Heffalumpi

Is anyone currently reading her latest book in the Inspector Lynley series Just One Act of Evil? It is a lovely hefty book and I am halfway through it. It is easily (if not better) than some of the earlier books in the series as the characters are now well developed and this one centres around Azhar and Hadiyyah. Perfect Bank Holiday reading

Hi Janet! I've been a bit of a lurker on here for a bit in order to get some great recommendations for books to read although it has all got a bit out of hand now with a whole bookcase of books 'to be read' and an ever increasing wishlist on Amazon I did enjoy the Pauline Quirk book but in places it did feel a bit like an advert for Lighter Life. It focused mainly on her time with Emmerdale and had very little about the rest of her life which I was a bit disappointed about as I wanted to know more about her time on Birds of a Feather. It was worth a read but maybe get it from the library as I don't think that it is the sort of book that you would re-read. I think Frankie makes a very good point about how you feel about a sequel to a book the you previously loved and I am sure that some people will love both Longbourn and Death Comes to Pemberly. I picked up Longbourn not overly aware that it was connected with the Bennetts from Pride and Prejudice, if I had been more aware of this I might have given it a wider berth as Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books. Your right Frankie, sometimes you just have to let a book go even if you really wanted to like it, after all there are too many books and too little time

Longbourn by Jo Baker I really wanted to love this book however parts of it made me quite cross. The book is based around the lives of the servants to the Bennett family from Pride and Prejudice and I don't think that this link is a particularly good one, or indeed necessary. It would have been far better as a stand alone book about the lives of servants below stairs in a country house, any country house. The way in which the Bennett family were portrayed made me dislike them greatly in places and their actions didn't fit all that well with the story being told, although I did guess the twist between upper and lower stairs. The characters of the servants were good but lacked a roundness and depth in places. I liked Ptolemy but thought his character could have been developed and expanded upon, he was also too conveniently placed at times. The character of Sarah was well written but some of her actions just did not ring true. These are just my opinions of the book and I am sure others will love it. I'm afraid for me the book is not a keeper, it passed the time and was OK, it was the Pride and Prejudice link that ruined it entirely for me as that is one of my all time favourite books. The being said I didn't think much at all about Death Comes to Pemberley either - think I'll stick to the originals

Hi Frankie! The Library of Unrequited Love is definitely worth a read and a book that I would re-read too. Bonkers was really good and one of my favourite books read so far this year, however I may be slightly biased as I love all things with Jennifer Saunders in It was funny in places and also quite touching when she talked about her battle with cancer. It is quite a quick read but if you like her I think you'd enjoy the book. There are some great sections about her time with Joanna Lumley when they were filming Ab Fab.

I've not come across Alex Gray Bookmonkey, thanks for the recommendation. I too love a series set in Scotland.

I'm from England and have lived in Devon all my life.

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Hi Athena! Just as you posted I added my review of The Library of Unrequited Love. I liked it, I have never read anything else quite like it.

The Library of Unrequited Love What a bizarre book - no paragraphs, and just one dialogue from the librarian. When I started the book I didn't think that I would continue with it due to the style however I soon found myself rather engrossed in the book. The librarian has been very much stereotyped in my opinion, with all of the traits that an old fashioned person would have, but this didn't detract from the story but added to it as it could not have been written from the point of view of a young person. The book is very short and I read it in one sitting. I would recommend this book to others and let them decide what they think, one friend of mine would not like it at all due to the style that it is written in however I know others would love the quirky nature of it. Give it a try, it might surprise you :-)

I appreciate that I have joined this a little bit late, but thought that it would be a good place to start logging the books that I read over the year and a little bit about them. So far this year I have read: Watching the Ghosts - Kate Ellis (Jan) Giants Bread - Mary Westmacott (Jan) Entry Island - Peter May (Jan) The Plague Maiden (Jan) Not Another Diet - Pauline Quirk (Feb) The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell (Feb) Bonkers - Jennifer Saunders (Feb) Monster In The Box - Ruth Rendell (Mar) The Hangman's Song - James Oswald (Mar) The Library of Unrequited Love - Sophie Divry (Mar) Longbourn - Jo Baker (Mar) A Stranger at Green Knowe - Lucy M Boston (Apr) A 1950's Housewife - Shelia Hardy (Apr) Just One Evil Act - Elizabeth George (Apr) Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy - Lucy Ann Holmes (May) The Twelfth Day of July - Joan Lingard (May) Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops - Jen Campbell (May) A Spoonful of Sugar - Brenda Ashford (May) Witch Hunt - Syd Moore (May)

You might like the book Shadow Year by Hannah Richell, it reminded me of The Secret History when reading it.

There is another great series of crime books based in Scotland which I find similar to the Rebus series written by James Oswald. The first book in the series is called Natural Causes, I read that one then had to get all of the following books as I was completely hooked.

The Wesley Peterson series of books by Kate Ellis are fantastic.

I have read all of her books and thoroughly enjoy them. I like the way that there is a police story at the centre of each novel but the sub plot with Erica and Patrick and how they develop through the course of the books. Have just read her most recent offering The Lost Boy and am already dying to read her next offering which is due out next year.

I would have to agree with all of the review and say that this was a fantastic book and one that I have recommended to all of my friends. It was a unique story with some very touching moments. Brilliant, cannot wait to read more of her books.

I really enjoyed this book too and the way that the area the story was set in was described really brought the book to life. I agree that the ending was a bit odd and I felt that it didn't really fit with the rest of the book.

The book is fantastic and would definitely recommend. I read it during my lunch breaks one week and was late back twice as I was so engrossed

The Other Bolelyn Girl Atonement

I felt like this about Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantle, everyone who had read it that I knew had really enjoyed it and recommended it to me as they know that I love historical fiction. I hated it, I persevered for 100 pages but just did not relate to the story and just hated it.

Paulo Coelho Terry Pratchett Hilary Mantel

It would have to be Labrinyth by Kate Mosse, and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

I only lend to a handful of close friends who I know will look after my books the way I would. I do have a mental list of those people who I will not lend to after getting books back in a terrible condition, if at all. I am currently in a situation where I am unable to afford to buy all of the books that I want to read so am borrowing more from the library, it is shocking to see the condition of some of the books on offer. I just don't understand how people think that it is except able to treat a book with so little respect, especially when it is not their own.

I have just finished this book and agree that it is a fantastic read. It is the first book that I have read by Kate Ellis but I will now be working my way through the rest of her books without a doubt.

I have just finished this book too and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is not my usual type of book but with all of the good reviews that I have heard, not just on here but by people I know, I though that I just had to give it a chance. I got the book and the minute I started reading it I could not put it down - I found I was making time to just read which for me is a sign of an excellent book! I am very interested in how the characyers are going to develop in the next book as I think that there are still many things that we do not know about them. I would definitely recommend this book.

Definitely European, although I take these tendancies to the library now as this has been an expensive mistake in the past when I have read a book and loved it and then gone on to buy everything else an author has ever written only to find that I either go off their style of writing or that the rest of their books don't live up to the first one that I read