To make up for the non-post last week, I read two books this week. And they were both great books!

The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughtet

The first was The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent #10). I was so lucky to be able to read this quickly after publication, thanks to our library’s ebook service. Here is the blurb:

Atlanta, Georgia. Present day. A young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead. The police investigate but the trail goes cold. Until a chance assignment takes GBI investigator Will Trent to the state penitentiary, and to a prisoner who says he recognizes the MO. The attack looks identical to the one he was accused of eight years earlier. The prisoner’s always insisted that he was innocent, and now he’s sure he has proof. The killer is still out there.

As Will digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the original case in order to reach the truth. Yet nearly a decade has passed—time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear. And now he needs medical examiner Sara Linton to help him hunt down a ruthless murderer. But when the past and present collide, everything Will values is at stake . . .

I really enjoy reading Slaughter’s work as her books enable me to escape from my troubles for a while – they are so gripping! This is my four star review on Good Reads:

The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you want to read a book which is totally gripping, dark, heart-stopping, fast-paced and satisfying, then you can’t go wrong if you choose this one. The author very cleverly uses two separate timelines to tell the story and brings back a well-loved character from the past. The relationships in the book are well-drawn and interesting. The unfolding crimes are cruel and bloody.

And this is my problem with the book and why I have only given it four stars. I expect male writers to write revolting deaths for their female crime victims, but these, for me, went totally over the top. I have a strong stomach and, yes, this is only fiction, but for a woman to write such horrible murders inflicted in this graphic way on women – I felt so conflicted.

I love Karin Slaughter’s writing and this book will not put me off reading her others, but bear in mind that her name can be so appropriate at times!

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The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Now for my second read of the week. Many years ago, I read a great book called Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. The book stayed in my head but I could never find any of her other works in libraries. Now that we have ebooks, many older works have become available to a wider readership and so I was thrilled to find that this book was actually the second part of a trilogy. I bought the whole set and have just finished The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods #01). Here is the blurb:

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule.

It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will ultimately lead him to the place he fears most, the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies, who once placed him in chains, now occupy lofty positions. In addition to the traitorous intrigues of villains, Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle, are faced with a sinister curse that hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. Only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics, can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge—an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous, and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death.

This the review I wrote on Goodreads:

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is going to be one of the books that I read over and over again. I have a few like this on my shelves, mainly by Guy Gavriel Kay, and so this will be in honoured company. It is certainly a slow burner. What seems like a simple tale at the beginning, develops into a beautifully written fantasy story. Bujold’s writing is gorgeous and her characterisation is at the centre of the book.

For those who like their fantasy fiction full of fighting, danger, death, destruction, romance, journeys and intrigue, there is more than enough to keep them interested. For those who love well drawn scenes and characters, this book is for you too. My only tiny niggle was the number of names beginning with I! This stroke-addled brain struggled a bit with this.

Anyway, I will now go and enjoy the sequel: Paladin of Souls…

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So, that has been a highly successful and satisfying week!

Happy Reading to you all…

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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