Sunday 29 March 2015

The Skin Collector - Jeffery Deaver



A thriller borrowed from Aunty Maureen.

I've read a few Jeffery Deaver novels and this one has cameo appearances for The Bone Collector and the Watch Maker.


A serial killer terrorises New York by tattooing his victims with a variety of plant based poisons - with similarities to the bone collector, this is definitely a case for Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs.  Although I guessed quite early on who the tatooist was, I wasn't 100% sure so I still enjoyed the story.


It was another page turner from Jeffery Deaver.


Buy it here from The Book Depository

Friday 13 March 2015

Thornyhold - Mary Stewart

The story is about Gilly who inherits a cottage after her cousin dies.  Gilly moves from the North East to the cottage near Salisbury.  When she arrives at the cottage she encounters Agnes, a neighbour and friend of her cousin, supposedly cleaning the cottage for her arrival but Gilly soon realises Agnes was looking for something…an old book of spells.
We follow Gilly as she makes new friends and falls in love with a local widower and we grow increasingly suspicious of Agnes and her son, Jessamy.  Agnes even becomes so desperate without the book of spells that she tries to conjure something herself, with comical results.

It was a nice pleasant tale by a local author with a bit of magic sprinkled in.  I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Buy it here from The Book Depository

Saturday 7 March 2015

In a True Light - John Harvey



Thriller time!  I have mixed feelings about this book.  It's set in London and New York with a bit of Tuscany in between.  In London, Sloane is released from prison for forging art.  In Tuscany, Sloane's ex and famous artist Jane is dying.  In New York, a woman's beaten body is found by the roadside (although there is a police investigation it is clear who the perpetrator is).

The story does link together nicely - Sloane visits Jane in Italy as she is dying and finds out he has a daughter who is a singer in New York.  He promises Jane on her deathbed that he will find their daughter, Connie.  So he jets off to New York and finds Connie with her controlling partner, Delaney.

There are three parts to the story; Sloane building a relationship with his daughter; the London police using Sloane to build a case against the man behind the art forging that sent Sloane to prison; and the New York cops trying to put Delaney behind bars.

It was an entertaining read but not really a thriller.  Maybe a one to take on holiday.

Buy it from The Book Depository

Friday 6 March 2015

The First Assistant - Clare Naylor & Mimi Hare



Time for some chick-lit!  I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

I hadn't read the first book in the series (The Second Assistant), in fact I wasn't even aware there was a first book until after I finished this.  As a stand alone story it kept me interested from beginning to end.

It tells the story of Lizzie who works in Hollywood and just happens to be dating an actor - pah! you say, not more drivel.  Not at all - Lizzie's life is far from perfect.  It reads like an episode of The Office with everything from backstabbing and covering for the boss, to break ups, the Oscars and the Russian mafia.  I liken it to The Devil Wears Prada for films rather than fashion.

I liked the insight into working on a film set with a teen diva and all the scrapes Lizzie gets into and out of.  Just when her life seems to be spiralling out of control, good wins over evil!

If I come across the first book, I'll give it a read.

Buy from The Book Depository

The Book of Lost and Found - Lucy Foley


Wow!  I loved it - this should be made into a film, although obviously with a slight change of title.

The book starts in the 1920's with Tom and Alice meeting several years after they met as children. It then jumps to the 1980's to Kate, an aspiring photographer and daughter of a famous prima ballerina.  Kate's Mum, Julie Darling, was adopted by a lady named Evie and it is Evie who gives Kate a letter claiming to be from Julie's biological mother, Celia.  The letter also contains a drawing...

It is this drawing that sends Kate to Thomas Stafford, a famous painter, who now lives in Corsica.  The descriptions of Corsica are so vivid, I could almost feel the sun on my face and hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.  Thomas, through flashbacks, talks to Kate about his history with Alice which leads her on to a meeting with her biological Grandmother, Celia, in New York.

The book swaps effortlessly between the past and the present, describing a love story between Tom and Alice and even giving Kate a love story of her own as she searches for her Grandmother.  It is set in London, Paris, New York and Corsica, each one so descriptive that you feel like you are there, and spanning the period from the 1920's to the present day.

It's a brilliant book - I look forward to more from this author and will be adding this to my recommended list.

Check it out and buy from The Book Depository