Watching what I’m reading . . .

Photo by u015eule Makarou011flu on Pexels.com

I really wish I was at the beach today. It’s a lovely sunny day with a slight breeze to keep things from getting too hot. But we have had a busy morning in the yard, pruning, cutting back, and digging out various things. I have also removed some old chicken wire that was stretched along the fenceline – goodness only knows why it was there! As we are clearing out things that I don’t want I am getting a clearer picture of how I want the yard to be and can now visualize where the different levels will need to be.

Currently I am reading/listening to Murder at an Irish Wedding by Carlene O’Connor, #2 in the Irish Village Mystery series. It is a title from my 2017 backlist and set in the village of Kilbane, Co. Cork, Ireland.

The O’Sullivan clan of County Cork, Ireland, are thrilled to be catering the matrimonial affairs of a celebrity couple—until a cunning killer turns an Irish wedding into an Irish wake . . .

Any wedding is a big deal in the small village of Kilbane—even more so when the bride is a famous fashion model. It’s also good for business. Not only has customer traffic picked up at Naomi’s Bistro, Siobhán O’Sullivan and her five siblings have a full plate catering for the three-day affair. And Siobhán’s own beau, local garda Macdara Flannery, gladly steps in as best man after the groom’s first choice makes a drunken arse out of himself.

Even if he hadn’t been disinvited to the wedding, the original best man wouldn’t have been able to show. He’s been found murdered in the woods, casting a pall over the nuptials. And when a second member of the wedding party is poisoned by a champagne flute engraved with Macdara’s name, the garda goes from being best man to prime suspect.

With a killer at large and a string of robberies plaguing Kilbane, Siobhán feels more than a little protective of her village. She vows to clear Macdara’s name, but the suspect list is as long as the guest list. Like the bride walking down the aisle, Siobhán needs to watch her step. For as she gets closer to unveiling the truth, the murderer is planning a very chilly reception for her . . .

I am reading Devil’s Lair by Sarah Barrie for my January Aussie Reader’s Challenge. Sarah Barrie is the featured author this month. Devil’s Lair is set in two locations in Australia – The Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

A lonely widow, a sinister act, a remote mansion with a dark past… After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge. But all is not the old mansion has a sinister past, one associated with witchcraft and murder. As Callie is threatened by odd events in the night and strange dreams overtake her sleep, she begins to doubt her own sanity. What’s really going on beneath the surface of this apparently peaceful town? Are her friends and neighbours really who they seem? As events escalate, Callie starts to realise that the mansion may hold the key to unlocking the mystery, but the truth might have as much power to destroy as it does to save.

I am also reading A Breath of Fresh Air (Escape to the Lakes #2) by Jessica Redland, set in the beautiful Lake District of England. The first book focused on the character Autumn, while this focuses on Rosie.

Rosie feels like there’s something missing in her life.

She loves her job as the manager of Willowdale Hall Riding Stables, caring for the horses and teaching children to ride, and she loves the home she shares with her mother in the beautiful Lake District. But she can’t help wondering how her life might look if things had been different. What if her father had been around to help care for her mother? And what if she’d found someone special herself?

When Hubert Cranleigh – the owner of Willowdale Hall – is taken ill, his son Oliver steps into the breach. Brooding and distant, Rosie is furious when he claims not to know who she is. Especially when they have a history.

Rosie’s life is about to be turned upside down, but with the New Year comes new opportunities. What Rosie feels is missing from her life might be closer than she thinks, and with more significant consequences than she could ever have imagined…

I have only two rad for reviews due in the coming week. One is a childhood favorite – Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne. I still have my original copy and Luke and I like to dip into it when he is staying.

A treasured children’s classic of 35 delightful poems, this lovely hardcover edition of Now We Are Six is British author A. A. Milne’s second book of poetry, published in 1927. Charming verses capture the inner voice of a child’s imaginings upon turning six years old. Memorably illustrated in eleven of the poems is cuddly Pooh Bear (Winnie-the-Pooh), inspired by illustrator E. H. Shepard’s son’s teddy bear, Growler. The verses include “The Charcoal-Burner,” “The End,” “The Engineer,” “Forgotten,” “The Friend,” “Furry Bear,” “In the Dark,” “Knight-in-Armour,” “The Morning Walk,” “Us Two,” and “Waiting at the Window.”

The second is only an extract, which I didn’t pick up on until it landed in my inbox. But it is chapters 1 – 19 of The Teacher by Tim Sullivan. I have enjoyed several of his other titles so will of course be reading the whole book as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

He’s a victim. But is he innocent?

THE BODY

In a village in South West England, an elderly man is found dead in his home. The angle of his neck says he fell down the stairs. The stab wound on his body tells a different story.

THE EVIDENCE

In the weeks before his murder, Alistair Moreton changed. He usually kept himself to himself, but people swear there was someone in the house when they checked on him, that there was a reason he wouldn’t let them inside.

THE PUNISHMENT

Moreton made people’s lives a misery, from his neighbours to his ex-pupils. While DS George Cross’s list of suspects is long, every victim deserves justice.

But in all of Alistair’s years, there was something important he never learned:

If you go through life making enemies, don’t be surprised when they teach you a lesson.

In addition to my current reading locations, in the past week I have visited Naples and Shoreham in Florida, USA; Sea Isle, Scotland; Texas, USA; Chiloe Island, Chile; and Dorset, England.

Have a wonderful week. Our forecast is for rain all week, so I need to tidy out a few cupboards and the pantry, but other than that I will be reading. 💕📚 Happy reading.