Tag Archive | Harper Collins

The Mysterious Affair Of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood

Jan14

All For One

The Mysterious Affair Of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood is a marvellous contemporary cosy crime novel and the perfect way to spend an afternoon. It is part of the Marlow Murder Club series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed meeting up once more with the three amateur sleuths. They are all ladies of a certain age, reminding me of three Miss Marples! Plus, there is their side-kick, a female police officer.

When two local men end up dead, the three women spring into action, assuming there must be a link. They set about to investigate the crimes. There is a new male police officer in charge, whom they have to scheme against as he doesn’t want their help.

The past returns to bite Judith Potts. It is a time she does not wish to re-visit, but the ghosts must be laid to rest.

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The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson

Jan6

Gripping

The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson is a gripping contemporary psychological murder suspense that I just couldn’t put down. It is the fourth book in the Inspector Anjelica Henley series and can be read as a stand-alone. I, however, recommend reading the books in numerical order for character and storyline progression. Though each book deals with a new crime, there is one storyline that is running throughout the books. As this book ended, we are perfectly poised to pick up the thread in book five – and I cannot wait!

Once more we join inspector Anjelica Henley and her team as they chase a very gruesome serial killer or killers. It appears to be vigilante justice but who is the mastermind? Is there a mastermind?

The law enforcement team are relentless in their pursuit. We also witness personal relationships and office politics. There are personality clashes and jealousy over friendships. We see the back stories and families of some.

Family is important. Not just personal family but the police family too. They have each other’s backs. When one of their own is hurt, everyone picks up a piece of guilt.

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Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank

Nov6

Choices

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in a village in Northern France that is occupied by the Germans in 1915. We witness what life is like for a grandmother and her two granddaughters who are hiding a British airman, at the same time as having two Germans billeted with them.

We witness the bravery of ordinary folk to do the right thing. “That is my duty; to resist, however and wherever I can.” Hiding a British airman takes guts and ingenuity. Hiding in plain sight does produce raised heart rates at times!

With occupation, people have choices to make. “The day will come when we will all be held accountable for our actions.” Any collaborators would have to answer for their actions later.

We see that not all Germans are hard-hearted, cruel masters. There are those who still retain their humanity. When faced with hard choices, he will pass muster, doing what is right rather than what is expected of him.

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Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave

Nov6

Sisterhood

Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave is a powerful contemporary novel that consumed me from the start.

Graffiti Girls is set in Scotland and surrounds four female friends in their forties. The book is about sisterhood and supporting each other. The four have felt marginalised all their life but now they are in their forties, they seem invisible too. “The feeling of being useless as a shadow, and as insubstantial as one too, had crept up on her.” Together they highlight some of the wrongs in society.

Society has always been a patriarchal one. Even as children, they were exploited by a male teacher, feeling that they had to do as he said without question. “The way old Mouldy put it, it felt like we had no choice.”

Graffiti Girls is about having a voice and using it. “It is about striking back, making our voices heard.” They want to break out of society’s traditions and be free to be themselves. “We’re worth something, our lives matter.”

Each of the women is unique and with a very different home set up. What unites them is the way that they are all treated by the males they come across. “We’re here, we’re over forty but we’re still here. We won’t be ignored; we won’t be airbrushed out of the picture.” Graffiti Girls is about taking control – and as they do this, their lives are enriched. “It’s taken Graffiti Girls to wake me up and make me realise I need more from life.” The friends empower each other, and the wider female population too.

There are some very moving scenes where the women individually touch the lives of others. They see the lost and the hurting. They do not walk on without stopping and touching lives whatever the personal cost to them.

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