up her arms. Her heart speeds up. ‘Found who?’ she asks, slowly, carefully, deliberately. ‘They found Daniel.’
Six years ago
Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found.
According to his teacher, Daniel’s father picked up his son. Except he and Megan are no longer together. After years of being controlled by her cruel husband, Megan finally found the courage to divorce him. Hands trembling, she dials his number, but the line is dead.
Six years later
Megan is feeding her new baby daughter when she gets the call she has dreamt about for years. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away.
Megan is overjoyed - her son is finally coming home. She has kept Daniel’s room, with his Cookie Monster poster on the wall and a stack of Lego under the bed, perfect to welcome him back. But when he returns, Daniel is quieter than she remembers…
Desperate to find out what happened to her little boy and to help him heal, Megan tries everything - his favourite chocolate milkshake, a reunion with his best friend, a present for every birthday missed - but still, Daniel is distant.
And as they struggle to connect, Megan begins to suspect that her son is hiding a secret. A secret that could destroy her family…
A heart-breaking, emotional and poignant drama about a family in turmoil. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Linda Green - this moving and stirring novel is for you.
Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found.
According to his teacher, Daniel’s father picked up his son. Except he and Megan are no longer together. After years of being controlled by her cruel husband, Megan finally found the courage to divorce him. Hands trembling, she dials his number, but the line is dead.
Six years later
Megan is feeding her new baby daughter when she gets the call she has dreamt about for years. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away.
Megan is overjoyed - her son is finally coming home. She has kept Daniel’s room, with his Cookie Monster poster on the wall and a stack of Lego under the bed, perfect to welcome him back. But when he returns, Daniel is quieter than she remembers…
Desperate to find out what happened to her little boy and to help him heal, Megan tries everything - his favourite chocolate milkshake, a reunion with his best friend, a present for every birthday missed - but still, Daniel is distant.
And as they struggle to connect, Megan begins to suspect that her son is hiding a secret. A secret that could destroy her family…
A heart-breaking, emotional and poignant drama about a family in turmoil. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Linda Green - this moving and stirring novel is for you.
(Adult / Teens & YA)
Their worlds are about to come crashing down…
At sixteen years old, Harper Lyon’s life is spinning out of control. She threatens her parents with suicide unless she can meet her drug-dealing boyfriend, a college student who doesn’t know she’s pregnant. Cooper Lyons, her estranged grandfather, lives in rural Alaska with only his dog and cat for company. He has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and he doesn’t plan on letting the disease run its course. Harper needs to escape her parents and decide what to do about the baby. She and her grandpa are worlds apart, but they may be exactly what the other needs. When Harper calls her grandfather, he welcomes the opportunity to help her and redeem his previous failure with his daughter Heather, who died from a drug overdose years ago.
At sixteen years old, Harper Lyon’s life is spinning out of control. She threatens her parents with suicide unless she can meet her drug-dealing boyfriend, a college student who doesn’t know she’s pregnant. Cooper Lyons, her estranged grandfather, lives in rural Alaska with only his dog and cat for company. He has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and he doesn’t plan on letting the disease run its course. Harper needs to escape her parents and decide what to do about the baby. She and her grandpa are worlds apart, but they may be exactly what the other needs. When Harper calls her grandfather, he welcomes the opportunity to help her and redeem his previous failure with his daughter Heather, who died from a drug overdose years ago.
(General Fiction / Mystery & Thriller / Scottish)
At a dark place in Edinburgh's heart, secrets refuse to lie dormant.
At Police Scotland HQ, Grace Macallan has pitched up in Counter Corruption. But the demons of her past are never far behind.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh's gangland is in turmoil. As a new breed of upstarts challenges the old criminal order, their battle for territory causes serious havoc.
Into the war steps DI Janet Hadden. Ambitious, hardbitten and addicted to risk-taking, she knows how to throw opponents off balance. But when she’s thwarted, Hadden seeks help from a notorious underworld fixer, a man who keeps secrets but always extracts a price.
