General Chat

2 books each as usual please.

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
As teenagers, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amis heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girlds’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.
Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again.

The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
Into the treacherous Tudor court comes Hannah. Becoming entangled in the schemes of a handsome traitor Robert Dudley, she is sent as a Holy Fool to spy on Princess Mary. She finds a woman driven by a fatal desire to turn her people back to the true faith – while her sister Elizabeth waits to take advantage of any mistake she makes.
Caught in the savage rivalry between the daughters of Henry V111, torn by her own infatuation with Dudley and duty to her family, thrilled by her own strange gifts but scared of the unknown, Hannah must find a safe way through tumultuous times – when the wrong religion is a death sentence, science and magic are one, and true love can destroy you.
A wonderful account of the Tudor Court.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Water for Elephants. By Sara Gruen.
Set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of America during the Great Depression of the early 1930s this is a story of love and hate, trains and circuses, dwarves and fat ladies, horses and elephants - or to be more specific, one elephant, Rosie, star of Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

Sing You Home. By Jodi Picoult.
Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and after multiple miscarriages and infertility issues, it looks as though her dream is about to come true - she is seven months pregnant. But a terrible turn of events leads to a nightmare - one that takes away her baby and breaks apart her marriage to Max. In the aftermath she throws herself into her career as a music therapist, using music to soothe burn victims in hospital, to help Alzheimer's patients connect with the present, to provide solace for hospice patients. When Vanessa, a guidance counsellor, asks Zoe to work with a suicidal teen, their relationship moves from business to friendship and then, to Zoe's surprise, blossoms into love.

Is that a new J Piccoult Berona

I did so like Sarah Challis so am putting up this one.

Sarah Challis - That Summer Affair

When a schoolgirl Jodie Foot goes missing in a sleepy Dorset village, the shock waves that reverberate through the small community are as far-reaching as they are
devastating. For Rachael Turner Jodie's disappearance causes her to question her marriage after routine police enquiries reveal that her husband, Dave, lied about his
whereabouts that evening.All Rachael has ever wanted is a happy home and a loving family and now it's about to be torn apart.
For Henry Steerer, Rachel's neighbour, Jodie's disappearance is equally traumatic. His old feelings of misery and loneliness return as he struggles to stifle painful
memories of his own childhood. And Juliet Fairweather, arriving in the village the evening of the disappearance, finds herself involved in an unexpected personal drama
while her elderly mother Bobbie, for most of her life a bystander, is drawn inexorably into other people's lives.
For everyone involved, one ordinary summer's day will bring extraordinary consequences and the need to examine their own sense of loss and longing.

Only one Perse?

No, never only one..... I went off to do my reviews and then got sidetracked and then went into genealogy Chat instead of General Chat and wondered where the threads had gone..... doh!!

Then I had to go out to the sleepout in the dark with a torch (the lights aren't working out there) to find a book I have been meaning to suggest. Phew!!

Voyage of Innocence by Elizabeth Edmondson

In 1932, three young women go up to Oxford: Verity, a clergyman's daughter, her aristrocratic cousin, Lady Claudia, and Lally, a senator's daughter from Chicago.
Verity and Claudia plunge into university life with passion and energy, forming new friendships and questioning all the orthodoxies of their background. Both are swept into the political fervour of the thirties, but on opposite sides, as Verity falls under the influence of the intense Etonian communist, Alfred Gore, while Claudia is drawn to the urbane, pro-German economist, John Petrus. Lally watches and keeps her own counsel, earning the respect and affection of all their circle.
Verity's convictions lead her to take agonizing decisions, which affect not only her future, but also that of her family and friends. In the fearful days of 1938, almost destroyed by the choices she has made and disillusioned with most of her beliefs, she embarks on a journey to India- a stormy voyage, overshadowed by danger and the fear of war; a voyage which changes her life.

(^_^)

Ann - Yes, I think it must be her latest book. The stores are advertising it.

I'm back...

My suggestions are -

Losing You by Nicci French

Nina Landry has given up city life for the isolated community of Sandling Island, lying off the bleak east coast of England.
At night the wind howls, and sometimes they are cut off by the incoming tide. For Nina though, it is home. It is safe.

