January Roundup

For a reading month, this has been quite a slow one, getting back into routine after two weeks off work meant that reading took a little bit of a back seat as all I seemed to want to do is sleep! Even more so now that I end the month with a cold. However the books I have read have been excellent so without further ado……

In a push to beat the backlog that has been trending on Twitter I thought I would start with Stacy Halls – Mrs England sat on my shelf for a while and therefore crying out to be read. Why did I wait so long, it was a wonderful read and I have another on my shelf to read so I can go back to this wonderful writing.

#BeatingBeatTheBacklog will feature on many peoples blogs and twitter feeds no doubt and I have sorted made a headway in some more of my backlog on my netgalley list and picked Cathy Hayward – The Girl in the Maze which had been languishing for a bit longer than it should have been. This was an immensely powerful book which if you pick up you will need a strong stomach for. Still now it comes back to me.

But then I go and buy books which sort of defeats beating the backlog which is how I ended up reading Jo Bartlett – The Cornish Midwife. I would like to read more of this series and wanted to start with book one, though it seems it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t overly impressed with the ‘physical’ copy book version, seemed a bit too cheap. It was a delightful story full of humour and cheer and just what you need sometimes.

Delving into a book full of possibility as well as a shop of the same is how I felt about Holly Hepburn – The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures. Previously released in four parts, this is the whole story and the way I prefer to read. Full of promise, history and love it filled my soul like the perfect balm.

Amongst all the ‘nice’ books sometimes it is good to test yourself or delve into the murkier bits of the past or of life. What better way than combining it with some historical fiction and go back to 1926 with Nina de Gramont – The Christie Affair. A possible reason for why Agatha Christie went missing for those eleven days. Of course we will never know which I think is part of the added mystery to the whole thing.

Some more crime in Nita Prose – The Maid which is a book you will see a lot of in the coming weeks I am sure. It has been optioned for film as well. A book set in a hotel, no time, no place but a maid who becomes involved in some unpleasantness and then finds a dead body. Is she guilty of anything other than innocence? If you enjoyed The Rosie Project/Eleanor Oliphant you will certainly like this book.

Still with the crime, but this time on the high seas as the month comes to a end with Tom Hindle – A Fatal Crossing. What could be more of a locked room mystery than one on a liner in the middle of a ocean. Rare pieces of art and the class system at it’s best, it is a race to find out the truth before the ship docks.

Not a bad start to the year, some real excellent reads and there is plenty more to come. I need to beat that backlog somehow whether it be on my shelf or on my kindle.

Bring on February!