Category Archives: Read 2022

Mini Book Reviews: The Christie Affair | Take Your Breath Away | Insomnia | Reputation

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The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

I was really looking forward to this book and I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint. This is a fictionalised account of what happened during the days when Agatha Christie disappeared. It follows Agatha, but mainly Nan – the woman having an affair with Agatha’s husband Archie. There is also another mystery element in the novel and I loved seeing how it all played out. I was expecting the novel to be more about Agatha but it was actually really interesting following Nan for the main part and seeing how she came to be in the situation she finds herself in. I found this such an engrossing novel and one that I was thinking about during the times when I wasn’t reading it. I definitely recommend it.

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay

This book has such an intriguing premise – a woman has been missing for six years and then one day she is spotted outside the home she used to live in but she quickly disappears again! We then follow her husband and members of her family as they try to figure out what is going on, and discover that nothing is quite as it seems! This book definitely requires suspension of disbelief but that doesn’t stop it being incredibly readable and hard to put down. I kept thinking I had it all figured out and then the rug would be pulled from under me again, which I loved. I enjoyed this one.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

I love Sarah Pinborough’s novels so was highly anticipating this one and am so pleased to say that I loved it! It follows Emma whose mother ‘went mad’ soon after turning 40 and now Emma is around that age and she can’t sleep. Insomnia is plaguing her and no matter what she tries sleep just won’t come. I found this book so unnerving because I suffered with insomnia for years and I know how it makes you feel like you don’t even know which way is up anymore. Emma’s case is extreme but even so it’s creepy. On the surface she was a perfect life but she’s hiding things from her husband and that means she doesn’t have the support that she so badly needs. There are twists and turns in this novel, which I loved and it kept me hooked all the way to the very end. I highly recommend it!

Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

This novel was so good! It follows Emma who is an MP and a mother but she’s also a liar who is accused of killing a tabloid journalist. On the surface all is good in Emma’s life – she’s making a name for herself as an MP with her campaign against revenge porn but then her home life starts to unravel when her daughter is accused of the unthinkable. This leads Emma to want to protect her family no matter the cost and things begin to spiral. I found this novel to be so gripping, I didn’t want to put it down once I started it and I resented real life when it got in the way of my reading time! It’s a very ‘now’ novel with the revenge porn storyline but also the online abuse that Emma suffers purely because she’s a female MP. I wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out in this novel and loved that it kept me guessing until the end. I definitely recommend this one!

Mini Book Reviews: Impossible | The Curfew | The Couple at the Table | Plain Bad Heroines

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Today I’m sharing some more mini reviews of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently!

Impossible by Sarah Lotz

This book was brilliant, I loved it! It follows Nick and Bee who connect online when one day Nick sends an angry email to a client and it ends up in Bee’s inbox. The two strike up a friendship via email and I loved seeing their bond grow. I met my husband online and so books like this are irresistible to me! They share their lives and then one day decide to meet in real life but things don’t go quite as planned. I don’t want to say anymore and risk spoiling this book but I will say that it takes an unexpected direction and I was gripped! I read this book every spare second I had as I just wanted to know how it was all going to end. I definitely recommend this one!

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

I love Sophie Hannah’s novels so was very keen to get my hands on this one and I’m really pleased to say that it did not disappoint! The premise of this novel is there are several people staying at a luxury resort and one night one of them is murdered. The person found with the victim is definitely not the murderer and everyone else in the resort were all dining together at the time of the murder. No one else was on the property! There was a note warning to beware of the table nearest yours but all the tables are exactly the same distance apart. I loved this novel, it was near impossible to work out what had happened but I had so many theories. It was so much fun trying to work it out and to follow the police investigation as well as the holiday makers as they also tried to solve the murder. I recommend this one!

The Curfew by T.M. Logan

I’m a fan of T.M. Logan’s novels so was keen to read this one and I really enjoyed it. It follows the aftermath of a teenage party in the woods and what happens when one of them didn’t arrive home in time for curfew and another failed to return home at all. This novel has so many twists and turns and is often the case in this author’s books I think I have it all worked out but end up being wrong (which I love!). This is a fast-paced novel that has you reading just one more chapter until you find you’ve turned the last page and it feels like no time has gone by. I recommend it!

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

This is a doorstop of a book and one I found quite hard to get into but once I did I couldn’t put it down! It is a story told through multiple timelines and perspectives – all connected by the yellow jacket wasps! In 1902 two teenage girls were killed and now in the present day a film is about to be made about the deaths. There is so much more in between though – the creepy school that is now a private house, Spite Tower and all the scary wasp stories. There is something really hypnotic about the way this book is written, it really gets a grip on the reader which mirrors the effect the story has on the present day characters in the book. It made for an intense reading experience and I’m so glad I picked this book up. I really enjoyed this one and am keen to now go back and read the author’s previous novel.

Mini Book Reviews: The Maid | The Twyford Code | Other Parents | The Truth About Her

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Today on my blog I’m sharing some mini reviews of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently. I’m struggling with blogging at the moment as my dictation software is no longer compatible with my macbook and I’m currently unable to use my right hand for much of anything. Typing one handed with my non-dominant hand isn’t the easiest so I apologise for the shortness of these reviews and hope I can be back to full speed before too long!

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

I loved this book! It follows Steven as he becomes quite obsessed with a mystery stemming back to his childhood when his teacher disappeared on a school trip and it’s all linked to a book she was reading to them. The novel is told in transcribed audio files that Steven has recorded as he sets out to find out where Miss Isles is and what happened to her. This book grabbed me from the very beginning and it didn’t let go of me – I even had a dream about it during the period of time I was reading it! I loved how the mystery is slowly uncovered – there are clues left for the reader but I only pieced it together right before all was revealed and I adored how it kept me on my toes. I very much enjoyed The Appeal by this author but I think The Twyford Code was even better and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

I love Sarah Stovell’s writing and this book was so good! It follows a group of parents and all the politics that go along with PTA meetings and different viewpoints. Jo is the headmistress and tries to keep the peace; her good friend Rachel has left her husband and is now in a relationship with Erin; and Laura is very against same sex relationships and doesn’t want her child being taught about homosexuality at school. Everyone in this book has secrets and slowly the pressure builds leading to increasing tensions and an inevitable fall out. I love reading about groups of people in small villages and tight-knit environments so this book was perfect for me and I really enjoyed it. I recommend it!

The Maid by Nita Prose

I have heard so much hype about this book that I knew I had to read it and see what all the fuss was about – I’m really happy to say that I loved it and it definitely lived up to my high expectations. Molly is a maid at a posh hotel and she really cares about doing her job properly and well. One day she finds one of the guests dead in bed and somehow the finger of suspicion starts to be pointed at her. Molly isn’t great at reading people so the reader definitely sees more of what is going on around Molly than she is aware of which led to me being anxious about how much trouble she might unwittingly end up in. She’s a great character though and I was rooting for her the whole way through the novel. I still think about her and wonder how she’s doing now! I recommend this one!

The Truth About Her by Jacqueline Maley

I picked this book up on a whim and I’m glad I did. It follows journalist Suzy in the aftermath of a nightmare – a wellness blogger that she did a big expose of has been found dead of apparent suicide and now Suzy has to deal with the fallout. Suzy is a single mum and her life seems to consist of her constantly trying to get her life on track but never quite managing it. She can’t commit to a relationship but wants to, and she’s striving for something more but doesn’t exactly know what that might look like. I found this book less of a thriller than I was expecting but it was a really absorbing read and I’m so pleased that I picked it up.