More Brilliant Reads from Flaxmere Book Chat

With the Hawke’s Bay Readers and Writers Festival coming up, it might be timely to get stuck into the new books soon to be discussed by this year's festival authors. One reader enjoyed No Words for This, the memoir by TV and print media journalist Alison Mau. The book describes her family life in Australia and in particular her relationship with her journalist father – a man she looked up to. A phone call from her sister brings her to confront “the wreckage of her family myth”.

Among the fiction read by the group was The Innocent One by Lisa Ballantyne. This meaty psychological thriller follows Daniel Hunter, a criminal solicitor who a decade before defended Sebastian, an eleven-year-old boy accused of killing his playmate. Now the young man’s university professor has been found brutally murdered and Sebastian is once more in the frame. A great read that keeps you on your toes.

The Guest Cottage by Lori Foster is a novel about an aggrieved widow, who had recently discovered her husband had an affair. She takes herself off to the guest cottage of an elite community to start again but finds a young woman and her baby on her doorstep – the girl tied to her husband’s betrayal. A brilliant read about forgiveness and acceptance.

In The Last Word, Elly Griffiths, an ever-popular author with this group, takes her unlikely detective agency into the world of writers, who are being mysteriously bumped off. Elderly Edwin and lively Natalka investigate with Edwin signing up for a writer’s retreat. They’ll need help from their friendly detective, Harbinder Kaur, to catch the killer. Another brilliant read from a top writer.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney gets off to a flying start when author Grady Green’s wife disappears. With deadlines to meet for his publishers he takes a cottage on a remote Scottish Island the better to concentrate. Grady is shocked to discover there a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his wife.

Born to Die by Lisa Jackson continues with the cases of detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli. Here we have a killer targeting women who bear an uncanny resemblance to each other. The story takes us into the world of IVF donors – a novel that our reader found both a bit different and chilling.

Kayte Nunn’s The Palazzo is a mystery/thriller that takes us to Itay where Viv Savidge is celebrating her fortieth birthday at the Palazzo Stellina. But everyone who comes to the party has a secret, including the owner’s grandmother who has a stash of guns! Over a single week there are plenty of twists not helped by a heatwave “in explosive cocktail of obsession, jealousy and greed”. A good read according to our reviewer.

Lesley Pearse is another popular author at Book Chat. Her novel Forgive Me follows Eva Patterson, shocked by the sudden death of her mother. There’s a will that upsets her dad and a studio bequeathed to Eva in London where her mother was an artist. Secret diaries reveal a surprising past. Our reader thought this a lovely story.

Mother of Rome by Lauren J A Bear takes us back to ancient legend and the birth of Rome. The story follows Rhea Siliva, born into a powerful family which is overthrown by a coup. Consigned to be a vestal virgin, Rhea wants a different life and falls prey to the god Mars’s attentions. The rest as you know is history – but this is such an interesting twist on the tale and an altogether brilliant read.

The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li was an interestingly different story about the family of a one-time Hollywood actress, the first Chinese woman to win an Oscar. After her death, two families vie for beautiful manor house – her daughters and the family who looked after the house and garden for so long. But something sinister lurks in the garden at night.

In The Cardinal, Alison Weir takes a step away from writing the lives of queens and other royals to describe the secret life of Cardinal Wolsey, sent t study at Oxford. Destined for the church, he bucks against this when he falls in love, keeping his private life and the woman he lives with a secret. The novel describes the choice demanded of Wolsey by Henry VIII, and the kings relationship with Anne Boleyn. A brilliant read and well researched.

One reader is a big fan of Jojo Moyes and picked up Someone Else’s Shoes which follows two friends who know each other from the gym. Nisha is well-to-do and Sam works hard to support her family. When there’s a mix up and each woman takes the other’s gym bag, their worlds are surprisingly in for a shake-up. A lovely read was the verdict.

We All Live Here is Moyes’s latest novel and tells the story of Lila, who has a lot on her plate, including a broken marriage, two daughters who are a bit wild, a house that is in a poor state of repair. She’s also got an elderly stepfather has moved in and seems set to stay. When the father who has been gone for thirty-five years suddenly appears could this be the final straw? This was a very good read, but quite light.

Another feel-good read was Jenny Colgan’s novel Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages, which is set on an island off the coast of Scotland. It’s quiet here, and Janey Carter has a great job and good friends, but since her husband left, she has lost her confidence. When her thirty-year-old daughter moves back in after losing her job, mother and daughter struggle to get on, but things transpire to bring them closer together.

Another reader discovered Lessons in Chemistry, the runaway best-seller by Bonnie Garmus, and perennial book club favourite. Elizabeth Zott studies chemistry in the early 1960s, but the world is not ready for high-flying women scientists, until she is discovered for a cooking shop on daytime TV. Well recommended.

Flaxmere Library Book Chat meets every second Tuesday at 10:00 am - next meeting: 2 September. New members welcome.

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