Monday 4 March 2024

Jessamine by Shani Strurthers


 The month I’m recommending Jessamine by Shani Strurthers.

Jessamin loses her husband in a tragic accident for which she blames herself. Will she ever come to terms with his death?

James stays with her and they still talk to each other.  Jessamin moves to Scotland to escape the hustle and bustle of Brighton.  She wants to live in peace and enjoy still being with James. However, life takes over. She becomes part of the community and helps an old man and his son deal with their own ghosts. Can she deal with her own? Are the ghosts real or are they in the minds of the haunted?

Yes, Jessamine is a story of the supernatural and that is what Shani Struther specialises in. I first got to know Struthers’ work when we were both published by Crooked Cat. Out of loyalty to my publisher I bought all of the books that appealed.  However I bought this one because another of her books had delighted me.

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing.  

Tuesday 6 February 2024

The Porcelain Maker of Dachau by Sarah Freethy


 

So, this month I’m recommending: The Porcelain Maker of Dachau  Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing.   

Two stories intertwine: that of the romance between Jewish architect Max and ‘degenerate’ artist Bettina and that of her daughter Clara who after her mother’s death seeks to find out more about her father.

We know that Clara and Bettina survive so our question is not what happened but how did they manage that? Why did they come to England?  How did they get there? Who is Erza? How does this avant-garde artist reconcile herself to the Nazi era? How does Max, an architect, become a porcelain maker?

The text isn’t perfect. In the opening chapters I found some odd expression.  I’m not sure if it continued. If it did I stopped noticing. I was soon absorbed in the plot. There is also some odd formatting in some text in italics. I suspect this may be an Amazon rather than a publisher or author problem. 

Sarah Freethy is an author I shall certainly read again. She keeps us guessing about The Porcelain maker of Dachau.       

Tuesday 2 January 2024

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy


 

The lives of two young women in Casablanca intertwine though they lived seventy years apart.

Zoe finds Josie’s diary when she tries to fix a loose floorboard in her daughter’s bedroom. She becomes fascinated by the young girl’s account of fleeing Paris in 1941 because her mother was Jewish. Zoe too has her problems and she and Tom are trying to make a life in Morocco as they flee their old life and its troubles. There are still refugees in Casablanca and Zoe finds that helping them takes her away from her own problems.

What has become of Josie and will Zoe and Tom succeed in establishing a fulfilling life?

Fiona Valpy keeps us guessing in this delightful story worthy of The Storyteller of Casablanca.     

 

See on Amazon.  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing. 

 

Thursday 7 December 2023

Happiness Seeker by Jennifer Burkinshaw,




 

So, this month I’m recommending: Happiness Seeker by Jennifer Burkinshaw

Yes, again I’ve chosen a text for younger readers again.  I could hardly put this one down.  

Allie is at Grange-Over-Sands on a school trip. The very place is beautiful and dangerous at the same time.   

There are other delights and dangers too. Allie is irritated by the relationship developing between her best friend and her nemesis. Then she becomes romantically involved with the mysterious Mareno. He is threatened not just from the shifting sands and strong currents. Allie’s attempt to put this right is doomed to failure.  When her greatest enemy attempts to right a wrong, four lives are put in danger. There are deaths and near misses. This text tackles some modern but also age old problem: migration and modern slavery.            

Happiness Seeker is beautifully narrated by the very talented Jennifer Burkinshaw.    

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing.