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Nicki's back with some more top reviews to help you find your next read!
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
Mmm. Now here's a curly one. A bit of a gobsmacker. The theme may be a tad sticky for some. Ok brace yourself, here it comes :
A man takes a swing at someone else's kid. Still with me? Read on...
The event takes place at a birthday BBQ and has a shocking ricochet effect on the group of people attending. Told from the points of view of eight people, "the slap" and it's consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live.
Don't hold your breath waiting for a happy ending (if you can get past the flawed personalities, drug abuse and graphic sex scenes!) Despite all this The Slap is surprising and fascinating, and can be hard to put down. See how you go.
eBook on BorrowBox, Wheelers ePlatform, and Overdrive/Libby; and eAudiobook on Borrowbox
The Guardian of Lies by Kate Furnivall
Here's the thing. This is probably not going to be the best book you've ever read. HOLD ON! Stay with me, it's SET. IN. FRANCE. [Sigh] All that "Frenchness". Back on track? [Smiling smugly]
Eloise is a courageous young Frenchwoman whose world comes alive when she follows her brother to Paris. As an Intelligence Officer, Andre's life becomes endangered as a direct result of Eloise's actions. Filled with guilt she sets her sights on revenge.
So you may not be ringing up all your friends with strict orders to "read this book" but you'll be quietly satisfied with this tale of love, courage, danger and betrayal just the same.
eBook on BorrowBox and Wheelers ePlatform
The Comforts of Home by Susan Hill
A winning lottery ticket, or the next Susan Hill novel? I'm torn. No seriously - that's how excited I get about the Simon Serrailler Series. The extraordinary characterization based around this privileged, but deeply flawed family, will have you too begging for more.
And that's before a crime has been committed. Add to the mix a police investigation headed by our hero Simon Serrailler (do try not to fall in love - he is purely fictitious. He is fictitious. He is fictitious. Sorry, a bit of work to do there....)
In "The Comforts of Home" Detective Smouldering Hot (sorry, sorry, Serrailler - too much time in Lockdown) is pulled into a murder inquiry when a newcomer to a remote Scottish Island has died in perplexing circumstances.
This is Book 9 in the series. So if you too fall, rest assured, you'll land on your feet.
eAudiobook on Borrowbox
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Rob Hillman
Slob clothes [check]
Sunny sofa [check]
Something to slurp [check]
Stimulating story [thank me later]
Set in small town Australia, Tom Hope is doing his best to be a good farmer and husband. He takes it as a failure on one count when his wife quite suddenly up sticks. Heartache reigns.
Enter Hannah. With her own harrowing story. (I did say "stimulating" noooo mention of joyous, uplifting or jolly.) Hannah has dreams of opening a bookstore. But in a town where no one reads, she takes on a challenge to change habits, one reader at a time. Starting with Tom. Can one unlikely bookshop heal two broken souls?
eBook on Overdrive/Libby
The Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason
My (big warm) heart jumps for joy when Arnaldur spits out a newly crafted web of dark Icelandic murder. Here our head detective is tortured, introspective Inspector Erlendur. (My big warm hearts loves damaged detectives.) The mystery starts when a skeleton, buried for more than 50 years, is uncovered at a building site. Erlendur finds himself knee-deep in both a crime scene and an archeological dig. Bone by bone (my big warm heart is pounding by now) the body is unearthed, and the brutalizing history of a family who has lived near the site comes to light along with it.
So if you too have a big, warm, heart that enjoys a tale of cold, evil murder, then get excited. This is one for you.
eBook on Overdrive/Libby and Wheelers ePlatform
