Lovely Amanda James has appeared here on Linda’s Book Bag on several occasions, most recently when I reviewed her gorgeous Wish Upon a Cornish Moon in a post you’ll find here. I had hoped that, as well as sharing an excerpt from Amanda’s latest book, The Garden of Memories, I’d have my review ready to share today too. Sadly of late there has been a bit too much life happening beyond my ability to deal with it and I simply ran out of time. I’m determined to get to it as soon as I can and when you read the information about it, you’ll understand why!

Published on 20th June 2024 by Harper Collins imprin’t One More Chapter, The Garden of Memories is available for purchase through the links here.

The Garden of Memories

With nothing but time on her hands, retired nurse Rose Lanyon finds herself drawn to the garden that had once been her husband’s pride and joy.

It may have started as a means of honouring her husband’s memory, but her little Cornish garden soon becomes so much more – a place where the lost and lonely can find solace, the forgotten can be remembered, and second chances take bloom. Because, as long as new life is growing, there will always be hope and new memories to make…

An Excerpt from The Garden of Memories

Apparently, forty years should seem longer. Before people speak about the passing of large measures of time, they shake their heads in bewilderment, click their tongue against the roof of their mouth and sigh. Shortly after that, they say things like, ‘I can’t believe it’s been forty years!’  Next, some repetition to emphasise their surprise, ‘Forty. I mean, who would have thought it?  Well, Rose would. Because when she started nursing, her eyes were bright, her skin was line-free and she had enough energy to power a hospital ward. Now her batteries are flat, and the majority of creases around her eyes aren’t made of laughter lines. They’ve mostly been created by exhaustion and burnout. Forty years of nursing will do that. Forty years of staying on past the end of your shift, caring, mending, lifting, guiding and healing. Forty years of carefully ironed uniforms, precisely tucked hospital corners, sensible shoes and quiet footsteps. A gentle smile, the touch of a hand, and a well-placed word.

The last shift. Forty years of a career that will end today.  To Rose, this ending is much harder to believe than the passage of all that time. Since the age of twenty-two, she’s known nothing else. Nursing is who she is. It defines her. Rose Lanyon, the nurse. After today, what will she be? Who will she be? The words, ‘I used to be a nurse’ will find their way into her conversation. She’s not sure she’s ready for that – a ‘used to be’. She tells herself she needn’t worry too much, because she’ll only have to explain to those who don’t know her. Most do know her in this little Cornish community of which she’s part. For the past thirty years Rose has been a nurse in the local GP practice. A drawer of blood, a shoulder to cry on, a dresser of wounds. Before that, she walked the wards of The Royal Cornwall Hospital, until she swapped that for walking the bedroom, her baby daughter falling asleep on her shoulder, just as the dawn rose over the ocean.

Rose’s uniform is hanging on the wardrobe door, ready. Unlike her. Though her long career has taken its toll, she’s no regrets. None. She’s loved being a nurse. Though not all of it, because some parts have broken her. Sometimes she lies awake at night, remembering the faces of those who passed before their time. Rose thinks about the kind words offered to her by grieving relatives. Little gifts on parting. Thank you. You were there for my loved one. We will always remember you… At the time, she watched them go, never imagining that she would also remember them, in the still, quiet of the night. But she does.

The uniform waits. Under her fingers the material is cool, navy, no-nonsense. The uniform represents professionalism, inspires respect, garners trust and confidence. And sometimes she’s been grateful for this uniform, this barrier between the personal and professional. Rose would hide behind it to protect herself, especially during the hard times, but much more often, there have been happy times. Joy, even. The maternity ward was full of it, new life spreading light, its echo in the ringing bells of the cancer clinic. The love of the job and the people she met carried her up, over and through – knitting a pattern, a pathway along a working life for her to follow.

Acknowledging all that happiness, Rose finds herself smiling as she slips the uniform free of the hanger. Acknowledging too, that she’s grateful for such a long and happy career. It registers like a thump in her gut that this is the last time she’ll wear this bit of cotton. This bit of cotton that’s so much more. On the dressing table, from a photo taken on their local beach, her husband, Glen smiles too. His grey curls ruffling in the wind, his eyes, blue chips, squinting in the sun. She has the fleeting impression that he’s about to say something. Probably get your uniform on, go to work and stop all this pondering, Rose. Glen always said pondering on things too much was no good for you. He might have been right. She takes a breath, slips the uniform on, touches her fingertips to her lips and then to his. ‘See you later, you old grump. Love you.’

