Nevada Rose by Jerome Preisler (8/10) A book that accompanies the tv series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which I loved watching when I was still in school. Brought back nice memories and I enjoyed investigating the two cases, although neither was really mind-blowing. My favourite character Nick Stokes also featured very little in this book.
Midwife on the Orient Express by Fiona MacArthur (6/10) Embarking on the journey of her dreams, things very quickly turn sour for Australian midwife Kelsie when she meets ex-boyfriend Lucas Latimer said journey. I enjoyed hearing about the fancy train journey and Lucas’ grandmother was kickass amazing, but the central Kelsie/Lucas storyline drove me nuts at how childish and illogical they both were.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (8/10) A competition taking place in a circus, the entire thing clouded in a shroud of mystery. Morgenstern does a brilliant job with creating the mood here, I loved the atmosphere, but I thought especially the middle section went on for far too long.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King (6/10) Sherlock Holmes takes on young Mary Russell as an apprentice, and they investigate when she is not in term at Oxford. I really liked how it started but their interaction very quickly descended into one that I found difficult to believe, and my dislike for Mary had grown quite significantly by the end of the book.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (7/10) Three Muslim siblings growing up in London, until one of them turns jihadi and returns to Raqqa. Slightly odd format of the story being told in forward timeline but from five perspectives, I would have liked it if we had come back to one of the earlier voices by the time the events at the end of the book had taken place.
The House on Rye Lane by Susan Allott (8/10) The happenings in the same house are told over three different timelines (one very long ago), all different stories/characters but with the same spooky aura. I thought the narrator did brilliantly with this one, and quite liked how things eventually came together.
Blizzard by Marie Vingtras (8/10) A child goes missing in the freezing Alaskan winter, and the villagers pitch in to help the search. A very compactly written little story, very cleverly using this central plot to also tell the villagers’ distinct and diverging backstories.
Bullseye by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge (6/10) When a presidential summit comes under terrorist threat, Detective Michael Bennett is on the case, until he finds it is hitting a lot closer to home than he was expecting. Not my favourite of the Patterson series, I thought the doing away with his trademark short chapters slowed things down here, and the writing didn’t match the tension afforded by the plot.
The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer (7/10) Anna and James are a happy family with their toddler Daniel, until he wanders out into the street one day and disappears. I liked the concept of this, as I often do with Belinda Bauer books, but I eventually thought that the psychic element was being pushed a bit too far for my believability / liking.
The Cat Who Caught a Killer by L.T. Shearer (6/10) Lulu Lewis is devastated by the passing of her mother-in-law, and one day the talking Conrad the Cat appears in her life and convinces her to dig deeper into the death. A fun cozy crime (who doesn’t like a talking cat lol) though the unnecessary dropping on of political mantra didn’t impress me.
The Girl from Silent Lake by Leslie Wolfe (7/10) FBI profiler Kay returns to Silent Lake when her brother Jacob is imprisoned for a pub brawl, and finds herself consulting the local police in an investigation into bodies that are popping up around the small town. Loved the build-up but hated the ending, there is a very long (spoiler-ey) rant on my Goodreads review.
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (10/10) Drawn back into the magical world of the Enchanted Wood once again, this time when Cousin Rick comes to visit. Kate Winslet once again does a fantastic job of voicing all the characters, and I loved being among my childhood friends once more.
The Last Paper Crane by Kerry Drewery (10/10) A dual-timeline book of Ichiro’s life in the direct aftermath of the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima and in present day. The verse/prose format worked brilliantly for the premise and I loved every part of finding out Ichiro’s story.
For One More Day by Mitch Albom (8/10) With his life seemingly in tatters, Charley finds himself in the position of being able to spend one last day with his deceased mother. Interspersed with flashbacks of his childhood, we see the sources of the scars that he carries and the means that helps him move forward. Despite the morbid premise I found this quite uplifting as a whole.
The Party House by Lin Anderson (6/10) Writer Joanne is running away from her life by moving to Blackrig, where the body of a girl who went missing 5 years ago has just been unearthed. A good skeleton of a plot but so padded out with fluff that it got irritating, especially so as most of that fluff was an obsession with the pandemic and its lockdown rules.
No One Saw A Thing by Andrea Mara (7/10) Six-year-old Faye goes missing when she steps onto the Tube with her younger sister Bea, and the doors close before her mother is able to get on. We then gradually discover that it is not as simple as a random kidnapping, and it was fun to try and put the different pieces together to try and figure out where Faye is. Also the product of brilliant advertising on the actual Tube, which is what inspired me to take the plunge and get the book!
Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher (8/10) After losing his wife Pia, Mike is trying to pick up the pieces alongside their best friends Zaza and Vicky, who are both in struggles of their own. On command by a note left by Pia, the three friends head off for a vacation in Peru. More soul-searching than I was expecting given the title and cheery cover art, but reminded me of P.S. I Love You (and in a good way!).
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary (7/10) Feuding front desk staff Izzy and Lucas are tasked with saving the struggling Forest Manor Hotel by finding the owners of engagement rings previously left there. Not Beth O’Leary’s best, I thought Izzy and Lucas were properly infuriating, although their friendly competition to find the ring owners was quite fun to follow.
3.5 stars rounded up.
