tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82739118838565802002024-03-18T20:17:53.419+10:30MYSTERIES in PARADISEWhy <b>MYSTERIES?</b> Because that is the genre I read. <br>Why <b>PARADISE?</b> Because that is where I live.<br>
Among other things, this blog, the result of a 2008 New Year's resolution, <br>will act as a record of books that I've read, and random thoughts.Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.comBlogger663125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-67308354170723773732024-02-27T09:08:00.002+10:302024-02-27T09:08:52.927+10:30Review: ONE GOOD TURN, Kate Atkinson<p>Just a note here to say that I have re-read Kate Atkinson's ONE GOOD TURN, forgetting that I had read it 15 years ago. My <a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-one-good-turn-kate-atkinson.html">original review is here</a> and I am pleased to see that I basically concurred with it.</p><p>This was the second in the Jackson Brodie series and made good reading even the second time around. Since then I have read others:</p><p><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-one-good-turn-kate-atkinson.html">ONE GOOD TURN</a><br />
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/09/review-when-will-there-be-good-news.html">WHERE WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS?</a><br />
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-started-early-took-my-dog-kate.html">4.6, STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG-audio</a><br />
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2014/01/review-life-after-life-kate-atkinson.html">LIFE AFTER LIFE</a><br />
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2019/08/review-transcription-kate-atkinson.html">4.5, TRANSCRIPTION</a> </p><p>ONE GOOD TURN is set in the Fringe of the Edinburgh Festival, and it was interesting to see that the Fringe of the Adelaide Festival shares many elements of it, although perhaps not road rage incidents leading to murder.<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-74139448543127703022024-02-24T16:01:00.002+10:302024-02-24T16:01:37.755+10:30Review: THE ZIG ZAG GIRL, Elly Griffiths<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9781784291969-667x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9781784291969-667x1024.jpg" width="208" /></a></div> this large print edition published in 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt</li><li>provided by my local library<br /></li><li>ISBN 978-1-62899-768-2</li><li>350 pages</li><li>#1 A Magic Men Mystery (Brighton Mysteries #1)<br /></li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/book/the-zig-zag-girl/">author website</a>) </p><p>Magic, murder and a mystery rooted in a murky wartime past. Meet DI Stephens and Max Mephisto.<br /><br />Brighton, 1950. When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men. </p><p>Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind. Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. </p><p>When Edgar receives a letter warning of another ‘trick’, the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in the killer’s sights…</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This story is a treat in many ways. First of all it is by one of my favourite authors. Secondly it is the first of a series that I've hardly touched, so I know I have at least a couple of treats in store.</p><p>This is the first in what has become known as the Brighton Mysteries series. The author carefully introduces the main characters, Max Mephisto, and Edgar Stephens, magician and detective, who first came together during World War II in a special unit intended to create illusions to trick Hitler into thinking England was about to invade Norway.</p><p>Now, five years after the war, Stephens is a detective in Brighton and Mephisto has gone back to the Variety Halls. They are brought together by a body in 3 parts. </p><p>I thoroughly enjoyed my outing.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8</p><p><b>I've also read</b></p><ul><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-crossing-places-elly-griffiths.html">4.6, THE CROSSING PLACES</a> - Ruth Galloway #1<br /></li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-janus-stone-elly-griffiths.html">4.6, THE JANUS STONE</a> - Ruth Galloway #2</li><li>
<u>4.6, THE HOUSE AT SEA'S END</u> - Ruth Galloway #3</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/review-room-full-of-bones-elly.html" target="_blank">4.5, A ROOM FULL OF BONES</a> - Ruth Galloway #4</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/review-dying-fall-elly-griffiths-audio.html">4.8, DYING FALL- audio book</a> - Ruth Galloway #5</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/review-ghost-fields-elly-griffiths.html">4.5, THE GHOST FIELDS, Elly Griffiths</a> - audio book - Ruth Galloway #7</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/review-outcast-dead-ellly-griffiths.html">4.7, THE OUTCAST DEAD, Elly Griffiths - audio book</a> - Ruth Galloway #6</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/review-woman-in-blue-elly-griffiths.html">4.7, THE WOMAN IN BLUE</a> - Ruth Galloway #8</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/review-chalk-pit-elly-griffiths.html">4.7, THE CHALK PIT</a> - Ruth Galloway #9</li><li>
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2019/01/review-stranger-diaries-elly-griffiths.html">4.6, THE STRANGER DIARIES</a> - Harbinder Kaur #1<br /></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-postscript-murders-elly-griffiths.html">4.4, THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS</a> - Harbinder Kaur #2<br /></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/06/review-lantern-men-elly-griffiths.html">4.7, THE LANTERN MEN</a> - Ruth Galloway #12</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/08/review-stone-circle-elly-griffiths.html">5.0, THE STONE CIRCLE</a> - Ruth Galloway #11 </li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/08/review-dark-ange-elly-griffiths.html">4.8, THE DARK ANGEL</a> - Ruth Galloway #10</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/08/review-night-hawks-elly-griffiths.html">4.7, THE NIGHT HAWKS</a> - Ruth Galloway #13 <br /></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-locked-room-elly-griffiths.html">5.0, THE LOCKED ROOM</a> - Ruth Galloway #14</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/01/review-bleeding-heart-yard-elly.html">4.6, BLEEDING HEART YARD</a> - Harbinder Kaur #3</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-last-remains-elly-griffiths.html">5.0, THE LAST REMAINS</a> - Ruth Galloway #15</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-smoke-and-mirrors-elly-griffiths.html">4.5, SMOKE AND MIRRORS</a> - Brighton Mysteries #2</li><li><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2018/05/review-vanishing-box-elly-griffiths.html">4.4, THE VANISHING BOX</a> - Brighton Mysteries #4 <br /></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-midnight-hour-elly-griffiths.html">4.5, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, Elly Griffiths</a> - Brighton Mysteries #6</li></ul><p></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-53840168941920568722024-02-11T14:00:00.004+10:302024-02-11T14:00:44.665+10:30Review: HOLDING, Graham Norton<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51QDQbhlrAL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="327" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51QDQbhlrAL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>this edition published by <a href="https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/graham-norton/holding/9781399707756/">Hodder & Stoughton</a> 2016<br /></li><li>made available by my local library <br /></li><li>ISBN 978-1-444-79199-0</li><li>312 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (publisher)</p><p>The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn't always been this overweight; mother of two Brid Riordan hasn't always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn't always felt that her life was a total waste. So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke - a former love of both Brid and Evelyn - the village's dark past begins to unravel.<br /><br />As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community's worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.<br /><br />Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of lovable characters, and explore - with searing honesty - the complexities and contradictions that make us human. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.hodder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hbg-title-9781399707756-13.jpg?w=440" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://www.hodder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hbg-title-9781399707756-13.jpg?w=440" width="209" /></a></div><b>My Take</b><p></p><p>You will note that this is the second time I have read this novel. My earlier review is <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/10/review-holding-graham-norton.html">here</a> ( I first read it about 3 years ago) <br /></p><p>This time I am reading it for discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction group. This is the first book we are reading this year, and I think they will enjoy it.