There’s a real pleasure in opening up an email and seeing an invitation from one of your favourite publishers to a bookish evening. My enormous thanks to Katya Ellis at Quercus for inviting me to their latest Word-of-Mouth Bestsellers Evening last Wednesday. I’d like to apologise too for the tardiness of this blog post but a U3A garden group meeting on Thursday morning followed by a Deepings Literary Festival 2021 planning meeting in the afternoon and a theatre visit in the evening with a funeral on Friday didn’t afford me much time!

 

As ever with Quercus book events, there were fabulous displays, drinks and nibbles, as well as wonderful views over London from the beautiful rooftop with an encouragement to be interactive too!

 

I was excited that the evening would see Candice Brathwaite as the star guest. Candice is the founder of the Make Motherhood Diverse initiative and author of the forthcoming book I Am Not Your Baby Mother, an insightful guide to navigating black British motherhood, and it was a delight to meet her and hear her speak so passionately about I Am Not Your Baby Mother. I came away with a sampler of this book which will be published on 28th May 2020 and let me tell you, Candice Brathwaite doesn’t mince her words!

It’s about time we made motherhood more diverse…

When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the glossy magazine photos of women in horizontal stripe tops and the pinned discussions on mumsnet about what pushchair to buy. Leafing through the piles of prenatal paraphernalia, she found herself wondering: “Where are all the black mothers?”.

Candice started blogging about motherhood in 2016 after making the simple but powerful observation that the way motherhood is portrayed in the British media is wholly unrepresentative of our society at large.

The result is this thought-provoking, urgent and inspirational guide to life as a black mother. It explores the various stages in between pregnancy and waving your child off at the gates of primary school, while facing hurdles such as white privilege, racial micro-aggression and unconscious bias at every point. Candice does so with her trademark sense of humour and refreshing straight-talking, and the result is a call-to-arms that will allow mums like her to take control, scrapping the parenting rulebook to mother their own way.

You can find out more about Candice by visiting her website or finding her on Youtube and Instagram, or following her onTwitter @CandiceAboderin. I Am Not Your Baby Mother is available for pre-order here.

Alongside I Am Not Your Baby Mother I was thrilled to see some of the other books coming next year from Quercus. What I found so impressive was the passion with which they were spoken about by the publicists. The ones that have made it onto my TBR from this wonderful event include:

Last Christmas by Greg Wise and Emma Thompson

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding.

When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? Looking towards the future, what would your perfect Christmas be? What would you change? What should we all change?

This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden.

Away from the John Lewis advert, the high street decorations and the candied orange in Heston Blumenthal’s Christmas pudding, this gem of a book introduced and curated by Emma Thompson and Greg Wise celebrates the importance of kindness and generosity, acceptance and tolerance – and shows us that these values are not just for Christmas.

Last Christmas will be published on 31st October and is available for pre-order here.

Six Wicked Reasons by Jo Spain

It’s June 2008 and twenty-one-year-old Adam Lattimer vanishes, presumed dead. The strain of his disappearance breaks his already fragile family.

Ten years later, with his mother deceased and siblings scattered across the globe, Adam turns up unannounced at the family home. His siblings return reluctantly to Spanish Cove, but Adam’s reappearance poses more questions than answers. The past is a tangled web of deceit.

And, as tension builds, it’s apparent somebody has planned murderous revenge for the events of ten years ago.

Released on 30th January 2020, Six Wicked Reasons is available for pre-order here.

The Slaughterman’s Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits

The townsfolk of Motal, an isolated, godforsaken town in the Pale of Settlement, are shocked when Fanny Keismann – devoted wife, mother of five, and celebrated cheese-maker – leaves her home at two hours past midnight and vanishes into the night.

True, the husbands of Motal have been vanishing for years, but a wife and mother? Whoever heard of such a thing. What on earth possessed her?

Could it have anything to do with Fanny’s missing brother-in-law, who left her sister almost a year ago and ran away to Minsk, abandoning his family to destitution and despair?

Or could Fanny have been lured away by Zizek Breshov, the mysterious ferryman on the Yaselda river, who, in a strange twist of events, seems to have disappeared on the same night?

