I have not read quite as many books as usual this week, probably because I have been a bit bogged down with one. I like this book, but am struggling with it, not enough to actually give up on it, but enough to keep putting it down! Well, as I haven’t finished it yet, I will be writing about it next week.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

My first read of the week was He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly. Here is the blurb:

In the summer of 1999, Kit and Laura travel to a festival in Cornwall to see a total eclipse of the sun. Kit is an eclipse chaser; Laura has never seen one before. Young and in love, they are certain this will be the first of many they’ll share.

But in the hushed moments after the shadow passes, Laura interrupts a man and a woman. She knows that she saw something terrible. The man denies it. It is her word against his.

The victim seems grateful. Months later, she turns up on their doorstep like a lonely stray. But as her gratitude takes a twisted turn, Laura begins to wonder—did she trust the wrong person?

15 years later, Kit and Laura are living under assumed names and completely off the digital grid: no Facebook, only rudimentary cell phones, not in any directories. But as the truth catches up to them, they realize they can no longer keep the past in the past.

I gave the book book four stars on Goodreads and wrote this review:

This is a very difficult book to review without giving away too much of the story. It was also quite a difficult book to read as it switches between different timelines and points of view, so you need to concentrate and check the dates given at the start of each chapter. That said, you do get a real reward if you persevere at the beginning because the surprises and twists come thick and fast in the second half of the book and the reader starts to understand more how the backstory fits into the present. The eclipse stuff is interesting too! Well worth reading.

Erin Kelly is another author to add to my “must check for on the Library service catalogue” list.

Dead If You Don’t by Peter James

The second book that I finished was an ebook that I had reserved some time ago: Peter James’ Dead If You Don’t, #14 in his Roy Grace series. This is the blurb:

Kipp Brown, successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is having the worst run of luck of his life. He’s beginning to lose, big style. However, taking his teenage son, Mungo, to their club’s Saturday afternoon football match should have given him a welcome respite, if only for a few hours. But it’s at the stadium where his nightmare begins.

Within minutes of arriving at the game, Kipp bumps into a client. He takes his eye off Mungo for a few moments, and in that time, the boy disappears. Then he gets the terrifying message that someone has his child, and to get him back alive, Kipp will have to pay.

Defying instruction not to contact the police, Kipp reluctantly does just that, and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought in to investigate. At first it seems a straightforward case of kidnap. But rapidly Grace finds himself entering a dark, criminal underbelly of the city, where the rules are different and nothing is what it seems . . .

I am really loving this series and awarded this book four stars again. Here is my rave review!

Another great read. This is the third book in the series that I have finished and I now have many of the others on reserve at the library. The pace of the plot was breathtaking and I read the book very quickly as I simply couldn’t put it down once I had started. I enjoy the black humour and the background stories of the main characters, which flow from book to book. Highly recommended.

Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson

The book I am struggling with is Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson. I will give you my final verdict next week – I hope that it is eventually worth the effort!

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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