</p><p>We will be basing some of our discussion on some questions listed at <a href="https://tra-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/entries/document/2027/Holding_-_Discussion_questions.pdf">The Reading Agency</a> (listed on <a href="https://tra-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/entries/document/2027/Holding_-_Discussion_questions.pdf">Amazon</a>)</p><p style="margin-left: 120px; text-align: left;"><i>Duneen is a quiet place, far enough from the big towns to have kept its own rhythms. Its residents include cast down policeman PJ who lives a lonely, uneventful life punctuated only by the next meal – until now; the beautiful and mysterious family of three spinster sisters each with their own secrets and<br />sorrows; and of course, the town's gossip who think she knows the answers. When a grim discovery is made on a building site up by the old school, it becomes the catalyst for half lived secrets and seething rivalries to come to light and this silent, once innocent and repressed-seeming town is revealed to have<br />a much darker, hungrier undertow</i><br /></p><p>The other resources that I've found which we may use in our discussion are some short You Tube videos:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Graham Norton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wwbC2AltAE">reading an extract</a></li><li>Character introduction : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo5uG4ZTQTo">Evelyn Ross</a> <br /></li></ul><p>Both of these videos comment on the significance of the novel's title. </p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.5<br /></p><p>I've also read</p><ul><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/11/review-home-stretch-graham-norton.html">4.6, HOME STRETCH</a></li></ul>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-46495482402590556062024-01-24T15:50:00.000+10:302024-01-24T15:50:00.336+10:30Review: LOWBRIDGE, Lucy Campbell<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>This edition from <a href="https://ultimopress.com.au/products/lowbridge">Ultimo Press</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91LJsayVk2L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91LJsayVk2L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div></li><li>ISBN 9781761152061<br /></li><li>Pub Date July 2023</li><li>Extent 384pp<br /> </li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://ultimopress.com.au/products/lowbridge">Publisher</a>)<br /><br /><b><i>Where everybody knows everyone, how can somebody just disappear?</i></b><br />A missing girl. Decades of silence. A secret too big to bury.<br /><br />1987: It’s late summer and a time of change when 17-year-old Tess Dawes leaves the local shopping centre in the sleepy town of Lowbridge and is never seen again.<br /> <br />Tess’s unsolved disappearance is never far from the town’s memory. There’s those who grew up with Tess, and never left. And those who know more than they’re saying … <br /> <br />It just takes an outsider to ask the right questions. <br /> <br />2018: Katherine Ashworth, shattered by the death of her daughter, moves to her husband’s hometown. Searching for a way to pick up the pieces of her life, she joins the local historical society and becomes obsessed with the three-decades-old mystery.<br /> <br />As Katherine digs into that summer of 1987, she stumbles upon the trail of a second girl who vanished when no one cared enough to see what was happening in plain sight. <br /> <br />Her trail could lead right to Katherine’s door. <br /> <br />In a town simmering with divisions and a cast of unforgettable characters, Lowbridge is a heart-wrenching mystery about the girls who are lost, the ones who are mourned and those who are forgotten. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Katherine Ashworth and her husband Jamie have moved back to the town where he grew up in rural New South Wales following the shattering death of their daughter. While Katherine finds it difficult to move on Jamie just seems to be able to put everything behind him, and they grow further and further apart. Katherine drinks and does little else until Jamie challenges her to find something to do.</p><p>But when Katherine joins the historical society and finds out about the disappearance of a school friend of Jamie's,Tess Dawes, 30 years earlier, he becomes reticent to talk about it, and she fears the worst.</p><p>A well constructed mystery which flits between the past and the present. The central characters are well drawn. The eventual resolution is a shock.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 4.5</p><p><b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b><br />Lucy Campbell has worked as a writer and sub-editor across magazines, newspapers and non-fiction books. Lowbridge is her first novel. She lives in Canberra with her husband and three children.<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-41412280924109514952024-01-09T16:53:00.001+10:302024-01-09T16:53:22.220+10:30Review: BRUNY, Heather Rose<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/assets.allenandunwin.com/images/small/9781760875169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="345" height="320" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/assets.allenandunwin.com/images/small/9781760875169.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>this edition from my local library<br /></li><li>first published 2019, <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Heather-Rose-Bruny-9781760875169">Allen & Unwin</a></li><li>ISBN 978-1-76087-516-9</li><li>406 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Heather-Rose-Bruny-9781760875169">publisher</a>)</p><p>Why is a massive bridge being built to connect the sleepy island of Bruny with the mainland of Tasmania? And why have terrorists blown it up?<br /><br />When the Bruny bridge is bombed, UN troubleshooter Astrid Coleman agrees to return home to help her brother before an upcoming election. But this is no simple task. Her brother and sister are on either side of politics, the community is full of conspiracy theories, her mother is fading and her father is quoting Shakespeare. Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.<br /><br />Bruny is a searing, subversive novel about family, love, loyalty and the new world order. It is a gripping thriller with a jaw-dropping twist, a love story, a cry from the heart and a fiercely entertaining and crucial work of imagination that asks the burning question: what would you do to protect the place you love? <br /></p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Astrid Coleman's twin JC is the Liberal Premier of Tasmania, coming up to an election in less than 6 months. Their old sister is the leader of the Labor opposition. The focus of JC's activity has been a huge bridge to connect mainland Tasmania to the island of Bruny. But now someone has bombed the nearly completed bridge. JC asks Astrid to come home. He wants her to manage public relations while he gets the re-building of the bridge agreed to. Initially she refuses but then gets an instruction from her bosses to go. <br /></p><p>People find it very difficult to understand why the bridge is being built. It has Federal Government backing, and then JC announces that he has secured a workforce of about 300 Chinese workers to be available for the re-build immediately, and Astrid wonders what the Chinese are getting out of the deal.</p><p>This is a thought provoking novel in many ways. Astrid's parents are suffering from dementia and final-stage cancer and this adds another dimension to the story.</p><p>Rose has some interesting comments on Australian attitudes.<br /></p><p><span class="product-fields-title" data-v-2b6daa75="">Awards:</span><span class="product-field-display" data-v-2b6daa75=""></span></p><ul class="book-award" data-v-2b6daa75=""><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Shortlisted, Best Fiction, Indie Book Awards, 2020, AU </li><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Longlisted, Best Designed Commercial Fiction Cover, Australian Book Design Awards, 2020, AU </li><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Winner, General Fiction Book of the Year, ABIA Awards, 2020, AU </li><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Shortlisted, Adult Fiction Book of the Year, ABA Booksellers' Choice Awards, 2020, AU </li><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Shortlisted, Best Crime Fiction, Davitt Awards, 2020, AU </li><li class="awards-list" data-v-2b6daa75=""> Longlisted, Nib Literary Award, 2020, AU </li></ul><p></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8</p><p><b>About the author</b> </p><p>Heather Rose is the Australian author of eight novels. Her seventh novel <i>The Museum of Modern Love</i>
won the 2017 Stella Prize. It also won the 2017 Christina Stead Prize
and the 2017 Margaret Scott Prize. It has been published internationally
and translated into numerous languages. Both <i>The Museum of Modern Love</i> and <i>The Butterfly Man</i> were longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. <i>The Butterfly Man</i> won the Davitt Award in 2006, and in 2007 <i>The River Wife</i>
won the international Varuna Eleanor Dark Fellowship. Heather writes
with Danielle Wood under the pen-name Angelica Banks and their <i>Tuesday McGillycuddy </i>children's
series has twice been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards for best
children's fantasy. Angelica Banks is also published internationally.
