What’s new on my bedside table . . . ?

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Up, up and away! That’s what the total of unread books on my NetGalley shelf is doing . . . going up! Yes, to 522 today. I did get down to 517 during the week, but then I picked up a read now, then another, and I requested a couple of books I saw on other bloggers’ posts – you know who you are! And voila! Here we are again. Mind you, I am writing this with a big smile on my face! 😂😂

The increase is compounded by the fact that I have done very little reading since I left to go look after Luke over the weekend. He really kept me on my toes with activities over the weekend and I was just too tired to read at night and there was no chance during the day. But I wouldn’t have missed that weekend for the world!

Since then, we have a friend who is going through a mental health crisis for some time and which came to a head over the weekend. I have been trying to offer support and get the help needed – no easy task! Finally, yesterday all my efforts paid off and we got some action. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present. But again, I was exhausted last night and was in bed and asleep very early. We are going out for dinner Friday night and to see a band play that I have been wanting to hear. That will be a lovely way to celebrate.

So, what new ARCs have landed in my inbox in the past week? The five are:

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan #2) by Robert Dugoni. I have read and enjoyed most of this author’s books, and this is one that I saw on Carla’s (of CarlaLovestoRead) blog. I also enjoyed the first book in this series – Her Deadly Game.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Five years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she was: a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears that this time she’s telling nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.

My second book is The Secret of the Brighton House by Cathy Hayward, a new to me author. I stumbled on it by accident and just couldn’t resist the lure of the cover.

Her family lied to protect her. Will the truth tear them apart?

Joanne’s always been told her mother died in childbirth, but she never questioned her dad’s love. When unpacking a box of her own old baby clothes, Joanne accidentally discovers a photo of her birth mum holding a newborn, and realises she’s been lied to.

As Joanne begins to dig into the past, she uncovers layers of secrets that threaten to destroy the very family she holds dear. What really happened to her mum? What could be so devastating that her dad has kept it from her for her whole life—and is she ready to find out?

Another case of cover love led me to In the Lonely Hours by Shannon Morgan, another new-to-me author. It just oozes atmosphere and creepy vibes!

In a bewitchingly melancholy, thrillingly modern ghost story, the new inhabitants of a centuries-old castle perched on a remote island in northwest Scotland must confront its tragic and terrifying history…

On a small island in a remote corner of northwest Scotland lies Maundrell castle, owned by its wealthy namesake family for centuries—until now. Edwina Nunn is shocked to learn a relative she never heard of has bequeathed the castle and its land to her. What awaits Edie and her teenage daughter, Neve, is even more startling, for the castle is home to a multitude of ghosts.

Yet there’s a strange beauty in the austere architecture and the eerie, bloody waters of Loch na Scáthanna, the Lake of Shadows. Beguiled by a frightened ghost who gazes longingly out of the castle’s windows, Edie and Neve are drawn to the legends shrouding the island and the mystery of the Maundrell Red—a priceless diamond that disappeared decades before.

Is the gem really cursed, and the cause of the family tragedies that have all occurred on Samhain—Scottish Halloween? As Samhain approaches once more, Edie and Neve race to peel back the dark secrets entwining the living and the dead—a twisted story of bitter cruelty and hidden love—or they will become another Maundrell tragedy trapped in the lonely hours . . .

The Lost Victim by Robert Bryndza is #5 in the Kate Marshall series, which I have been loving! This is the second book that I couldn’t live without as seen on Carla’s (CarlaLovestoRead) post. This is a gripping and enthralling series.

When school girl Janey Macklin disappeared from the seedy side of London in 1988, her case went cold, with no body and no witnesses. Now, thirty years later, private detective Kate Marshall has been approached by a true crime podcast producer with an intriguing question they need her help answering: What if Janey was killed by Peter Conway, the notorious Nine Elms Cannibal?

The contract would be the most lucrative of Kate’s career, but it comes with a price of its own, dredging up a sordid, complicated past that she would sooner forget . . . one that the paparazzi are determined to keep in the headlines.

As Kate and her partner, Tristan, scour King’s Cross for clues, no two leads seem to point in the same direction. The last person to see Janey alive has already been tried, convicted, and then acquitted of her murder, Peter Conway is in poor health and fading fast, and the line between their clients and their suspects is blurring with each new revelation about the case.

With little to work from, can Tristan and Kate wade through clandestine phone calls, decades-old secrets, and deteriorating DNA evidence to solve Janey’s murder, or will she remain one of London’s countless missing persons, forever lost to time?

And finally, Sian O’Gorman is an author I always enjoy, so I couldn’t resist this latest offering with such a joyous and summery cover.

A Tale of Love, Discovery, and Second Chances…

In the bustling world of Dublin’s advertising scene, Kitty O’Sullivan, a copywriter, feels an unexplainable void in her life that she can’t quite pinpoint. Her five-year relationship with Dave is stagnant, her creative juices have dried up and she’s even entertaining thoughts of marriage as a cure-all! Something’s missing from her life but she can’t work out exactly what it is…

When Dave decides to take time out from ‘them’, Kitty finds herself momentarily liberated to explore life and have some fun. She and best friend Shazza are corralled into joining a five-aside football team where she meets the intriguing Sweetman brothers, Tom and Rory.

As they sail around the enchanting coast of Dublin, engage in fierce football battles and stumble upon a magical secret drinking den, Kitty falls in love with her new life – and her new self – but is it only temporary until Dave returns?

Will Kitty find the answers to life’s mysteries and take charge of her future?

Join Kitty on this journey of love, self-discovery, and the pursuit of a life truly worth living.

You already know about my NetGalley shelf that just refuses to stop growing . . ., but my pending requests shelf has remained at 15 and my feedback ratio at 72%. I’m just amazed by that. I really thought it would have dropped down to 71 by now!

I am now a little behind on my Aussie Readers May challenge, still having read only 6/10 books, although I should finish the seventh either tonight or tomorrow.

I have not made any further progress on the Aussie Readers Autumn challenge either, needing to read a further two books by the end of the month to complete the challenge. Both are on my list for this week.

I have signed up for the Aussie Readers June and Winter challenges also and need to get my books sorted out for these.

For my Beanstack Challenge, I have read a total of 7587 minutes, adding 1360 minutes to my total in the past week and completed a total of 22 books since I signed up. The total I gave you of 29 last week was incorrect as somehow some books had been logged as completed 2 – 4 times, but that little glitch has now been sorted. I haven’t added any new genres to my bingo card.

It’s a beautiful day here today and I have been out weeding my vege garden. Another half hour will see it finished than I can get back to trying to remove more ladder ferns which are threatening to take over one section of my garden. I have been cutting them off and then spraying what is left in the ground if I can’t pull them out cleanly, but it’s a bit too windy today for that. But I think I will make a sandwich and a cuppa first . . . my stomach is rumbling! It’s a late lunch.

Happy reading my friends. 🤗💕📚