****

Doesn’t that sound utterly wonderful? So relatable. I am thrilled that I have The Garden of Memories on my TBR.

About Amanda James

For more about Amanda, follow her on Twitter @amandajames61 and find her on Facebook and Instagram.

One of the pleasures of blogging is discovering new-to-me books and authors and today I’m delighted to discover another – Margot Shepherd, who has kindly agreed to stay in with me to chat about her debut novel.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Margot Shepherd

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Margot and thank you for staying in with me.

I’m delighted to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought Never Closer because it’s my debut novel.

Congratulations on your debut! What can we expect from an evening in with Never Closer?

Two stories that are woven together. A story set in the 1940s about Alice who works on the development of penicillin and a story set in the present day about Jo whose daughter, Jessie, is hospitalised with bacterial meningitis. The two stories are linked by Alice’s diary which Jo finds in a vintage handbag in her friend’s vintage shop.

That sounds such an interesting premise. 

It’s a book about families, love, grief and above all resilience. It is also about two women striving to be who they want to be.

It was Editors’ choice in the May quarterly magazine of the Historical Novel Society where it was described as ‘a novel for our times.’

It certainly sounds as if it might well be Margot. Tell me more about Jo and Alice.

Jo is a mother of two daughters, both studying for degrees. She is married to an unreliable, insensitive and at times domineering husband. She became pregnant with Kate in her final year at university and abandoned training for her dream career, as a clinical biochemist, to be a full-time mother. Two years after Kate arrived, Jessie was born. Now her children have left home Jo desperately wants to do more with her life but is hindered by an unsupportive husband and a feeling that she has lost her way. The novel begins when Jo receives a phone call from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Jessie, a student at Oxford University, is in a coma.

Alice is seventeen years old and working at the Dunn School of Pathology for Professor Howard Florey in Oxford. She was made to leave school at sixteen by her mother to contribute to the family income. Her ambition had been to be a teacher and she is angry that she has been thwarted in this goal. She is very intelligent and determined to learn as much as she can from her job so is forever asking questions. She often has to take penicillin to the hospital, an environment she has never encountered before. When she realises that nursing sisters have important and respected roles, she is determined to use the knowledge she has gained in the laboratory to pursue nursing as a career.

Both Jo and Alice sound hugely relatable.

How did you come to write Never Closer?

I read an article in a newspaper about the work of The Penicillin Girls in the 1940s and immediately thought how interesting to tell the story of penicillin from the point of view of one of those girls. Alice is fictional but all the other characters in the Oxford laboratory are based on real people. I did a lot of research about how penicillin was developed and the more I read the more I realised how important this story was. I thought it would be interesting to contrast the 1940’s story with the treatment of bacterial infections in the present day when antibacterial resistance is a growing problem and we are in danger of squandering the gift that the Oxford scientists gave the world.

I think Never Closer sounds fascinating. So, what have you brought along and why have you brought it?

It is a 1940s dress similar to the one that Alice makes in the novel. Alice is a very good dressmaker, something she learned from her mum. Because she plans to go to a dance with her friend, she wants to have a pretty dress to wear. In the novel we see Alice visit the drapers and choose the material and the pattern and then make it when she has the house to herself. It was just before clothes rationing (which included fabric) came in. Alice writes in her diary-

‘Mrs Foster said she had some new fabric just come in that she hadn’t unwrapped yet. She disappeared into the back room and I heard a rustling of paper. She reappeared with a bolt of rayon crêpe with a pattern of a scarlet rose, and grey hatching on a white background. It was beautiful and I knew at once that it was exactly right. I felt so lucky. Who knows when I’ll be able to buy such lovely material again. Mrs Foster measured out the yardage specified in the pattern then cut with her large scissors; the kerch-kerch sound of the scissors made me want to rush home and start making it.’