Heather lives by the sea in Tasmania. <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-76272997203507464112024-01-05T16:12:00.001+10:302024-01-05T16:12:52.158+10:30Review: THE SILENT INHERITANCE, Joy Dettman<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.biblioimages.com/macmillanaus/getimage.aspx?class=books&assetversionid=352837&cat=default&size=large&id=31102" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://www.biblioimages.com/macmillanaus/getimage.aspx?class=books&assetversionid=352837&cat=default&size=large&id=31102" width="212" /></a></div>this edition from my local library<br /></li><li>published 2016 by <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743549162/the-silent-inheritance/">Pan Macmillan Australia</a></li><li>ISBN 978-1=74354-014-5</li><li>405 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743549162/the-silent-inheritance/">publisher)</a> </p><p>Sarah Carter, mother of twelve-year-old Marni, is raising her daughter alone in a small granny flat in suburban Melbourne. A serial killer, dubbed 'The Freeway Killer', is headline news and when Marni's classmate is abducted from the mall where Sarah and Marni shop, their city no longer feels safe.<br /><br />Detective Ross Hunter's investigation into the abduction leads him to dead ends - until an unrelated incident sends him to the door of Freddy Adam-Jones, an unscrupulous barrister, who is guarding a secret that could ruin his life.<br /><br />When an unexpected windfall changes the lives of Sarah and Marni, their sudden wealth opens doors long closed, and threatens to cast light on history better left buried.<br /><br />What might Sarah's past reveal? What is her connection to Freddy? And can Detective Ross Hunter discover the link in time to save a young girl's life?</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This novel had all the makings of a good 'un but I came away with strong feelings of dissatisfaction. On reflection I've ended up thinking that the author tried to do too much, tried to create too much mystery. It seemed that there were too many plot strands and that they never finally got wound together. At the end I had strong feelings that I had missed something. The story seemed to finish but I had a number of confusions and unanswered questions.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 3.2</p><p><b>About the author</b></p><p>Joy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She is an award-winning writer of short stories, the complete collection of which, Diamonds in the Mud, was published in 2007, as well as the highly acclaimed novels Mallawindy, Jacaranda Blue, Goose Girl, Yesterday's Dust, The Seventh Day, Henry's Daughter, One Sunday and the bestselling Woody Creek series. <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-77232529667071650442023-12-31T16:26:00.000+10:302023-12-31T16:26:26.313+10:30Review: THE RAGING STORM, Ann Cleeves<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.biblioimages.com/macmillanaus/getimage.aspx?class=books&assetversionid=794537&cat=default&size=large&id=55740" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="320" src="https://www.biblioimages.com/macmillanaus/getimage.aspx?class=books&assetversionid=794537&cat=default&size=large&id=55740" width="209" /></a></div> this edition made available by my local library<br /></li><li>#3 in the <i>Two Rivers</i> series</li><li>published <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781529077704/">2023 Pan Macmillan</a></li><li>ISBN 978-1-5290-7770-4</li><li>383 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781529077704/">publisher</a>)</p><p>When Jem Rosco - sailor, adventurer and legend - blows in to the local pub, The Maiden's Prayer, in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone are delighted.<br /><br />The whole place has a strange, unreal quality: the village that time forgot. Backed by a worked-out quarry, with a shingle beach and a north-facing quay, there's little to recommend it to tourists.<br /><br />When Rosco disappears again, they think nothing of it; that's the sort of man he is. Until the lifeboat is launched to a hoax call-out and his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.<br /><br />This is an uncomfortable case for Venn. Greystone is a stronghold of the Barum Brethren and he came here as a child. Faith and superstition mix as another body is found in Scully, and Matthew finds his judgement clouded.<br /><br />The wind continues to howl, and he realizes that his own life is in danger. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>The setting is a rather unlovely village in coastal Devon but one which Matthew Venn is familiar with. The story begins with the arrival of a sailing legend and adventurer cum TV personality who momentarily put the village on the map. But the villagers have mixed feelings about him. Then he disappears and turns up dead and the detectives arrive.</p><p>The background, and why anyone would want to murder Jem Rosco takes a lot of discovering. The weather is wild and the going is slow. The village is struggling to survive, but at the same time incomers are treated with suspicion.</p><p>Part of the narrative focuses on how anxious the detectives are to please their boss Matthew Venn, and at the same time on the things that niggle them about each other.<br /></p><p>I seem to have missed reading THE HERON'S CRY, #2 in this series.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8</p><p><b>I've also read</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/review-red-bones-ann-cleeves.html">RAVEN BLACK</a> - Shetland #1</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-white-nights-ann-cleeves.html">WHITE NIGHTS</a> - Shetland#2</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-red-bones-ann-cleeves.html">RED BONES</a> - Shetland #3</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-blue-lightning-ann-cleeves.html">5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING</a> - Shetland#4</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/review-dead-water-ann-cleeves.html">5.0, DEAD WATER</a> - Shetland#5</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/review-thin-air-ann-cleeves-audio-book.html">4.6, THIN AIR</a> - Shetland #6 </li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-murder-in-paradise-ann-cleeves.html">4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE</a> - Palmer-Jones series #3</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-telling-tales-ann-cleeves.html">TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope)</a> #2</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-silent-voices-ann-cleeves.html">4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope)</a> #4</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/review-glass-room-ann-cleeves.html">5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope)</a> #5</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/review-harbour-street-ann-cleeves-audio.html">4.9, HARBOUR STREET</a> (Vera Stanhope) #6</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/review-burial-of-ghosts-ann-cleeves.html">4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS</a> - stand-alone</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/review-moth-catcher-anne-cleeves.html">4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER</a> (Vera Stanhope #7)</li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/review-too-good-to-be-true-ann-cleeves.html">4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)</a></li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/review-seagull-ann-cleeves.html">4.7, THE SEAGULL</a> - (Vera Stanhope #8)</li><li>
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2020/03/review-long-call-ann-cleeves.html">4.6, THE LONG CALL</a> - Two Rivers #1</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-darkest-evening-ann-cleeves.html">4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING</a> - Vera #9</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-lesson-in-dying-ann-cleeves.html">4.5, A LESSON DYING</a> - Inspector Ramsay #1</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/04/review.html">4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD</a> -Inspector Ramsay #2 </li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/04/review-day-in-death-of-dorothea-cassidy.html">4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY</a> - Inspector Ramsay #3</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/05/review-killjoy-ann-cleeves.html">4.6, KILLJOY</a> - Inspector Ramsay #4</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/06/review-healers-ann-cleeves.html">4.5, THE HEALERS</a> - Inspector Ramsay #5</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2021/06/review-baby-snatcher-ann-cleeves.html">4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER</a> - Inspector Ramsay #6</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2022/07/review-offshore-ann-cleeves.html">OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves</a> - Shetland 6.1 - short stories</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2022/10/review-rising-tide-ann-cleeves.html">5.0, THE RISING TIDE</a> - Vera #10</li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/03/review-sleeping-and-dead-ann-cleeves.html">4.5, THE MISSING AND THE DEAD</a></li></ul><p></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-3974973381520452882023-12-29T12:40:00.002+10:302023-12-29T12:40:59.628+10:30Review: DECEPTION, Lesley Pearse<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781405951340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781405951340.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>this edition from my local library<br /></li><li>published <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/deception-9781405951340">2022 by Michael Joseph</a></li><li>ISBN 978-0-241-14494-1</li><li>362 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/deception-9781405951340">publisher</a>)</p><p>After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice Kent is approached by a man claiming to be her father.<br /><br />She had accepted Sally's many faults, and her reluctance to ever speak of the past. But faced with this staggering deception, Alice knows she must uncover the whole truth about her mother.<br /><br />Whatever the cost.