Another quiet week for me with only two books finished, from authors I'd not read before. I enjoyed them both.
Print books dominated my week, though I did read a few more chapters of my current ebook, Daughter of Mine. This book is not grabbing my attention as I thought it would given its setting and the temptation of a secret. My other current reads are going well.
My next read will be Shoes for Anthony. This book piqued my interest not only because it is set during World War II, but also that it is set in Wales, offering a different perspective of the war.
What I Read Last Week
Map of Stars by Catherine Law
Kent, 1939. Eliza is to be married to Nicholas, her companion since she was a child. But when the pair are involved in a car crash, Eliza is rescued by a stranger, Lewis Harper, whose stunning green eyes she will never forget.
As the war begins, Eliza's world begins to fall apart: her beloved brother Martyn is killed in action, and her once-beloved husband grows increasingly distant. And then, when her efforts to help the Dunkirk evacuees take her to the south coast, she spots a familiar pair of eyes.
Armistice by Nick Stafford
Philomena Bligh's fiancé Dan, has been shot. The First World War claimed many lives and so his death is not, in its own way, surprising. But Dan was shot in the minutes after the Armistice. The war was over.
She cannot understand how this could have happened, or why they were still fighting that morning anyway. So, in March 1919, over Dan's birthday, Philomena travels to London to meet the men who were with him when he died. What she discovers is more shocking than she'd ever imagined. Dan's best friend, Jonathan, tells her that Dan was shot by a British officer over a gambling debt. There is no proof and all records of Jonathan's accusation have been destroyed.
Refusing to accept anything less than justice for the man she loved, Philomena decides to take on the Establishment. Worried that she may cause his own downfall and feeling guilty for his mysterious part in Dan's death, Jonathan decides to accompany her on her mission.
Set against a backdrop of London in the aftermath of the Great War, a time of upheaval, grief and wanton escapism, this is not just an inspirational book about what it means to be a hero, but also a breathtaking love story.
What I'm Reading Today
For Two Cents I'll Go With You by Marcia Maxwell
In the spring of 1917, Walter "Pat" Lusk sits at his desk shuffling papers and dreaming of glory on the battlefield. Frustrated, he's convinced the Great War will remain forever out of reach until one day his friend Aubrey arrives with the thrilling news that the United States has finally declared war on Germany! With his path to adventure now clear, Pat immediately enlists in the Army, where he trains as a surgeon's assistant. Sent to France with Evacuation Hospital No. 4, will Pat finally attain the glory he seeks treating desperately wounded soldiers through the war's darkest days? Will he ever win over the redoubtable Nurse Oberholtzer? Will the Armistice bring peace to the boys of Evac 4, or does a time of even greater testing await Pat and his friends?
Daughter of Mine by Fiona Lowe
The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria’s Western District — but could a long-held secret threaten their family?
Harriett Chirnwell has a perfect life — a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her.
Xara has always lived in Harriet’s shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister’s standards of perfection and prestige.
Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre. But is her life in Melbourne happy?
Despite all three sisters having a different and sometimes strained bond with their mother, Edwina, they come together to organise a party for her milestone birthday — the first since their father’s death. But when Edwina arrives at her party on the arm of another man, the tumult is like a dam finally breaking. Suddenly the lives of the Chirnwell sisters are flooded by scandal. Criminal accusations, a daughter in crisis, and a secret over fifty years in the making start to crack the perfect façade of the prominent pastoral family.
The Unmourned by Meg and Tom Kneally
Not all murder victims are mourned, but the perpetrator must always be punished ...
For Robert Church, superintendent of the Parramatta Female Factory, the most enjoyable part of his job is access to young convict women.Inmate Grace O'Leary has made it her mission to protect the women from his nocturnal visits and when Church is murdered with an awl thrust through his right eye, she becomes the chief suspect.
Recently arrived from Port Macquarie, ticket-of-leave gentleman convict Hugh Monsarrat now lives in Parramatta with his ever-loyal housekeeper Mrs Mulrooney. Monsarrat, as an unofficial advisor on criminal and legal matters to the governor's secretary, is charged with uncovering the truth of Church's murder. Mrs Mulrooney accompanies him to the Female Factory, where he is taking depositions from prisoners, including Grace, and there the housekeeper strikes up friendships with certain women, which prove most intriguing.
Monsarrat and Mrs Mulrooney both believe that Grace is innocent, but in this they are alone, so to exonerate her they must find the murderer. Many hated Church and are relieved by his death, but who would go as far as killing him
What I Hope To Read Next
Shoes for Anthony by Emma Kennedy
The idea of the war coming to their small, impoverished Welsh mining village always seemed remote, but with one explosive event and the arrival of the Americans preparing for the invasion of France, the people of Treherbert find their world turned upside down.
But war brings distrust, lies and danger. And as the villagers find themselves hopelessly divided, Anthony, an 11-year-old who hasn’t had a pair of shoes in years, is going to have to choose between what is popular and what is right.
A reasonable week on the reading front with three books finished, two of which I hadn't planned to read. The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor and The Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler were part of my library haul and proved irresistible - The Anatomy of Ghosts because Andrew Taylor is one of my favourite authors, but I didn't think this was one of his better books, and The Keeper of Secrets appealed to me as I'm always on the look out for a new series to follow. While I enjoyed this book I'm not sure I liked it enough to continue with the series.
From This Valley, the third of my books, was an unusual story of a young man coming to terms with his past and looking for a better future. His search takes him into Canada where he meets various people, among them Mounties, trappers and several Native Indian tribes, as well as Métis Voyageurs. Canada's history is something I know very little about, so found this novel very informative as well as a good story.
