More Recommendations from Flaxmere Book Chat

Book Chat got going with an older book recently republished as a tie-in with a popular new period TV series. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby is a story about Cassandra Austen, sister of the more famous Jane. It’s twenty years after Jane’s death when Cassandra visits the family of her long-dead fiancé in search of letters from Jane, in a bid to preserve her reputation. The story weaves in events from the sisters’ past. A bit slow to get into said one reader, while another enjoyed the book immensely as an audiobook, read by Juliet Stephenson. 

The historical fiction continued with this book, which is as much about a house as the people who live there. 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen follows the inhabitants of this address in Brussels during WW2 as the war begins and Belgium is invaded. The Raphaels on the fourth floor disappear quietly in the night, and not too soon. Charlotte misses her friends, particularly Julian Raphael – two young people who must navigate a dangerous new world. A brilliant read, thoroughly enjoyed.

Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell is based on real characters from the 18^th century, particularly Peter Woulfe, an apprentice chemist and secret alchemist given the care of a mysterious book. When the book is then stolen, Woulfe is suddenly in peril from those eager to possess it. A fascinating historical novel set in London, Cork and Paris with quite a complicated non-linear plot so lots of concentration required.

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse is the latest book in the Joubert Family Chronicles about a French Huguenot family. This story focusses on young Louise who has been raised in Holland by her grandmother, and dreams of sailing her own ship. But getting what she wants throws her into a world where women at sea are said to be bad luck, and Corsairs capture and trade in slaves. A brilliant read that has a lot in it.

There’s often an Anna Jacobs on the table. This time we heard about Diamond Promises, the third in the Jubilee Lake series set in Lancashire as Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee approaches. A young woman struggles to manage her late father’s estate and contemplates what could be a marriage of convenience. Family secrets, threats and old grudges also pepper the story.

Psychological thrillers and mysteries continued to pop up with some stellar reads discussed.

The Wreckage of Us by Dan Malakin is a suspense novel about Astrid, a missing woman who rarely left the house, but her car is found at the scene of an accident, the seat spotted with blood. While the police suspect murder, her husband Bryan is sure she’s alive somewhere, but both Astrid and Bryan have secrets. An engaging read that keeps you guessing.

Afraid by Lisa Jackson, Lisa Child and Alexandra Ivy is a collection of three stories, each about a different girl sent to a private school. One girl who is being hidden from a man bent on revenge, another is digging up secrets to do with the death of her roommate and then there's a story about a girl who was once kidnapped along with a sister who is still missing. Afraid was a really interesting collection of mysteries although our reader thought the title a bit misleading.

One reader just couldn’t wait to get her hands on Chosen to Die, also by Lisa Jackson - the second in a series following detectives Alvarez and Pescoli as they track down a serial killer. The first book, Left to Die, ended in a cliff-hanger with a police officer fighting for her life. Both are excellent reads.

See How They Fall was a compulsive new thriller from debut author Rachel Paris. It follows a family who get together at their father’s mansion when he dies, to discuss the will. When mysterious deaths occur, it seems there’s murder afoot. This was a light, quick read set in Australia.

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood is the second book in the series about three women who get involved in solving murders. It’s very much a cosy mystery, following what happens when a wealthy man is killed at the party he throws on the day before his wedding. The policed don’t consider the death suspicious because he was found dead in his study, which was locked on the inside. Our reader was a bit lukewarm about this one.

The troubled road to divorce in Ireland is the background to The Coast Road by Alan Murrin. It centres on three women, Collette who had left her husband for another man, and is prevented from seeing her children; Dolores who is pregnant with her fourth child and whose husband sleeps with other women; and Izzie, who is in an unhappy marriage but who befriends the new priest. Their stories intertwine as the tension builds. An interesting read and beautifully written.

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce follows another family gathering to sort out the estate of their father, who had recently married a much younger woman. A well-known artist, there’s a question over what happened to his latest painting. But before they learn the answers, the siblings find themselves falling out and digging up old grievances. Our reader had high expectations having enjoyed Joyce's earlier books, the Harold Fry series, and Miss Benson’s Beetle, but was disappointed with the new book.

The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley is a new release but was actually one of the first books written by this author, famous for her Seven Sisters series. It explores similar themes, with Leah, a beautiful young woman from Yorkshire, now a famous model, who can’t help feeling she has siblings. A story of secrets from the past, this wasn’t nearly as good as the books that followed, but was still interesting to read.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters on the other hand was a beautiful read, a book about two siblings who are separated when young Ruthie disappears when their family are berry picking. Older brother Joe carries the burden of what happened on that day for the rest of his life while, some distance away, a girl called Norma grows up with an overprotective mother. A brilliant story that all comes together well at the end.

A keen reader of Australian rural fiction, one member of the group picked up Weathering the Storm by Mandy Magro. The story follows a journalist covering a dating show, where a selected bachelor runs a cattle station where she grew up – a bull rider who broke her eighteen-year-old heart. This was a bit too focused on romance to keep our reader engaged.

On the other hand, Needle in a Haystack by Karly Lane is a romance with a mystery at its core and is a brilliant story. We follow Lottie, an antique shop owner in a small rural town who is fascinated by history. At a local history festival, Lottie and the guest speaker become engrossed in a local cold case, the disappearance of a colonial lady.

Flaxmere Library Book Chat meets every second Tuesday at 10:30am. New members are welcome. Next meeting: 8 June.

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