Nicki's book blog

  One Midnight With You by Shari Low -women’s fiction Another treasure of a read from Shari Low, one I didn’t want to end. One of my books of the year.  Aliish is struggling with the fact that she is about to become a divorced woman. Her mind is taken off this by her friend being in hospital hoping the cancer she had a while back hasn’t returned. Her daughter Emmy is hoping her boyfriend isn't following the same path as her father, but she has her suspicions. Minnie has a secret present she is hoping to give to a very special friend at their next meeting. Dario is praying that something will come along rapidly to sort out his business problems with the family restaurant, as this could be the last new year it survives. All of these people usually celebrate Hogmanay at Gino’s restaurant. They have been going for years and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Can they each solve their problems? Shari has a special skill, a talent for enveloping the reader, almost in a hug in a b

  Last Christmas by Clare Swatman- women’s fiction Bea is flying to New York just before Christmas to start a new life. She is hesitant for several reasons and not just about landing in the Big Apple. Will she go or should she stay? Her relationship with her live-in boyfriend has soured and although she feels sorry for him as he suffers bouts of depression, she really wants to get on with her own life. On the plane she sits next to Paddy as she calls him as he won’t divulge his real name, saying she would laugh at him as many have before.  We are taken through dual parallel timelines of Bea at home and Bea in New York living two lives. Which one is real and which works out? I loved this, it's a  very different clever premise but easy to follow. Sometimes life has a plan for whichever way you turn, and not always what you thought. Fate has a hand. This is a romance with a difference, one that's life affirming and reassuring that the planets really can align and perhaps sometimes

  The Life Impossible by Matt Haig- general fiction Grace has retired, well, gracefully if not carefully. She has been scammed out of her savings and lives quietly in a routine she is comfortable with but does wonder if there is more to life. When she is left a villa in Spain by an old friend, there is only one way to find out about the house and the more to life bit. Once there she finds out things about her friend as well as her own life that can make a world of difference to the world we live in both globally and personally. Written as only Matt Haig can, this is a treasure of a read that makes you think about your own life and routine and perhaps pushing those boundaries a little to see what’s out there. A tale of fantasy (or is it), something ethereal that maybe exists in our own lives. A story like no other that would make a fantastic film. (For me I’m casting Meryl Streep as Grace, and Tom Conti as Alberto- which is how I saw them when reading this). It's different, it'

  Alone in the Dark by Joanne Ryan- psychological thriller Abigail lives alone after leaving her controlling and abusive boyfriend a year ago. There was also an incident where she was charged with drink driving and has told few of the real circumstances behind this. This led her to have to leave her job and she now works nights at a supermarket. When running one early morning, she sees a man in a suit running very fast and he is then hit by a car. She goes over to him and he isn't moving. Having no phone on her she runs to the nearest phone box and calls the police and ambulance. On returning to the scene, the police have arrived , however the injured man has vanished. A week or so later she sees a TV appeal for a missing man and she is sure that he is the one she saw injured. On trying to report it, she finds her statement isn't what she said. What on earth is going on and who is trying to keep things hidden? This is a very clever premise that I was drawn to, especially being

  The Fecking Fabulous Forties Club by Freya Kennedy- Women’s fiction Becky is now single, her twin boys are at university and she has Daniel the Spaniel to keep her company. On one of her mothers “ you’ll never guess who’s died” speeches she is horrified to find that the mother of one of her closest school friends has died. Laura fell out with Becky many years ago, but Becky and her other close friend Niamh brave going to the wake and find things aren't as bad as they thought with Laura who is overjoyed to see them. They are now all in their late forties and looking back at the time capsule they set at age 16, they decide things have to change going forward. I very quickly got into this. It’s written with an Irish sense of humour and a big heart. It's a look at life and how sometimes, perhaps without realising it, we take things for granted and the years slip through our fingers and before we know where we are it could be too late to do that dream. There are UWOS (unexpected w

The Head Teacher by H. M. Lynn-psychological thriller Liz is a rather arrogant, self opinionated head teacher working at a catholic school. Her daughter, now 16, used to go there but moved recently due to an incident which the family kept private but citing that she would rather not be at the same school where her mother is head. Walking into an assembly one day Liz finds a picture of her from the past that she hasn't seen before up large on the screen for the world to see. She has her suspicions as to who may be targeting her, but when they involve her daughter things go from bad to worse. Who is doing their best to destroy both her and her family and why? Oh this is a very clever premise and one I raced through. Usually I like the main character but in this case things were slightly different but I still felt for her predicament. A person who holds power and then the carpet is pulled from under them and they don’t know where it is coming from or what is coming next, how well tho

  Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent- mystery/thriller A book by a lexicographer, heaven sent for a bibliophile, a  philobiblist’s dream.  This tells of Martha’s quest to find her missing sister Charlie who disappeared several years ago. Martha after spending time abroad  now works at the Clarendon English Dictionary, where she and colleagues labour to solve the clues they have been sent by the mysterious sender. All are literary or word related so pool their skills to work things out. Each chapter begins with a dictionary definition apt for the chapter, cleverly done. I’m sometimes a little sceptical when reading books by a celebrity but was very much drawn to this one, Suzie being such a master of words on TV, and I was not disappointed- in fact completely the opposite. It's stunningly written and very cleverly thought out. As explained in the text words define civilisation, one cannot exist without the other and to know one is to learn of the other and this does this so beautifu

  MURDER IN BLOOM by Liz Fielding - Crime Abby is a gardener but also a good investigative nose. When she is invited onto the set of a gardening show having just won a gold medal for her work, she is rather anticipatory, but pushed on by her media loving daughter she does it. The host, a well known celebrity, is late to the set and when she collapses Abby is on hand to help and to hear things. Daisy’s death doesn't seem suspicious at first but as the pieces come together Abby realises there is more to the gardening programme than anyone first thought. This is part of a series but happily stands alone (just Abby’s background is the interlinking thread- but why miss out on two other 5*(from me) reads?). I like Abby and her tenacity for justice as well as being a good friend to those who need her- but don’t always know it, as Fay, Daisy’s assistant in this book was. There’s everything from a little romance, plenty of drama and of course the odd murder amongst the gardening and TV comm

  Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh-Crime thriller Ruby is a nanny to well off families in New York as she used to be one of the neighbours. On her way home one night she witnesses a shooting and sees both the killer and victim. Ruby sees this as an opportunity and takes the weapon, leaving it with one of her employers and making an anonymous tip off. Eddie Flynn is a very wise, experienced lawyer who has seen more than a few things in his time and is now defending the man who was set up by Ruby. Eddy has been a grifter in the past and is wise, very wise. There are good books and great books and ones that blow everything else out of the water- this is one of those reads. It’s twisty and complex (but easy for the reader to understand) and incredibly well thought out. A belter of a plot,  a Cavanagh brilliance, one that left me reeling. Clever and  calculated, just like Eddy. So happy to be a part of Eddy’s “family”. Wow isn't enough of a superlative. Stunning, loved this, brilliant. For