50 Books Challenge - 2nd Thread.

Book 57
Anna of Kleve - Alison Weir
The fourth in the Six Tudor Queens series.
Anna of Kleve, sent to England to marry an already sick and obese King Henry.
She is at first revolted, and King Henry is unable to make love to her, he finds her unattractive, and eventually the marriage is annulled.
Against all odds, they become close friends, Anna is his confidante, and remains friends with his daughters, and also with his new young Queen.
But at the Tudor Court, intrigues and plots are never far away
I am enjoying this series.

#84. Deadly Little Secret by Jack Cartwright.

62. Deadline, Steph McGovern

A presenter is interviewing a senior politician live on air when a strange voice cuts in on her earphones. He is now in control of the broadcast and she will ask the questions he wants her to ask. If she ever wants to see her wife and son alive again…

I listened to the audiobook version. Not bad, but too much info about broadcasting for my liking, at the beginning and end. I enjoyed the middle though, and there’s a good story in there.

#62 The Grape Vine by Kate Kemp. I didn't think much of this book, quite frankly. It jumped around all over the place, and the good reviews didn't seem to apply at all. I'd give it 5/10.

115-Death of a Macho Man-M C Beaton
Another lighthearted murder mystery set in Scotland.

61. The Quizmaster, Jay Flynn

Jay may not be known to many on here, but became part of our life when he launched his online pub quiz in lockdown for what he thought were a few Facebook friends, and found himself quizmaster to a worldwide audience of half a million teams. He kept our quizzing brains active all through that awful time, and DH and I still tune in to his 50 questions on YouTube on Thursdays and Saturdays when we’re at home.

This is his life story, of how he went from childhood abuse, to living for two years on a bench by the Thames, to raising millions for charity and receiving an MBE. It’s a fascinating read, simply written and very touching. I’d recommend it.

I've just finished 'The Light Behind the Window' by Lucinda Riley. A lovely story set in two time periods. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

#83. The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves.

Just started this, the return of Jimmy Perez.

#65 Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
At 57 Julia finds herself with a happy and contended life in the suburbs, a loving husband and two children. A random encounter with someone from her past and a surprise announcement from her 24 year old son cause a resurgence of the unhappiness and discontent she experienced as a younger woman. The book alternates between Julia’s previous life, right from her childhood, and her present day life. It is a bit of a saga, though well written and enjoyable, at the end I felt like I had read a trilogy, not just 500 pages. At one point my OH said to me “it seems like you’ve been reading that book for ages”, I had to agree with him. 8/10

#66 Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle. This was the follow up to The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, which I read years ago.
It’s set about 10 years later, Paula is now approaching 48 and a recovering alcoholic. She is working and doing everything she can to keep herself and her 2 younger children together. Her daily struggles as she strives to keep it together and improve their lives is very affecting. She is a powerful character and I loved this book. 9/10

Sara1954 I read The Silence Between Breaths after recommendations here too. It was very powerful. Sunburn by Laura Lippman was another one I enjoyed very much too.

60. I Will Find You, Joanna Connors

Written by an American journalist who decided to track down the man who raped her nearly 20 years earlier. As he left he swore that if she went to the police he would find her and kill her. As it happens, she ran to report the attack and he was caught and convicted. She discovers that he died in prison, but went on to seek out his family and learn his history. Chilling in parts, but worth the read.

114-Everyone Here Is Lying-Shari Lapena
William is having an affair but his lover ended it this afternoon. So when he arrives home angry and upset, and finds his difficult daughter is there instead of at school, he loses his temper and slaps her. This is just the start of an avalanche of events that he could never have imagined would happen.
A great page-turner.

The Women taught me a lot about the Vietnam war that I didn’t really know. But possibly the most shocking part was how Frankie was treated when she returned home, the rights and wrongs of the war can cause strong emotions of course, but I can’t accept that a nurse, doing only good, could have been so cruelly treated.

Yes an incredibly absorbing read, as you say Sparklefizz it stays with you. It makes me want to read more about Vietnam, and that war although thanfully that country seems to have recovered from those times somewhat.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Women, TerriBull
I am one of the people who loved it last year, and it's a book that has stayed with me plus, like you, I learnt such a lot from it.

73 The Women Kristin Hannah

I know there has been a thread on this recently and many have read it. I knew it was coming up as a book club choice, I didn't go on that, I wanted to come to it cold without any preconceptions. What a book! The subject really is vast, the Vietnam war the backdrop of our growing up lives. I didn't always give it the attention it deserved, at times it washed over me back then. I do remember the fall of Saigon that brought the whole sorry conflict to an end, boy was Harold Wilson's government right not to involve us, such a long futile war, all those young lives lost and those that did return maimed physically and mentally to be virtually ignored. All this is relayed through the prism of young nurse Frankie McGrath who sets out on her idealistic path to return broken by the interminable injuries and deaths of young men and Vietnamese civillians she has to deal with particularly those of a couple very close to her heart. All the while the two successive presidents Johnson and Nixon, just sent more and more young men to their probable deaths or to come back as paraplegics. The one positive is the tight knit friendship and support she forms with her nursing colleagues "The Women" who continue to support each other through the trials and tribulations they experience both in Vietnam and on their return to the states. It was a very affecting read particularly as to the difficult path a world weary and very angry Frankie has to negotiate on her return to the US, bearing losses so devastating leading her at times on a downward spiral drink, drugs as a chasm opens up between her and her well healed "country club" parents. It's a long haul, with a couple of unexpected twists, to find her eventual path and peace of mind with the support of her stalwarts "The Women". As well as the horrors the writer did evoke memories of the music that drove that era of the late 60s early 70s along, The Doors, The Beatles, Hendrix and some of the other greats of that era.

