The Girl in the Red Coat

I very much enjoyed The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer which is set in England and America.  Eight-year-old Carmel, is abducted when she becomes separated from her mother, Beth, while at a festival.  Carmel is taken by a lay preacher who tells her he is her grandfather. The deception is cold and calculated.  Beth is a single mother who adored her little girl and blames herself for losing her child.  The story is well told with alternate chapters narrated by Beth and Carmel.  The reader is mesmerized by the story and anxious to get to the end, but not wanting to stop reading the story.  I love these sort of books. 5/5

Private Sydney

I enjoyed Private Sydney by James Patterson & Kathryn Fox which of course is set in Sydney.  Private Investigator Craig Gisto is looking for a missing man who mysteriously resigned from his job and left his adopted daughter without an explanation.  He's also looking for an abducted baby, which is a surrogacy gone wrong.  It is an easy read with a large font and short chapters. 31/2/5

The Narrow Bed

I enjoyed The Narrow Bed by Sophie Hannah which is set in England where there is a serial killer on the loose. The story is told from different perspectives - one written by Kim, a standup comedian; another by Sondra, a fierce feminist; the murderer; and third person narrator telling the reader about the police investigation.  It was an interesting and "different" way to tell the story.  Then when all is revealed, I think a lot of people - no I won't go there in case of spoiling.  The murderer is given the name "Billy Dead Mates" and there is a lot of speculation regarding identity before we learn the murderer's identity.  Books play a significant part in the story e.g. the murder victims receive a small white handwritten book before their murder.  Not your usual murderer mystery, which is a good thing. 4/5

The Memory of Lost Senses

I enjoyed The Memory of Lost Senses by Judith Kinghorn which is set in early 20th century England.  A mysterious countess, Cora, comes to live in a village with her grandson, Jack.  Her friend, Sylvia, comes to stay and write Cora's memoirs.  Jack meets a young lady, Cecily, and she develops a close friendship with Cora whose past is filled with secrets.  It is 1911 and Cora looks back on her long life, sometimes having conversations with past husbands, relatives, friends and acquaintances.  She had one great love and his identity is known only to Sylvia.  The story has a number of characters and it is sometimes hard to know who is who, especially as Cora seems to live in an imaginary world at times.  The coming years then change everything. 31/2/5 

At the Edge of the Orchard

I enjoyed At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier which is the story of a family trying to eke out a living in a hostile environment in mid 19th century America.  The Goodenough family have land in an area called Black Swamp where the mosquitoes carry life threatening diseases to which a number of the children succumb.  The father, James, loves his apple trees as he tries to get them to grow.  He is skilled at grafting different varieties.  His wife Sadie is a very unhappy woman when she's sober so is often drunk and hostile towards James.  After witnessing a terrible event, son Robert Goodenough leaves his family at a young age and makes his way west until he reaches California. He eventually becomes a collector of seeds and cones from some of the magnificent trees to be found there, including the Redwood.  An interesting story, told in different ways, such as using letters. 31/2/5

May Book Club

We had a lovely time at Book Club on Monday evening.  Our host lives very close to the Story Bridge which was lit up in red that night (don't know why).  Two of our ladies are travelling overseas so unable to attend.  One of our ladies is a grandmother again with the recent birth of her second much anticipated granddaughter.  Our host bought some great new books before she travelled to Borneo last month.  It seems we are all travelling somewhere this year.  Our host provided a delicious supper which we all enjoyed.  The year is speeding by, nearly half over.  So many books, not enough time.

Penguin Bloom

I very much enjoyed Penguin Bloom by Cameron Bloom & Bradley Trevor Greive which is a poignant true story of the Bloom family torn apart when mother, Sam, sustains a spinal cord injury after a fall from a balcony in Thailand. She is treated in Thailand and then returns to Australia for more treatment and rehabilitation.  When she returns home, one of her sons finds an injured magpie chick and brings her home to treat her.  She is named "Penguin" and she becomes part of the family.  She brings joy to the household and has a close connection with Sam.  This is a beautiful picture book with the photographs by photographer, father, and co-author Cameron who tells the story of his love for Sam and his family. Sam also tells her story which is one of courage and hope.  She finds a sport in which she can participate and by doing so, reclaims a little of her past as someone who enjoyed being fit and active.  Penguin is an amazing bird and the photos of her interacting with the family are just gorgeous.  41/2/5

Shantaram

I enjoyed reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts which has been sitting unread on my bookshelf since 2004.  It's a "doorstop" book with 936 pages.  It's the author's story based on his life after he escaped from an Australian prison and lived in Bombay (Mumbai) for many years as a member of the Bombay Mafia.  He chooses to live in one of the slums and makes a number of close friends there as he works as a "doctor".  He falls in love with another "foreigner" and then becomes a member of the "mafia" led by a man who becomes like a "father" to him.  At this time the Russians are fighting in Afghanistan and he goes with his "father" and others to smuggle guns to a village there.  Roberts immersed himself in to the culture of Bombay and becomes one of them.  He has many "adventures" along the way including being put in prison without trial and going to Afghanistan.  Some of the stories seem incredible.  I began to lose interest about two thirds of the way through the book but I still had enough interest to want to find out what happened to him.  Almost every chapter I thought - how is he going to get out of this?  And then he did.  As some of the people close to him died, there was much "gnashing of teeth" and then later some surprises about that. I tired of the philosophizing, some of which was cringe-worthy.  The writing is excellent.  I really liked the descriptions of people and places.  31/2/5