Anne Baker - Liverpool Gems
The novel follows twins Connie and Carrie as they begin their adult lives in 1935 Liverpool. Connie is getting married, but Carrie hasn't any romance on the horizon. Instead she decides to make a career for herself in accountancy, like her new brother-in-law John. Meanwhile their father, Archie, has returned from South Africa where he has been working for many years. With him is the mysterious Marion, who they believe will become their stepmother some day. While Carrie immerses herself in her new career and tastes love for the first time, Archie is harbouring a dangerous secret that could threaten the happiness of the whole family. Full of engaging characters, with a plot that keeps the reader turning pages, this novel is a good, satisfying read.
Lee Child – Night School
This is the twenty first novel in the series about ex-military cop Jack Reacher, of which I confess I have read many. Lee Child’s trademark style is taut, pacey, conveying with economy the scene, atmosphere, characters and plot. This novel goes back to Reacher’s army days, when he’s pulled from regular duty for a special mission which is so important for US national security that it has to be disguised under a training course. At first there are few clues as to the exact nature of the problem. But as the book progresses, Reacher and his fellow investigators uncover a threat of such magnitude that the reader is on the edge of their seat, willing them to capture the perpetrator before a disaster of unbelievable consequences befalls the whole world. Full of twists and turns, the novel does not disappoint.
Harriet Evans - The Butterfly Summer
A novel of forgotten history and family secrets, all leading to the mysterious house in Cornwall called Keepsake. Nina in present day London is confused with her role in life, her relationship with her widowed mother, her career, and her failed teenage marriage to Sebastian. A chance encounter leads her to discover the existence of Keepsake and her own connection with it. Gradually the origins and the secrets of the house are uncovered, through diaries, letters, and flashbacks to her grandmother, Teddy, and Teddy's grandmother, Alexandra the butterfly collector. The heroine has difficult decisions to make as new revelations turn her life upside down, and the final twist is kept until the very last pages. Intriguing and different.