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Aunt Violet’s Locket by Kristin Harper

Mar13

A Lasting Legacy

Aunt Violet’s Locket by Kristin Harper is a most delightful contemporary novel. It is the sixth book in the Dune Island series but can be read as a stand-alone.

An unexpected inheritance sees the lead character travel to a remote island in order to claim an isolated property. It is everything she doesn’t want, but a summer spent preparing to sell sees more changes than in just the building.

Links to the past are unearthed as a character seeks out the truth behind the stories of her late ninety nine year old great aunt whom she never met. It has all been smoke and mirrors as there was so much more to her than the alleged wilting wallflower.

Secrets, stories and lies from World War II have been buried but are unearthed unexpectedly. This causes a dilemma – what to do with the knowledge?

Within the novel society has put an emphasis on women marrying young and not ending up on the shelf! Women are to be homemakers. Much is made of a showy engagement and wedding, without much thought to the actual marriage.

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The Intruders by Louise Jensen

Mar12

Wow! Just Wow!

The Intruders by Louise Jensen is a simply marvellous psychological suspense that I just could not put down. This is a book that will make your heart race and the hairs on the back of your neck rise. It is definitely more than a little creepy.

Louise Jensen has constructed an intricate plotline that grabbed me from the start – we know that a family was murdered thirty years ago as the book opens but we do not know why or what was being sought.

The action weaves this way and that as we alternate between present day and thirty years in the past. We hear different voices in both the third and first person. Just as I thought I was piecing it all together – wham! The action veered off piste again! I clung on for dear life – after several twists and turns we sped towards the conclusion and all I can say is … Wow! Just wow! How Louise Jensen comes up with these fabulous stories time and time again is amazing.

I loved the literary device that the author used where the words at the end of one chapter were uttered at the beginning of the next but in a different context. This linked the past and present seamlessly.

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The Graveyard Killings by Wes Markin

Mar2

Marvellous Parallel Plotlines

The Graveyard Killings by Wes Markin is a fabulous contemporary murder suspense that completely consumed me. It is the fourth book in The Yorkshire Murders series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first for continuity, understanding and character progression.

Once more, I returned to Bradford and Knaresborough as I met up with familiar faces. Policing is in safe hands as we see the relentless pursuit of justice and for answers.

The search for closure is not just found within the law enforcement agencies but individuals need answers too.

A cold case is quite literally unearthed as the search for the truth continues.

We meet a father who has been guilt-ridden and grieving for years after a terrible accident robbed him of his daughter. Time is running out as his health is deteriorating and he needs to know the truth before he dies.

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The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Feb29

Keep The Fires Burning

The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman is a marvellous dual timeline novel that I loved. It is the first book in The Paris Sisters series which promises to be fantastic.

The novel is set in present day and Paris during World War II. We ‘see’ the Nazis collecting and collating works of art to be shipped back to Germany. These treasures are more than their canvases and their worth, they are the very heart of the French people. Art speaks to souls. We witness the lengths some will go in order to protect it.

There are those who want to preserve the art for future generations to enjoy. In contrast, we see black marketeers who merely want the art for personal wealth. These unscrupulous people come in some surprising forms.

We follow a family of three generations. They are strongly bonded with each other and also have a bond with a painting done by their father. This is a microcosm for the value placed on art by the French people as a whole.

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