#61 Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink

This is a lovely book and I raced through it. The characterisation is wonderful and realistic and true. These people are complicated and flawed and usually well-intentioned.

It tells the story of Ann, a woman in her 40s, and her marriage and her son. It's witty, tender and compassionate, describing the huge feelings that often underlie our everyday lives. It made me both laugh and cry. I feel bereft now that I've finished it. Definitely 10/10

Sara1954

Book 56
The Silence Between Breaths - Cath Stainclffe

This was unexpectedly brutal, the subject, a terrorist attack on a crowded train.

The first half of the book introduces the reader to a bunch of the travellers, an elderly gay couple and their dog, a young family, a student on his way to a job interview, a young woman heading to London on a training course, and a few others, all ordinary, all unsuspecting, that is until one passenger does become suspicious of a heavily sweating man clutching his backpack, she passes her suspicions to the train cleaner, a young man named Naz, who rises to the occasion with calmness and determination to isolate the passengers from the suspected bomber.

But it’s too late, the terrorist detonated his bomb.

The second half of the book is brutal, I didn’t expect the massive death toll, or the graphic descriptions of the dead and dying, I felt impressed that didn’t feel the need to water it down.

It also dealt with devastating fallout for the bombers family

Would recommend.

Yes, I agree re this book Sara - it was gripping.

#82. Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell.

Book 56
The Silence Between Breaths - Cath Stainclffe

This was unexpectedly brutal, the subject, a terrorist attack on a crowded train.

The first half of the book introduces the reader to a bunch of the travellers, an elderly gay couple and their dog, a young family, a student on his way to a job interview, a young woman heading to London on a training course, and a few others, all ordinary, all unsuspecting, that is until one passenger does become suspicious of a heavily sweating man clutching his backpack, she passes her suspicions to the train cleaner, a young man named Naz, who rises to the occasion with calmness and determination to isolate the passengers from the suspected bomber.

But it’s too late, the terrorist detonated his bomb.

The second half of the book is brutal, I didn’t expect the massive death toll, or the graphic descriptions of the dead and dying, I felt impressed that didn’t feel the need to water it down.

It also dealt with devastating fallout for the bombers family

Would recommend.

72 High Wages - Dorothy Whipple Audible

I've loved discovering the writings of this author, predominantly about women published nearly 100 years ago. In this, the plot centres around Jane Carter, who we first meet, aged 17 in 1912, on the point of leaving her difficult step-mother's home, her father having already died some years before. The author was a native of Blackburn and sets most of her books in Lancashire, in this the fictitious town of Tidsley where Jane first goes to work in a drapers, is loosely based on Blackburn. Chadwicks, is of its time, swathes of materials and lots of drawers containing much of the accessories required for home dress making, or if the client was affluent, as some of them were, they would select their wares to give to their own dressmaker. Ready made off the peg garments were yet to arrive, but Jane being a forward thinking visionary, with an eye to the future, has this in mind for an enterprise a few years hence. In the meantime she has to suffer shabby living conditions above the shop, long hours, low wages and meagre rations, as well as some lofty condescending clients. The Great War which has featured in other books of hers, takes away the young men of the town, including Wilfred, who works at the local library, more of a friend than a love interest for Jane, although he is clearly smitten with her, in spite of "walking out" with her friend and colleague which as a consequence brings that friendship to an abrupt end. In time Jane's plans to realise her ambition of opening her own establishment come via a benefactor Mrs Briggs also a customer who sees in Jane a budding entrepreneur. The latter half of the book sees her business flourish but a doomed love affair along the way causes her to change direction as the story draws to its conclusion.

Strong women living in a male dominated world are a feature of DW's books and her writing portrays her very much as a feminist railing against the social constraints placed on women's lives at the time. I'd recommend these books to anyone who would enjoy reading about the early 20th century from someone who experienced it first hand.

House of Correction by Nicci French

113-Meet Me Under The Clock-Annie Murray
A delightful wartime saga about two neighbouring families.
Sisters Sylvia and Audrey were always like chalk and cheese and their lives in 1940 took two very different paths.
Most enjoyable and opened my eyes to the hardships of life in those times.

#60 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.
This was ok but I couldn't warm to any of the characters, and didn't really care, although I did finish it. 5/10

71 Murder in Paradise Anne Cleeves

A very early book by the writer, first published in 1988 and republished in 2023, which I imagine is a forerunner to her Shetland series. Not really as good as any of those, possibly she was still honing her writing skills at this stage. The inspiration for the windswept, craggy, landscapes of those islands, are evoked in this preliminary series, the plot not as accomplished as the Jimmy Perez ones she produced at a later stage and the programmes set around his character. When newlyweds Jim and Sarah return to his home on the Scottish island of Kinness. The close knit islanders, of which there are not many, celebrate with an evening of festivities, interrupted when Jim's young sister, who is still a child, leaves the party and is later discovered fallen from prominent cliffs on the island to her death below. Did she fall or was she pushed? and what possible secrets was she harbouring? George Palmer-Jones retired bird watcher and amateur detective has his suspicions and it is to Sarah he turns, still new to island life, together they probe into the background of the two main families on their island discovering along the way, hidden secrets and simmering hostilities.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben. I like this author, he tells a good tale.