Surely there can be no link between Fanny and the peculiar roadside murder on the way to Telekhany, which has left Colonel Piotr Novak, head of the Russian secret police, scratching his head. Surely a crime like that could have nothing to do with Fanny Keismann, however the people of Motal might mutter about her reputation as a wilde chayeh, a wild animal . . .

Surely not.

Out on 20th February 2020 from imprint MacLehose, The Slaughterman’s Daughter is available for pre-order here.

Three by D. A. Mishani

Three tells the stories of three women: Orna, a divorced single-mother looking for a new relationship; Emilia, a Latvian immigrant on a spiritual search; and Ella, married and mother of three, returning to University to write her thesis. All of them will meet the same man. His name is Gil. He won’t tell them the whole truth about himself – but they don’t tell him everything either.

Out from imprint Riverrun on 30th April 2020, Three is available for pre-order here.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny…

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she’s well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.
That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It’s the same night – December 15th – but 2025, five years in the future.
It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real… Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream…

In Five Years is a love story, brimming with joy and heartbreak. But it is definitely not the love story you’re expecting.

Out on 3rd March 2020, In Five Years is available for pre-order here.

The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting

The first in a rich historical trilogy that draws on legend, by the author of Norwegian Wood and The Sixteen Trees of the Somme.

Norway, 1880. In the secluded village of Butangen at the end of the valley, headstrong Astrid dreams of a life beyond marriage, hard work and children. And then Pastor Kai Schweigaard comes into her life, taking over the 700-year-old stave church with its carvings of pagan deities. The two church bells were forged by her forefather in the sixteenth century, in memory of conjoined sisters Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne, and are said to have supernatural powers. But now the pastor wants to tear it down, to replace it with a modern, larger church. Though Astrid is drawn to him, this may be a provocation too far.

Talented architecture student Gerhard Schönauer arrives from Dresden to oversee the removal of the church and its reconstruction in the German city. Everything about elegant Schönauer is so different, so cosmopolitan. Astrid must make a choice: for her homeland and the pastor, or for a daunting and uncertain future in Germany.

Then the bells begin to toll . . .

The Bell in the Lake will be published by MacLehose on 19th March 2020 and is available for pre-order here.

Dear Child  by Romy Hausman

Gone Girl meets Room in this page-turning thriller from one of Germany’s hottest new talents

A windowless shack in the woods. Lena’s life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them.

One day Lena manages to flee – but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called ‘Lena’, who disappeared without a trace 14 years ago. The police and Lena’s family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle which doesn’t quite seem to fit.

Dear Child will be published on 14th May 2020 and is available for pre-order here.

True Story by Kate Reed Petty

Inventive, electrifying and daring, True Story is a novel like nothing you’ve ever read before.

After a college party, two boys drive a girl home: drunk and passed out in the back seat. Rumours spread about what they did to her, but later they’ll tell the police a different version of events. Alice will never remember what truly happened. Her fracture runs deep, hidden beneath cleverness and wry humour. Nick – a sensitive, misguided boy who stood by – will never forget.

That’s just the beginning of this extraordinary journey into memory, fear and self-portrayal. Through university applications, a terrifying abusive relationship, a fateful reckoning with addiction and a final mind-bending twist, Alice and Nick will take on different roles to each other – some real, some invented – until finally, brought face to face once again, the secret of that night is revealed.

Startlingly relevant and enthralling in its brilliance, True Story is by turns a campus novel, psychological thriller, horror story and crime noir, each narrative frame stripping away the fictions we tell about women, men and the very nature of truth. It introduces Kate Reed Petty as a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction.

Out on 11th June from Riverrun, True Story is available for pre-order here.

I have a feeling that 2020 is going to be a magnificent year for Quercus and its imprints. These books look amazing. Look out for reviews of them all on Linda’s Book Bag nearer to their publication dates!

Once again, I’d like to say a huge than you to all involved in making Quercus’ Word-of-Mouth Bestsellers Evening so enjoyable and exciting. I think I’m going to enjoy every one of these books. I wonder which appeal most to Linda’s book Bag readers?

