Tag Archive | Boldwood Books

Old Girls Behaving Badly by Kate Galley

May18

Life Is For Living

Old Girls Behaving Badly by Kate Galley is an intriguing contemporary novel that kept me amused for a few hours.

The leading ladies are seventy one and eighty nine. They suddenly find that their twilight years are anything but calm and peaceful as the pair search for a stolen painting. Add a thirteen year old into the mix and the action ramps up as her enthusiasm knows no bounds.

We follow the characters to a family wedding in Norfolk where an uncle has thrown open his large, old house. There are elements of Agatha Christie as the family descends and three members are practicing their amateur sleuthing skills.

Society has written off ladies of a certain age, meaning they are practically invisible in their antics. Women over sixty are seen as beige, boring and staid – but they prove themselves to be far from this assumption. A sense of adventure is awakened in them as they prove that life is for living, whatever your age.

Continue reading →

One Long Weekend by Shari Low

May11

Connections

One Long Weekend by Shari Low is a powerful contemporary novel that I loved. For a few hours I immersed myself in the world of the novel as I joined for characters for a weekend.

The novel is set in Glasgow and told in the first person from four alternating points of view. These seemingly unconnected lives find themselves intersecting over one long weekend. The reader spots the connections before the characters do, as we become intimately acquainted with them all.

A moment in time is all it takes to alter four lives. Lives that were balanced on a knife edge find that life looks very different on a Monday afternoon compared with Friday morning.

We meet a character who is struggling with the loss of three people very dear to her heart. Each loss has merely heightened the previous losses. Four rings have symbolized three lives and when these rings are accidentally lost, a character is bereft.

There is the importance of family. Family will move mountains to support others. We witness sacrificial love as we see several sets of parents and grown up children who will do whatever it takes in order to protect those they love.

Continue reading →

Bloodshed On The Boards by Judy Leigh

Apr16

Warm, Witty & Welcoming

Bloodshed On The Boards by Judy Leigh is a gripping contemporary cosy mystery which I loved. It is part of A Morwenna Mutton Mystery series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces.

Morwenna Mutton is a wonderful leading lady. She is in her sixties, a very unique character as she rides her electric bike through Cornwall’s winding lanes. Her heart is warm and welcoming. Her mind spins as she tries to solve the puzzles around her.

Bloodshed On The Boards is amateur sleuthing at its finest. Morwenna Mutton is a modern-day Miss Marple, preferring her own investigating before involving her friend in the police. She thinks on her feet as well as in her head.

This is a small community that lives together, laughs together and supports local businesses together. The local café is warm and welcoming, being easy to picture in my head. Judy Leigh writes with an artistic pen, ‘showing’ us around the area.

Wild swimming happens weekly but only the hardiest of souls turns up.

Continue reading →

Widows On The Wine Path by Julia Jarman

Apr7

All For One

Widows On The Wine Path by Julia Jarman is a wonderful, contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous book first, for continuity of character and maximum enjoyment.

This is a book about friendship between four widows. We meet three in book one, but now Libby is newly widowed. The first year is the hardest, one needs love and support. It is also the year in which one is most vulnerable and needs the help of friends in order to navigate the waters of widowhood.

The four friends meet regularly. In order to keep each other safe, if one of them is going out, they let the others know where, who with and for how long. Safety checks are wise.

We meet an unscrupulous character who preys on the vulnerable. The unsuspecting character finds herself gas lighted, but is clueless at first. Those on the outside can see what is happening. Bit by bit her freedom is eroded but she is blind to this. Her self esteem is questioned as it plummets. The holiday of a lifetime soon becomes the stuff of nightmares.

Continue reading →