The dress is an important link between the two stories. It finds its way to the vintage shop owned by Jo’s friend. Jo loves 1940s clothes and is overjoyed when her friend gifts her the dress. At the time Jo doesn’t know the dress was made by Alice. She doesn’t find out until she reads Alice’s diary. The dress becomes very special to Jo. ‘It is as if the past is seeping into the present.’ It reminds her how she used to make clothes herself when she was a teenager. Like Alice she comes from a working-class family where there wasn’t a lot of money. Jo becomes totally absorbed in Alice’s diary and it inspires her to make some big changes in her life.

Did you bring anything else?

Some 1940s dance music, Joe Loss and his band playing ‘Oh Johnny’. This music features in both stories. Alice goes to a dance where this is played, and it is where she meets Frank, a young soldier who is about to be sent abroad. Alice knows all the dance steps as she has been taught by her father. Frank is also a good dancer as he was taught by his mother. There is an immediate connection between Alice and Frank. Their relationship develops via letters they send to each other.

In the present-day story Jo reads the diary to Jessie when she is convalescing. Jessie becomes fascinated by Alice. When Jo reads about the dance, she plays this music to Jessie on an old shellac record and record player. These had belonged to Jo’s grandmother who had been a clippie during the war in Barnsley where Jo comes from.

‘Jo pulls out a record in a brown paper sleeve. The red centre label reads His Master’s Voice: Joe Loss and his band playing ‘Oh Johnny’.

 After slotting the centre hole over the prong in the middle of the turntable she releases a switch and the record starts turning. Carefully she lowers the stylus onto the edge of the record. Within seconds the tinny noise of a big band fills the room.’

 Jo shows Jessie how to dance the foxtrot and it reminds her of how much she used to love dancing. Despite her unhappy marriage Jo has always thought she couldn’t cope without Rob, her husband. We see Jo become gradually stronger as the novel progresses until she decides to pursue a career she wants and to take up dancing again.

I think Never Closer sounds really immersive Margot. Thank you so much for staying in to tell me all about it. I think we’d better play some Joe Loss whilst I give readers a few more details about it. 

Never Closer

On an ordinary day in 2017 Jo is devastated by news that every mother dreads.

In 1940, Alice enters a laboratory to harvest a new drug, called penicillin. Made to leave school at sixteen and abandon her aspiration to be a teacher, she learns instead about microbes and miracles and how curing people may be her destiny.

The lives of the two women become entwined when Jo finds Alice’s diary in a vintage handbag. Past and present overlap and merge as life-changing events resonate across the gulf of time.

This is a story about a diary opening a door on the past, chronicling Alice’s fierce determination to succeed against all odds. It’s a story about how Jo emerges from darkness into light and discovers a strength she never knew she had.

Can Alice’s diary inspire her to step into a better life?

Never closer is available for purchase on Amazon, Kobo, Apple and Blackwells.

About Margot Shepherd

Margot Shepherd was born and spent her childhood in Yorkshire, in the north of England. She now lives in the south of England but still feels her roots are in the north. Margot is a scientist so when she started thinking about her first novel, she knew she wanted it to include some science and as a woman she wanted it told from a female point of view. There are so few books which do this.

Margot works part-time in medical research but is tapering this off as she wants more time to write. She is addicted to reading and always knew she wanted to write a novel when she had the time. Six years ago, Margot semi-retired, studied for an MA in Creative Writing and then started writing her novel. Her leisure time is spent gardening, walking in the countryside where she lives, accompanied by her Springer Spaniel, Genni, and of course reading! Margot also loves travelling to new places mainly in other European countries.

For further information visit Margot’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @MargotShepherdW and find Margot on Instagram.

My huge thanks to Rachel Kennedy for sending me a copy of The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood in return for an honest review. I can’t believe that this is my first Kirsty Greenwood book and I’m delighted to share my review today.

The Love of My Afterlife is published by Penguin’s Century on 20th June 2024 and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Love of My Afterlife

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…

My Review of The Love of My Afterlife

Delphie Bookham has just choked to death on a burger.

