January and February and March 2021

I did lots of reading during January, February and March. My best pics were Shadow Music by Helaine  Mario and Relative Secrets by Helen Stacey.

I had some good family time and fun holidays in February and March.

Loved our holiday at Barney Creek Vineyard Cottages. A perfect place to relax and read.

Body Language by A. K. Turner

Creepy, Death, Funeral Directors, Mystery, Feelings

The Secrets of Safron Hall by Clare Marchant

 Set in Tudor England in the time of Henry 8th and present time. Amber discovers a prayer book from 1541 and tries to solve the mystery of its owner.
This was about secrets, buildings and history.

Playing Nice by J.P.Delaney

Thriller, Secrets, Identity

The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson

This was a nice easy read story set in the present time on a small Scottish Island.

Suzy returns to a small Scottish Island to try and sort out problems with a distillery she is responsible for. One stormy night she rescues a small lost dog but is not able to find the dogs owner, so she keeps the dog and names him Scout.

While searching for the Scout’s owner and walking Scout, Suzy begins to meet other people and starts to establish a new home for herself on the Island.

This was about friendships, families and relationships.

You and Me by Nicola Rayner

Thriller, Stalking, Feelings

A Man of Character by Margaret Locke

Bookstore, Romance, Humour

Relative Secrets by Helen Stancey

Set mostly in 1999 with flashbacks to earlier times. Lucy’s grandmother Mary has dementia and is in a care home. Mary has a secret and often rambles on about earlier times. While sorting in out her grandmother’s belongings Lucy finds a locket with an old photo hidden in a drawer and other items and photographs in Mary’s house. Lucy sets out to discover who the people are in the photographs.

I loved the way Lucy uses the snippets of information she hears from her grandmother and the items and photographs in her grandmother’s house to find out what her grandmother’s secret is.

This was about family relationships and secrets.

Finding Home by Kate Field

Miranda Brown is homeless and living in her car. One night two people ask her for help. Bea and Bill Howard. Their car is broken down and it is urgent that they get home. Miranda offers to drive from Lancashire to Devonshire. On arrival at Bill and Bea’s seaside estate Miranda is given a place to stay in an old caravan on the estate and is welcomed by a large family.

Miranda gradually finds a place she can call home. I loved it. 

Shadow Music by Helaine Mario

Set in the present time, the Cold War Years and World War Two. I loved the way this was written with references to classical music and famous artists. Classical musician Maggie O’Shea is drawn into helping a friend solve a mystery and find a long lost Van Gogh.

Maggie travels to Cornwall searching for answers. Her life is in danger as three Russians are also looking for the lost Van Gogh.

This was fast moving and full of twists and turns.

I loved the descriptive scenes in Cornwall when Maggie visits a site of standing stones and Tintagel Castle.

Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs

Romance, War, Relationships/Families

One Last Dance by Emma Jane Holmes

I loved this memoir. Set in Australia in the present time. Emma Jane Holmes works at two separate jobs. Her main career is working as a Funeral Director working in all aspects of the funeral industry and sometimes assisting as a mortician.

When she was not working night shifts, she worked as a lingerie waitress performing pole dancing and lap dancing.

I loved the way Emma describes her work in the funeral industry. At times, the descriptions were very graphic especially when she described dealing with decomposed bodies.

High Heels in the Highlands by Liz Hurley

Buildings, Fashion Designer, Romance