Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

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.

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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.

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The French Cookery School by Caroline James

May2

New Horizons

The French Cookery School by Caroline James is a positively delightful contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

All the characters were well drawn, realistic and likable. They were an eclectic mix who traveled from England to the French cookery school. There are larger than life characters, salt of the earth characters, a brow beaten woman, a newly widowed woman and more, plus a Michelin starred chef and the owner. Everyone has a back story.

We witness that branching out alone after losing a partner to cancer, takes much bravery, as the late partner’s dream is realised. As he lets a little light in, he finds the strength to live again.

The reader cannot help but like a bubbly northern lass who always has a smile and a kind word. She is hoping for a long-held dream to become a reality.

Our hearts break for a character who has been forever squashed by her husband who is a philanderer and a gambler. She fears the future. She is also caught in the grip of anorexia. A near miss helps her to open her eyes to the possibility that the second half of her life can be better than the first.

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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.

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