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Things We Do For Love by Miranda Dickinson

A Wonderful Light Hearted Read

Things We Do For Love by Miranda Dickinson is a delightful, contemporary novel that will warm your heart and leave you smiling.

The novel is set over a summer in Stratford Upon Avon and celebrates all things Shakespeare. We follow the Garden Players as they bring the works of the bard to life.

We see how hard it is to break into acting. As well as sheer hard work, a little bit of luck is needed.

Shakespeare brings out the passion in his followers. To have his works performed in his home town is the icing on the cake for them.

We witness the uglier side of theatre as a jealous director has the power to thwart a talented career.

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The Right Place by Sophia Money-Coutts

Returning To Life

The Right Place by Sophia Money-Coutts is a most delightful contemporary novel that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep!

The action is mainly set in present day, with a few flash backs over a character’s life.

Having been left a French hotel by her late aunt, thirty something Maggie flies to the south of France in order to wrap up things and sell the place. Though a shadow of its former glory, there is a charm still lurking within the walls. Memories loom large for Maggie.

Memories loom large for others too, as former guests return to celebrate special anniversaries and events. The hotel is so much more than bricks and mortar. It is a place that is alive with past memories.

Maggie awakens the hotel, whilst simultaneously awakening her life. For too long, life has been a series of doctors, IVF and miscarriages. Maggie awakens her passion for cooking as she creates recipes that awaken the taste buds.

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The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay

Exciting & Compelling

The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay is a gripping contemporary crime suspense that I became totally engrossed in.

Linwood Barclay knows how to weave an excellent tale. His plotline is complex and well executed. I hung on for dear life as the tale twisted this way and that.

We see that people and life are not always black and white. More often than not, people come in varying shade of grey.

Family is important. Sometimes in order to protect the family, tough choices have to be made. Sacrifices are the order of the day. In contrast, a warped sense of loyalty sees a character determined to get revenge, and will stop at nothing in order to achieve it.

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The Blood Promise by Liz Mistry

Who Can Stop The Killings?

The Blood Promise by Liz Mistry is a marvellous contemporary novel that drew me in from the start. It is the first book in Solanki and McQueen series which promises to be gripping.

Solanki and McQueen are an unlikely pairing – a young police officer with a troubled past, and a more experienced officer whose daughter was murdered. Both their pasts haunt their days but they are determined to bring a killer to justice. Their personalities complement each other as they also build their relationship.

The reader is drawn in from the start as the book opens with a crime scene fifteen years earlier. We skip to present day and another crime scene – could they be linked? As the body count rises, it suddenly becomes personal. Can Solanki and McQueen catch the killer before more murders are committed?

The landscape and weather are dark and brooding, which mirrors the action.

All of the novel is set in villages in Scotland, around the Inverness area. It is a wild and rugged landscape which helps to heighten the tension.

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