Month: March 2021

Recent Reads: The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard starts in Japan,  Umiko Wada is an assistant to a private detective.  Her husband was murdered, but her mother is very keen for grandchildren.  When she’s given the opportunity to go to London to go to a meeting posing as a client, she takes it.  

Nick Miller was raised by his mother and her partner, April, but still curious about his father.  An old friend of his mother and April tells him that there’s something he needs to know about his father, so he can’t help but want to know more.

This was a really enjoyable mystery, and I enjoyed the differences in the points of view between Umiko Wada and Nick Miller.

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection was published on 18th March 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Robert Goddard on Twitter, but the last tweet was in 2013!  

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Transworld Publisher.

Recent Reads: The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse by Katie Ginger

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse by Katie Ginger has Amelia returning from Paris to renovate her late Great Aunt Vera’s house, which she’s inherited. 

Amelia was last in the village of MeadowBank just before she left for university, and ten years later, there’s been a lot of change in some ways, but not in others.

Amelia wants to find out more about her Great Aunt Vera, and why she was so cold to Amelia and along the way she might find out what matters to her.

I really enjoyed this book – there were great characters, a lovely village and mysteries that were unravelled along the way.

The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse was publishing on 17th March 2021, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Katie Ginger on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and on her website.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to HQ.

Recent Reads: Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan is from two different points of view.  Tyen is a student wizard who is also studying as a historian.  He finds a magic book that will learn everything about a person if they touch it.

 

Rielle is a woman in a society where only priests are allowed to learn magic.  Rielle can see when magic has been used, and so has the ability to learn magic.

They both have to learn some truths that will change their worlds for them, and can affect others.

I thought this was a good story with lots of set up for the following books.  

Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan was published on 7th May 2015, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Trudi Canavan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Little Brown.

Recent Reads: Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love by Adrienne Herbert

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love by Adrienne Herbert is about carving time for yourself to work on your goals, and the suggestion for when to have your power hour is early in the morning – 5am.

As someone who often wakes up at 5am, this is something I really agree with!  I do most of my reading early in the morning, and can sometimes be found blogging then as well. 

The idea of Power Hour is that you set your goals and use this time to help you achieve them, as it’s time that you have no other commitments during.

This book has suggestions and actions for you to carry out to help you see this time as helpful.  I enjoyed reading the book and learning about how Adrienne Herbert uses this time.

Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love was published on 31 December 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Adrienne Herbert on Instagram, Youtube and Facebook.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House.

Recent Reads: The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien The Places that Inspired Middle-earth by John Garth

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien; The Places that Inspired Middle-earth by John Garth is a beautiful book about the places that Tolkien drew inspiration from for his Middle-Earth.

There’s information about Tolkien’s family and background that he has drawn on for his stories, so if you’re a Tolkien fan, then this is going to be a book you’ll enjoy a lot!

The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien; The Places that Inspired Middle-earth was published on 9th July 2020, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow John Garth on Twitter, Facebook and his website.

I was given access to this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quatro.

Recent Reads: Southern Bred and Dead by Angie Fox (Southern Spirits 9)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Southern Bred and Dead has Frankie wanting to find his brother Lou, who is also dead.  Frankie found out in the last book that Lou is the one that shot and killed him, so Frankie has some questions!

Verity wants to help him, but also wants to investigate the death of her grandmother’s friend, who had some items for Verity, but after she fell (or was she pushed?) from the church tower, Verity can’t find them.  

The ghosts around the church are also acting oddly.

Verity has her hands full trying to investigate everything, but we know that’s usual for her! 

This was a fun read, with twists that I didn’t see coming!

Angie Fox also has another series of books called Accidental Demon Slayer, which has 11 books in the series! She also has a Facebook page and a reader group.

I’ve previously read and reviewed the below books in the series:

Southern Spirits, A Ghostly Gift and The Skeleton in the Closet – book 1, 1.5 and 2

Pecan Pies and Dead Guys – book 7 

The Mint Julep Murders – book 8

The Ghost of Christmas Past – book 8.5

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Moose Island Books and Author Collective 20  (the publishers) for this book.

Recent Reads: The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris is written from the point of view of an autistic boy who has synathesia (sees sounds as colour) and can’t recognise faces.  He’s also the person who knows the most about Bee Larkham’s murder.

This is a very well written murder mystery, but with people being recognised by the colour of their voices rather than their faces. I enjoyed the story, learning about Jasper, and his father, and how the story ended.

I was reminded strongly of A Curious Incident of The  Dog in the Night-time, so if you enjoyed that, you’ll enjoy this!

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder was published on 27th December 2018 and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Sarah J. Harris on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins.

Recent Reads: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C Beaton (Agatha Raisin 1)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C Beaton is the first book in the Agatha Raisin series, of which there’s 31 books! 

Agatha has decided it’s time for her to retire, and so has sold her successful PR business, and has picked a cottage in the Cotswolds, in Carsley.  She’s blunt, used to being able to bully people into what she wants, and tries hard to fit into the village, which she finds hard.  

She decides the way to fit in is to win the quiche contest at the village fête, and so buys a quiche from a delicitessent in London.  Sadly, the quiche taster dies, and is found to have died from eating her quiche.  Agatha decides that she has to find the poisoner in order to exonerate herself.  She’s nosy and pushy, which are skills she puts to use in her investigation!

This is a funny cosy crime book, with entertaining writing, as you’ll be able to tell as I’m planning to read them all!

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death was first published in December 1992, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

Recent Reads: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season 1)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season 1) is set in a world of Scion London, and there are those with psychic powers (voyants), and those who don’t.  It’s 2059, and Paige is a voyant with a rare power – she’s a Dream Walker.  She works in the criminal underworld for a man named Jaxom.

She gets caught one day, and taken to the city of Oxford, except this city isn’t meant to have existed for the last two hundred years!  But everyone knows that the Scion kill voyants when they find them, so what can be happening?

I enjoyed the story, the setting, and the twists! I didn’t know anything about this book going in, and so I want to leave as many surprises for you as possible!  

This is a fantasy book, with different psychic powers and other twists.  I’m going to be reading more in the series, so you can watch out for those reviews!

The Bone Season was published on 20th August 2013, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Samantha Shannon on Twitter and her blog.

Recent Reads: Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues by David L. Bradford and Carole Robin

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues by David L. Bradford and Carole Robin is a book about how to communicate better with your loved ones.

There are examples of pairs of people who have issues, and how they try to communicate.  The authors then break it down to show the things they do incorrectly, and those that they do well.  They give suggestions, so that you as the reader are learning how to explain your feelings to another person.

This was a really interesting book, with suggestions like ‘when you do x, it makes me feel y’, which is something I’ve seen elsewhere, and has other ideas, and is aimed at you using it as a workbook, complete with the suggestion of writing a journal as you go through it.

Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues was published on 4th March 2021, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find anywhere you can follow the authors.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.