Welcome to the bookish joy that is My Favourite Reads!

2022 has so far proved to be a fab reading year. Most of the time I average four to six books a month but right now I’m closer to eight to ten. This won’t last. I’ve been unwell since January, causing too much couch-potato-ing with book in hand, but a new treatment should soon see me back to normal. There will be golf! Lunching! Writing! Travel! Cooking! Laughter! Life! I can’t wait. Being sick has knobs on it.

I only had one “Did Not Finish” in April – a psychological thriller with a too-stupid-to-live heroine. I lasted 170 pages before I gave up, so it’s not like I didn’t give her a chance. The rest of my reads though were terrific.

Favourite of all was…

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Bruny by Heather Rose

Bruny was already languishing on my to-be-read pile when a friend recommended it, so I bumped it up the list. And what an excellent read it proved to be, loaded with political intrigue, a touch of romance, sympathetic characters (I particularly enjoyed the Shakespeare quoting elderly father), and a glorious Tasmanian setting.

An enormous (unnecessary?) bridge is being built connecting mainland Tasmania with Bruny Island, but why? When the bridge is bombed, New York resident and conflict resolution expert Astrid Coleman is called home by her brother, who also happens to be the state’s premier. Astrid immediately smells a rat. But this is family…

A wonderful thriller. I only had one moment when I gave the book a bit of a side-eye, but then I just went with it. Lots of food for thought in Bruny too.

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Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone

Another excellent thriller by a new-to-me author.

When Cat’s twin sister El disappears, she abandons her self-exile in America to head immediately to England. Not only to her homeland, but to the very house where she and her sister endured a disturbed childhood, and which El and her husband have made their own.

Authorities and her husband believe El dead, but Cat is convinced she would feel it if she was. Then letters and emails begin to turn up, bringing Cat closer to the truth. Or is it?

Lots of lovely twists and a delicious ending.

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Untrue Till Death by Graham Brack

I really enjoyed the first in this series Death in Delft (which I talk about here) and was so enamoured I bought the next two. Book two, Untrue Till Death didn’t let me down. Its  narrator – priest, scholar and very reluctant detective Master Mercurius – was as snarky and entertaining as before, and the crime(s) intriguing. I also adored the 17^th century Dutch setting and time period.

If you like historical mysteries, the Master Mercurius Mysteries is a beauty. I’m really looking forward to book 3, Dishonour and Obey.

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Escape with Her Greek Tycoon by Michelle Douglas

You’ve gotta love an enemies to lovers romance and Escape with Her Greek Tycoon was particularly delicious. The conflict between MJ and Nikos was off the charts and it was hard to imagine either of them having a future together, despite their intense attraction. The barriers were just too high.

But this is a romance in which we have happy ever afters and in Escape with Her Greek Tycoon Michelle Douglas does a brilliant job of making the impossible possible.

Completely sighworthy and very page-turnery. Absolutely loved Escape with Her Greek Tycoon and it had bonus armchair travel for me too!

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A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

I’m a big fan of Amy Harmon. She writes amazingly emotional stories with sympathetic and relatable characters who undergo enormous change in the narrative.

Blue Echohawk’s upbringing was far from normal. Abandoned to a man Blue considered her father, then to the man’s sister when he went missing, Blue has no idea who she really is. She doesn’t even know her true age. Still in high school at age 19 (or is it 20?), she’s a difficult student – smart-mouthed, sexy, forecast to come to nothing despite her cleverness and talent for woodcarving. Until she’s challenged by an inspirational history teacher…

Fabulous, as always.

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The Price of Fortune: The Untold Story of Being James Packer by Damon Kitney

Regular readers will know that, apart from writing craft and business books (and cookbooks, I luurve those), I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. Occasionally, though, something takes my fancy, as was the case with this biography of billionaire businessman James Packer, who shocked many in 2018 when he resigned from Crown Resorts citing mental health issues.

I found this fascinating. James Packer comes across as nothing like I imagined. The constant refrain from friends and colleagues is that he’s a kind, sensitive and generous man, and a clever one too, albeit wracked with doubt. Packer’s self-criticism felt heavy and unfair at times but perhaps not unexpected given his health.

I may have to start reading more non-fic. In fact, I have one sitting on my to-be-read pile right now. I’ll just have to see where my reading mood takes me.

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The Wild Child by Mary Jo Putney

What an amazing historical romance, and very close contender for My Favourite Read! I loved everything about this story – the way it was predominantly told from the hero’s perspective, the unusualness of the romance, the fraternal rivalry, the complex characters … even the gardens.

Dominic is gorgeous and kind. Meriel is clever and deliciously naughty. There’s skullduggery, plenty of laughs, drama and danger, and oodles of wonderful romance.

The Wild Child was book one of Putney’s Bride Trilogy. I have book two, The China Bride, in my sights.

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The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths

Totally loving this Dr Ruth Galloway series. I love the mysteries, of course – they’re so interesting with their historical element – but it’s the cast that’s really drawn me in. It takes a clever author to create such flawed characters yet keep them likable.

When a team of archaeologists discover six bodies buried at the base of a cliff, Ruth is called in, teaming once again with DCI Nelson to solve the mystery of the men’s deaths. Deaths that stretch back to World War II.

Looking forward to the next, A Room Full of Bones.

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Calista by Laura Rahme

I picked Calista up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I shouldn’t have been, though. Gothic is so in my zone.

Set in mid-nineteenth century Berkshire, England, Calista is an intriguing murder mystery/horror featuring French detective Maurice Leroux, who’s been engaged to investigate two deaths at Alexandra Hall. From arrival, Leroux can feel there is something very wrong with the house – and the staff – but what exactly?

As his stay turns increasingly strange, secrets are slowly revealed and unexplained events test his courage, Leroux begins to suspect there may be more evil at work than that of humans.

Great fun.

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What reads would you like to shout about this month?

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