September didn’t start well, as both my cat Alexei and I were sick. An uncaring comment from a neighbour that if anything happened, “ You can always get another cat,” prompted me to pick up the first book. Yes, I had murder in my heart!
A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish.
‘A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder is fiendishly sharp, clever and gripping. Nobody captures the mores of neighbourhoods and communities, and multi-generational complexities, like Louise Candlish.
She’s in a league of her own‘ Lisa Jewell
Tense, clever and bitingly observed. Superb’ Claire Douglas
Her secrets will be the death of you… When Pixie moves into Columbia Mansions, divorced Gwen is quick to take the younger woman under her wing. But as Pixie becomes entangled with her charismatic landlord Alec, the lines of friendship begin to blur.
With rumours of illicit goings-on swirling, Gwen soon realises Pixie isn’t the only one with something to hide. How well does she really know the neighbours she considers her friends?
As scandal erupts, old grudges resurface, leading to a crime that will destroy the peace of Columbia Mansions forever.
Sunday Times bestseller Louise Candlish returns with this gripping, twisted story of neighbours, secrets and murder.
*A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, i-Paper and the Express*
Praise for A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder: ‘A taut, deliciously twisted tale with sting after sting… Just brilliant’ John Marrs
‘Only Murders In The Building meets Miss Marple in the most juicy and twisty way’ Steph McGovern
My Review.
Deviously plotted, taut and believable.My sympathies shifted as I read further into the book. Then, the doubts started. Who should believe? Who could I believe? Is Gwen a reliable narrator? Is Pixie flaky or misjudged? Victim or manipulator? Definitely worth reading
Spellshop 1
The Spellshop By Sarah Beth Dunst.
The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love.
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.
When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.
In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.
But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop .
Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.
Genres . Fantasy .Romance. Cozy. Audiobook . Fantasy Fiction .Romantasy
377 pages, Hardcover First published July 9, 2024
My Review
A nice bit of escapism ,blending romance and fantasy creatures into an adventurous tale. Kiela is a librarian, so obviously has to rescue as many books as she can when the Alyssium library goes up in flames. Like many librarians she is a bit of recluse, so escaping is challenging enough without her having to interact with people. I enjoyed the idea of flying cats, Mer horses and Mer people. I felt the story dragged in parts , but then I’m not intended audience.
Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family by Tom Bower
The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. Since their infamous ‘Megxit’ split from the Royal Family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have dominated global headlines. Ferociously controversial, not least for demanding privacy while seeking the spotlight, the Sussexes have remained a subject of gripping fascination for both supporters and cynics alike. Both camps are united on one platform: what is the endgame?
Fighting to preserve their royal titles and privileges, In their attempts to create a Sussex brand the couple have fuelled bitter hostility. Accusations of disloyalty have been trumped by recriminations about dishonesty. Amid High Court battles with the government and the media, and the infamous publication of Spare, the Sussexes have reeled after successive Netflix flops and their doomed collaboration with Spotify – only to be ridiculed for Meghan’s self-invention as a domestic goddess.
At a landmark moment in royal history, the Sussexes’ challenge to the British monarchy echoes worldwide. The fallout always threatens to be catastrophic. Just five years on from ‘Megxit’, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the family and limit the Sussexes’ threat to the monarchy? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex and Windsor ever be repaired or will the King choose to strip them of their titles and banish them forever? The Sussexes are in a race against time to solve their predicament.
With inimitable research and exclusive interviews from insiders, Britain’s leading investigative biographer Tom Bower exposes the latest contortions in the explosive Royal saga of power and betrayal.
My Review.
Although the book is controversial Tom Bower and the publishers haven’t been sued. It made interesting reading as the duo have returned to Britain. Why and for how long? Lots of speculation and rumours.
Non Fiction Biography Royalty History Biography Memoir Audio Book British Literature 464 pages, Hardcover
Published March 26, 2026 by Blink Publishing
Chance and Necessity: A Novel of Narrogin and Williams by Rosanne Dingli.
Different people, similar situations
The necessity of finding empathy
The chance of something better
It is the late 1970s in Williams, a wheatbelt town in Western Australia, just south of Narrogin. Maggie Cottonwood, pharmacy assistant, and Leo Braker, bookshop owner, form a hesitant friendship. On making piecemeal revelations—all they can bear to tell—it becomes clear their histories have similar shapes and patterns. Chance played a big role in both their lives, but so did necessity.
What went before—in the world, Australia, each of their families, to their previous spouses—shapes how they see themselves. Friends cheer and steer With wheatbelt isolation and changing times affecting decisions; with river, hills, agricultural plains and tiny communities giving them outlets for emotion, Maggie and Leo draw closer, and their stories start to brighten and merge.
In the style of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, and Olive Again, Chance and Necessity focuses on location and the ordinary quotidian happenings of small-town Australians. 304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2025. A Finalist in The WA Premier’s Book Awards.
My Review.
West Australian author Rosanne, writes well researched and thoughtful fiction for intelligent readers.
Chance and Necessity, explores the changes the 1970s brought to rural Australia. Maggie has survived a distressing past and so has Leo in a different way. With each fresh revelation they cautiously draw closer together until a misunderstanding may end their friendship for good. Can two damaged souls find healing and redemption? I enjoyed this well researched book.
The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan.
D.S George Cross Book 7
THE SETTING
The body of a bookseller is discovered, lying in a pool of blood in his Bristol bookshop. Police have one question: how did the man meet such a violent, murderous end in this peaceful place?
THE CONFLICT
DS Cross’s ability to dismiss red herrings is challenged by a worrying development in his personal life. Hopelessly distracted, he needs to rely on those around him in a way he has never been comfortable doing before.
