Dangerous Games

I've very much enjoyed Dangerous Games by Sally Spencer. Set in 1965 Lancashire, a headless body is found in a waterway and later is found to be a murder victim, killed then hanged from a bridge. When another victim is hanged DCI Woodend and his team look for a connection and find it with a group of soldiers who served in Cyprus seven years earlier. Eventually the reasoning behind the killings is revealed as relating to an incident on Cyprus during their service that was then "covered up". I enjoyed the Woodend character. He had great wit and humour and did not suffer fools gladly. I will read more of Spencer's books. She also writes under pseudonym of Alan Rustage. 4/5

Skin and Bone

I've enjoyed Skin and Bone by Kathryn Fox which has Det Kate Farrer investigating the murder of an unidentified young mother in a house fire. At the same time she is compelled to look into the disappearance of a young woman from a wealthy family. It stretched things a bit to find that there is a connection, but there are lots of twists and turns along the way that still made it a good read. Even the ending was surprising, but almost predictable. 3 1/2/5

Fire in the Blood

I've read Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky, the author of the wonderful Suite Francaise. This is a short novel about love, regret, adultery and honour. An elderly man looks back on his life and his great love. He is forced to confront his past as he deals with a family situation in the present which has connections to the past. The marriages are not what they seem and decisions must be made on how to deal with the present and remain "respectable". A good story. 4/5

Someone Knows My Name

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill is a novel set in the mid 18th century following the life story of Aminata Diallo. As a young girl she is stolen from her village by slavers and spends much of her life as a slave in America. She learns to read and write and builds a life for herself, but always yearns to return to her childhood village. In her later years, she becomes a symbol for the anti-slavery movement and tells her story to champion that cause. It is a good story, long saga about Aminata's life which touches on real events in that historical period. 3 1/2/5

Dead Cold

I've read Dead Cold by Louise Penny, a murder story set in a cold Canadian modern village. A nasty and unpopular woman dies mysteriously in a rather complicated murder scenario. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache eventually unravels the mystery which has many twists and turns before its final outcome. I found the story hard to follow in places. This author was not known to me before and I won't be reading another of her books, as it was disappointing. 2/5

Annie May's Black Book

Annie May's Black Book by Debby Holt was a fun read - a romantic comedy, in which I could see Hugh Grant in the starring role of Ben who leaves Annie at the altar and comes back in to her life 17 years later. Annie has moved on from her initial "disappointment" and created a happy single life for herself then Ben "returns" and she must decide how she will deal with him. 31/2/5

Churchill's Triumph

I've enjoyed Churchill's Triumph by Michael Dobbs which is a story based around the Yalta Conference in 1945 where Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met to decide the future of Europe. The story begins in 1963 when Churchill is holidaying on Onassis' yacht and meets a Pole who claims to have met him at Yalta. The story then flashes back to Yalta and the events and personalities at that conference. The then young Pole pleads his case for Poland as he fears his country will be overwhelmed by Stalin's Russia. The tragic events of the closing stages of the war are told and Churchill must accept that some sacrifices will have to be made. The main players in this story are given a life away from the history page and presents them as human beings. This is a good story well told. 4/5

Gardens of Water

Debut novel Gardens of Water by Alan Drew is fine story and relevant to our times with the themes of clash of culture between Christian and Islamic values. Set in Turkey, a Kurdish family headed by Sinan, survive an horrific natural disaster which tears his community apart. As Western aid workers move in to help, Sinan, a proud man, fights to maintain his independence and support his family. His teenage daughter, Irem, falls in love with Dylan, the son of an aid worker. Irem must decide between remaining with her family and the unknown consequences of being with Dylan as she is attracted by the apparent "freedom" in Western culture. 41/2/5