A short while ago, Elise got in touch from Pushkin Press to tell me all about an author she thought I may never have heard of; Margaret Millar. She was right. I hadn’t!

Elise went on to say that ‘Pushkin Press’ imprint Pushkin Vertigo, is the proud publisher of one of America’s most influential crime writers –Margaret Millar who was hugely popular in her day but has now largely fallen out of popular consumption. Elise explained how Millar’s psychologically complex thrillers have some of the best realised characters and most emotionally brilliant writing of all twentieth century crime, earning her a stream of praise from fellow writers. However, the world seems to have forgotten her.

Until now.’

Elise told me ‘Pushkin Press are determined to revive Millar. And not only that, they want to shine a spotlight on the forgotten female crime writers of the past two centuries, where strides in both the genre and in women’s writing have taken place.’

Now, with that kind of information I couldn’t resist seeing what all the fuss was about! I would like to thank Elise for sending me copies of three of Margaret Millar’s books: A Stranger In My Grave, Vanish In An Instant and The Listening Walls. What could be better in attending the recent Capital Crime in London than reading a crime thriller on the train? I’m delighted to share my review of The Listening Walls today.

Pushkin are re-releasing The Listening Walls today, 3rd October 2019, and you can find buy links for all three books here.

The Listening Walls

Amy Kellogg is not having a pleasant vacation in Mexico. She’s been arguing nonstop with her friend and traveling companion, Wilma, and she wants nothing more than to go home to California. But their holiday takes a nightmarish turn when Wilma is found dead on the street below their room-an apparent suicide.

Rupert Kellogg has just returned from seeing his wife Amy through the difficulties surrounding the apparent suicide of her friend in Mexico. But Rupert is returning alone-which worries Amy’s brother. Amy was traumatized by the suicide, Rupert explains, and has taken a holiday in New York City to settle her nerves. But as gone girl Amy’s absence drags on for weeks and then months, the sense of unease among her family changes to suspicion and eventual allegations.

A Stranger In My Grave

A nightmare is haunting Daisy Harker. Night after night she walks a strange cemetery in her dreams, until she comes to a grave that stops her in her tracks. It’s Daisy’s own, and according to the dates on the gravestone she’s been dead for four years.

What can this nightmare mean, and why is Daisy’s husband so insistent that she forget it? Driven to desperation, she hires a private investigator to reconstruct the day of her dream death. But as she pieces her past together, her present begins to fall apart…

Vanish In An Instant

Virginia Barkeley is a nice, well brought-up girl. So what is she doing wandering through a snow storm in the middle of the night, blind drunk and covered in someone else’s blood?

When Claude Margolis’ body is found a quarter of a mile away with half-a-dozen stab wounds to the neck, suddenly Virginia doesn’t seem such a nice girl after all. Her only hope is Meecham, the cynical small-town lawyer hired as her defence. But how can he believe in Virginia’s innocence when even she can’t be sure what happened that night? And when the answer seems to fall into his lap, why won’t he just walk away?

My Review of The Listening Walls

When Wilma dies in a fall from a balcony a chain of events is set off.

In today’s age of crime writing twists, psychological thrillers and domestic noir, it is absolutely fascinating to discover a book originally published sixty years ago in 1959 that has all those elements in the brilliantly written The Listening Walls.

Margaret Millar has created a perfect plot that writhes along, wrong footing the reader and adding surprise after surprise along the way. I genuinely didn’t guess all the outcomes for all the characters so that I finished The Listening Walls feeling I had been brilliantly entertained. Whist there is murder, the skill of the writer comes in her ability to convey her meaning without recourse to overblown visceral descriptions. I loved the style.

The characters initially seem quite simple, but as the narrative progresses, the reader discovers that they have secrets, emotions and motives that are complex and fascinating. There’s an interesting exploration of the difference between public and private personas that any modern reader can appreciate. I found private investigator Elmer Dodd equally as compelling as Christie’s Poirot for example.

