General Chat

the other book is:-

Family Ties by Wendy Richardson

In 1991 Bronwen Carmichael is a student at Durham University. Researching aspects of WW11, she comes across her Mother Rosa's journal, written in 1954 when Rosa was thirteen and England was recovering from the war. and as Bronwen discovers, it was a dark time in Rosa's childhood too.

At the heart of the diary is the deep family secret which now fifty years later, could severly disturb the self - contained Carmichael women.. This secret has tied the family - matriarch Kate, writer Rosa, academic Bronwen, and daughter Lily, with invisible cords which now threaten to break and change the family for ever.

I would like to recommend the following two books, not new but a good read:-

Grandmother's Footsteps by Carol Smith

The cold -blooded butchery of a mother and her daughters triggers a wave of outrage in the media. This is just the latest atrocity in a series. An elderly spinster arranging flowers in a church, her little dog dead at her side.
A schoolmaster with a party of boys. A bank manager. A yoga teacher. A social worker. Someone appears to be targetting the virtuous and clean-living.
It takes the patient persistence of cartographer William Huxley to sense a link the police have missed and slowly unravel the puzzle. But then it rapidly becomes clear that William is the next intended victim.

May Blossom we haven't done the vote yet, so you could probably sneak a couple of recommendations in as well before Ann puts the vote thread up.

We need new members to keep greaders going. Ann puts a lot of effort into this and it would be a shame to see it fold.

Michelle

Thank you Sue,

Hi May Blossom,

In a nutshell - members each suggest 2 books, then members vote on their favourite 2 - the winning 2 books are the ones the members read - and then review.

I think you may be too late to suggests books this month, and maybe even vote for them - Ann will tell you when she gets back. But you will probably be able to read the winning books and review them.

Sue

Sue

Will one of you please tell me what being a member involves. I read approximately one book a week and borrow these from our local library. I read murder mysteries, some romantic novels mostly Victorian working class type, family stories, in fact some books that have been recommended on this thread, although not all are available at the library, but can be ordered.

I definately want to read the Birthing House............looks brilliant!

Bev x

Thank you Angela. When I get home tomorrow I will put up vote thread. Meanwhile you can all be deciding as I don't think we aree t likely to get any more people join us this month.

Ann
Glos

All the books so far suggested look good. I am still reading Thanks for the Memories, but hope to finish it this weekend.

Angela

And the second one,
Paying for it by Tony Black
Set in Edinburgh this is an atmospheric and gritty novel, but also full of dark humour. Gus Dury is an ex-journalist and his wife is divorcing him as the demon drink has taken a strong hold of him. His friend Col's son is found dead, but the police say that he committed suicide. Gus finds out this isn't true and Col asks him to find the killer of his son and what's with the cover-up? Gus endeavours to find the truth and along the way we meet some unsavoury characters, as well as a wolf, and see Gus facing his own demons regarding his upbringing with his cruel and harsh father.

Angela

Hello folks here is my first one

The Outcast by Sadie Jones
Lewis arrives back from prison in 1957 now at the age of 19 and of course that has me wondering what he went to prison for. Time then reverts back to a much younger Lewis and follows his childhood tales which include an extremely traumatic event, which changes Lewis to a quiet, withdrawn little boy that it appears nobody really understands.

The book moves forward in time and we find out why Lewis was in prison. Lewis appears lost with himself and with the opposite sex, but is drawn to differing girls/women that may be able to fill a small part of his needs. Lewis' family and their neighbours are very much central to the story and they all seem to carry so many demons within them. Kit is a neighbouring young girl that has always been drawn to Lewis and she feels she understands him the most, but he tends to cast her aside as he feels she is not for him. The community in general takes against Lewis for various reasons and Lewis feels in some way he must fight back after hurting himself physically and mentally for so long.

Angela

Hi Ann..............tis good to be back!! Not had a computor for ages as just after we'd had it repaired my OH spilt a fish tank full of water over my laptop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got back online yesterday

Bev x

I will put the vote up on Sunday to let any stragglers put suggestions. I thought Angela was still interested but she has not come on the thread yet.

Welcome back Bev, looks like you have saved Greaders for another month at least.

Susan, if you have a \tesco near you they have both those bokks at two for £7.

Ann
Glos

Killing the Shadows by Val Mc Dermid




Synopsis:
A killer is on the loose, blurring the line between fact and fiction. His prey - the writers of crime novels who have turned psychological profilers into the heroes of the nineties. But this killer is like no other. His bloodlust shatters all the conventional wisdom surrounding the motives and mechanics of how serial killers operate. And for one woman, the desperate hunt to uncover his identity becomes a matter of life and death. Professor Fiona Cameron is an academic psychologist who uses computer technology to help police forces track serial offenders. She used to help the Met, but vowed never to work for them again after they went against her advice and badly screwed up an investigation as a consequence. Still smarting from the experience, she's working a case in Toledo when her lover, thriller writer Kit Martin, tells her a fellow crime novelist has been murdered. It's not her case, but Fiona can't help taking an interest. Which is just as well, because before too long the killer strikes again. And again. And Fiona is caught up in a race against time, not only to save a life, but to bring herself redemption, both personal and professional.
Rich in atmosphere, Killing the Shadows uses the backdrops of city and country to create an air of threatening menace, culminating in a tense confrontation between hunter and hunted, a confrontation that can have only one outcome.



Whispers in the Sand by Barbara Erskine



Recently divorced, Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother, Louisa, a renowned artist, made in the mid-nineteenth century - a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions - an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, and the chilling secret of the glass bottle. Meanwhile, two men from the tour party are showing a disturbing interest in these mementoes, and developing an unfriendly rivalry for Anna's attention.



Bev x

I managed to get on.
I Hope this does not fold as Ann has done so much to keep it going.

xx Jill

Shadows of the workhouse and the Birthing House look like my kind of read Ann.....sorry I can't yet join you but will certainly send off for them to add to my social History collection that is waiting for me when time permits.


Susan
x

I'm okay with voting for one book. Hopefully someone else appears before Monday.

sad isn't it? what do you think? There are only three of us. shall I abandon it for this month or shall the three of us have a vote for one book? not sure if it will work. I am away from tomorrow Friday until sunday but I will take my notebook and check to see if anyone else has responded. we will make the decision on sunday/Monday.

It's not looking good Ann. I am going on a weeks holiday next month to a lovely pet friendly resort up in the Bay of Island and shall be taking about four or five half read books to finish them off while I'm on holiday, I usually find I never take enough to read on holidays.

Michelle