Hello and welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. This has been a rather mixed week for my reading as you will find out…
I chose Dark Pines by Will Dean from the library’s ebook service purely at random. The plot sounded interesting and atmospheric. This is the blurb:
“SEE NO EVIL
Eyes missing, two bodies lie deep in the forest near a remote Swedish town.
HEAR NO EVIL
Tuva Moodyson, a deaf reporter on a small-time local paper, is looking for the story that could make her career.
SPEAK NO EVIL
A web of secrets. And an unsolved murder from twenty years ago.
Can Tuva outwit the killer before she becomes the final victim? She’d like to think so. But first she must face her demons and venture far into the deep, dark woods if she wants to stand any chance of getting the hell out of small-time Gavrik.”
I enjoyed the book, although it took me quite a while to read it, and gave it three stars on Goodreads. Here is my response:
Dark Pines by Will DeanMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A very intriguing and atmospheric read. Marked down because I feel that it was a bit too long. Interesting to have a female main character written by a man! Also a deaf character with all of the detail about hearing aids etc. The mystery at the heart of the book was well done with very many quirky characters.
The book left me with a haunting sense of place: thick, gloomy and darkly forbidding forests. I will certainly read more in the series and it will be interesting to see how the central characters develop.
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I already have the next book in the series on reserve and am looking forward to seeing how the author develops over time.
My second choice of the week was…
… The Affair by Hilary Boyd. Once again, I was drawn to this book by the cover and the description on the ebook catalogue. This is the blurb from Goodreads:
“Connie and her GP husband Devan have led a charmed life since they married in their twenties. Forty years on they are the couple their whole village envies. Life isn’t quite so rosy just now with Devan struggling to adjust to early retirement, but Connie hopes that getting away for a few weeks through her job as a European tour manager will help.
But on one of her favourite tours, to Lake Como, it is clear one of her guests is falling for her. She resists, but Jared somehow gets under her skin, until she’s intoxicated and doing the unthinkable: breaking the marriage vows she’s always held so dear. But she tells herself the affair is not serious, it will end when the season does. And Devan will never find out.
But when Connie returns home, Jared follows. He isn’t going to give her up so easily. And as he grows ever more embroiled in her life, Connie begins to wonder if more than her marriage is in danger . . .”
This was given only one star! Here’s the reason…
The Affair by Hilary BoydMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
Got about a third of the way through. Felt thoroughly depressed by the plot, although the trips to Italy sounded lovely. Me and my husband are of a similar age to the main character, so this jarred with me and I just had to stop reading.
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I was so disappointed that I made a glaring grammatical error in that review! Anyway, I am pleased to be able to say that I am currently reading a much better and more satisfying book which I will write about in next week’s post.
Until then I wish you all a week of Happy Reading!
Love and best wishes,
Anne
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The Librain
The Librain......retired 