And despite the era of the book, where men are frequently socially in control, the writing, characterisation and plot in The Listening Walls all feel incredibly fresh and modern. There is no gender stereotyping here in which person is duplicitous or manipulative and I found more layers to this story than I anticipated so that I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

In The Listening Walls Margaret Millar blends elements of the Golden Age of crime fiction with those to be found in the most popular crime fiction today. I thought it was excellent and am ashamed that I have only just discovered this talented writer. I’ll definitely be reading more of her work as soon as I can.

About Margaret Millar

Margaret Millar (1915-1994) was the author of 27 books and a masterful pioneer of psychological mysteries and thrillers. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she spent most of her life in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband Ken Millar, who is better known by his nom de plume of Ross Macdonald. Her 1956 novel Beast in View won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel. In 1965 Millar was the recipient of the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year Award and in 1983 the Mystery Writers of America awarded her the Grand Master Award for Lifetime Achievement. Millar’s cutting wit and superb plotting have left her an enduring legacy as one of the most important crime writers of both her own and subsequent generations.

I was delighted when a surprise copy of A Gift in December by Jenny Gladwell arrived recently and couldn’t wait to start reading it. My enormous thanks to Jasmine Marsh at Hodder for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

A Gift in December will be published in paperback on 17th October 2019 and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here.

A Gift in December

Jane thought she would be alone this Christmas, but will a luxury trip to Norway mend her broken heart? A heart-warming, feel-good festive treat to curl up with this winter.

Jane Brook has given up on love.She might have uncovered the news scandal of the year, but she’s also been dumped by boyfriend Simon (and has spent the last month avoiding him at the office). With Christmas fast-approaching, Jane’s heart is no closer to mending.

But Jane’s boss has other plans for her. She needs someone to go on a luxurious press trip to Norway to cover the story of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, and despite her protests, she’s selected Jane to go.

Jane would much rather wallow at home than spend a week in the fjords with some ditzy bloggers, a snippy publicist, ever-cheerful colleague Ben and handsome-but-arrogant TV presenter Philip Donnelly.

But as Jane throws herself into the trip and starts to enjoy herself, it seems that love hasn’t quite given up on her just yet. Amid all the snow, could a gift be awaiting her underneath the mistletoe?

My Review of A Gift in December

Journalist Jane Brook might find more than a story during her next assignment.

A Gift in December couldn’t be more aptly named as it is an absolute treat of a book. All the ingredients for a wonderful wintry read are wrapped up between the pages of Jenny Gladwell’s writing.

The narrative fizzes with intrigue and romance so that there’s more to A Gift in December than just a lovely story. Jenny Gladwell weaves geography, history and tradition into the tale so that there is a depth and fascination to enjoy as well. I learnt more about Norway during WW2 than I had realised before and if I’m honest, felt somewhat ignorant that I didn’t already know about the underpinning catalyst for this story. I love the way Norwegian and British customs are included and explored. When I’d finished reading A Gift in December I felt as if I’d had a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing trip with people I had enjoyed meeting very much indeed.

The characters are huge fun. Jenny Gladwell manages to include all the personality types one might expect from this kind of novel without them being stereotyped or stale. There’s a lively freshness to them whilst they manage to represent a real microcosm of society. I think I might have been slightly in love with Thomas despite the age gap! I thought the balance of Thomas’s past against the Instagram world of Lucy, Freddie and Lena was delicately wrought. However, it is Jane who takes centre stage and she is completely believable, warm and human. I was on her side from the very first moment and was desperate for her to have a happy outcome. Once or twice I was ready to climb into the pages of the book and give her a frank talking to make sure that she didn’t scupper her own life.

I thoroughly appreciated the comedic aspects of A Gift in December because Jenny Gladwell includes them in an understated way so that they feel a natural part of the narrative rather than shoehorned in as I sometimes find in this genre of fiction. Along with the brilliantly described Norwegian setting for the book, the glamorous luxury of the trip, and the captivating plot this balance of romance, history, intrigue and humour makes A Gift in December the perfect winter read. It’s a smashing book and I really recommend it.