<br /><br />As Alice journeys into the past she discovers her mother may never have been the woman she claimed to be . . . <br /></p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Some will point out that this isn't my usual fare of crime fiction, but there are a number of crimes described, and it is based around mystery.</p><p>Angus Tweedy's claim to be her father, and to have been gaoled for bigamy with her mother at first upsets Alice Kent, but then sets her off on a quest to learn as much about her mother's life as she can. She tracks down former friends of her mother and manages to piece together answers to many questions.</p><p>What Alice finds out is interspersed with a third person narrative which details episodes in her mother's life from when Sally was a small child.</p><p>An interesting novel which also reminds us of how the world has changed in the last 80 or so years.I will certainly read more by this author.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 4.5 </p><p>I've also read <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-liar-lesley-pearse.html">4.5, LIAR</a><br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-35559456303852552332023-12-18T12:34:00.002+10:302023-12-18T12:34:49.170+10:30Review: FALLING, T.J. Newman<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/covers/900/9781398507289/4217/falling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="800" height="261" src="https://www.booktopia.com.au/covers/900/9781398507289/4217/falling.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>ISBN: 9781398507289</li><li>ISBN-10: 1398507288</li><li>Number Of Pages: 368</li><li>Published: 15th June 2022, <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/falling-t-j-newman/book/9781398507289.html">Simon & Schuster</a> UK</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/falling-t-j-newman/book/9781398507289.html">publisher</a>) </p><p>You just boarded a flight to New York.<br /><br />There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.<br /><br />What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.<br /><br />For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.<br /><br />The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.<br /><br />Enjoy the flight.<br /></p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This was a real page turner, and the reader is kept in suspense, working out how the story will turn out.</p><p>There are elements that you've seen in other real-life stories but also some carefully thought through good-feel moments.</p><p>Highly recommended.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.9</p><p><b>About the Author</b><br /><br />T. J. Newman, a former bookseller turned flight attendant, worked for Virgin America and Alaska Airlines from 2011 to 2021. She wrote much of Falling on cross-country red-eye flights while her passengers were asleep. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Falling is her first novel. <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-7254463739689513492023-12-18T12:10:00.000+10:302023-12-18T12:10:08.843+10:30Review: RIPPER, Shelley Burr<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733647857.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733647857.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" width="209" /></a></div>this edition published by <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/shelley-burr/ripper-from-the-author-of-mega-bestseller-wake">Hachette Australia 2023</a></li><li>supplied by my local library<br /></li><li>ISBN 978-0-7336-4785-7</li><li>346 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/shelley-burr/ripper-from-the-author-of-mega-bestseller-wake">publisher</a>)</p><p>Gemma Guillory has lived in Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny town's ins and outs like the back of her hand, the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.<br /><br />She knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only. That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper's trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her police officer husband and their marriage to this day and that some of her neighbours are desperate - desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier's reputation as the murder town.<br /><br />When the tour operator is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma's doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer's wake turns to foreboding, and she's drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland. Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>The outback town of Rainer has been dying for 17 years, ever since a killer, nicknamed The Ripper, put it on the map by murdering 3 of its residents. Since then the highway has by-passed the town and businesses have dwindled. Gemma is in an uneasy marriage with one of the town's policemen, and is the mother of a teenage daughter.</p><p>Now a tourism operator has held out a helping hand and is offering to run a macabre tour based on the events 17 years ago. The families affected are meeting together to agree to the tour. But while they are talking, the tourism operator himself is murdered, his body left in the fountain where the first murder took place.</p><p>There are lots of little twists in the plot as Gemma tries to find out who has committed the murder. The reader has a lot to do in working out the little secrets, who is married to who, whose children are whose and so on, but I found the narrative disjointed. The problem was exacerbated by the addition of external plot strands, particularly the decision to interview the original Ripper.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.5 </p><p>I've also read <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-wake-shelley-burr.html">4.8, WAKE</a></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-41225720879047422622023-12-17T15:33:00.002+10:302023-12-17T15:33:35.448+10:30Review: JUST MY LUCK, Adele Parks<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.harperapps.com/hcanz/covers/9780008318420/x293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="293" height="320" src="https://i.harperapps.com/hcanz/covers/9780008318420/x293.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>this edition made available as an e-book on Borrow Box through my local library<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008318420/just-my-luck/">Harper Collins Australia</a></li><li>ISBN: 9780008318420</li><li>ISBN 10: 0008318425</li><li>Imprint: HQ Fiction GB</li><li>On Sale: 04/05/2020</li><li>Pages: 384</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008318420/just-my-luck/">publisher</a>) </p><p>For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.<br /><br />But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.<br /><br />Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.<br /> <br />Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad…</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Most of us have fleetingly thought about this scenario. What would we do if we won the lottery? How would we behave? What if we were in a syndicate? You probably wouldn't keep your cool too well.</p><p>Lexi loves her job so much that she has never considered she would stop working, yet for Jake that is the first thing he thinks of. He and the kids go on a spending spree. They plan a huge party, but Lexi keeps thinking about how she can help others. But winning the lottery can bring out the worst in people too, and Lexi just has not envisaged what her husband and her friends will do.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 4.8</p><p><b>About the author</b> <br /></p><p>Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire. She is the author of 21 bestselling novels including most recently the Sunday Times and ebook Number One bestseller Both of You. Adele's recent Number One bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck were shortlisted for the British Book Awards and have been optioned for development for TV. Adele has lived in Botswana, Italy and London and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to literature. Find Adele on Twitter @adeleparks, Instagram @adele_parks and Facebook @OfficialAdeleParks or visit www.adeleparks.com.<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-15972538709763052392023-12-07T09:47:00.004+10:302023-12-07T09:47:52.358+10:30Review: A LESSON IN MALICE, Catherine Kirwan<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9781529381443.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9781529381443.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" width="212" /></a></div>this edition from my local library<br /></li><li>published by <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/catherine-kirwan/a-lesson-in-malice">HACHETTE BOOKS</a> Ireland 2023</li><li>ISBN 978-1-5293-8143-6</li><li>456 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/catherine-kirwan/a-lesson-in-malice">Publisher</a>)</p><p>She said yes to a dinner invitation. Now she's a murder suspect ...<br /><br />A visit to her old university takes an unexpected turn for solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick when she receives an exclusive invitation. She is far from high profile on the legal scene, so why is she on the guestlist for a select gathering in the College president's private dining room?<br /><br />Three days later, a body is discovered on College grounds. And, as the police launch their hunt for the killer, everyone who was dinner that night falls under suspicion. Including Finn.<br /><br />Soon, she's investigating the murder, unearthing the bitter rivalries and hidden agendas lurking beneath the success of her fellow dinner guests. As the mysteries and revelations pile up, Finn finds herself keeping secrets from those around her - but at what cost? </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This is the second novel featuring Cork solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick.</p><p>It seems that the high profile speaker from Australia, a graduate originally from Cork University, with a reputation for womanising, came to the conference intending to speak to Finn. But circumstances got in the way and they never had a chance to talk and now he is dead. Finn has not been able to work out why she was invited to speak anyway, but now she finds herself as the liaison between the university and the police. </p><p>And then some unexpected news results in her being arrested and investigated.