THE MURDER PLOT
It may be a quiet profession, but it’s full of passionate, ambitious characters who know the value of a rare book. Their extensive reading means they also know how to get away with murder.
But is that enough to fool the tenacious DS George Cross?
Genres Crime Mystery Fiction AudioBook Thriller Procedural Detective
359 pages, Kindle Edition First published January 16, 2025
My Review
The title intrigued me, I’m drawn to books about books, libraries or booksellers. In this case, the search led me to a new to me detective series, one that I will explore. I imagine George Cross might be infuriating in real life, but in fiction he’s a delight. It was interesting learn more about bookselling and the book trade, with the information carefully woven through the story. I had a suspect and was sure Id solved it, but of course, I hadn’t .Intrigued to find the start of the series, which I did!
Fools Gold 10
Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery
He won’t hesitate to put his life on the line…but will he ever risk his heart?
Falling for Justice Garrett was a high point in Patience McGraw’s otherwise awkward adolescence. Even after he disappeared, Patience never forgot the boy who captured her heart. Now, he’s back in Fool’s Gold, California, and her passion for him is as strong as ever. But how can she trust that he won’t abandon her again-and her daughter, too?
When bodyguard Justice Garrett was a young man, witness protection brought him to this idyllic town and he never forgot its warmth, or the sweet beauty of his childhood friend. He’s returned to open a defence academy, and the Patience he once knew is all grown up. He can’t resist her smile, or her curves. But Justice’s past doesn’t make him husband, or father, material.
Patience and Justice think they’ll succumb to just one kiss… Then one more… Okay, just one night together. But they might learn that falling in love is beyond anyone’s control.
Romance.Contemporary Romance.Contemporary Chick Lit, Fiction Adult Audiobook
My Review.
If you love as slow burn romance and a second chance romance ,this is the book for you. Fools Gold is a town where small-town values and warmth permeate. A relaxing bit of escapism
The Dentist by Tim Sullivan.
D.S George Cross Book 1
A homeless man. Violently strangled. No leads. Except for his past.
An outsider himself, DS George Cross is drawn to this case. The discovery of the dead man’s connection to an old cold case then pulls Cross in further. Convinced this is where the answer to the murder lies, he sets about solving another that someone has spent the past fifteen years thinking they’ve got away with.
Cross’ relentless obsession with logic, detail and patterns is what makes him so irritatingly brilliant. It doesn’t exactly make him popular with colleagues or his superiors, though. He has numerous enemies in the force wanting to see him fail.
Red flags are soon raised as suspicious inconsistencies and errors in the original detective’s investigation come to light. Now retired, this ex-cop has powerful friends in the force and a long-standing dislike of Cross.
Set in picturesque Bristol in the Southwest of England, it’s not long before the city reveals its dark underbelly, in a case of intriguing twists and turns whose result astonishes even those involved.
Difficult and awkward, maybe. But Cross has the best conviction rate in Avon & Somerset Police. By far. Will this case put an end to that?
My Review.
Interesting to read the first book in the series after reading the seventh. Apart from the intriguing case, it showed me how far George had mellowed by book seven. His partner D.S. Ottney , fulfils a humanising role for George and those he interacts with. An old case, and a link no one saw or explored. Enjoyed it
Birthright by Fiona Lowe
For fans of Robyn Carr and Kristan Higgins comes a family drama from best-selling Australian author Fiona Lowe
Is an inheritance a privilege or a right?
Margaret, the matriarch of the wealthy Jamieson family, has always been as tightfisted with the family money as she is with her affections. Sarah is the eldest child and, although successful in her own right, her achievements are overshadowed by her younger brother. Sarah feels compelled to meet Margaret’s every demand to earn her love.
After a poverty-stricken childhood, Anita has claimed the social status she’s worked so hard to achieve by marrying Cameron Jamieson. Although they have a comfortable life she’s never able to fully relax, fearing everything could change in a heartbeat.
Ellie has lived a nomadic and, according to her siblings, a selfish life leaving them to care for their aging mother. For her, freedom means staying far away from the strings attached to her inheritance. But she needs to consider her young son’s future as well.
As their mother’s health deteriorates, will long-held secrets and childhood rivalries smash this family into pieces? And who will get the money?
An addictive and page-turning story of the relationships between siblings and of deceit, betrayal and revenge.
My Review.
I found the family conflict, dilemmas, rivalries and secrets compelling. With each revelation certain behaviours and attitudes were more easily understood. My sympathies shifted as my understanding grew. Real story telling power.
Genres Fiction Romance.Contemporary Australia Family Audiobook .Women’s Fiction
450 pages, Kindle Edition First published February 19, 2018
Now for the sad news..
I tried to lose myself in books this month. Sadly, my boy, fifteen year old cat Alexei had to be euthanised.It was almost three months of hell . Worryingly ,we didn’t know what was wrong. He had normal vet visits. He’d been to a specialist vet, had an expensive blood test sent to America for analysis. He was trialing human pancreatic medicine and nothing worked. Since I came back from the UK in June,he was waking me every night between two and five times.Ravenously hungry but NOT gaining weight.
Additionally, I was sick myself for the first time in years, a persistent wheeze and cough.I tried to tough it out, until a friend bullied me into going to the doctor.He confirmed I had narrowly escaped a lung infection.
Saying goodbye to Alexi was a heartbreaking decision, one I knew was right, but it wasn’t easy.I stayed with him while he was put to sleep. In fifteen years he had known nothing but love and care.
I was bereft and lost myself in books..
