Recipe for Life

This story Recipe for Life by Nicky Pellegrino was a pleasant read dealing with two young Englishwomen, Alice and Leila. As is expected from the title, food plays a major part in this story. It is told from two perspectives - Alice tells her story in the first person and in Italy an older woman, Babetta, has her story told in third person, chapter by chapter. Alice and Leila go to a little village in Italy and it is there the two stories are intertwined. Alice can't seem to decide for herself how her life will play out and tends to take the "easy" way, letting others decide for her. The years go by and eventually Alice makes her own decisions. This was a "nice" romantic story, with the village itself as an important character. A rainy day book. 31/2/5

Nemesis

I very much enjoyed Nemesis by Jo Nesbo (even though I read it out of order). It is the second part of a trilogy - The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devil's Star. They can be read independently, but there is a thread running through them which is finally resolved in the third book, so I recommend you read them in order. Harry Hole investigates the apparent suicide of an ex-girlfriend - was she murdered? The other investigation relates to an armed bank robbery where a female teller is murdered. This turns out not to be a simple investigation either. 4/5

The Long Song

I enjoyed The Long Song by Andrea Levy which is a fictional account of the life of a female slave in Jamaica in the 19th century. July as an old woman has been asked by her son to write an account of her life which she tells us in the first and third person. She is born into slavery and later in life the slaves are freed. The book is well researched to give a true account of life in those times and it is well told. 4/5

Mortal Remains

I've read Mortal Remains by Kathy Reichs which I didn't like very much. The author writes with authority as a forensic anthropologist. The main character, Tempe Brennan, tells the story in the first person and I find her very irritating. This book centers on the work of JPAC, the Joint Pow/MIA Accounting Command whose job is to locate American POWs and to recover remains of those who died in past conflicts. The reader learns more about this work at the end of the book. It was interesting that 78,000 Americans remain missing from WWII. Reichs should be commended for raising awareness of this work. The story begins with the strange death of a man who is identified as someone already dead (in Vietnam) and buried (back in USA) 40 years before. Brennan investigates this anomaly and discovers more misidentifications that have occurred with the same incident. She and her "friend" Ryan take their respective daughters to Hawaii to continue the investigation and have some down time. It gets more complicated before the truth emerges. JPAC's motto is "Until They Are Home" and their work will probably never be completed. 3/5

Three Seconds

This thrilling suspense story Three Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom (Swedish authors) was very good. Piet Hoffmann is recruited by the Swedish police to infiltrate a Polish mafia drug ring. His criminal backgrounds is enhanced to make him seem more dangerous and therefore acceptable to the drug ring. He's connected to a murder early in the story which is investigated by Ewert Grens who knows nothing about Hoffmann. Grens is persistent in his pursuit of the murderer and when it seems he may jeopardise the drug ring operation, steps are taken. This is a fast paced thriller (however it has a slow start) which requires concentration and the reader is well rewarded. Highly recommended 41/2/5

Last book club for 2010

Last night we had our final Wine & Giggles Book Club for 2010 - the year has gone by so quickly. We were all there and enjoyed a lovely evening of chatting, sipping champagne, eating delicious goodies, lots of giggles. I've got a lot of great books to read before our next meeting in 2011. Have a terrific Christmas and New Year and hope 2011 with be fantastic!

The Villa Triste

I very much enjoyed The Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle. For me it was a book to savour, don't read too quickly, stretch out the reading pleasure. It was one of those rare books where I couldn't wait to get to the end, but was sad when it was over. It is set in Florence where former Italian partisans have been murdered. Senior policeman, Pallioti, investigates and finds at the crime scene a WWII journal which was written by a former female partisan, Caterina. As we read the journal while also reading about the investigation, we learn about connections between the two time periods. This is very well written, highly recommended. 5/5

Crime Book Club Christmas Lunch

Myself and the other ladies in our Crime Book Club had lunch at our local shopping centre yesterday. The meals were nice and a little bottle of champagne went down well. Later we had coffee and cake. The weather is still awful. We've had enough rain now, bring back the sunshine! Anyway, we all had a good time.