The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone

I enjoyed the story The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone by Charity Norman which is about a happily married middle-aged man who "comes out" as a transgender person. All his life Luke has battled with being a female in a male body.  After first contemplating suicide, he decides to live and transition to living as Lucia.  His family is initially shocked and very saddened.  Luke has a wife whom he still loves and she is very supportive.  His daughter is accepting, but his son who has a family of young children will have nothing to do with Luke/Lucia.  The people at his workplace are accepting though find it confronting.  It is interesting to read this story which will be difficult for a family like this.  However, I doubt that there would be many families in real life who would react with such understanding and support.  It would be great if they did as it would be a brave and difficult decision.  Interesting topic for a novel. 4/5

The Ash Burner

I've read The Ash Burner by Kari Gislason which is set in a small community in Australia.  Ted is brought up by his father after Ted's mother's death.  When Ted is very ill in hospital he meets Anthony and Claire and they form a very strong bond of friendship.  They have to cope with loss and love.  This is a "gentle" story. 31/2/5

Second Life

I've read Second Life by S.J. Watson which is set in London and Paris.  The story is told by Julia who tries to find her sister's murderer by trawling the internet dating sites that she had used.  Julia meets Lukas and she loses sight of her aim to find her sister's killer as she has a passionate affair with him.  Julia is then leading a "second life" separate from her normal life with her husband and son.  However, the situation with Lukas begins to unravel as Julia discovers more about him.  This story was disappointing as I very much enjoyed his previous book "Before I Go To Sleep" so expected more from this one. 3/1/2/5

The Girl on the Train

I quite enjoyed reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins which is set in England.  A young woman named Rachel catches the train every day and knows it stops in the same place.  Rachel then observes out of the train window what she imagines is a "perfect" married life.  She has given them names.  However, one day there is an incident which shocks her so Rachel inveigles herself in to the life of  the "perfect" couple.  Each chapter is narrated by the women - Rachel, Anna and Megan.  So the reader is given their perspective of the situation and the reader must be aware of the timeline for each character. 4/5

The Brewer's Tale

I read The Brewer's Tale by Karen Brooks which is set in medieval England.  An orphaned woman, Anneke, proposes that she brew ale and beer so she can pay the rent to her landlord.  The local abbey isn't keen on having a competitor. A few murders and a love interest also part of the story.  2/5