Watching what I’m Reading . . .

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Definitely not a day for reading on the beach today either, though Wednesday was, and I did.

Currently I am reading After Eleanor: Reflections on Life, Death and Love by Alison Haynes. I honestly don’t know where I picked this up but it does have a beautiful cover so I may have simply fallen in love with the cover. It is brand new – the spine has never been cracked. This is a touching and thought provoking read.

Immersed in this sensitive memoir, we travel with Alison Haynes from her family home in Australia to her mother’s village in rural England. Organising the funeral, and sorting out her mother’s personal and household possessions, Alison begins to see her mother’s life from fresh perspectives.

I have loaded an audiobook ready to go – Dead Gone by T.J. Brearton. This is a title from my 2017 backlist.

A woman’s body is found floating in a sultry Florida mangrove. She has no ID and there is no indication of cause of death.

Who is she? Why was she murdered?

Rookie detective Tom Lange couldn’t have got a more difficult first case. The only thing he’s got to go on is the woman’s butterfly tattoo. His boss, Lauren Blythe, piles the pressure on and the medical examiner won’t tell him what he needs to know.

Meanwhile Tom’s neighbour Alicia has an abusive boyfriend who Tom clashes with in a way that will have far-reaching consequences.

The body leads Tom on a trail of seedy clubs, narcotics, and danger which is close to home.

In a tumultuous ending with a massive twist, Tom’s world is turned upside down.

I have seven books to read for review in the coming week. So much for not overloading myself and only having 2 or 3 reads for review per week in 2024 . . .

The Lawson Legacy by Janet Gover will be my first read of 2024. It is also a title I have selected for my January Aussie Readers Challenge.

Kayla Lawson believes nothing is good unless it’s perfect. This search for perfection has made her a successful high-end wedding planner. But all that comes crashing down when Kayla discovers she’s pregnant. She retreats to the sanctuary of Willowbrook Stud to consider this imperfect future as a single mother.

Connor Knight has never known perfection. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks and a motorcycle gang member, he’s no stranger to trouble with the law. But he’s trying to leave that past behind. By giving a run-down pub in Scone a new lease on life, he’s hoping to rebuild his own.

At Willowbrook, Kayla is reunited with her childhood best friend. Jen and her two kids have come to stay while her husband is awaiting trial for a crime he didn’t commit. While struggling to decide her future, Kayla is suddenly exposed to what motherhood really looks like.

When she meets Connor there’s instant chemistry between them that can’t be denied. But with her plans in tatters around her, is there any way to make the pieces fit? Or are the obstacles in front of them insurmountable?

The Blue Gum Camp by Leonie Kelsall is another title I have selected for my Aussie Readers January challenge. I needed a bookcover showing the Australian bush.

When the very sensible Charity meets the ‘sworn-off-women-forever’ Lachlan on a wild weekend at a bachelor and spinsters’ ball, what could possibly go wrong….or is there a chance it could all go impossibly, incredibly right?

Charity Farrugia is too sensible to believe she’ll find love in a paddock.

After all, at thirty-four, she’s the responsible one with the secure career and the mortgage. The one who raised her two sisters when their mother got sick. The cautious one with strong reservations about Faith and Hope spending a weekend in the country at a Bachelors and Spinsters Ball.

Lachlan MacKenzie might be divorced, but his cheating ex isn’t why he avoids dating—only his brother Hamish knows that secret. But keeping an eye out for Hamish has become part of Lachlan’s life, so he reluctantly permits himself to be dragged to the local B&S.

Charity has no intention of allowing her chaperone duties to be side-tracked. But meeting the intriguing farmer—who seems as reluctant as her to be at the B&S—might be an opportunity to prove to her sisters that she does have a wild side after all.

But will she discover that what happens in the country sometimes refuses to stay in the country?

A Shadow at the Door by Jo Dixon is another selection for my January Aussie Readers Challenge.

After a brutal attack and the breakdown of her marriage, life has taught former TV star Remi Lucan that it’s safer to not rely on anyone. Instead, she’s buried herself in Hobart, transforming her dilapidated sandstone house back to its former splendour, and it has been her proudest achievement. Better than her short-lived acting career. Definitely better than being a smile-on-command trophy wife. But when she runs out of money, her wealthy ex-husband tries to force the sale of the property and Remi realises her only option is to lower her defences and take in tenants.