What a brilliant, brilliant story. I found The Love of My Afterlife unbridled entertainment from start to finish. It has a slightly mystical premise as Delphie is given a second chance at life when she’s sent back to Earth to try to get Jonah voluntarily to kiss her, but it is still absolutely grounded in realism, making it a total triumph.

I thought the plot was brilliant and Kirsty Greenwood had me invested in it from the very first page. As Delphie attempts to track down Jonah, with the reluctant help of her curmudgeonly neighbour Cooper, she finds herself in a range of unusual situations that help unlock the mysteries of her own life to her. This might be a diverting and fabulous romcom read, but it has captivating and mature themes at its heart too. 

The Love of My Afterlife looks hard at how we live our lives – or rather, how we don’t. Kirsty Greenwood considers risk taking, making ourselves vulnerable, using our talents and being open to friendship and love of many kinds. Through this super story she illustrates how making the most of our chances, even when we’re afraid, can lead to all kinds of benefits. I adored this aspect of the narrative.

Delphie is a brilliant character. She’s spikey, awkward and insular. She’s also witty, caring and both physically and metaphorically beautiful. Her personal growth when faced with death feels natural and engaging. I was desperate for her to have her happy ending, because I cared about her completely. 

In fact, I thought all the characters were super – even the obnoxious, bullying, Gen because Kirsty Greenwood imbued them all with enough detail and realism to make them feel totally believable. I especially loved Delphie’s neighbour because, through him, not only do we get to see the softer side of Delphi, but we are given convincing insight into the way society frequently write off the experience and talent of the elderly. 

The Love of My Afterlife is absolutely perfect summer reading and I adored it. Make sure you put it in your suitcase! 

About Kirsty Greenwood

Kirsty Greenwood is a best selling author of funny, fearless romantic comedies about extraordinary love. When she’s not writing books she composes musicals and explores London where she lives with her husband.

For further information, visit Kirsty’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @KirstyStories and find Kirsty on Instagram and Facebook.

My huge thanks to Kelly Pike for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for We Will Be Forest by Ilaria Bernadini, translated by Livia Franchini and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Published by Whitefox on 13th June 2024, We Will Be Forest is available for purchase here.

We Will Be Forest

A universal recipe for when life feels barren. A botanical tale of closeness and caring.

Anna is mourning the end of her marriage when she runs into Maria by chance at her mother’s gallery in Milan. When Maria suddenly collapses and is taken to hospital, the pair’s lives are irrevocably changed.

Over the course of the long, dry summer that follows, the pair come together to convalesce. Maria, an avid gardener, observes half-dead plants on Anna’s terrace, and finds solace in teaching Anna how to care for them. In doing so, the pair also begin to care for each other’s loneliness, and find in the natural world a deeply restorative power – one that will open them up to new love and life.

In We Will Be Forest, Ilaria Bernardini draws on a private affair – illness, the end of a marriage, a child to protect – to bring to life a powerful poetic universe in which words sprout like branches and leaves.

My Review of We Will Be Forest

Anna’s life is changing.

We Will Be Forest is an intense, beautiful book that is so steeped in meaning that I’m sure my reading has only scratched the surface. I found it simultaneously prosaic, yet magical, deeply sad and wonderfully uplifting. Equally dichotomous, the prose is both sparse and intricate in a blend that has been wonderfully translated by Livia Franchini. 

The iterative metaphor of nature as life works to perfection. As Anna learns about the plants on her balcony, as she comes to understand their most basic needs, so she begins to understand herself and to come to terms with the events that have led to this point in her life. As a result Anna is able to move on. Ilaria Bernadini has such a sensitive touch that she illustrates how sheer happiness can be just a touch away from deep despair and vice versa. As a result, We Will Be Forest is a mesmerising tale of pain and hope. I loved it. 

Anna’s personality is complex, layered and thoroughly engaging. Her first person voice shines through the text as she reveals herself to be selfish, demanding, caring, nurturing and so on in a maelstrom of emotion. I’m not entirely sure I understood the psychic character in her story, but assume they are her innermost voice and personality, the very essence of who Anna truly is, her conscience and her guide. Who or whatever the psychic is, they steer Anna through her memories, her choices and her growth. I found this aspect profound and moving. 

