November Reviews from Book Chat

Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman is a light, romantic read about midwife, Zara, who is rebuilding her life after a broken marriage. When she comes across a stray dog, could this be just the ticket to help heal her heart? Only Zara hasn’t a clue about dogs. Neighbouring shepherd Lewis comes to her rescue. A cosy, relaxing read set in rural England, the eighth in the Talyton St George series which began with Trust Me I’m a Vet.


The Silent Girl by Hjorth and Rosenfeld is a Swedish crime novel, the fourth
in the Sebastian Bergman series. When a family – mother, father and two children – are shot in broad daylight, Bergman can’t find a suspect. Only one witness holds the answer, but she’s a young girl who refuses to speak and now she’s vanished. As Bergman hunts for her, he can only guess the killer is after her too. A ripping read for lovers of Scandi Noir.

This Poison Will Remain is the new Commissaire Adamsberg novel by Fred Vargas. As usual the author has come up with an original crime – in this case, three elderly men are bitten by spiders, their deaths deemed accidental. Adamsberg has other ideas and his investigating takes him to an orphanage in the south of France and events that happened decades ago. ‘Cunning, corkscrew murder mysteries’ writes A J Finn of this series and we couldn’t agree more.

Labyrinth by Catherine Coulter is her new FBI thriller, and it gets off to a
flying start when Agent Sherlock is involved in a car accident – a man is flung onto her windscreen and she blacks out. When she recovers the pedestrian seems to have disappeared. DNA testing shows he’s a CIA analyst at Langley. The story also brings in a serial killer with conveniently powerful connections. This is another ripping read from Coulter and loads of fun.

Coming Home by Fern Britton is a lovely novel for fans of Cornish settings and stories involving family secrets. Ella returns to the Cornish coast at the death of her grandmother and also to heal a broken heart. Her mother had abandoned Ella and her brother as a single mother unable to cope, leaving her children in the care of their grandmother. The story deals in forgiveness and new beginnings. A light but charming read.

The Alexandrite by New Zealand author Dione Jones is a story of class conflict, hidden sins and
deceit. The alexandrite of the title is a rare gemstone, originally discovered in Russia, that changes colour, green to red, according to the light. It is also the stone that is found on a stranger discovered dead outside Lady Pamela Scawton’s family home. The story traces a mystery from WWI to the present day, from England to New Zealand – well written and impossible to put down.

Posted by Flaxmere Book Chat