Read three good books in a row in July.
Firstly the "The Long Call" Ann Cleeves A new detective, Matthew Venn and a new setting Barnstaple, North Devon. I like the way Ann Cleeves paints a picture of the landscape when she writes, I find that almost as interesting as the plot sometimes. Having been to that part of Devon a couple of times, memories of that area resonated in the way she described them. As with her previous endeavours Jimmy Perez set in Shetland and Vera in North East England this is a worthy new addition and hopefully as series in the offing.
Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens. Absolutely loved this book, almost certainly one of the best I've read this year. I've probably come late to it I think I've seen plenty of reviews so far by other GNs.. Set in North Carolina during the '50 and '60s. Begins in the late 60s with what appears to be a murder of a young man, The story unfolds in retrospect telling the story of young 7 year old Kya and how she ekes out a solitary existence in a deserted shack in the coastal marshlands of that state. The abandonment of her by her immediate family, one by one is an integral part of the narrative, as are vivid descriptions of the coastal waters and wildlife that inhabit them. It's a bleak, moving and ultimately uplifting story. Definitely recommend it.
My third book, the memoirs of Lady Glenconner's "Lady in Waiting" Lots of snippets about Princess Margaret, but the real star of the book is her husband Colin Tennant who whilst amusing at times, as eccentrics often are, was impossibly difficult to live with, umpteen meltdowns and tantrums described, sometimes in hilarious detail. Whilst on the surface it appeared she had it all, her story was unremittingly heart breaking at times, in that she lost two adult sons within a few years of each other, one to HIV and the other a recovering heroin addict contracted Hepatitis which proved to be his death sentence. If that wasn't bad enough her third son came off his motorbike during a gap year, an accident that nearly killed him and from which he wasn't expected to recover from. Happily he did. She has had some spectacular high points but some very low ones too, apart from losing two sons, and nearly losing a third, she also found out that Colin had written all his family out of his will when he died.
Not sure what number I'm at now! Just started "The Flat Share" but haven't really got into it yet.
JLS’s prose is so beautiful, poetic, even. He quotes liberally from other writers, which enhances it all. 