This week I'm carrying over from last week Daughter of Mine and have started For Two Cents I'll Go With You.
Up next is Map of Stars, but Tuesday is library day, so that may change depending on what books come in for me.
What I Read Last Week
From This Valley by Murray Harvey
The year is 1876, and Trooper Ryan Price Meade is a deserter from the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment who strikes north, fleeing the Montana Territory just as Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer closes in on Little Bighorn. A deeply troubled young man, Meade finds himself in Canada’s Northwest Territory, only to be confronted with all he has lost and come face to face with a ghost from the past—one that will alter the course of the rest of his life.
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge. The ghost of murdered Sylvia Whichcote has been sighted prowling the grounds by Frank Oldershaw, a disturbed fellow commoner. When his anxious mother employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts- a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion - to investigate the sighting, the uneasy status quo at Jerusalem is rapidly torn apart. Holdsworth grows to realise that the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs the privileged life at Jerusalem with a rigour far more effective than anything the Master, Dr. Carbury, could muster. And when Holdsworth finds himself haunted - not only by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, but also Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife - his fate is sealed. He must unravel the circumstances surrounding Sylvia's death ... or the hauntings will continue.
The Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler
Spring 1810. Young Parson Tobias Campion is excited to be taking over the small Warwickshire parish of Moreton Priory. But his first night in the village brings excitement of the wrong kind when Tobias intervenes in an attempted rape and becomes hero to housemaid Lizzie Woodman. As Tobias settles into life in Morton Priory he finds friendship in the form of Dr. Edmund Hansard and his concern for Lizzie quickly blossoms into something more. But as Jem, Tobias's groom, and local farm boy Matthew compete for Lizzie's attention Tobias resigns himself to the fact that his feeling for the girl will remain unrequited. Soon, however, his mind turns to other matters when the unsettling death of poverty stricken poacher Mr Jenkins, the suspicious demise of local aristocrat Lord Elham and a mysterious attack on Tobias himself make one thing clear; a malign influence is at work in the supposedly sleepy hamlet!
What I'm Reading Today
Daughter of Mine by Fiona Lowe
The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria’s Western District — but could a long-held secret threaten their family?
Harriett Chirnwell has a perfect life — a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her.
Xara has always lived in Harriet’s shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister’s standards of perfection and prestige.
Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre. But is her life in Melbourne happy?
Despite all three sisters having a different and sometimes strained bond with their mother, Edwina, they come together to organise a party for her milestone birthday — the first since their father’s death. But when Edwina arrives at her party on the arm of another man, the tumult is like a dam finally breaking. Suddenly the lives of the Chirnwell sisters are flooded by scandal. Criminal accusations, a daughter in crisis, and a secret over fifty years in the making start to crack the perfect façade of the prominent pastoral family.
For Two Cents I'll Go With You by Marcia Maxwell
In the spring of 1917, Walter "Pat" Lusk sits at his desk shuffling papers and dreaming of glory on the battlefield. Frustrated, he's convinced the Great War will remain forever out of reach until one day his friend Aubrey arrives with the thrilling news that the United States has finally declared war on Germany! With his path to adventure now clear, Pat immediately enlists in the Army, where he trains as a surgeon's assistant. Sent to France with Evacuation Hospital No. 4, will Pat finally attain the glory he seeks treating desperately wounded soldiers through the war's darkest days? Will he ever win over the redoubtable Nurse Oberholtzer? Will the Armistice bring peace to the boys of Evac 4, or does a time of even greater testing await Pat and his friends?
What I Hope To Read Next
Map of Stars by Catherine Law
Kent, 1939. Eliza is to be married to Nicholas, her companion since she was a child. But when the pair are involved in a car crash, Eliza is rescued by a stranger, Lewis Harper, whose stunning green eyes she will never forget.
As the war begins, Eliza's world begins to fall apart: her beloved brother Martyn is killed in action, and her once-beloved husband grows increasingly distant. And then, when her efforts to help the Dunkirk evacuees take her to the south coast, she spots a familiar pair of eyes.
To meet the Darracott family of Darracott Place, Sussex, comes Major Hugh “Hugo” Darracott, an unknown relative and now heir of the irascible Lord Darracott.
The Darracotts are convinced that Hugo is a country bumpkin because his father, Lord Daracott’s second son, married a Yorkshire weaver’s daughter. They poke fun and are determined to dislike him, believing he will never know what it means to be a Darracott of Darracott Place. His cousins are disgruntled by the fact that Hugo, having “brass” of his own, is not dependent on his grandfather.
But Hugo is more astute than they give him credit for
At the Duchess of Richmond's ball, three days before the famous Battle of Waterloo, many are surprised by the presence of the Trenchard family. For James Trenchard is Wellington's supply master and in trade. While it is an important role to keep the army well supplied, it doesn't warrant an invitation to the ball. But Trenchard has a beautiful daughter, Sophia, who has caught the eye of Viscount Bellasis, the only son of Lord and Lady Brockenhurst.
Skip forward to the 1840s and the Trenchards, through a number of successful business deals, have become part of the nouveau riche and now live in the fashionable area of Belgravia. Among their neighbours are the Brockenhursts.
Kent, 1939. Eliza is to be married to Nicholas, her companion since she was a child. But when the pair are involved in a car crash, Eliza is rescued by a stranger, Lewis Harper, whose stunning green eyes she will never forget.
The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria’s Western District — but could a long-held secret threaten their family?
Not all murder victims are mourned, but the perpetrator must always be punished ...
