January's Reading from Flaxmere Book Chat

Another fun session at Book Chat brought to light some popular reads across a stunning mix of genres.

Here One Moment is the latest book by Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies; Apples Never Fall) and it was totally engrossing. The story follows what happens to a group of people on the same flight. One of the passengers declares she is able to predict the deaths of those on board. Curiosity wins out and the safely landed passengers will leave changed from their short journey. Our reader loved the book, which was both tense at times but also quite humorous.

One reader had just discovered Jeffrey Archer, and raved about his William Warwick crime novel: Next in Line. The novel takes us to 1988 London, where our Scotland Yard detective is tasked with investigating the Royalty Protection Command – vital with so much adoring attention focused on Princess Diana. The story is one of those you just can’t put down, and Archer writes in a way that makes the reading effortless.

Another popular author is James Patterson, whose novel Steal, was a light but engaging page-turner, with a twisty, triple-cross themed plot involving a CIA agent turned psychology professor. This time around he’s investigating the disappearance of a billionaire’s son. Short chapters and non-stop action keep you hooked with books by this author.

And Jodi Picoult’s Wish You Were Here was an interesting look at a character caught up in the hiatus of Covid. Diana has her life all mapped out. A planned holiday to the Galapagos with her hospital doctor boyfriend goes awry when he is unable to join her due to the pandemic. Diana goes anyway, but her hotel is shut, her luggage lost and she’s stranded. By the time she is able to go home, she might be a quite different person.

Historical novels were well represented among the group, among them Elizabeth Chadwick’s The Royal Rebel - her imagining of the life and times of Joan (known as Jeanette) of Kent. She was a cousin of Edward III, and as a young girl was promised to another royal family – her dowry and political connections not to be wasted. But she falls in love with Thomas Holland, a mere knight and the two secretly marry. The novel follows their difficulties to be together and was a brilliant read.

The Librarians of Rue de Picardie by Janet Skeslien Charles was such a good book that our reader bought her own copy. The story is based on the true stories of American, British and Canadian women who created a mobile library service in war-torn France during World War I. Their stories are extraordinary, as the women also rescued families, bringing them to Paris, when the bombardment became too close to home.

One reader recently discovered the Wyoming Sunrise books by Mary Connealy (Forged in Love, Laws of Attraction and Marshalling Her Heart). The books are historical western romance, each with a heroine determined to make her own path in a male world. One is a rancher, another a seamstress, and another a blacksmith. There’s plenty of danger, as well as interesting descriptions of frontier life.

There was a cluster of well-received crime fiction too. Hell’s Bells by Jill Johnson got the big thumbs up for being a different kind of mystery. Our main character and sleuth is Professor Eustacia Rose, whose specialty is poisonous plants. Teaching at UCL, she becomes a chief suspect when two people are killed, the first linked to Eustacia by a painting; the second a student who was desperate to get at her poisonous plants collection. This is the second in the series, which begins with Devil’s Breath.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell is the beguiling sequel to The Family Upstairs. When a bag of bones is discovered on the banks of the Thames, a detective finds a connection to a case from decades ago - a house where three bodies were found in the kitchen while a baby waited upstairs to be picked up. This is one of those family secrets stories that seems to get more and more twisty as things go along. A really good read.

The Wreckage of Us by Dan Makalin won the prize for the best, and most surprising ending. The police often suspect a near relative, and this is the case for Bryan, a retiree whose wife has gone missing while he was out cycling. His wife never leaves the house, so why has her car been found some distance from home? There’s blood and no sign of where she might be. A twisty psychological thriller.

You Are Dead by Peter James is number eleven in the popular Roy Grace series, all of which have the word “Dead” in the title. This book starts out with a terrified phone call by a woman to her fiancé from an underground carpark before she disappears. It would be easy to suspect the fiancé but the discovery of thirty-year-old remains seems to be connected. Is there a serial killer at large? A good murder mystery was the verdict.

If you’re looking for a Jack Reacher kind of novel, Agent in Place by Mark Greaney might just do the trick. This is part of the Gray Man series, which follows Court Gentry, an agent who becomes involved with a group of expats trying to save the Syrian president’s mistress. It's all part of a plan to overthrow the current regime. Things don’t quite go to plan and Court is put under immense pressure to save the day. A rip-roaring read with an unexpected ending.

Another excellent read was Out in Nowhere by Fleur McDonald. This novel has a touch of Aussie Noir about it with detective Dave Burrows investigating the sudden death of a farmer on his cattle station. Then a friend of the man loses his life in what seems to be another rural accident. Are the deaths connected? Burrows will need to look into the shared past of both men to find out. Our reader also really enjoyed the outback setting which is brought to life in the story.

The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee was our non-fiction title of the day. Subtitled “a North Korean defector’s story” the book describes the author’s escape to China as a fifteen year old, and then her desperate bid over a decade later to rescue her brother and mother. A gripping read, interesting and informative.

One reader is particularly fond of Amish stories and recommended Beth Wiseman’s romance Listening to Love. There’s family opposition from all sides, when Amish man Lucas falls for Englisher Natalie, a woman who has become used to all the technological conveniences of the modern world. Can they work around their differences to forge a life together?

Finishing with romance, this one set in Australia's outback, we heard about One More Time by Mandy Magro - an increasingly popular author with the group. The novel follows Grace, who is celebrating her seventieth birthday with her family. At the party is Charlie, Grace’s first husband who has always regretted how he ruined their marriage. But revealing his feelings won’t be plain sailing as old feelings and resentments bubble to the surface.

24 January 2025

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