Beset by violence and double-crossing, Grace is soon embroiled in a savage game of cat and mouse with colleagues and criminals alike. With all sides driven by dark desires, theirs is an endgame that will take Grace down unless she holds her nerve.
Can they save each other?
At Police Scotland HQ, Grace Macallan has pitched up in Counter Corruption. But the demons of her past are never far behind.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh's gangland is in turmoil. As a new breed of upstarts challenges the old criminal order, their battle for territory causes serious havoc.
Into the war steps DI Janet Hadden. Ambitious, hardbitten and addicted to risk-taking, she knows how to throw opponents off balance. But when she’s thwarted, Hadden seeks help from a notorious underworld fixer, a man who keeps secrets but always extracts a price.
Beset by violence and double-crossing, Grace is soon embroiled in a savage game of cat and mouse with colleagues and criminals alike. With all sides driven by dark desires, theirs is an endgame that will take Grace down unless she holds her nerve.
Can they save each other?
(Romance)
The sun is shining on the golden castle on Rainbow Bay - and change is in the air!
Amelia is a single mother, doing her very best to look after her young son, Charlie - but money is tight and times are tough. When she first hears that she is the last descendent of the Chesterford family and that she has inherited a Real-Life Castle by the sea, Amelia can't quite believe her ears. But it's true!
She soon finds that owning a castle isn't quite the ticket to sorting out her money problems that she'd first hoped: she can't sell, because the terms of the ancient bequest state that any Chesterford who inherits the castle, must live there and work towards the upkeep and maintenance of the family home. So ever-practical Amelia decides to uproot her little family and move to this magnificent castle by the sea.
Living in a castle on the beautiful Northumberland coast is fun at first, but organising the day-to-day running is a lot more complicated than Amelia first imagined. Luckily she has help from the small band of eccentric and unconventional staff that are already employed there - and a mysterious unseen hand that often gives her a push in the right direction just when she needs it most. It's only when she meets Tom, a furniture restorer who comes to the castle to help repair some antique furniture, that Amelia realises she might get the fairy-tale ending that she and Charlie truly deserve...
Amelia is a single mother, doing her very best to look after her young son, Charlie - but money is tight and times are tough. When she first hears that she is the last descendent of the Chesterford family and that she has inherited a Real-Life Castle by the sea, Amelia can't quite believe her ears. But it's true!
She soon finds that owning a castle isn't quite the ticket to sorting out her money problems that she'd first hoped: she can't sell, because the terms of the ancient bequest state that any Chesterford who inherits the castle, must live there and work towards the upkeep and maintenance of the family home. So ever-practical Amelia decides to uproot her little family and move to this magnificent castle by the sea.
Living in a castle on the beautiful Northumberland coast is fun at first, but organising the day-to-day running is a lot more complicated than Amelia first imagined. Luckily she has help from the small band of eccentric and unconventional staff that are already employed there - and a mysterious unseen hand that often gives her a push in the right direction just when she needs it most. It's only when she meets Tom, a furniture restorer who comes to the castle to help repair some antique furniture, that Amelia realises she might get the fairy-tale ending that she and Charlie truly deserve...
Four Brand New Malory Towers Stories
(Children's Fiction / Teen & YA)
It's time to welcome new girls to Malory Towers, the famous boarding school by the sea, in four brand-new stories by outstanding authors, set in Enid Blyton's much-loved school.
YA and Waterstones Book Prize-winner Patrice Lawrence introduces us to proud Marietta with her magnificent head of braided hair. A dormitory argument reveals something unusual about Marietta, and something equally unexpected about Alicia.
In Guardian and Stylist columnist Lucy Mangan's story, student librarian Evelyn is wary of her lively, lacrosse-playing classmates. When one of them becomes a regular visitor to the hushed domain of the library, can Evelyn really trust her?
Sunita Sharma joins Malory Towers surrounded by a sense of mystery, in Narinder Dhami's fabulous story. But is Sunita really as glamorous as Gwendoline imagines?
