Big Little Lies

I very much enjoyed Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty which is set in a seaside town in Australia.  A single mother, Jane, is a recent arrival in the town.  She takes her son, Ziggy, to the local school to enrol him and meets other mothers with children of the same age.  There is an incident on the orientation day which will have an effect on several of the main characters.  The story is told with flashbacks and the reader becomes intrigued as to what will happen in the future.  There are hints with each chapter as characters speak about what has happened.  This is a very effective "literary device" as it adds to intrigue and we start trying to work out what these characters are referring to.  What is the awful thing that happened at the Trivia Night?  It did take a while to get in to the story as there were all these mothers to remember and which children belonged to them.  I found it confusing for a while.  The story had a very good ending. Highly recommended.  41/2/5

The Heart Has Its Reasons

For the most part I enjoyed The Heart Has Its Reasons by María Dueñas which  is set in Spain and California in 1999.  Blanca, a professor at a Madrid university wants to escape her life after her husband left her, and applies for a position in a Californian university.  She gets the job and teaches some Spanish classes while there.  The main purpose for her work is sorting out the papers of a professor who died suddenly 30 years previously. She meets the charismatic academic, Daniel Carter, who studied in Spain in the 1950s.  Eventually all the pieces are connected together. 31/2/5

Apple Tree Yard

I very much enjoyed Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty which is a thriller set in London.  It is well told in the first person by the main character Yvonne Carmichael.  She is a highly respected geneticist  who embarks on an affair with a complete stranger.  She manages the two spheres of her life with her husband and family and her affair.  The reader finds Yvonne in the middle of a trial and we are given flashbacks about what has transpired to bring her to a court room.  Eventually through many twists and turns we understand what has happened and what Yvonne's fate will be as her life spirals out of control.  Highly recommended, the writing is brilliant. 41/2/5

The Soul of Discretion

I enjoyed The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill set in a small English town.  The main character DC Simon Serrailler goes undercover to find information about a paedophile ring, placing himself in a dangerous situation.  Another story thread involves a very serious allegation made by a woman against a prominent member of the community who is Simon's father.  There is some suspense when Simon becomes involved with the paedophiles.  It took a while to get in to this story but became better later. 4/5

The Chocolate Promise

I enjoyed The Chocolate Promise by Josephine Moon which is set in a small Tasmanian town.  Christmas Livingstone returns to her home town to open a chocolate shop.  She meets a man, Lincoln, who has returned to check on the welfare of his grandmother.  Christmas and Lincoln write a book about chocolate together.  They have a rocky relationship.  Christmas wins a scholarship to go to France to learn from a master Chocolatier and her love life takes a new turn.  This is a pleasant reading story, "peaches & cream", chick-lit. 31/2/5

30 March Book Club

As the first Monday in April is Easter Monday, we had our meeting a week earlier.  Our hostess has recently retired and baked some delicious goodies for our supper.  She also bought a great selection of books for the month and I'm looking forward to reading them.  One of our ladies was interstate helping her daughter move house.  Another lady proudly showed us photos of her first grandchild, a beautiful daughter who lives in England.  As a first time grandmother she has joined a wonderful club which gives a lot of love and pleasure, good to be a part of that.  Another of our ladies is recently retired and still getting used to the freedom it gives you.  I have always been very busy with retirement, enjoying it.  More time to read some wonderful books (occasionally some aren't wonderful but that's okay).  I hope everyone has a good Easter break.

Bond Girl

I enjoyed Bond Girl by Erin Duffy which is set in Wall Street, New York just before the Global Financial Crisis.  Alex has always wanted to work on the "Street" and she gets a job with a highly respected company.  As she is the newest employee she has a lot to learn from her colleagues.  The author has first-hand experience to draw on for the situations she writes about.  It is a great adventure for Alex and a very good insight  into the financial world. 4/5