More Top Reads from Flaxmere Library BookChat

Sometimes an old book is a really good book and this was the case for one reader who picked up Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. This was Archer’s breakthrough novel, published in 1979 and still popular today. It follows the stories of two men – William Lowell Kane, son of a Boston millionaire, and Abel Rosnovski whose father is a penniless Polish immigrant. What they have in common is they are born on the same day and become involved in a struggle to build a fortune. Magic, says our reader.

Beyond the Reef is a collection of short stories by NZ author Graeme Lay which reflect his time spent in the South Pacific. There are all sorts of stories here from several decades of Graeme Lay’s writing. The author also descries his early struggles as a writer and the writerly advice and mentoring he received by that master of the short story, Frank Sargeson.

Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw was a delightful read, the follow-up memoir to The Bookseller at the End of the World. It describes an interesting life with adventures that took Shaw around the world, the fascinating people that visit the shop and the good work Ruth does for the local community. Really enjoyable.

And we’re still reading books by Joanna Nell, enjoying The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home. Here we have 89-year-old Hattie Bloom, who’s an ornithologist, and Walter a former driving instructor, both keen to return home as soon as possible. When Sister Bronwyn is dismissed because of her unusual practices in aged care, our characters bond over a determination to fight the system.

Another Nell novel is The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital, which follows the story of three women who work at a hospital tea rooms, a charity to raise money for the children’s ward. When management decide to replace the tea rooms with a swanky café, our tea ladies make a plan to stop them . Another brilliant feel-good story.

We continue our reading of Santa Montefiore with Secrets of the Starlit Sea – the second book in the Timeslider series. Psychic detective Pixie Tate must expel a dark spirit from the Aldershoff Hotel in Manhattan, a task that requires unearthing secrets from the past, and inhabiting the body of a passenger on the ill-fated Titanic. A great read, both entertaining and with interesting information incorporated.

Among the mysteries the group enjoyed was The Red Shore by William Shaw. This is the first in a new series following DS Eden Driscoll, a Met detective who never wanted a child to raise after a harrowing childhood. But when his estranged sister disappears, he finds himself with a nephew to care for, and a mystery to solve that’s personal. Our reader really enjoyed this book, but found it a bit sad.

 

Another mystery with family connections is Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon which follows Frida and Gabriel, a brother and sister who years before had escaped from a cult. Reconnecting after a long time apart at a resort in Utah, the discovery of a dead body puts them in lock-down by the police and the two must revisit events of their past. A thought-provoking read with a shocking ending.

An unlikely friendship across the age barrier takes place in A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish. Pixie and Gwen bond as neighbours at iconic Columbia Mansions, but when a crime takes place, Gwen’s protective instincts go into overdrive. Nobody wants a scandal, still less a murder in this twisty psychological thriller.

Past Lying by Val McDermid is a belter of a mystery about two rival crime novelists and the disappearance of a young would-be author years before. The bequest of documents by one of the authors includes a manuscript that has oddly similar details to those of the missing girl, so Karen Pirie’s cold case unit get to investigate. But with the Covid Lockdown in force, things are tricky. Our reader enjoyed this very twisty story, but was disappointed by the ending.

Summer Heat, Cold Blood by K V Martins follows a case for Senior Constable Mitch Cramer, who has transferred from a tough case in Auckland to Northland, hoping for a quieter pace. But things hot up with thefts from local farms, anonymous messages to a café owner, and lurking danger just on Christmas. This was a good story, but the tone of the book was more Australian than Kiwi, and the typos annoying.

One of our favourite Scandi Noir authors is Arnaldur Indridason. In his third Detective Konrad mystery, The Quiet Mother, Konrad investigates the death of a woman who only days before had asked him to find the child she had given up for adoption 50 years before. Who is it that doesn’t want her secrets revealed? There are red herrings and twists galore in this masterfully plotted story.

The cosy mystery of the day was Tea with Jam and Dread by Vicki Delany – which takes Lily from her Cape Cod tea shop to Yorkshire with her grandmother Rose to celebrate the 100^th birthday of dowager countess, Elizabeth Frockmorton. Much has changed since Rose worked for the countess, the ancestral home is now a hotel, and things hot up when the famous Frockmorton sapphires are stolen. Lucky Lily is on hand to sleuth. A fun read with a delicious looking recipe for Coronation Chicken Sandwiches at the back.

Leave No Trace is the second novel by Jo Callaghan featuring AI virtual detective Lock, and Kat Frank, his more intuitive human side-kick from the Future Policing Unit. This case involves a serial killer who crucifies his victims. The media are hostile as men are being told to be careful in what is a really good, if a little gruesome, story.

A Violent Heart by David Fennell involves the murders of sex workers in London. When a woman is murdered and her body concealed near a stream, her abandoned phone shows the last she call made was to Met detective Grace Archer, who in an earlier career had saved the victim from sex trafficking. The case takes the reader back to events from 30 years before when more remains were discovered. Could both be victims of the same killer? A pretty good read, was the verdict.

Among the historical fiction, The Mothers of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries follows Noleen and Bronia, night cleaners at St Angelus Hospital. Each has their own issues, one grieving a husband who didn’t return home after WWII, with a son who’s in prison; another trying to manage a family where her husband is a war invalid. A very realistic look at life on a street after a war and the battle to return to normal life.

Until the Red Leaves Fall by Alli Parker has one of the most beautiful covers that crossed the table. Set in 1957, it’s about playwright Emmy Darling, whose real name is Emiko Tanaka, of Japanese Australian descent. During the war, she and her family were arrested, split up and held in internment camps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Can she at last tell her story? A moving and thought-provoking novel.

We also heard about The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater which is set at a luxury hotel in the Appalachians during World War II. June is a local girl who runs the hotel, and who understands the healing powers of the waters. When Nazi sympathisers and enemy diplomats are interned at the hotel, CIA agent Tucker installs listening devices. A really interesting read that had our reader up half the night to see what happened.

When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin is a different kind of war story, focussing on the wealthy Tang family who flee China and the invading Japanese for Hong Kong in 1941. It’s the story of three women – Mingzhu the first wife, her daughter Qiang and Biyu, the concubine and producer of a male heir. When the war comes to Hong Kong, the three women’s lives take different paths. A really interesting read.

Finishing on a high, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki is the story of a remarkable woman, a philanthropic trailblazer and American heiress. We heard a lot about Marjorie’s just-as-interesting dad, a businessman, who marketed breakfast cereals and frozen fish, starting General Foods. Marjorie became American royalty, hosting numerous presidents, but happiness on a personal level would prove elusive. A fascinating read that got the table talking.

Flaxmere Library Book Chat meets every second Tuesday morning at 10:30 am. New members are very welcome.

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