In Rebecca Westcott's heart-warming story, Darrell and friends fear the worst when spoilt Gwendoline's cousin joins the school. But Maggie is very different from her stuck-up relative . . .
YA and Waterstones Book Prize-winner Patrice Lawrence introduces us to proud Marietta with her magnificent head of braided hair. A dormitory argument reveals something unusual about Marietta, and something equally unexpected about Alicia.
In Guardian and Stylist columnist Lucy Mangan's story, student librarian Evelyn is wary of her lively, lacrosse-playing classmates. When one of them becomes a regular visitor to the hushed domain of the library, can Evelyn really trust her?
Sunita Sharma joins Malory Towers surrounded by a sense of mystery, in Narinder Dhami's fabulous story. But is Sunita really as glamorous as Gwendoline imagines?
In Rebecca Westcott's heart-warming story, Darrell and friends fear the worst when spoilt Gwendoline's cousin joins the school. But Maggie is very different from her stuck-up relative . . .
(Romance)
There's no place like home...
Nursing a broken heart, Jennifer Bolitho retreats to Pixie Cottage. Her new landlord - a former soldier turned movie heartthrob - has grounds so large, she's sure the little house nestled in the woods will bring her solitude.
Alex Delgardo also has reasons to hide away. Seeking refuge after a tragic incident turned his world upside down, he knows that the most important thing now is to care for his ailing family.
But when Jennifer enters their lives, that changes. Because, as they both learn, you can't heal others until you learn to heal yourself...
Nursing a broken heart, Jennifer Bolitho retreats to Pixie Cottage. Her new landlord - a former soldier turned movie heartthrob - has grounds so large, she's sure the little house nestled in the woods will bring her solitude.
Alex Delgardo also has reasons to hide away. Seeking refuge after a tragic incident turned his world upside down, he knows that the most important thing now is to care for his ailing family.
But when Jennifer enters their lives, that changes. Because, as they both learn, you can't heal others until you learn to heal yourself...
(General Fiction / Historical Fiction)
Betty is running for her life . . .
Young Betty dreams of settling down to an ordinary life with her husband. But when he returns broken and haunted from the Great War, she finds herself persecuted by his distraught mother - and yearns to escape.
It is only when a storm devastates the village that Betty sees her chance. Fleeing to Bristol and changing her name to Mabel Brook, she seeks a new life - only to discover destiny has other plans.
Penniless and alone, Mabel suffers a brutal attack before being rescued by a psychic named Nora Nightingale. She gets her first taste of those who receive messages from the dead and realises she may have this power herself.
But Mabel fears her gift may be a terrible curse as it becomes ever harder to hide from the truth about who she once was - and the tragic life she left behind.
Soon Mabel receives her own message and is forced back to the very place she has escaped. A place of heartbreak and perhaps even murder - but to secure her future Mabel must confront her past one last time.
Young Betty dreams of settling down to an ordinary life with her husband. But when he returns broken and haunted from the Great War, she finds herself persecuted by his distraught mother - and yearns to escape.
It is only when a storm devastates the village that Betty sees her chance. Fleeing to Bristol and changing her name to Mabel Brook, she seeks a new life - only to discover destiny has other plans.
Penniless and alone, Mabel suffers a brutal attack before being rescued by a psychic named Nora Nightingale. She gets her first taste of those who receive messages from the dead and realises she may have this power herself.
But Mabel fears her gift may be a terrible curse as it becomes ever harder to hide from the truth about who she once was - and the tragic life she left behind.
Soon Mabel receives her own message and is forced back to the very place she has escaped. A place of heartbreak and perhaps even murder - but to secure her future Mabel must confront her past one last time.
(Teens & YA)
Harriet Reuter Hapgood's beautiful writing radiates with colour in How to be Luminous, a lyrical and engrossing story about the aftermath of tragedy and the power of self-belief and love.