</p><p>I obviously didn't find the book as captivating as some of those whose blurbs appear on the cover. Nevertheless it took me into a world and a setting with which I was not familiar.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 4.4</p><p><b>About the author</b><br />Catherine Kirwan grew up in the parish of Fews, County Waterford. She studied law at University College Cork and she now lives in Cork City where she works as a solicitor.<br />This is her second novel <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-67766422286660617542023-12-01T09:34:00.000+10:302023-12-01T09:34:01.115+10:30Review: JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON, Gillian McAllister<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81en0TUo3xL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81en0TUo3xL._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>this edition provided by my local library<br /></li><li>Harper Large print published August 2023</li><li>496 pages</li><li>ISBN 9-780063-322899</li></ul><p> <b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Another-Missing-Person-Gillian-McAllister/dp/0063322897">Publisher</a>)<br /><br />From the author of the Reese's Book Club Pick and the New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes a new heart-stopping thriller in which a missing-person case unravels deeper, darker secrets that lead a detective to an impossible moral choice.<br /><br />Not everyone who is lost should be found...<br /><br />Twenty-two-year-old Olivia has been missing for one day...and counting. She was last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again.<br /><br />Julia, the detective heading up the search for Olivia, thinks she knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But she has no idea just how close to home this case is going to get.<br /><br />Because the criminal at the heart of the disappearance has something she never expected. His weapon isn't a gun, or a knife: it's a secret. Her worst one. And her family's safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia - and must frame somebody else for her murder.<br /><br />If you find her, you will lose everything. What would you do?<br /><br />This clever and endlessly surprising thriller is laced with a clever look at family and motherhood, and cements Gillian McAllister as a major talent in the world of suspense and a master of creating ethical dilemmas that show just how murky the distinction between right and wrong can be.</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Julia is a detective who does everything by the books, dots the i's and crosses the t's, always. But in her past lies a mistake just waiting to trip her up.</p><p>Missing persons is her speciality and the case of Olivia seems much like any other. But is it? She is captured on CCTV walking into a dead end alley, and then she disappears. No trace, no blood. Nothing. As the days count down, no clues, except something that a masked man gives Julia.</p><p>There are a lot of surprises in this plot.<br /></p><p>There are a number of new authors around this year. Here is another to watch, and catch up on.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.5 </p><p><b>About the Author</b><br /><br />Gillian McAllister is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time, Just Another Missing Person, Everything but the Truth, The Choice, The Good Sister, The Evidence Against You, How to Disappear, and the Richard & Judy Book Club pick That Night. She graduated with an English degree before working as a lawyer. She lives in Birmingham, England, where she now writes full-time. She is also the creator and co-host of the popular Honest Authors podcast.<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-32050091529476530742023-11-01T13:14:00.001+10:302023-11-01T13:14:22.114+10:30Review: WEEKENDS WITH THE SUNSHINE GARDENING SOCIETY, Sophie Green<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733649424.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733649424.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" width="208" /></a></div>this edition supplied by my local library<br /></li><li>published by Hachette Australia 2023</li><li>ISBN 978-0-7336-4942-4</li><li>426 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/sophie-green/weekends-with-the-sunshine-gardening-society">Publisher</a>)</p><p>A warm, uplifting story of female friendship, community and new beginnings from the beloved Sophie Green, the Top Ten bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle and The Bellbird River Country Choir.<br /><br />Noosa Heads, 1987: Newly divorced Cynthia has returned to her home town from Los Angeles to reconnect with her 19-year-old daughter, who is pregnant and determined not to listen to her mother's advice. Cynthia's former best friend, Lorraine, has been stuck mowing lawns as part of a business she shares with her husband - his dream, not hers. When Cynthia convinces Lorraine to join the local Sunshine Gardening Society, they meet young widow Elizabeth, and rootless, heartbroken Kathy.<br /><br />The four women soon discover the society is much more than an opportunity to chat about flowers. Rather, it offers them the chance to lend a helping hand to people whose lives need a bit of care and attention right along with their gardens.<br /><br />Between pulling up weeds and planting natives, the women learn from each other that some roots go deep, and others shallow; that seeds can lie dormant for a long time before they spring to life, and that careful tending is the key to lives and friendships that reach their full potential. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Let me point out first of all that this is not my usual fare of crime fiction.</p><p>I find that I can almost categorise Sophie Green's books as "comfort reads", realistic plots, focussed on life in Australian suburbs, women helping women cope with living quite ordinary lives, facing quite ordinary problems.</p><p>Mostly the characters in these books are verging on elderly and leading the sort of lives I see around me. The author seems to be able to focus on the nub of problems and suggest feel-good solutions. <br /></p><p><b>My Rating</b>: 4.5</p><p><b>I've also read</b></p><p><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2018/03/review-inaugural-meeting-of-fairvale.html">4.4, THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB</a><br />
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2020/01/review-shelly-bay-ladies-swimming.html">4.6, THE SHELLY BAY LADIES SWIMMING CIRCLE</a></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-67582406775635043772023-10-15T17:09:00.000+10:302023-10-15T17:09:21.354+10:30Review: LAST SEEN ALIVE, Claire Douglas<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781405926423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781405926423.jpg" width="208" /></a></div> this edition published by <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/last-seen-alive-9781405926423">Penguin Books UK 2017</a></li><li>ISBN 978-1-405-93252-3<br /></li><li>378 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/last-seen-alive-9781405926423">publisher</a>)</p><p>She can run but she can't hide. Because someone knows her secret . . .<br /><br />Libby and James Hall can't believe their luck when the leaflet comes through the door. Swapping their tiny city flat for a beautiful house by the sea? Who would say no? But once they arrive at The Hideaway Libby starts to get jittery and increasingly paranoid. She is sure that someone is watching them. Something here isn't right. And when she suspects their lives to be in danger they swiftly decide to return to Bath.<br /><br />But they can't pick up their old life so easily. Because this isn't just a casual house swap. This is something much, much more sinister. <br /></p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Libby and Jamie Hall seem to have had a real struggle since they married a few months earlier. So many things have gone wrong. But now Libby has two weeks holiday and the offer of a house swap comes just at the right moment. Libby is able to make all the arrangements by phone and two days later they are on their way to Cornwall. </p><p>But the week in Cornwall doesn't go quite to plan and at the end they are happy to be on their way back to Bath. But the return home brings only temporary relief. Because that's when we become aware that Libby isn't who we think she is, and the world as we know it is turned upside down</p><p>To quote a common phrase this novel has the potential to "do your head in." There are so many twists and turns the brain struggles to make sense of it all.</p><p>Very cleverly written.</p><p>I've discovered there are quite a few titles I haven't yet read by this author. They are now on my bucket list.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.7</p><p><b>I've also read</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-couple-at-no-9-claire-douglas.html">4.6, THE COUPLE AT NO. 9</a></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-just-like-other-girls-claire.html">4.6, JUST LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS</a> </li></ul>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-66510512584068941222023-10-14T21:07:00.002+10:302023-10-14T21:07:41.334+10:30Review: WAKE, Shelley Burr<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733649448.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780733649448.jpg?auto=compress&w=440" width="207" /></a></div> this edition published by <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/shelley-burr/wake">Hachette Australia</a> 2022<br /></li><li>363 pages</li><li>ISBN 9-780733-647826</li><li>winner CWA Debut Dagger 2019</li><li>WINNER OF THE DEBUT CRIME ACWA NED KELLY AWARD 2023 <br /></li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/shelley-burr/wake">publisher</a>)</p><p>A Top Ten bestseller, WAKE is a searing debut crime novel where the grief and guilt surrounding an unsolved disappearance still haunt a small farming community . . . and will ultimately lead to a reckoning.<br /><br /><b>Evelyn simply vanished.