Here are my book recommendations for August. I hope you will give them a try. I really enjoyed them both - one I read and one I listened to. Kate Riordan is an excellent writer. This book is beautifully written and an absolute joy to read. It is set in Italy and features Nick and Laura who have recently moved there to open a holiday cottage business, pretending that all is well and that their marriage isn’t on the rocks. Their first guests are Madison and Sebastian, a coupl

Be careful who you trust, because secrets have a way of becoming exposed. Chapter One - Old Friends June 2022 - Monday The producer's words in Gwen’s ears signalled that the end of the show was approaching. She fixed a professional smile on her face and faced the camera, like she did every morning. ‘Camera two for final countdown, five, four, three, two, one.’ ‘This is Gwen Morris for Morning News Live from the BBC. Thank you for choosing to watch us, and I’ll see you

PART ONE Chapter One September The silence is the strangest thing. Charlotte closes the door of the cottage behind her, puts her suitcase on the floor, and listens. She can hear absolutely nothing. The thick stone walls and heavy wooden door drown out what little noise there is from the singing birds and bleating sheep outside. There is no traffic noise, no chattering neighbours - a bonus, as she is definitely not in the mood for small talk over the garden fence with someon

A wine-tasting weekend at Hollow Pines Hotel, on a remote Scottish island, turns claustrophobic when a storm traps the guests indoors. In the hotel’s library, two women - famous actress, eighty-year-old Ivy, and young barista, Catrina, - bond over books, heartbreak, and betrayal. Catrina is grieving her missing fiancé , and Ivy is still carrying the burden of guilt following the tragic death of her fiancé on the island 50 years ago. At Hollow Pines, the truth could shatter th

Prologue Whites Chambers has occupied the narrow, three-storey Victorian building on the corner of St John Street in Manchester for a hundred and thirty years. The busy chambers reverberate with activity in the afternoons. Barristers return from court triumphant that they have done their best for their client, whether or not that is, in fact, the case. Any mistakes which may have been made are quickly forgotten. Nobody has time to dwell on past cases and anything that m

Chapter One September 1908 - Violet I am standing in front of the mistress in the drawing room, with a racing heart and sweaty palms, while she sips her tea. I can sense that within the next few minutes, I am going to be dismissed, sent away from Compton Hall in disgrace. ‘Sit down, Violet,’ she says. I perch on the edge of the opposite sofa, thankful for the barrier of the low table between us. I put my hands underneath my thighs for a moment, but withdraw them quickly

(This is the sequel to Just Breathe, so only read on if you have read that, otherwise it will spoil the story) It is the first day of Linda’s long-awaited early retirement. She stands in her kitchen, leaning against the countertop with a mug of hot tea in her hands, watching the rain pounding against the window and bouncing off the windowsill. The sparrows, forsaking their premium organic wild bird seed that has been scattered on the bird table in the back garden, are taking

Thursday, 7th October 1976 Jack Jack Chadwick has been in the police station interview room for more than an hour. He watches the hands on the wall clock count down the passing minutes unbearably slowly. He asks Detective Inspector Holt when he will be able to go home. He needs some air. He needs some sleep. Call me Elena, she says with a smile. He has never met a woman policeman before. She seems kind and Jack wonders whether she has been trained on when to show com