Wine, Books & More Catch-Up

Wintertime always seems a good time for mysteries – perhaps they’re the perfect fireside read. So, it isn’t surprising we’ve a few mysteries and thrillers recommended by the team who meet up at Wine, Books & More. This library book group gathers on the third Tuesday evening of the month at 5:30pm at Hastings War Memorial Library.

First up is A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins. It’s another murder mystery by the author of The Girl on the Train. When a body is found gruesomely murdered on a London houseboat, three women are obvious suspects. Did one of them feel such simmering resentment that it made them a killer? A complex story full of twists.

The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner is the first of 16 (so far) Regency era mysteries featuring Captain Gabriel Lacey, an ex-cavalry officer, whose career has ended unjustly. Which makes him the perfect part-time sleuth. The first story has Lacey on the trail of an enigmatic crime lord when a murder takes place.

What is it about Jack Reacher? Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child is Reacher’s eleventh adventure and sees him contacted out of the blue by someone from his old Army unit. One of the team is dead and six more are missing. By page 50, our reader wanted to burn the book, but by page 100, they were rooting for the guy.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the perfect cosy mystery read with its bakery sleuth, Hannah Swenson. This is one of those series of books which can be read in any order. In this story, Hannah is a judge at a dessert making competition, when a fellow judge is murdered. There’s plenty of suspects, as well as recipes.

No Place to Hide by J S Monroe is one of those psychological thrillers where the chapters alternate between then and now to fill in a backstory that has implications for the present. Adam thinks he’s being watched and is all too aware of CCTV cameras, particularly when one appears at the end of his street. Can he ever escape what happened at a party when he was a medical student?

Faceless by Vanda Symon is a gritty Kiwi Noir (Yeah-Noir) novel. Bradley is a disgruntled middle-aged man who gives a ride to a prostitute. Things go wrong when she ridicules him. Homeless Max is worried about his friend who has gone missing. Max will do anything he can to find his friend, but this could reopen old wounds.

You might want to keep a box of tissues handy when you read Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry. Retired policeman Tom Kettle has moved to a new seaside home, but his peace is disturbed by the arrival of a former colleague. There’s an old case that is traumatic and unresolved. And then his neighbour, a young mother, asks for help. Sounds like a mystery but is ‘an unforgettable exploration of family, loss and love’. Our reader found it too heart-breaking to finish.

A Killer Among Us by Charles Bosworth is a true crime story, first published in 1998. Terrific storytelling had our reader hooked. It follows the investigation of the murder of Elizabeth DeCaro, a twenty-eight-year-old mother of four, found dead in her home.

Diddly Squat by Jeremy Clarkson is the only other non-fiction book that appeared on the table. As you may have seen on TV, Clarkson has reinvented himself since his Top Gear days, his new book focusing on his picturesque Cotswold farm where he’s a “gentleman farmer”. His experience in his first year on the farm has inspired this hilarious collection of stories.

Little Exiles by Robert Dinsdale is a novel about the policy of forced migration of children after WWI to Australia. We follow Jon and his new friends, their new life of hard work and discipline, and their quest to return home. A bit slow to get going, but interesting too.

The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3 by Kira Yarmysh is set in a women’s prison in Russia where Anya is sent following her arrest at an anticorruption rally. She has five cellmates, all of them women arrested on petty charges. Trust and companionship develop as they await release, while Anya is plagued by disturbing dreams. A compelling debut novel from Yarmysh, a former press secretary to the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny; she is now living in exile.

In The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss a stay at home dad must deal with the fall-out when his teenage daughter collapses at school. The book explores parental love, fear, illness and recovery, as well as family life and life in the twenty-first century. An intelligent read.

Blood and Memory by Fiona McIntosh is the second fantasy novel in the Quickening trilogy. We have a gallant hero desperate to save the woman he loves, a tyrant king eager to take over a neighbouring kingdom at any price, along with magic, great characters and a cracking pace. Really enjoyable.

In It Started with a Secret by Jill Mansell Lainey has to tell a lie to land her dream job, keeping fans at bay from a retired actor in picturesque Cornwall. She’s starting to fall for the actor’s grandson, but she’s pretending to be part of a couple. Things get even more complicated when it seems she’s not the only one with secrets. A terrific chick-lit read.

Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley follows what happens when a billionaire adopts seven little baby girls and raises them as a family. Each book in the series follows a different girl and looks at their back story. The first book is also called Seven Sisters, a sweeping, epic tale of love and loss that opens a very enjoyable series overall.

The Spice Master at Bistro Exotique by Samantha Verant follows Kate Jenkins, a talented chef about to realise her dreams by opening her own Parisian restaurant. While she discovers the magic of spices and scents, she butts heads with her sexy neighbour who thinks she’s just a crazy American tourist. A series of unfortunate events see Kate accepting help from an unexpected quarter. A light, bright romance.

18 July 2023

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