</b><br /><br />The small town of Nannine lies in the harsh red interior of New South Wales. Once a thriving outback centre, this ghost town now has one sinister claim to fame: the still-unsolved disappearance of Evelyn McCreery nineteen years ago from the bedroom she shared with her twin sister.<br /><br />Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now a reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked, destocked sheep farm. The million-dollar reward her mother established to solve the disappearance has never been paid out.<br /><br />Enter Lane Holland, a private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Lane has his eye on the unclaimed money, but he also has darker motivations.<br /><br />WAKE is a powerful, unsparing story of how trauma ripples outward when people's private tragedies become public property, and how it's never too late for the truth to set things right. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Lane Holland, private investigator, comes to Nannine to see if he can talk to Mina McCreery about the disappearance of her twin sister nineteen years before. He has done his homework and finds her fairly easily at the general store. But she doesn't, not surprisingly, doesn't want to talk to him. Lane also tries to talk to locals, but they are as reticent as Mina. So Lane uses plan B. He investigates another missing girl, the sister of a friend of Mina's, and her he eventually has some success.</p><p>The novel carefully takes readers over what happened nineteen years earlier, and then what has happened to Mina's family since. </p><p>On the surface Lane appears to be mainly interested in the million dollar reward that Mina's mother established in a trust fund over a decade earlier. But what he doesn't reveal is his ulterior motive, that he suspects that he already knows who was responsible for the 9 year old's disappearance.</p><p>A very atmospheric book. The Australian setting comes through strongly. Highly recommended. <br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8 </p><p><b>About the author</b></p><p>Shelley Burr is the winner of the CWA Debut Dagger award with Wake, an alumni of the ACT Writer's Centre Hardcopy program (2018) and a Varuna fellow. When not writing she works at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. She lives in Canberra, but grew up splitting her time between Newcastle and Glenrowan, where her father's family are all sheep farmers. WAKE is Shelley's first novel. <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-9432253918098372612023-10-07T14:42:00.003+10:302023-10-07T14:42:55.879+10:30Review: GIRL, 11, Amy Suiter Clarke<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://d2wzqffx6hjwip.cloudfront.net/spree/images/attachments/000/050/885/product/9781922330499.jpg?1630026573" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="523" height="320" src="https://d2wzqffx6hjwip.cloudfront.net/spree/images/attachments/000/050/885/product/9781922330499.jpg?1630026573" width="209" /></a></div>This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>352pp</li><li><a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/girl-11">Text Publishing</a> publication date: 4 May 2021</li><li>ISBN: 9781922330499</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.asuiterclarke.com/girl-11">author</a>)</p><p>Former child social worker Elle Castillo now hosts a popular true crime podcast investigating cold cases of missing and abducted children. After four seasons of successfully solving cases in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Elle decides to tackle her white whale: The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago, TCK terrorized the community by kidnapping and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. But after he took his eleven-year-old victim, the pattern—and the murders—abruptly stopped. <br /><br />When Elle follows up on a listener email only to discover the tipster’s dead body, she feels responsible. Within days, a young girl is abducted, and the crime seems to fit the TCK sequence halted decades before. While media and law enforcement long ago concluded that TCK was dead, Elle has never believed it. She had hoped her investigation would uncover his identity, but instead, her podcast seems to be inciting new murders.</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Elle Castillo's podcast <b><i>Justice Delayed</i></b> has a following of several hundred thousand. She basically deals with cold cases and has been succesful in solving a number of them. The case she has decided to focus on in her fifth year of production is over twenty years old. After a number of murders in which the female victims become progressively younger, TCK suddenly stopped when he had taken an 11 year old victim.</p><p>Now, in response to Elle's podcast, he appears to have started up again. Listeners often contact Elle with information, but this time she arrives to find her informant has been killed.</p><p>The story features a number of voices. The transcript of the podcast has Elle asking questions of people related to the topic, interspersed with voiceovers from Elle explaining her thoughts. The transcripts are interspersed with descriptions of what Elle is doing in response to tips. The effect is to build tension. Each section is dated and that provides challenges to the reader too as the chapters are not sequential. The effects of the podcast though is that her listeners learn new information almost as quickly as Elle does.<br /></p><p>Elle reveals a lot about her back ground, what motivates her to produce the podcasts, and then ultimately she reveals her true identity.</p><p>A well constructed and powerful debut novel.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.7<br /></p><p><b>About the author</b> <br /></p><p>Amy Suiter Clarke is the author of psychological thrillers GIRL, 11 and LAY YOUR BODY DOWN. Originally from a small town in Minnesota, she completed a BA in theater in the Twin Cities then earned an MFA in Creative Writing with Publishing at Kingston University in London. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her debut novel Girl, 11 has been translated into twelve languages and published in fifteen territories around the world. <br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-17496544961915322602023-10-04T10:32:00.002+10:302023-10-04T10:32:28.870+10:30Review: THE RUSH, Michelle Prak<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/cvr9781761108204/the-rush-9781761108204_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="262" height="320" src="https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/cvr9781761108204/the-rush-9781761108204_lg.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>Publisher: <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Rush/Michelle-Prak/9781761108204">Simon & Schuster</a> Australia (May 3, 2023)</li><li>Length: 320 pages</li><li>ISBN13: 9781761108204</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Rush/Michelle-Prak/9781761108204">publisher</a>) </p><p>The first drops start to fall when Quinn spies the body. With no reception and nothing but an empty road for miles, does she stop to help or keep driving to safety?<br /><br />Back at the iconic country pub where Quinn works, Andrea is sandbagging the place in preparation for heavy rains. Alone with her sleeping son in the back room, she reluctantly lets a biker in to wait out the storm.<br /><br />Out on the wet roads, tensions arise among four backpackers on their way to Darwin. They haven’t prepared for this kind of weather and the flooding isn’t the only threat on the horizon …<br /><br />Chilling, tense and twisted, this compulsive thriller will send adrenaline coursing through your veins. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This story brings together some elements of recent news stories about outback Australia - unexpected flooding, backpackers disappearing or being murdered, an outback pub struggling to survive.</p><p>Hayley and Scott are accountancy students in Adelaide, embarking on a holiday trip to Darwin by road. They plan to take a week or two, and to defray expenses they borrow Scott's grandfather's four wheel drive and decide to offer seats in the car to two backpackers who will contribute to the expenses kitty. It is surprisingly easy to find a couple of people to join them. Hayley makes detailed plans of their route, where they will go sightseeing, and where they will camp overnight. They appear to have given little thought to the return journey.</p><p>Hayley and Scott have been together for a couple of years, but she is beginning to think he is tiring of her. Hayley is young and she doesn't realise that she is literally being "taken for a ride".</p><p>Further north, the rains start, the flooding begins, and then the two main elements of the story come together, with a scenario that is guaranteed to leave the reader gobsmacked. <br /></p><p>There are some structural elements which ask the reader to take extra notice - a number of narrative voices, a disjointed time frame (each chapter tells you the name of the main narrator and the date and time, but they are not sequential). There are little backstories which add to your knowledge of each character.<br /></p><p>I have some reservations about the title - I am not really sure how it relates to the story.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.5</p><p><b>About the author</b><br />Michelle Prak is a professional communicator with a thirty-year career in corporate communication, social media, politics and journalism. Writing has been the backbone of much of her work and she has written several short stories and self-published commercial women's fiction titles. She lives in Adelaide and lectures in public relations and social media at the University of South Australia. The Rush is her first thriller.<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-36630111525018687532023-10-03T10:54:00.001+10:302023-10-03T10:54:42.310+10:30Review: ONE BY ONE, Ruth Ware<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781784708085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9781784708085.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>this edition from my local library<br /></li><li>published <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/one-by-one-9781784708085">Penguin Random House 2020</a></li><li>374 pages</li><li>ISBN 978-1-787-30042-2</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/one-by-one-9781784708085">publisher</a>) </p><p>Snow is falling in the exclusive alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine, as the shareholders and directors of Snoop, the hottest new music app, gather for a make or break corporate retreat to decide the future of the company. At stake is a billion-dollar dot com buyout that could make them all millionaires, or leave some of them out in the cold.<br /><br />The clock is ticking on the offer, and with the group irrevocably split, tensions are running high. When an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help, and one board member goes missing in the snow, the group is forced to ask - would someone resort to murder, to get what they want?</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>The opening pages begin the story with snapshots of the Board members of the Snoop company, followed by a BBC press release about the tragedy in an exclusive ski resort that has killed 4 Britons. </p><p>There is one person not listed on the Board, Liz, who was also at the Alpine ski resort when the avalanche that began it all struck. Liz had not wanted to attend this "retreat" but she is an essential person as she holds the casting vote about the future of the company.</p><p>The book combines the best qualities of thriller and page-turner, and the author at her best.</p><p>Highly recommended.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8</p><p>I've also read</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/review-in-dark-dark-wood-ruth-ware.html">4.8, IN A DARK, DARK WOOD</a></li><li>