But when Nina's teenage daughter, Charlie, fails to return from a sleepover on the day they,re to go on holiday, the island becomes a different place altogether. A place of secrets and suspicions. Where no one - friends, neighbours or police- believed Nina's instinctive fear that her daughter is in terrible danger. Alone, she undergoes a frantic search for Charlie. And as day turns to night, she begins to doubt not just whether they'll leave the islan for their holiday - but whether they will ever leave it again.
* * * * * * * * * *

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Enter a vanished world: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962.
Where black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver ...

There's Aibleen, raising her seventeenth white child and nursing the hurt caused by her own son's tragic death; Minny, whose cooking is nearly as sassy as her tongue; and white Miss Sheeter, home from college, who wants to knowwhy her beloved maid has disappeared.

Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they'd be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundries, they come to depend and rely upon one another.
Each is in search of a truth. And together they have a story to tell ......


Tess

Nudge for Pammy and Helen and maybe Michelle if she is re-joining us this time.

My suggestions
The Running Vixen by Elizabeth Chadwick
1126. Heulwen, daughter of Welsh Marcher baron Guyon FitzMiles, has grown up with her father's ward, Adam de Lacey. There has always been a spark between them, but when Heulwen marries elsewhere, to Ralf le Chevalier, a devastated Adam absents himself on various diplomatic missions for King Henry I. When Ralf is killed in a skirmish, Heulwen's father considers a new marriage for her with his neighbour's son, Warrin de Mortimer. Adam, recently returned to England, has good reason to loathe Warrin and is determined not to lose Heulwen a second time. But Heulwen is torn between her duty to her father and the pull of her heart. Adam is no longer the awkward boy she remembers, but a man who stirs every fibre of her being - which places them both in great danger, because Warrin de Mortimer is not a man to be crossed and the future of a country is at stake ...

Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
The doctors said no more could be done and advised Grace's parents to put her away.

On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace, aged eleven, meets Daniel.

Debonair Daniel, an epileptic who can type with his feet, sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for.

A deeply affecting, spirit-soaring story of love against the odds.

I think we are waiting for Helen and to see if Michelle is re-joining us this time.

Yes I am here, I haven't logged out to this site for a wee while and I see it's a case of all change

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Tempe Brennan finds the bones of three dead adolescents in a basement and she has to convince her police colleagues that they are recent enough that the case should be investigated. The book has all the technical know-how, crisply explained, that we expect from Kathy Reichs; readers find themselves peering over Tempe's shoulder as she works out, not only the solution to a puzzle, but how to begin to solve it.

Marley & Me by John Grogan

John and Jenny were young and deeply in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wriggly yellow furball of a puppy and life would never be the same.

It just seems to be Helen who has not made a suggestion which is strange as she has done her review.

Thanks Michelle.

Bedtime here Ann gone midnight I will pop in when I get up to see if any progress.

I have visitors coming so will try and check on thread when I can.

Marley & Me - was on TV the other week but I am not a Jennifer Anniston fan so didn't watch it. What a contrast in titles Michelle - I like Kathy Reichs and I see someone put up Nicci French who I also read.

Persie xx

Sorry everyone, it's a bit manic at work at the moment.

“The Thread” by Victoria Hislop :

Thessaloniki, 1917. As Dimitri Komninos is born, a fire sweeps through the thriving multicultural city, where Christians, Jews and Moslems live side by side. It is the first of many catastrophic events that will change for ever this city, as war, fear and persecution begin to divide its people. Five years later, young Katerina escapes to Greece when her home in Asia Minor is destroyed by the Turkish army. Losing her mother in the chaos, she finds herself on a boat to an unknown destination. From that day the lives of Dimitri and Katerina become entwined, with each other and with the story of the city itself.

Thessaloniki, 2007. A young Anglo-Greek hears the life story of his grandparents for the first time and realises he has a decision to make. For many decades, they have looked after the memories and treasures of people who have been forcibly driven from their beloved city. Should he become their new custodian? Should he stay or should he go?

2nd suggesion to follow in a few minutes.

A bit of fun!

"Goddess of Vengeance"
by Jackie Collins

Lucky Santangelo is back with a vengeance - in a novel full of power, passion, revenge, and the raging family dynamics of the Santangelo clan - and, as always, Lucky comes out on top! In Goddess of Vengeance Lucky Santangelo rules with her high profile casino and hotel complex - The Keys in Vegas. Lennie, her ex-movie star husband is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her wild and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life. And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.

Hello, Greenfingers, welcome to our friendly group. Sorry to hear about your son.

Helen x