Minnie Sloe and her sisters have weathered it all together - growing up without fathers, living an eccentric lifestyle with a pet rabbit named Salvador Dali, and riding out their famous artist mother’s mental highs and lows.
But then their mother disappears, and Minnie, who was supposed to follow in her footsteps, starts seeing the world in monochrome. Literally. How can she create when all she sees is black-and-white?
As grief threatens to tear the three sisters apart, Minnie fears she could lose everything: her family, her future, her first love...and maybe even her mind.
Minnie Sloe and her sisters have weathered it all together - growing up without fathers, living an eccentric lifestyle with a pet rabbit named Salvador Dali, and riding out their famous artist mother’s mental highs and lows.
But then their mother disappears, and Minnie, who was supposed to follow in her footsteps, starts seeing the world in monochrome. Literally. How can she create when all she sees is black-and-white?
As grief threatens to tear the three sisters apart, Minnie fears she could lose everything: her family, her future, her first love...and maybe even her mind.
(Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction)
Il Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna’s stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heart-breaking betrayal.
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalising promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within.
The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived; fleeing her home to join the Resistenza; and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth: what sent Ines running from her adored homeland?
When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother’s name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother’s family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered…
A stunning tale, inspired by true events, about how the tragic consequences of war can echo through generations, and how love can guide us through the darkest times. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be captivated.
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalising promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within.
The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived; fleeing her home to join the Resistenza; and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth: what sent Ines running from her adored homeland?
When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother’s name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother’s family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered…
A stunning tale, inspired by true events, about how the tragic consequences of war can echo through generations, and how love can guide us through the darkest times. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be captivated.
(Mystery & Thriller / Scottish)
SHE’S YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOUR WORST ENEMY
Beth
Beth is a woman running from her demons. Moving to Glasgow to escape the tragedy that destroyed her - a tragedy that ended with the death of her ex-boyfriend - she’s trying to build a new life, to tentatively find new love. But her past seems to follow her, and try as she might, she can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her every move.
Victoria
Victoria is unhappily married to Greg. On their wedding day he told her he would love her until they grew old, but now he’s becoming secretive, staying out for ‘business meetings’ and growing further and further away from his wife. After finding incriminating evidence on his phone, Victoria contacts an old friend for support - the one person in her life that has never let her down yet. She knows her friend will discover the truth - at all costs.
Lydia
Lydia knows she is the one person that can help Victoria. Jumping straight back into their friendship, despite the four-year absence from Victoria’s life, she vows to stop at nothing to help her get revenge. Good friends will do anything for each other, right? But Lydia has made a new friend in Beth. And now, neither of them is safe…
Beth
Beth is a woman running from her demons. Moving to Glasgow to escape the tragedy that destroyed her - a tragedy that ended with the death of her ex-boyfriend - she’s trying to build a new life, to tentatively find new love. But her past seems to follow her, and try as she might, she can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her every move.
Victoria
Victoria is unhappily married to Greg. On their wedding day he told her he would love her until they grew old, but now he’s becoming secretive, staying out for ‘business meetings’ and growing further and further away from his wife. After finding incriminating evidence on his phone, Victoria contacts an old friend for support - the one person in her life that has never let her down yet. She knows her friend will discover the truth - at all costs.
Lydia
Lydia knows she is the one person that can help Victoria. Jumping straight back into their friendship, despite the four-year absence from Victoria’s life, she vows to stop at nothing to help her get revenge. Good friends will do anything for each other, right? But Lydia has made a new friend in Beth. And now, neither of them is safe…
Three women. Three stories. One secret to bind them all. A shocking, darkly gripping psychological with a twist in the tale that will leave you open mouthed. Fans of BA Paris, Lisa Hall and Gone Girl won’t be able to put this one down…
I can't wait to read these books so watch this space for reviews!
If you liked this post have a look at my complete list of Reading Lists or my complete list of What I Learned full review posts.
Happy Reading!
If you liked this post have a look at my complete list of Reading Lists or my complete list of What I Learned full review posts.
Happy Reading!
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