General Chat

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My selections Fox Evil Minette waters When elderly Ailsa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed only in night clothes and with blood stains on the ground near her body, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy, landowning husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. A coroner's inquest gives a verdict of 'natural causes' but the gossip surrounding him refuses to go away. Why? Because he's guilty? Or because resentful women in the isolated Dorset village where he lives rule the roost? Shenstead is a place of too few people and too many secrets. Why have James and Ailsa cut their children out of their wills? What happened in the past to create such animosity within the family? And why is James so desperate to find his illegitimate grandchild? Friendless and alone, his reclusive behaviour begins to alarm his London-based solicitor, Mark Ankerton, whose concern deepens when he discovers that James has become the victim of a relentless campaign which accuses him of far worse than the death of his wife. Allegations which he refuses to challenge ...Why? Because they're a motive for murder? The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett A story of passion and idealism, which describes a group of men and women in the Middle Ages whose destinies are fatefully linked with the building of a cathedral. In a country torn by civil war, two generations struggle to rise above their primitive circumstances and create something beautiful Classic Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens This is Dickens' first novel and introduces the characters of Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller and the whole of the Pickwickian crew and follows their adventures. It is widely regarded as one of the most famous of pre-Victorian novels. xx Jill

some good selections ;-))

PRINCESS by JEAN P. SASSON (From cover) An appalling indictment of the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia. Think of a Saudi Arabian Princess & what do you see? A women glittering with jewels, living a life of unbelievable luxery. But in reality she lives in a gilded cage. She has no freedom, no vote, no control over her own life, no value but as the bearer of sons. Hidden behind the veil, she is a prisoner, her jailers her father, her husband, her sons. 'Sultana' is a member of the Saudi royal family, closely related to the king. As she tells of her life - from her turbulant childhood to her arranged marriage - she lifts the veil and reveals a history of appaling oppression and shocking human rights. Violations such as forced marriages, sex slavery and summary executions. THE TRAVELLER by JOHN TWELVE HAWKS Since childhood, Gabrial and Michael Corrigan have been shaped by the stories that their father has told them about the world in which they live. After his mysterious disappearance, they have been living 'off the grid' - that is invisible to the intrusive surveillance networks that monitor our modern lifes. But no-one is as invisible as they would like to believe. CLASSIC - THREE MEN ON THE BRUMMEL by JEROME K JEROME A follow on to Three Men in a Boat. The same three men take a jaunt away from the confines of domestic routine and travel to the Black Forest with a tandem and a bicycle. The culture they encounter comes as something of a surpirse and they get into a few scrapes. This account of their adventures offers no advice on how to travel around Germany, but it is a hilarious classic comedy. T.O.R. ;o))

Mother Country – Jeremy Harding When Jeremy Harding was a child, his mother Maureen told him he’d been adopted. As he got older, he wondered about the identity of his biological parents, and eventually embarked on a quest to find them. Mother Country is a powerful true story, full of thrilling revelations, comic confusion and tender memories, about a man looking for the mother he’d never known and finding out how little he knew about the one he’d grown up with --------------------------- The Secret of Crickley Hall – James Herbert There is an old house in Devil’s Cleave, a deep gorge that leads from the high moors to the harbour village of Hollow Bay. The house is Crickley Hall and it’s large and grim, somehow foreboding. It’s rumoured to be haunted. It’s though to hold a secret Despite some reservations, the Caleighs move in, searching for respite in this beautiful part of North Devon, seeking peace and perhaps to come to terms with what’s happened to them as a family. But all is not well at the house. They hear unaccountable noises. A cellar dourer they shut every night is always open again in the morning. They see things that cannot be real. The house is the last place the Caleighs should have come to, for the terror that unfolds is beyond belief. Soon they will discover the secret horror of Crickley Hall………. Under the Greenwood Tree – Thomas Hardy A delightful portrayal of a picturesque rural society, tinged with gentle humour and quiet irony. The double plot, in which the love story of Dick Dewy and Fancy Day is inter-related with a tragic chapter in the history of Mellstock Choir, hints at the poignant disappearance of a long-lived and highly valued traditional way of life

Classic - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Catherine and Heathcliff are the tempestuous lovers in this tale of passion and revenge on the Yorkshire moors. In their footsteps - Tess Gerritson Haunted by the quiet scandal that surrounded her parent's death 20 years ago, Beryl Tavistock goes in search of the truth. Caught up in a world of international espionage, she discovers that trust is a double edged sword, where friends become enimies and enimies become killers. The Poet - Michael Connelly Shocked by his brother's death, Jack McEvoy, a crime reporter, investigates a surprising rise in police suicides. A disturbing pattern of coincidences suggests that a cop killer is choosing his victims with care. Jack may be on to a story of a lifetime, but the 'poet' knows that he is on his trail. Dawn

Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir Alison Weir, our pre-eminent popular historian, has now fulfilled a life's ambition to write historical fiction. She has chosen as her subject the bravest, most sympathetic and wronged heroine of Tudor England, Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she lived a live in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour. Jane's astonishing and essentially tragic story was played out during one of the most momentous periods of English history. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up realize that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry the reader through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion. The Testament of Gideon Mack - James Robertson If the devil didn't exist, would man have to invent him? For Gideon Mack, faithless minister, unfaithful husband and troubled soul, the existence of God, let alone the Devil, is no more credible than that of ghosts or fairies. Until the day he falls into a gorge and is rescued by someone who might just be Satan himself. Mack's testament - a compelling blend of memoir, legend, history and, quite probably, madness - recounts one man's emotional crisis, disappearance, resurrection and death. It also transports you into an utterly mesmerising exploration of the very nature of belief. Classic Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald Set in the hedonistic society of the 'Roaring Twenties,' the novel chronicles the tale of a wealthy mental patient, Nicole Warren, and her marriage to her psychiatrist. The resulting saga of the troubled marriage and their circle of friends highlights the perception of problems inherent in great wealth.

Classic The Parasites Daphne Du Maurier Maria, Niall and Celia have grown up in the shadow of their famous parents – their father a flamboyant singer and their mother a talented dancer. Now pursuing their own creative dreams, all 3 siblings feel an undeniable bond but it is Maria and Niall who share the secret of their parents’ pasts. The Ship of Brides JoJo Moyes Based on a compelling true story in an age when the collision between duty and love could leave you with more than abroken heart. 1946, all over the world ypung women are crossing the seas in their thousands en route to the men they maried in wartime and an unknown future. In Sydney Australia 4 women join 650 other brides and hundreds of navel officers on an extraordinary voyage to England aboard The Victoria. Rules of honour, duty and separation are strictly enforced from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined. And Frances Mackenzie, an enigmatic young bride whose past comes back to haunt her thousands of miles from home - will find that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that 18 year old Katie Fisher, an un married Amish woman believed to be the child’s mother took the child’s life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania to defend Katie, two cultures collide – and, for the first time in her high profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live ‘plain’, Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past comes back into her life. Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense this is a fascinating portrait of Amish life and a moving exploration of the bonds of love, friendship and the heart’s most complex choices. Ann Glos

Daisy - I'm suggesting it cos I am already over halfway through it and I think people would like it! Nice to see you by the way :-))) Maz. XX

Ann, just for this month I'll duck out of book suggestions and voting. Like the look of The Book Thief though Maz! Daisy

Classic Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Economics and morality play important roles here as Fanny Price, the poor relation brought up in a wealthy family's home, competes for the man she loves against a brilliantly witty, and dazzlingly lovely rival. Her essential godeness, modesty and integrity win the day, but not without a long and difficult traverse. Thought it might be interesting to compare it with the TV adaption being shown on Sunday. Current The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and cache of yellowing letters addressed ominously to 'My dear and unfortunate successor' her discovery plunges her into a world she never dreamed of - a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an evil hidden inthe depth's of history. (from the book jacket) The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. Synopsis Twelve-year-old Harriet is doing her best to grow up, which is not easy as her mother is permanently on medication, her father has silently moved to another city, and her serene sister rarely notices anything. All of them are still suffering from the shocking and mysterious death of her brother Robin twelve years earlier, and it seems to Harriet that the family may never recover. So, inspired by Captain Scott, Houdini, and Robert Louis Stevenson, she sets out with her only friend Hely to find Robin's murderer and punish him. But what starts out as a child's game soon becomes a dark and dangerous journey into the menacing underworld of a small Mississippi town. Alfie.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breath-taking scope, masterfully told...A wonderful page-turner. The story of a young German girl who steals books, of her family and the Jewish boxer hidden in their basement as they struggle to survive in Nazi Germany when the bombs begin to fall. Swallowing Grandma by Kate Long Katherine Millar is eighteen and desperate to be less fat, less swotty and to have cooler friends. But most of all, she wishes she had two parents, instead of one grandma, Poll. Poll is pushing seventy, half blind and utterly poisonous. She has looked after Katherine since she was a baby, when her father was killed in a car crash and her mother vanished. Poll's ambition is for things to stay exactly the same for ever, and for Katherine never to leave their pit village of Bank Top. Katherine has other ideas, and she can feel change is coming; the omens are all around her. In the meantime, she cleans up after Poll, revises for her exams, watches daytime television and surfs the net at the library trying to find out how to be bulimic. What she doesn't quite realize yet is that life won't always wait for you to catch up with it. Classic - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Woman in White is a mystery narrated by draughtsman and artist Walter Hartwright and various other characters within the tale: most of whom are potentially questionable in what they say. The story begins with Walter's late night meeting of the titular woman dressed in white who he rescues from a group of pursuers. Walter goes to work in the service of the selfish and unpleasant Mr Fairlie as a drawing instructor and in doing so meets his niece Laura who strongly resembles the mysterious woman in white. Walter falls in love with Laura, but naturally there is a hitch. Laura does love Walter but is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde. Deceit, love and various unmaskings ensue that explain the strange confinement within an asylum of Anne Catherick. Tense adventures, villainy and gloriously fitting retributions are Collins' remedies Maz. XX

Please suggest 2 ordinary and one classic book................................... vote to take place on Sunday 18th. March books to be reviewed 20th April................................ I have a suggestion to add. If any of the books chosen are extra large perhaps we should only agree to read two books. Ann Glos