General Chat

Please suggest two books to read and give a synopsis of each. Books will be voted for on Saturday 27th Feb books to be reviewed on reviewed on 10th April

From Michelle


Hi Ann I'm not going to be able to get to my computer for a day of so, so if you put the suggestion thread up, here are my two books for March

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

Captain Charles Hunter is hired by the Governor of Jamaica, Sir James Almont, to lead an expedition to the island fortress of Matanceros. It is there that a galleon, supposedly containing treasures untold, is awaiting protection across the Atlantic for safe travel back to Spain. Almont is excited about the possibility of reward in this venture, though his secretary Mr. Robert Hacklett is less than enthusiastic, calling Hunter a pirate.

A lusty, rollicking 17th century adventure.. History as entertainment.. An entertaining tale filled with crafty privateers, despicable villains, treasure hoards, double crosses and a sea monster.

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross

A bomb explodes in a commuter train station, killing several people, including New York City hedge-fund manager Charles Friedman. At roughly the same time, a suspicious auto accident kills a young man in Greenwich, Connecticut. The detective on that case, Ty Hauck, soon discovers an odd connection between the hit-and-run and the bombing. He investigates and discovers that Charles Friedman was not the man he appeared to be. He also forges a connection with the dead man’s wife, Karen, that leads him into uncharted waters.


From Michelle from the land of the long white cloud

I'm going out for the day. Will be back this evening with my suggestions.


Tess

Above the Bright Blue Sky by Margaret Thornton
Life has been far from happy for Maisie Jackson for a number of years, ever since her mother remarried after her beloved father’s death. Tormented by her stepfamily, Maisie dreams of escaping to a new life far away. And it seems as if her dreams are about to come true.
It is 1939 and war is looming dark on the horizon. For many, with memories of the ‘war to end all wars’ still fresh in their minds, this is a frightening prospect. But for nine year old Maisie, it represents her longed for chance of freedom. In this time of trouble, when life suddenly seems so precious and vulnerable, true and lasting friendships are formed and love blossoms as the dark clouds of war eventually clear to the bright blue sky of a hopeful future.

Once in a lifetime by Cathy Kelly
Ingrid Fitzgerald is flying high. A successful TV presenter, she’s happily married with two wonderful children. But as they leave the nest, she’s about to discover a secret that will shatter her world.
Natalie Flynn is falling in love – but the secrecy surrounding her Mother’s past still troubles her. And Charlie Fallon loves her family and her job at Kenny’s department store, but could now be the time to fight for her own happiness?
The woman with the power to help them is free spirit Star Bluestone. Experience tells her that the important things in life must be treasured and the chance for real joy comes only once in a lifetime.

Marian Keyes says: ‘Wise warm, compassionate, full of characters that I loved and identified with, it’s like having a great gossip with your best friends. Her best book yet.’

anyone else before I start the chasing up?

My two recommends for this month are:-

Lost Angel by Kitty Neale

DESPARATE Having lost everything in the blitz, Hilda Stone and her 14 year old daughter Ellen, are devastated when Doug- beloved husband and father - is lost at sea
DEVASTATED Years later, Ellen makes a shocking mistake- but is rescued by the man who be comes her husband. and the family finally find peace. But their joy is short lived when Ellen's baby daughter is killed in a tragic accident.
DISTRAUGHT. Blaming herself for the death, Ellen remembers a strange prediction from many years ago and searches frantically for proof of an afterlife
DETERMINED Ellen's search becomes an obsession and she reaches rock bottom- until she is given a sign. But do miracles really exist and can Ellen ever find the answers that she so desparately craves?




















.

The second book is:-

PROPHECY by Peter James

A young boy watches as his mother dies. Drunk students play with a Ouija board in a damp cellar. A sadistic man dies in agony. Can bricks and mortar retain imprints of the emotions experienced within them?.
Frannie is delighted when a chance meeting leads to a romance. The fact that the relationship is marred by gruesome tradgedies, she dismisses as an unsettling coincidence. But eventually she can no longer ignore the fact that she is the only thing linking these horrible events. Is it a murderous practical joke? Or worse......?

Sorry about the large gap between threads, don't know what happened.

My suggestions-

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
by Marina Lewycka

For years, Nadezhda and Vera, two Ukrainian sisters, raised in England by their refugee parents, have had as little as possible to do with each other - and they have their reasons. But now they find they'd better learn how to get along, because since their mother's death their aging father has been sliding into his second childhood, and an alarming new woman has just entered his life. Valentina, a bosomy young synthetic blonde from the Ukraine, seems to think their father is much richer than he is, and she is keen that he leave this world with as little money to his name as possible. If Nadazhda and Vera don't stop her, no one will. But separating their addled and annoyingly lecherous dad from his new love will prove to be no easy feat - Valentina is a ruthless pro and the two sisters swiftly realize that they are mere amateurs when it comes to ruthlessness. As Hurricane Valentina turns the family house upside down, old secrets come falling out, including the most deeply buried one of them all, from the War, the one that explains much about why Nadazhda and Vera are so different. In the meantime, oblivious to it all, their father carries on with the great work of his dotage, a grand history of the tractor.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith

It is a troublesome fact on which even Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi agree: there are things that men know and ladies do not, and vice versa. It is unfortunate, for example, when Mma Ramotswe's newest client is the big-shot owner of the ailing Kalahari Swoopers, that one thing lady detectives know very little about is football. And when the glamorous Violet Sephotho sets her sights on Mma Makutsi's unsuspecting fiance, it becomes exasperatingly clear that some men do not know how to recognise a ruthless Jezebel even when she is bouncing up and down on the best bed in the Double Comfort Furniture Shop. In her attempt to foster understanding between the sexes and find the traitor on Mr Football's team, Mma Ramotswe ventures into new territory, drinks tea in unfamiliar kitchens and learns to trust in the observational powers of small boys. And, as wise and warm-hearted as his heroine, Alexander McCall Smith reminds us that we must dig deep to uncover the goodness of the human heart.

I'm back, with my suggestions.

The Girls by Lori Lansens

In twenty-nine years, Rose Darlen has never spent a moment apart from her sister, Ruby. She has never gone for a solitary walk or had a private conversation. Yet, in all that time, she has never once looked in Ruby's eyes.
Joined at the head 'The Girls" (as they are know in their small town), attempt to lead a normal life, but can't help being extraordinary. Rose and Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest living craniopagus twins in history, but they are remarkable for a lot more than their sisterly bond.
Born in 1974, in the aftermath of a Tornado and abondoned by their young mother, Rose and Ruby are raised by Lovey and Stash Darlen, (a nurse and a butcher respectively).
This is the story of their lives, told in their own words.

My second suggestion is -

The Education of Mrs Bemis by John Sedgwick

A dead body floating by a pier.
An elderly woman curled up on a bed in a department store.
A psychiatrist searching for her own identity.
These are the pieces of the puzzle that, in John Dedgwicks' s novel of psychological suspense, begin to come into focus when Madeline Bemis is referred to the treatment of Dr. Alice Matthews at Montrose Psychiatric Hospital.
Mrs Bemis' treatment gradually peels back the layers of a disturbing past whose shameful secrets and hidden sorrows stem form the war years of the 1940's - and reveals an unexpected link to the floating corpse.
Mrs Bemis' awakening sparks an intimacy between the two women the goes beyond the ordinary doctor/patient relationship - but also makes it clear that Mrs Bemis' recovery, and perhapseven her safety, depends on quickly coming to terms with her secret history.

I have sent reminders to
Jill
Perse
Alfie

Is there anyone else I should be reminding? There don't seem to be so many of us these days.

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett
This is a follow-up of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Set twenty years later than the story of Elizabeth, it is about her sister Mary, who stayed at home until their mother died - and how she sets out to make something of her life. Author Colleen McCulloch.

Rainwater
Ella is happy running her boarding house until Mr. Rainwater arrives as a tenant. Author - Sandra Brown.

Hello was coming on here but got stuck in a pot-hole in the threads.

Anything by this guy is great, real dash of Yorkshire wit:
Grief Encounters by Stuart Pawson is about detective inspector Charlie Priest. Normally the detective inspector hero of books like these is a cynical, angst-ridden semi-alcoholic who listen to jazz records and drinks a bottle of whisky for supper. Charlie Priest plays against the stereotype; he has a sunny disposition, he enjoys walking across the moors. As a young man he went to art school and he still paints pictures. The books are cheerful and light, even though they often deal with very, very grim realities.
And hey my OH heard me laughing with the first one I read and he ended up going through all 12 of them from the library as have I.

Regards Persey

Oops sorry to be late but been a busy week with the lambs all starting :)

The Forget-me-not Sonata by Santa Montefiore
Following a family tragedy, Audrey Garnet forsakes her love for the eccentric Louis Forrester, marrying his dashing elder brother, Cecil, a decorated war hero and a perfect gentleman, who would be categorized as “every mother’s dream” son-in-law.

In spite of passing years, Audrey never forgets her passion for Louis, the strains of the Forget-Me-Not sonata he composed for her wafting eerily in and out of her life. Audrey is one who can “always be relied upon to do what is right”. However, one can sense Audrey’s frustration and at times contempt for herself for conforming to what is expected of her, instead of following her heart.

The Third Twin by Ken Follett
Dr Jeannie Ferrami has a career in genetics research. Her pioneering programme studies identical twins who have been raised apart, hoping to advance the "nature versus nurture" argument. What long-buried secret is the Ferrami programme on the verge of uncovering?

x Jill

I will give Alfie and Helen, our last two to add, until this evening and will then put the vote up.

nudging up

x Jill

Right, it looks like they are not going to reply then so I will put the vote thread up now.

nudge