At first her biggest problem is adjusting to the intrusion of two unlikely housemates, but when a series of ‘accidents’ turns ugly, it becomes clear these incidents are more than pranks. Someone is out to get Remi, and they won’t stop until they destroy her…

Holmes, Margaret and Poe by James Patterson and Brian Sitts is one I am really looking forward to.

Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe run the most in-demand private investigation agency in New York City.

The three detectives make a formidable team, solving a series of seemingly impossible crimes which expose the dark underbelly of the city – from a priceless art theft, high-stakes kidnapping and a decades-old unsolved murder, to a gruesome subterranean prison and corruption and bribery at the highest levels of power.

But it’s not long before their headline-grabbing breakthroughs, unconventional methods – and untraceable pasts – attract the attention of the NYPD and the FBI.

After all, it’s no surprise that there’s a mystery or two to unravel in the city that never sleeps . . . not least, who really are Holmes, Margaret and Poe?

I always enjoy Margot Hunt’s books and was excited to be approved for The Guests.

When a Category 5 hurricane is poised to hit their coastal Florida town, the Davies family takes refuge in their waterfront manse. Marlowe, Lee, and their teenage twins invite their close friends to wait out the storm in comfort and style.

Uninvited are the three strangers who dock on the family’s shore right before the storm descends. Brothers Jason and Bo—and Bo’s girlfriend, Darcy—are a charming, helpful trio in need of a safe haven that the family is only too happy to provide.

But as the storm outside grows more threatening, so does the tension in the house.

Soon, the lines between family, friends, and strangers blur. Danger mounts with every pointed finger and broken confidence, and long-held secrets are revealed one after another until only one truth remains: not everyone is going to make it out alive.

Ruth Mancini is a new author to me. I have read many great reviews of The Woman on the Ledge so simply had to see what all the fuss is about for myself.

A woman falls to her death from a London bank’s twenty-fifth-floor roof terrace.

You’re arrested for her murder.

You tell the police that you only met the victim the previous night at your office party. She was threatening to jump from the roof, but you talked her down.

You’ve got nothing to do with this tragedy.
You’re clearly being framed.

So why do the police keep picking holes in your story? Even your lawyer doesn’t seem to believe you.

It soon becomes obvious that you’re keeping secrets.

But who are you trying to protect? And why?

One Year After You by Shari Lowe is the follow up to One Day With You, which I loved.

Four shocking secrets. One tumultuous tale of love, loss and second chances.

One year ago today, Tress Walker’s husband was killed in a car accident, on a trip with his secret mistress whilst Tress gave birth to their son. But as time moves on, Tress has to choose whether to protect her fragile heart or open it to love again.

Noah Clark was equally devastated to discover his wife and his best friend were having an affair. Now the love of his life is asking for a second chance. But can there ever be a way back once the trust is broken?

For forty years, the fabulous Odette Devine has been a beloved actress on a Scottish TV show. Today she is broken, betrayed, and desperate to find out if this is her payback for a lie she told four decades ago.

Noah’s sister Keli Clark has recently been ghosted by the man she loves. When a message from a complete stranger reveals the reason why, Keli will have to decide whether to forgive, forget, or make sure he pays.

I am doubtful I will get through all these this week, but I will give it my best shot. Are any of these on your reading radar?

I made my selections this morning for the Aussie Readers January Challenge. Sarah Barrie is the featured author this month, and a book by her is the only one I still have to decide on. I have read and enjoyed several books by this author but want to pick one that I haven’t yet read which will mean a trip to the library on Wednesday when it reopens.

We took Will back to the airport yesterday and he flew back to Australia. The house seems very quiet without him. He is coming back for Easter.

Will and Pete managed to fix the leak in my washing machine by adapting a hose they bought at the local hardware store.

We all went to the beach on Wednesday. Pete and Will went fishing and caught one snapper which we gave to Dustin to take home for Luke’s dinner, plus there will be plenty left over to freeze for more dinners. Luke and I played in the surf while Dustin and Will body surfed. Pete took Will for a drive around the area and Dustin, Luke and I walked along the beach to an icy freshwater waterfall. A lovely walk but I stupidly didn’t take my shirt and am a little burnt on my back. After that we all met up at the local pub for a late lunch before we headed home. It was a beautiful day out and we all had lots of fun. I will remember it for a long time.

It is New Year’s Eve here today. We aren’t planning on anything special to see the New Year in. In all truth, we’ll probably sleep it in! However you celebrate, have a happy and safe New Year.