Madeleine

Letter from America - The Proclaimers

Reap the wild wind - Ultravox

Broken Wings - Mister Mr

Thomas Hardy was quite good about getting the female perspective eg Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd - both unconventional heroines for the time when the books were written.

Cuthbert's Way by L J Ross - this is the latest in the DCI Ryan series, and carries straight on from the previous book, The Shrine. The artefact recovered at the end of that book was not the correct item, however the police want to keep this secret as several people, including one of their own, have died trying to keep this fact from the perpetrators. However it soon becomes obvious that the deception is no longer a secret, and Ryan, as head of the investigation, and now a new father, finds himself and his family in danger. It seems that someone is obsessed with St Cuthbert and his mythology (although he really existed a cult has grown up around his story) and will stop at nothing to get all the relics. So Ryan finds himself on a personal mission, to rescue those closest to him and keep everyone else safe. this book was much longer than the previous books in the series, and I felt it was better for it - more character and story development, rather than the slightly rushed feel I always get from the others. One of the best books in the series, although you do need to read the previous book first. 8/10

Where the Streets have no Name - U2

they sell cheese hot cross buns in the stores. I always have jam on things like hot cross buns, or toasted teacakes - which is basically a large hot x burn without the cross! Maybe beans on toast is a British thing? Baked beans.

Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues

Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton John

Boys of Summer - Don Henley

The Heat is on - Glenn Frey

We've had interesting weather this week - a couple of spectacular storms and downpours on Wednesday, then yesterday was very windy, so far today is calm but cold.

Mirror in the Bathroom - The Beat

It's been sunny but bitterly cold for the last couple of days, went out in the garden earlier and it was snowing.

I do pretty much the same as Brian, ie use Goodreads, also this forum and another couple of forums I'm on, and I keep a paper list as well.

"Runes of Destiny" by Christina Courtenay -this is the 2nd book in the author's Viking series but can be read as a stand alone, a couple of characters from the first book do appear briefly but it doesn't detract from the story. Linnea is recovering from a car accident which killed her best friend's parents and severely injured her friend - she feels guilty for surviving relatively unscathed and is helping out on a summer holiday archaeological dig in Sweden, when she finds a gorgeous bracelet. She accidentally pricks her finger on the pin, and finds herself transported, Outlander style, to the 9th century, where she finds herself being taken captive as a thrall ie a sort of hostage for sale, and she joins the Jarl and his half brothers as they set sail for Istanbul, where they intend to trade many items, such as furs and amber, and also their thralls, for sale to the highest bidder. The Jarl, Thure, is a unlikeable, boorish type who prefers the good things in life, ie drink, gambling and women, whilst his half-brother Hrafn, is kinder and does the real work of keeping their estate going. He is also in charge of the thralls and it's no surprise that he and Linnea find themselves increasingly attracted to each other. As she settles into life on the Viking settlement, and then on the perilous journey south, Linnea finds herself fascinated by Viking life, and also by her host. But Thure wants her for himself, and Linnea finds herself in danger not only from raiders, but also from the Jarl. Although there were no surprises as to how this turned out, it was an enjoyable bit of escapism, with an interesting glimpse into everyday Viking life. I would say it's more of a time travel novel rather than timeslip, as Linnea stays pretty much in the Viking zone for most of the book. 7/10

Dog eat Dog - Adam and the Ants

It's been lovely here too, bit chilly in the morning and overnight but glorious sunshine - did a lovely walk today and went to the oldest wooden church in the world. Meant to cool down next week though!

Tears are not Enough - ABC

It's lovely and sunny again, but cold at night. Did anyone else have all that horrible orange sand last week? It came over from the Sahara in the form of rain last Wednesday, it's covered everything, there was a big queue for the car wash the other day!

Time after Time - Cyndi Lauper

Oh yes beagles are great escape artists! I hope your foot is ok.

The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie

Message in a Bottle - The Police

"The Seal King Murders" by Alanna Knight - it's 1862 and Inspector Jeremy Faro returns to his birthplace of the Isle of Orkney, following his injury in an earlier case in Edinburgh (in "Murder in Paradise", must read that one!), and he intends to convalesce whilst staying with his mother, and hopefully re-connect with his first, brief teenage love, Inga. He's also there to try to find out what happened to a supposed valuable package of goods which was being carried by a local customs officer, destined for Edinburgh, but which disappeared after the customs officer fell whilst boarding the ship to take him to Edinburgh, and subsequently drowned in the rough sea. His body was recovered but the rumoured "treasures" have disappeared, so what is it a simple accident or part of a more sinister plan. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that his widow Thora was supposedly taken by the legendary Seal King, who takes a woman at Lammastide, keeps her for a year and a day, and then she returns in exactly the same clothes she was wearing when she disappeared. She has never spoken about her disappearance, which seems to time with her sister moving to the mainland. Then there is the mysterious brother of the local boatman, who is meant to be dying of consumption but seems to have a rather indulgent lifestyle, plus of course the local constabulary who aren't too happy at someone else on their patch. Then a local heiress goes missing at Lammastide, and Faro was one of the last people to speak to her, so he finds himself under suspicion, and when another local is attached, he also manages to be prime suspect. This was an entertaining story with some lovely selkie references, and seals do in fact play a prominent, and rather sweet, role in the story. Faro is a likeable character, and although the book was rather slow at first, I enjoyed once the story got going. 7.5/10