June 2023 Reads

 

June was national crime reading month and since crime is my favourite genre I started the month with …….. two romance novels!

First up was A Song Of Me And You from Mike Gayle. I’ve always loved the author’s novels since discovering My Legendary Girlfriend, his first novel, almost 25 years ago. I’m overjoyed to be able to say that his latest is his best yet. A story of teenage lovers who meet over twenty years later when they are both at a low point in their lives. Helen is a newly single Mum with her eldest about to fly the nest and Ben just happens to be the front-man of one of the biggest rock bands in the world on the run from fame and fortune.

The second romance novel was From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman, a bittersweet story about a young man, Ben, who discovers he only has months to live. Fleeing to London he meets and falls in love with a woman who is on a quest to discover if a painting by Leonardo da Vinci holds the secret to immortality. Ben is such a warm and genuine character that you really want them to succeed.

Now on to the thrillers. First up is the extremely twisty The Trap from Catherine Ryan Howard. Fans of the author will be aware of how twisty the novels of this author can be, this is no different. Based on true life events we learn about a young woman who wanders country lanes in the dead of night hoping to stumble across the person who abducted her sister a year earlier. When I got to the end of the book I turned straight back to the beginning to reread the opening chapter.

Modern serial killer stories featuring young women are very popular at the moment and You’d Look Better As A Ghost from Joanna Wallace fits perfectly into this genre. An accidental rejection sets grieving Claire on the path to murder, only for us to discover that she’s an established serial killer. Unfortunately, someone knows what she’s done and tries blackmailing her. Claire has to figure out who and resolve the problem. There is lots of dark humour and a killer you can’t help liking.

I love the Roy Grace series by Peter James, so was over the moon to receive book 19 in the series, Stop Them Dead. This time around Grace and his team are investigating crimes involving animals such as the theft of pedigree puppies and dogs, and the illegal import of dogs. The story really hits home as to how dangerous this can be when there is a suspected case of rabies.

My final thriller of the month was Who She Was, a slow burner from Tony Parsons. Set in Cornwall an enigmatic young woman turns up in the fishing village of St. Jude’s and is quickly accepted by the residents. When her “dead” husband appears there are devastating consequences. As you become engrossed in the story you continually question the woman’s motivation and whether she can be trusted.

June was a good month for audiobooks, I managed four. First audiobook of the month was Trust Me from T. M. Logan’s back catalogue. I’ve enjoyed the three previous books I’ve read/listened to from this author but feel this didn’t really work well in audio format. A young woman abandons a baby with a stranger, Ellen, and leaves a note asking her to protect the baby. I struggled to keep track of all the characters with possible motives for harming the baby.

Next up was The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. This is a cozy murder mystery that works very well as an audiobook. The narrator does a fantastic job of portraying the different eccentric characters trying to solve a series of murders in the quaint town of Marlow. I’m looking forward to more in this series.

My third audiobook was The Red House, an engrossing thriller, full of twists by Roz Watkins. Initially, I felt that there were too many elements to the story but the author brought everything together well and certainly kept me guessing.

The final audiobook for the month was Poison At The Village Show by Catherine Coles. A cozy murder mystery set in a small village in 1947. This was slow to get going but by the end, I was fully invested. The author also left a few threads unfinished so I’m keen to see what happens in the second book in the Martha Miller series.

Publication dates to watch out for are:

A Song Of Me And You by Mike Gayle will be published on 6/7/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman will be published on 3/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard will be published on 3/8/23 in ebook and audio format. The hardback will be published on 17/8/23

Who She Was by Tony Parsons will be published on 17/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace will be published on 21/9/23 in hardback and ebook format.

Stop Them Dead by Peter James will be published on 28/9/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.