Some of my reads for August

I managed to read a few this month, seven to be exact.  Two books by Mick Herron,  Down Cemetery Road and London Rules.

London Rules

“London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one.

Cover your arse.”

The book is full of witty dialogue and black humour.  I found myself laughing out loud in places.

“Eight months of anger f**king management sessions, and this evening she’d officially be declared anger free. It had been hinted she might even get a badge. That could be a problem – if anyone stuck a badge on her, they’d be carrying their teeth home in a hankie. . .”

Parts are reminiscent of Yes Minister.  A thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller/ espionage one of the Slough House series set in London.

Down Cemetery Road was the debut novel of Mark Herron and is the first in a series called Oxford Investigations.

“When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker—a young married woman, bored and unhappy with domestic life—becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead. What begins in a peaceful neighborhood reaches its climax on a remote, unwelcoming Scottish island as the search puts Sarah in league with a man who finds himself being hunted down by murderous official forces.”

This was another, “child missing” book, of which I have read a few.  The main character, a bored housewife certainly transformed into someone else during the novel.

Another good crime fiction novel.

The Tea Gardens and Nightingale, both by Fiona McIntosh were escapist adventure/romance novels for me and very easy reading.

The Tea Gardens

“Dr Isla Fenwick has a life that most modern women of 1933 might envy – her career gives her status, her pedigree adds freedom, and her oldest crush, Jovian Mandeville, has reappeared in her life with a marriage proposal.

Her life is beginning to feel complete. However, she insists on keeping a private promise she made to her late mother to work at the coalface of medicine in India before committing to life as a dutiful wife. With Jove’s blessing, Isla sails to Calcutta to set up a new midwifery clinic. What she can’t anticipate is how India will test everything she relies upon within, challenging her professionalism and her loyalties”

A good romance story set in Brighton and India.

Nightingale

A heart-soaring novel of heartbreak and heroism, love and longing.

This was romance and historical fiction in one.  Set During the First World War and involving the ANZAC troops. A heart-breaking tale but well worth the read.

“Amidst the carnage of Gallipoli, British nurse Claire Nightingale meets Australian Light Horseman Jamie Wren. Despite all odds, they fall deeply in love. Their flame burns bright and carries them through their darkest hours, even when war tears them apart.

Jamie’s chance meeting with Turkish soldier Açar Shahin on the blood-stained battlefield forges an unforgettable bond between the men. It also leaves a precious clue to Jamie’s whereabouts for Claire to follow.

Come peacetime, Claire’s desperate search to find Jamie takes her all the way to Istanbul, and deep into the heart of Açar’s family, where she attracts the unexpected attention of a charismatic and brooding scholar.

In the name of forgiveness, cultures come together, enemies embrace and forbidden passions ignite – but by the breathtaking conclusion, who will be left standing to capture Nurse Nightingale’s heart?”

A must read, particularly if interested in Gallipoli.

I will record the remaining three novels in another post.