April Round Up

 

I want to say normal service is resumed as I’ve read eight books this month which is more like my usual average. But within the context of this blog it’s anything but normal service is resumed. I can remember a time when I reviewed every single book I read. Now it has been reduced to books I receive, rarely, these days from publishers and any other organisation that sees fit to furnish me with some literary nourishment! But why has that happened? It's not as if I’m short of time really. I’m retired. True, I’m older and slower but I think the decline of the book blog in general and my lack of success contributes in part. It’s much more visual these days, TikTok and Instagram, reels and stories. Twitter declined once Musk got his hands on it and called it X. I don’t suppose it will be long before AI dominates. Ah well…..

It’s the books that matter to me. So here I go with this month’s bumper round up! 

 

Martha Hall Kelly is a writer I had never heard of. But I was attracted by the title of her book, The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club. Some of the happiest times of my life were spent on the Vineyard with two dear friends, now deceased. It’s probably my favourite place in the world although it’s unlikely I’ll ever get to see it again. So enjoying it vicariously through a book seems like the next best thing. When you know and recognise places in a book it somehow elevates the story in a way that the unknown doesn’t. This story was an engaging dual narrative tale spanning several decades and family secrets. 

Our Better Nature by James C Porter was a Librarything giveaway. And so I reviewed it on my blog here. 

 

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2026/04/our-better-nature-james-c-porter.html

 

Next up Claire Douglas’s The New Neighbours. A deliciously twisty tale of things overheard and conclusions being reached. It’s a tale of different timelines and different voices offering a wider perspective than the single flawed narrator tactic. It’s a story that keeps you guessing and sometimes you are right and sometimes you are not. I did enjoy this book but I think I preferred The Wrong Sister more. 

 

I tend to read anything Kate Atkinson writes. And that includes the Jackson Brodie novels. Death at the Sign of the Rook sees an older Brodie but no less ingenious. There’s plenty of wit in this clever and complicated tale of stolen paintings. 

 

I was lucky enough to receive not one but THREE Ruth Dugdall books from Harper Collins. They are all being published in May and they will be reviewed on my blog. 

They were originally published by Legend Press but Harper Collins seems to have got hold of them via their HQ stories imprint. They are part of a series called the Cate Austin Case Files. Cate is a Probation Officer. Each case is very different but immensely gripping. This month I read The Sacrificial Man and Boy B. Reviews will be on my blog next month.

The List of Suspicious Things was darker and sadder than I had been anticipating. It’s a story of friendship set against the backdrop of the search for the Yorkshire Ripper. I liked the way the author used the topical climate of the time to highlight various issues – racism, bullying, domestic violence – and if that all sounds very heavy, it is but there’s also a warmth within the book that offset some of the dark moments. That being said there is one part that’s so incredibly sad, I defy you not to cry.