About Jenny Gladwell

Jenny Gladwell is a pen name for Genevieve Herr. Genevieve was born and grew up in London and began working in publishing after university. She studied for a Creative Writing MA alongside her job as a children’s book editor at Scholastic, and her dissertation was awarded the Sophie Warne Memorial essay prize for outstanding emerging writer. Genevieve lives in Scotland with her family.

You can follow her on Twitter @genherr.

It’s such a pleasure to be part of the blog tour for Escape to Giddywell Grange by the lovely Kim Nash and I’d like to thank Rachel, of Rachel’s Random Resources, for inviting me to take part.

I loved Kim’s debut novel Amazing Grace and you can read my review of that book here.

Escape to Giddywell Grange was published on 18th September 2019 and is available for purchase on Amazon, Kobo and ibooks.

Escape to Giddywell Grange

Maddy Young thought she had it all.

Swanky city apartment? – yep. Fancy car? sorted. High-flying career? – tick.

Even if she’s lost most of her friends because of spending all her time at work, and can’t remember when she last had fun, it’s worth it.

Until she’s suddenly made redundant. Now she’s 37, jobless, and after the breakup with the former love of her life, unhappily single.

Enter Maddy’s childhood friend, Beth, the owner of Growlers, the doggy daycare centre at Giddywell Grange, on a mission to make Maddy see there’s more to life than work.

Soon, Maddy is swapping spreadsheets for volunteer duty at the library, daily Starbucks for cups of tea with elderly neighbours, and her Prada handbag for doggy poo bags… And with Beth’s gorgeous brother, Alex, back from the States, Maddy starts to think that Giddywell Grange might just be her happy place.

But when her old life – and her old boyfriend – comes calling, will Maddy go back to the job she loved so much? Or will she discover that the key to happiness lies in making others happy?

An uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart – perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Milly Johnson and Katie Fforde.

My Review of Escape to Giddywell Grange

Maddie Young’s promotion isn’t quite what she expected.

I think everyone needs an opportunity to visit Giddywell Grange at some point, because Kim Nash has written a charming and heartwarming story that illustrates, through Maddy, what is important in life.

I found Maddy very relatable. Her obsession with work, her presentation of a public persona that is groomed, competent and confident whilst hiding a more diffident personality gave her a reality that I very much appreciated. I think every one of us has felt as she does at some point. At times she frustrated me too, especially when she was making decisions about her romantic relationships, which only made her all the more appealing because her actions added a flawed depth to her character.

The other characters felt rich and warm and it was a real pleasure to re-encounter some of those from Kim Nash’s Amazing Grace as they brought back the enjoyment I’d had in reading that book too. I think I might be ever so slightly in love with Alex! I’m really hoping Escape to Giddywell Grange isn’t the last we see of Beth as I’d love to know more about what happens to her after the end of this story.

Whilst there’s an entertaining plot that romps along in Escape to Giddywell Grange, with much humour to make the reader smile and considerable emotion, the thoroughly enjoyable story almost felt secondary to me as I found the themes in Escape to Giddywell Grange the biggest draw for me as a reader. Kim Nash understands completely the aspects of life that are important and worthwhile, and she manages to weave fantastic advice for happiness into her narrative. Being selfless, not worrying too much about physical appearance, the positive power of spending time with loved ones, with animals and in nature, as opposed to just spending money, are all messages that would enhance the life of any reader if they were to try out Maddy’s activities. I genuinely think reading Escape to Giddywell Grange could help improve the mental health of those suffering if they were to emulate just a few of the things Madison experiences through Beth’s interference.

Escape to Giddywell Grange is an entertaining, pleasurable read written with Kim Nash’s distinctive pragmatic, human and warm style, but more importantly, I feel, it is a wonderful, affirmative message about the true values in life. I finished Escape to Giddywell Grange with a feeling of huge positivity and renewed optimism for life.

About Kim Nash

Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture and is a book blogger at Kim The Bookworm.

Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association’s Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can’t quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA.

When she’s not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She’s also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs.

Amazing Grace was her debut novel with Hera Books and came out in April 2019.

You can find out more by finding Kim on Facebook, Instagram and following her on Twitter @KimTheBookworm.

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