<a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/review-woman-in-cabin-10-ruth-ware.html">4.4, THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10</a></li><li>
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2018/11/review-death-of-mrs-westaway-ruth-ware.html">4.8, THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY</a></li><li>
<a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2019/09/review-turn-of-key-ruth-ware.html">5.0, THE TURN OF THE KEY</a></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2022/11/review-it-girl-ruth-ware.html">4.6, THE IT GIRL</a></li><li><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-zero-days-ruth-ware.html">4.8, ZERO DAYS</a> </li></ul><p></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-49179330434783972612023-10-02T12:44:00.001+10:302023-10-02T12:44:23.462+10:30Review: NEMESIS, Agatha Christie<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://classicmystery.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/nemesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="232" height="377" src="https://classicmystery.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/nemesis.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>This edition published by Harper Collins 2016<br /></li><li>Originally published 1971</li><li>ISBN 978-0-00-819662-2</li><li>297 pages</li><li><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-nemesis-agatha-christie.html">My original review</a> (rated 4.4)</li><li><a href="https://knowingchristie.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/notes-on-nemesis/">reader's guide</a> <br /></li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.agathachristie.com/en/stories/nemesis">publisher</a>) </p><p>"In utter disbelief Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel – an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. Recognising in Miss Marple a natural flair for justice, Mr Rafiel had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing."<br /><br />Miss Marple receives an unusual bequest – her old friend and one-time partner in detection, has left posthumous instructions for an investigation into a crime. She must follow the clues across England to discover the truth of his bizarre request.<br /><br /><b>Extra notes</b><br /><br />Nemesis was in fact the last novel Christie wrote featuring Miss Marple, although not the last to be published.<br /><br />Mr Rafiel first appeared in A Caribbean Mystery and struck up a begrudging alliance with Miss Marple in order to solve a multiple murder case. This transformed to respect, which carries on through to Nemesis, despite the fact that it isn’t a sequel. They are partnered novels which complement each other. Written in her eighties, Nemesis is a testament to Agatha Christie's enduring skill at mystery and deception.<br /><br />First adapted for screen in 1987, the story starred Joan Hickson. In 2004 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation, starring June Whitfield. It was adapted again in 2007, with Geraldine McEwan and also featured Richard E Grant as her nephew, Raymond West. <br /></p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Some years earlier, when on holiday in the Caribbean, Miss Marple had met Jonas Rafiel and together they had solved <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/p/agatha-christie-novels.html">a mystery</a>. Now, a number of years on, he has died, but with some"unfinished business" on his mind, and he leaves a bequest for Miss Marple, dependent on her carrying out his request. She is contacted by his lawyers who hand her a letter from him offering her £20,000. At that stage there is no detail about what he wants her to do apart from the fact that he is keen to see that justice is to be done, and he reminds her of the fact she once told him that she saw herself as Nemesis, the harbinger of justice.</p><p>So she begins her quest two days letter by joining a bus tour of Famous Hoses and Gardens of Great Britain with 15 other people. She really still has no idea of what Mr Rafiel wanted her to do, but she has already begun some investigations of her own into his background. As the bus trip progresses it becomes clear that although he hasn't told Miss Marple much, Mr Rafiel has assumed she will accept his request, and he has done several things to clear the way for her.</p><p>By the middle of the novel I thought the nature of Miss Marple's quest had become obvious, but at the same time, the narrative was frustratingly slow, almost as if Christie wanted us to think about what makes a person a good detective etc. And then came the first death when one of the passengers from the bus tour was killed, struck by a large boulder. Things speeded up a bit after that.<br /></p><p>I can understand if readers are of two minds with this book. It is very different from most of the Miss Marple books, and I thought it was a bit obvious that Christie wanted to explore what made Jane Marple so sensitive to the presence of evil, what made her so determined to see that justice was done. There are sections of text that are almost rambling.</p><p>You will have seen that I have read this before. I am re-reading it with my U3A Agatha Christie reading group and I will be interested to see whether or not they have enjoyed it. We will follow our discussion with the viewing of one of the television interpretations but I have yet decided whether it will be the Joan Hickson or the Geraldine McEwan one, probably the former I think, in the hope that it sticks closer to the original book. Which do you think it should be? (We don't have time for both)<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.0</p><p><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/p/agatha-christie-novels.html">Agatha Christie novels that I've read.</a><br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-80069650183432920512023-10-02T11:30:00.006+10:302023-10-02T11:43:05.451+10:30Review: HOMECOMING, Kate Morton<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/covers/900/9781760630485/4607/homecoming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="800" height="261" src="https://www.booktopia.com.au/covers/900/9781760630485/4607/homecoming.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>Published: 4th April 2023</li><li>ISBN: 9781761185786</li><li>640 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/homecoming-kate-morton/book/9781760630485.html">publisher</a>)</p><p>Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek in the grounds of the grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and a small town becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.<br /><br />Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.<br /><br />Nora has always been a vibrant and strong presence: decisive, encouraging, young despite her years. When Jess visits her in the hospital she is alarmed to find her grandmother frail and confused; it's even more alarming to hear from Nora's housekeeper that Nora had been distracted in the weeks before her accident, and that she fell on the steps to the attic - the one place Jess was forbidden from playing when she was small.<br /><br />At a loose end in Nora's house, Jess does some digging of her own. In Nora's bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime - a crime that has never been resolved satisfactorily. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find <br /><br />An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth. Above all, it is a beguiling and immensely satisfying novel from one of the finest writers working today. <br /></p><p><b>My Take</b>:</p><p>When Jess in London gets the phone call calling her to Sydney, to her grandmother's hospital bed side, she has no idea of what she is about to learn. She has no idea what secrets her grandmother has kept over the years. She was brought up by her grandmother after her mother Polly went north to Brisbane but she has no idea why that happened. But she becomes aware that many things are troubling Nora and Jess becomes determined to find out what they are.</p><p>And so layers of secrets are revealed, beginning with a family tragedy in the Adelaide Hills sixty years earlier. The story is told in two distinct settings, two distinct timelines, and several mysteries come to the surface. There are several narrative voices, in some cases the narrator doesn't have the full story either.<br /></p><p>I thoroughly enjoyed this book, working at the mysteries as titbits were revealed. Sometimes I guessed correctly and sometimes I didn't. <br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 5.0</p><p><b>I've also read</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-forgotten-garden-kate-morton.html">THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN</a></li><li><a href="http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/review-lake-house-kate-morton.html">5.0, THE LAKE HOUSE</a> <br /></li></ul>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-16558228189552739472023-09-26T13:06:00.001+09:302023-09-26T13:06:40.729+09:30Review: THE GIRLFRIEND, K. L. Slater<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81rLR0T48aL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81rLR0T48aL._SL1500_.