Edited at the end of July 2021, this enjoyable read keeps you turning the pages.
Tom Fulwood, the future Earl of Standish discovers at the age of fifteen that marriage can destroy a man, namely his father. His mother prefers entertaining men in her bedroom, while her husband sits downstairs, unable or unwilling to respond to his wife’s inappropriate behaviour. From that day on Tom vows that no woman will hurt him the way his mother hurt his father. For the next seventeen years, Tom works hard to become one of the most notorious rakes London society has ever seen, successfully keeping all the women of his acquaintance at a distance.
In 1810, twenty-four-year-old Isabelle Crawford had been brought up hearing stories of how much in love her dead parents were and had expected to find similar happiness when she came out in society. Reality was different from what she had imagined though, instead of love, she found fortune hunters and as a result, left London to set up home in Bath. Her two elder brothers had supported her decision, although they would have rather seen their sister married instead of choosing what was seen by the ton as an eccentric decision, a young woman living a single life in Bath with a cousin as chaperone.
A potential marriage between Tom’s sister and Isabelle’s brother throws the couple together and sets in motion a chain of events that will see Tom fighting for his life and Isabelle being kidnapped by the very man that Tom had found in his mother’s bed chamber all those years ago.
Edited at the end of June 2021, this is the second thrilling mystery in the new series by Derek Fee.
DS Fiona Madden and Detective Sean Tracy are given the task of assisting with the solution of a mini crime wave in the town of Clifden. The situation is complicated by two groups of travellers being camped in the area.
A man who has been stabbed to death is found on the morning after the annual Horse Fair in Clifden. He has been stripped of all identification and been dumped in a location which is not the crime scene. The investigation is hampered by the lack of identity and the plethora of suspects. The existence of the travellers in the locality creates tensions and Fiona and Tracy are under pressure to produce a result.
This delightful third book in the English Garden Romance series by Sara Sartagne is a joy to read and was edited towards the end of May 2021.
Her dream job. Her too dreamy colleague…
Magda Keane has been waiting for this job her whole life – creating her design for the exotic gardens in the huge Arcadia glasshouse. This assignment could grow her developing reputation – even get her a partnership.
There are just two problems…
The first is enigmatic Vincenzo Mazzi, the Italian engineer in charge of the solar panels powering the glasshouse. She’s never forgotten how she threw herself at him, nor the humiliation of his polite rejection. The second is the unexplained failure of Vincenzo’s system, which could blight her prospects quicker than an early frost.
For Vincenzo, having Magda on site, in the flesh, is enough to give him sleepless nights. He’s been so intent on building his business, he’s kept his passion under lock and key.
Even worse, strange problems with his tried and tested system are giving him an almighty headache. That, and working with Magda, threaten both his hard-earned reputation and his self-imposed restraint.
Will this shared pressure drive them further apart? Or draw them together to finally face the attraction that never went away?
Edited at the end of August 2021, this is the third in the thrilling Angel and Haines detective series.
Five bodies in three weeks – this is the worst spree killer Bradwick has ever known.
Detective Constable Emma Angel has caught the killer. He’s two metres tall, has a fascination with death and his house is covered in bloody evidence. Bradwick is safe again. But her closest friend is convinced that she’s wrong. Is this worth losing his friendship over? Has she arrested the wrong man? And if she has, how can he possibly be innocent?
Rob Haines, private investigator, has to find the absent father of an eight year old girl, but he doesn’t even have a name. And when he does solve the case, he faces an impossible choice. Does he smash one family to pieces in order to reunite another? Or will two children end up losing their fathers?
As Rob and Emma’s cases collide, they both have to risk everything to do what is right.
Edited at the very end of October 2021, this intriguing fantasy keeps you guessing throughout.
London. Two grand houses grace the banks of the Thames… A sanctuary for budding witches and warlocks to master their powers and learn of their heritage. But as three troubled young witches immerse themselves into their new world, they realise that their new city may hide a darker secret. A force stalks them through the streets and terrifying visions tell of horrors to come. But does the danger lie outside the house, or deeper within…?
Another wonderful and humorous instalment in the Guesthouse on the Green series as Mammy and Moira travel Vietnam.
I love the series and can't wait for book four!
A quick but emotional read - reading about the cruelty to the dog was heartbreaking but this was a lovely tale of the love and healing that animals can bring to our lives.
I would have given five stars but for the missed typos - a few t...
I get the impression that this could be a nice story but I've had to give up after forcing myself to go as far as 15% of the way through. If this novel has ever been near a remotely professional editor then the author was conned.
Chapte...
Another very enjoyable story but with a few niggles, hence the four stars rather than five. Maybe it's because I was tired but the editing issues grated on me more than in the first story and, do people really generally believe that 'ear...
