Madeleine

Gone girl - Gillian flynn

Cold and quite bright.

Yes I thought that ending was a bit of a cop out as well.

Glad everyone's safe, do they know what caused the fire. And congrats on your new author!

Same here, sunny at the moment and windy, but like you not a cold wind, but meant to get colder.

Here be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman

The Highland Clearances were never touched on when I was at school either, in fact the first I ever heard of it was when I watched David Tennant's Who do you think you are!

Gutted to hear that David Cassidy has gone, one of my first pin-ups, what a lovely voice.

That's good news, glad he's much better.

Mild and quite sunny.

Lorraine

Back to mild and drizzly.

Dull and drizzly.

Wild Boys - Duran Duran

Also got The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan.

Bright and frosty.

Reap the wild wind - Ultravox

I've got a few lined up: two short story collections, one by P D James, the other by a mixture of authors, and a British Library Classic, but I can't remember the title at the moment, but it has a lovely snowy cover!

I got another set of Christmas short stores yesterday - Murder on Christmas Eve, by authors old and new.

Strange Magic by Syd Moore - this is the first in a new trilogy focussed on the Essex Witch Museum and it's new owner, Rosie Strange, who has inherited it. When she goes to see the museum, which she hasn't seen since she was a child, she finds a rather tired-looking establishment with shabby exhibits and a dated feel, but it's current curator, Sam, is keen to keep it going and has several ideas, not knowing that Rosie intends to sell it as soon as she can. But then they're asked to help a young boy who's been in hospital after falling out of a tree, and despite not having any sign of a head injury, not even a mild concussion, seems to be fading past and speaking in strange voices. An expert discovers that the boy, Max, may be possessed by the son of a famous Essex witch, Ursula Cadence, who was executed for witchcraft, and Rosie and Sam are enlisted to help recover Ursula's remains and re-unite them with her son's spirit, which will hopefully help Max recover, but other people want Ursula's remains as well. This was a fast-paced, enjoyable read, which breezed along, and although the spiky relationship between Ursula and Sam is predictable, it was a fun read and a bit different to the usual urban fantasy genre which can sometimes take itself a bit too seriously. I've ordered the second book which has just come out in paperback. 8/10 Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall - set in Australia in the late 19th century, this is based on a real-life incident and tells of the friendship between two girls, Kate and Harriet, whose fathers are lighthouse keepers on a small, windswept cape. Kate is in awe of the older, more sophisticated Harriet, especially when Harriet goes off to Melbourne for a few months, and comes back even more worldly. It's a tale of friendship and rivalry, especially after a new fisherman takes up residence in the area. It's well-written, but difficult to say anymore without giving anything away! 7.5/10

That's lovely, he must have been thrilled. As you say they are often overlooked so it's nice he's got the recognition he deserves.

Nice one!

Finding out via Google's doodle of the day that it's the 131st birthday of the humble hole-punch. As office workers we were all quite amused at that fact.

Lost in France - Bonnie Tyler

Why? Why don't they do something different?