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>this edition made available by my local library<br /></li><li>published by Bookouture 2022</li><li>ISBN 978-1-80314-792-59000</li><li>310 PAGES</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Girlfriend-unputdownable-psychological-thriller-breathtaking-ebook/dp/B0B9C385CR">publisher</a>)<br /></p><p><b>My husband’s dead. She’s at my door. She owns my home…</b><br /><br />The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her buttery blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms.<br /><br />As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts.<br /><br />She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I know this will be hard to hear. But I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.’<br /><br />My world implodes. And then she tells me that she owns our home – and that she’s not going anywhere…<br /><br />An utterly gripping psychological thriller from the number one bestselling author of The Marriage. If you like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Lisa Jewell then you will be hooked by The Girlfriend. </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>When her husband Cole suddenly dies Jennifer finds that after 14 years of marriage, Cole's infidelities have very unexpected consequences.</p><p>As the blurb indicated, a twisting psychological thriller that has you guessing. Mystery after mystery, and on top of all that Cole's death wasn't really an accident.</p><p>This is an author to watch out for.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.8</p><p>I've also read <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-mistake-kl-slater.html">4.6, THE MISTAKE</a><br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-76512702386091629672023-09-26T12:41:00.001+09:302023-09-26T12:41:15.663+09:30Review: THE HIDDEN BOOK, Kirsty Manning<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53d76c0ce4b0b3feaa73c40f/08bbb14c-e443-423e-b9a6-ed4519720a89/9781760879884.jpg?format=2500w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="523" height="320" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53d76c0ce4b0b3feaa73c40f/08bbb14c-e443-423e-b9a6-ed4519720a89/9781760879884.jpg?format=2500w" width="209" /></a></div>This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>published: 29th August 2023</li><li>ISBN: 9781760879884</li><li>312 pages</li><li><a href="http://kirstymanning.com/the-hidden-book">author website</a></li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="http://kirstymanning.com/the-hidden-book">author</a>)</p><p>From the bestselling author of The Jade Lily comes a compelling novel based on a true story of a WWII European heirloom that brought down war criminals and travelled through history … to be found in an Australian country shed in 2019.<br /><br />Europe, 1940s: Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think …<br /><br />Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.<br /><br />Australia, present day: When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell's Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in a flour sack, which Roza, Hannah's mother, quickly hides.<br /><br />Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.<br /><br />At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years, as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to 'bear witness' to history. <br /><br />A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.</p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="376">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Link"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two
main time frames. Mauthausen concentration camp 1940s to 1945. and Australia,
New South Wales 1985 to 2017. Hannah's grandfather Nico pays his final visit to
his daughter Rosa and brings with him a book which Hannah barely glimpses. It
contains photos of prisoners of war in the concentration camp. Rosa hides it
away but Nico promises that one day Hannah will be old enough to look at
it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So
the story tells how this book of photos came to be created at the same time as
telling the story of Hannah's life over a period of 30 years. Initially Rosa resists giving Hannah the book, but it becomes an obsession with Hannah.<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a
sense it is not really crime fiction although crimes are committed. There is
plenty of mystery though.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At
times I became impatient with the narrative but there can be no doubt that the
story is carefully and sensitively told.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
the Acknowledgements at the end the author says she wanted to talk about how
the clandestine photos of Mauthausen were used to convict Nazi war criminals.
She took some facts and used them to create a fictional scenario, with
fictional characters describing how a secret photo album has come to be on
display in the Sydney Jewish museum.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
very readable story.</span></p>
<p><b>My rating</b>: 4.4</p><p>I've also read <a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-jade-lily-kirsty-manning.html">4.7, THE JADE LILY</a><br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-73280406266060659472023-09-23T16:14:00.001+09:302023-09-23T16:14:48.582+09:30Review: THE BLOOD TIDE, Neil Lancaster<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81FSKlgJXBL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81FSKlgJXBL._SL1500_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div> this edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library<br /></li><li>#2 in the D.S. Craigie series</li><li>LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 McILVANNEY PRIZE FOR SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR!</li><li> Publication date : February 23, 2022 <br /></li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (publisher)</p><p><b>You get away with murder.</b><br />In a remote sea loch on the west coast of Scotland, a fisherman vanishes without trace. His remains are never found.<br /><br /><b>You make people disappear.</b><br />A young man jumps from a bridge in Glasgow and falls to his death in the water below. DS Max Craigie uncovers evidence that links both victims. But if he can’t find out what cost them their lives, it won’t be long before more bodies turn up at the morgue…<br /><br /><b>You come back for revenge.</b><br />Soon cracks start to appear in the investigation, and Max’s past hurtles back to haunt him. When his loved ones are threatened, he faces a terrifying choice: let the only man he ever feared walk free, or watch his closest friend die… </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>This truly is a sequel to #1 in the series. Issues unresolved earlier eventually come to a satisfying end as Max pursues his mission to deal with corruption in the Scottish police force. </p><p>Very satisfying read.<br /></p><p><b>My rating:</b> 4.7</p><p>I have already read</p><p><a href="https://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-dead-mans-grave-neil-lancaster.html">4.7, DEAD MAN'S GRAVE,</a> - DS Craigie #1</p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8273911883856580200.post-15270250633856382252023-09-23T15:50:00.000+09:302023-09-23T15:50:07.544+09:30Review: THE MISTAKE, K.L. Slater<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780751574937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="509" height="320" src="https://hachette.imgix.net/books/9780751574937.jpg" width="204" /></a></div> this edition published 2019 by Sphere<br /></li><li>ISBN 978-0-7515-7493-7</li><li>360 pages</li></ul><p><b>Synopsis</b> (<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/k-l-slater/the-mistake-an-unputdownable-psychological-thriller-with-a-brilliant-twist">publisher</a>)</p><p> You think you know the truth about the people you love.<br /><br />But one discovery can change everything…<br /><br />Eight-year-old Billy goes missing one day, out flying his kite with his sister Rose. Two days later, he is found dead.<br /><br />Sixteen years on, Rose still blames herself for Billy’s death. How could she have failed to protect her little brother?<br /><br />Rose has never fully recovered from the trauma, and one of the few people she trusts is her neighbour Ronnie, who she has known all her life. But one day Ronnie falls ill, and Rose goes next door to help him… and what she finds in his attic room turns her world upside down.<br /><br />Rose thought she knew the truth about what happened to Billy. She thought she knew her neighbour. Now the only thing she knows is that she is in danger… </p><p><b>My Take</b></p><p>Rose has always blamed herself her little brother's death. She is convinced that if she hadn't brought Gareth into her family's lives then Billy would never have been have been under threat, he wouldn't have disappeared, and he wouldn't have died.</p><p>For 16 years Rose has blamed herself and dealt with the consequences of her actions. And now everything she believes is being challenged and she feels she must face Gareth to find out the truth.</p><p>And there is a twist at the end, cleverly done, unexpected, you mustn't miss it.</p><p>I will be reading more by this author.<br /></p><p><b>My rating</b>: 4.6<br /></p><p><b>About the author</b></p><p>K.L. Slater is the number one bestselling author of fifteen psychological crime thrillers. She has sold over two million copies of her books worldwide. She has also written four Carnegie-nominated Young Adult novels as Kim Slater for Macmillan Children's Books. Kim has an MA in Creative Writing and lives with her husband in Nottingham, England.<br /><br />Author website: <a href="http://www.KLSlaterAuthor.com">www.KLSlaterAuthor.com</a><br />Twitter: @KimLSlater<br />Facebook: KL Slater Author<br /></p>Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com0