January Books

Well I'm off to a good start with reading this month. I managed five books!

Love Nina: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe - in the 1980s Nina left Leicester and moved to London to become a nanny to two boys. The story is told in letters home to her sister - often hilarious and very entertaining. Nina left her employment as a nanny to attend Thames Polytechnic but always kept in touch with the family - even moving back in while at college.  She now lives in Cornwall with her husband and two children and works in publishing. I loved this book.

No time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay - an easy reading crime type fiction book which follows Cynthia whose family disappear when she is a teenager and 25 years later she still wonders what happened to them.

Bay of Secrets by Rosanna Ley - I simply loved this and could not put it down!

Set in England and the Canary Islands. It is 2011 and Ruby Rae's parents are killed in a freak accident. While clearing out their house she comes across a shoebox filled with mementos and discovers a devastating secret. In Spain in 1939, Julia's parents leave her at a convent in Barcelona to ensure that she is safe during the war.  She works at a Maternity Clinic which uses unethical adoption procedures. She feels this is not quite right and she starts keeping a notebook detailing the cases which are not straightforward.  Ruby meets Andres who is connected to the story in a way you are not expecting. A fantastic read, can't recommend it highly enough.

I also just adored Rosanna's first book The Villa which I read in July.

The Trader's Sister by Anna Jacobs - this is the second part in a four part saga. Very easy reading but enjoyable.  I read the first part in October. This one follows Bram's sister, Ismay Deagan who is desperate to leave Ireland and join Bram and his wife in Australia.  She is attacked by a man desperate to marry her and her employers help her leave.  On the ship she meets a man, Adam Treagar and his Aunt whom she becomes a companion and friend to on the voyage. She is scared to let Adam get too close but he has secrets too..

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My final book this month is The Killer next Door by Alex Marwood - this is not out in paperback until June so I borrowed hubby's kindle to read it and I'm glad I did! A creepy and sometimes gruesome book it kept me on the edge of my seat and burning the midnight oil. I loved Alex's first book The Wicked Girls which I read last January.

No.23 Beulah Grove is a crumbling house in South London which has been divided up into bedsits.  The six residents all have something to hide. Collette is on the run from her ex-boss, Cher is a children's home escapee and under age, Vesta has lived in the house all her life, first with her parents as she was growing up and now on her own as an old age pensioner, Thomas is quiet and shy but wants to be friends, Hossein is the good looking Asylum seeker and Gerald keeps himself to himself. 

As the book progresses we find out more about each resident, sometimes disturbing information.  Roy Preece, the landlord is a vile man who really made my skin crawl.  An accident brings the residents together in an uneasy alliance. The ending is very clever and I never saw it coming.  Highly recommend.

What have you been reading this month?