Rich in imagery and theme, We Will Be Forest is a story that explores our complex identities, how we respond to trauma, how we are affected by our families, our relationships and the seasons. I loved the way the weather moved from extreme drought to inundating rain as Anna learnt to live again. The theme of connection is threaded through the narrative like organic mycelium, giving a sense of belonging that is both fascinating and healing. 

We Will Be Forest defies review. It’s less a narrative than an emotional experience. If you’re looking for a fast paced, heart thumping and thrilling read, We Will Be Forest is not the book for you. If you want to experience a voice that articulates your deepest, previously undefined feelings and emotions, and helps you understand your true self whilst reading an emotional and profound text, then We Will Be Forest is absolutely perfect. 

Oh, and as an aside, read the chapter headings in one go (preferably aloud) as they create a poem of life to live by! 

About Ilaria Bernardi

Ilaria Bernardini is a prolific talent. A writer and screenwriter, she is the author of nine novels, two graphic novels and two collections of short stories. Her novels Faremo Foresta (We Will Be Forest) and The Portrait were longlisted for Italy’s prestigious Strega Prize. Both are being adapted for film. Ilaria has also created TV shows for MTV, Paramount+, The Apartment and Fremantle. She has written for Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ. Her acclaimed novel The Girls are Good has been adapted into a six-part TV series

Ilaria is writing new movies as she continues to develop Bernardo Bertolucci’s final script (which Ilaria co-wrote with him) The Echo Chamber.  She splits her time between London and Milan.

For further information, follow her on Twitter/X @faremoforesta or find Ilaria on Instagram.

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Given how much I adore Will Dean’s writing (see my reviews of his books here) I was thrilled to be asked if I’d like to participate in the blog tour for Will’s new book, The Chamber. My enormous thanks to to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou for inviting me to take part and for sending me a copy of The Chamber in return for an honest review.

Published by Hodder and Stoughton on 6th June 2024, The Chamber is available for purchase through the links here.

The Chamber

HIGH PRESSURE OUTSIDE
On a boat heading out into the North Sea, Ellen Brooke steels herself to spend almost a month locked inside a hyperbaric chamber with five other divers. They are all being paid handsomely for this work – to be lowered each day inside a diving bell to the sea bed, taking it in turns to dive down and repair oil pipes that lie in the dark waters. It is a close knit team and it has to be: any error or loss of trust could be catastrophic.

EXTREME PRESSURE INSIDE
All is going to plan until one of the divers is found unresponsive in his bunk. He hadn’t left the chamber. It will take four more days of decompression, locked away together, before the hatch can be opened. Four more days of bare steel, intrusive thoughts, and the constant struggle not to give way to panic. Mind games, exhaustion, suspicion, and, most of all, pressure. And if someone does unlock the door, everyone dies…

My Review of The Chamber

Ellen Brooke is going on a dive.

Oh goodness! What a book…

There’s a glossary of technical terms at the start of The Chamber which induced a feeling of panic and claustrophobia in me and which simply didn’t abate. This book is terrifying for those of us who don’t enjoy confined spaces and, equally, for those who do! I genuinely had to stop reading at times to allow myself to decompress. 

Will Dean incorporates enough technical detail to create authenticity and atmosphere without slowing the narrative, but what is most terrifying is the way the chapter endings heighten the tension incrementally until I found I was reading and holding my breath. The writing in The Chamber is so skilled. The balance of exposition to highly natural and convincing direct speech, the range of sentence structure, with brevity often meaning increased edginess, the pacy chapters – all these elements combine with a narrator, Ellen Brooke, who may or may not be reliable, into a menacing, compelling read. In addition, the genuine historical events that are mentioned make what is happening in The Chamber feel all the more real. 

Right through The Chamber, as the body count increased, I had absolutely no idea who or what was causing the deaths. The mounting suspicion, the mental toll on characters and the question of who to trust kept me guessing throughout. There is, I felt, just a slight ambiguity (or maybe that’s just my poor suspicious brain after being so hooked into the narrative) at the end that made me wonder if all had been revealed in quite the way we have been led to believe. Truth is a slippery concept and is explored with manipulative brilliance here. It felt as if the surviving characters were living on beyond the confines of the story.

Themes in The Chamber are layered and mature. Alongside truth are loyalty, respect, family and compulsion. The story really examines what drives an individual to take on such dangerous work and how relationships are the bedrock of behaviour. The characterisation is developed through interactions in the diving chamber, but also through storytelling as each diver recounts memories from their past, so that we have a clear understanding of each of the six divers and yet we have no understanding of them at all. We only really know what they allow us to see. Least is known about Tea-Bag as he is the newest with the most recent experience so that the reader is manipulated more by the more experienced characters. This story messes with the reader’s mind! 

I loved the references to Shakespeare because they lent a feeling of danger and mistrust. Because many of these references are from Macbeth, it made me suspect Ellen as the perpetrator throughout, given Lady Macbeth’s role in the murder of Duncan. However, you’ll need to read The Chamber to see if I was correct.

Not only is The Chamber a gripping whodunnit, but it’s a first class howdunnit too. I’m aware that I haven’t really done it justice, but suffice it to say that I found it convincing, terrifying and believable. I found the sense of claustrophobia almost unbearable and yet I could not stop immersing myself in the book. The Chamber cements firmly in my mind that Will Dean is one of the most skilled suspense writers of the current generation. Don’t miss this one. 

About Will Dean

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands and had lived in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying Law at the LSE and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a house in a boggy clearing at the centre of a vast elk forest, and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel in the Tuva Moodyson series, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball’s Book Club, shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker prize and named a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. Red Snow was published in January 2019 and won Best Independent Voice at the Amazon Publishing Readers’ Awards, 2019. Black River was shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Award in 2021. Will also writes standalone thrillers: The Last Thing to Burn, First Born, the top twenty hardback bestseller The Last Passenger and The Chamber.

For further information, find Will on Twitter/X @willrdean, Instagram and Facebook.

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It’s almost two years since I featured The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett on Linda’s Book Bag but I never actually got round to reading it. Consequently, when it appeared on the list of possible choices for the reading group to which I belong I simply had to choose it because I had so enjoyed Janice’s The Christmas Appeal (reviewed here).

The Twyford Code was published by Viper on 21st July 2022 and is available for purchase here.

The Twyford Code

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, full of strange markings and annotations. Wanting to know more, he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles, not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion. Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to a secret code that ran through all Twyford’s novels. Then she disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven has no memory of what happened to her.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Iles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today?

But as Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood, seeking answers, it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…

My Review of The Twyford Code

Steve Smith has a mystery to solve.

What an intriguing story! I’m not entirely sure quite what I’ve just read as The Twyford Code is part mystery and part thriller told through the eyes of a not entirely honest protagonist who can be somewhat economical with the truth, so that I feel I really need to reread the story immediately to discover all the clues laid out along the way that I missed the first time. This makes for a highly engaging and intriguing reading experience.

I found The Twyford Code really fascinating. It’s sinuous in its twists and turns so that the truth of its layers of narrative only become fully clear right at the end. Janice Hallett proves herself to be disconcertingly skilled at sleight of hand and obfuscation. Reading The Twyford Code is akin to watching a skilled magician at work and I did need to suspend my disbelief at times – just as I would when watching someone apparently sawn in half by an illusionist. 

I loved the allusion to Enid Blyton, the references to other books and the concepts of World War Two, duplicity and international history that are threaded through the story. I found the transcripts an innovative and intriguing way to convey the narrative and was beguiled by the multiple time frames and the Agatha Christie style denouement. The fact that it is Steve’s illiteracy that means he has to record his story felt authentic and affecting. And it is Steve who is the huge success of the novel.

What I hadn’t bargained for here is the depth of feeling engendered by injustice, by Steve Smith’s sad and neglected upbringing and the way justice is seen to be done but actually can be so wide of the mark that it made my blood boil. The Twyford Code may be an entertaining mystery, but it is also a social commentary that strips back how we are shaped and constructed by our lives. I was incredibly touched by Steve’s story.

The Twyford Code is deceptive and I suspect it may divide readers. It feels like a light-hearted Enid Blyton-esque romp with added murder but it has a depth that takes time to be uncovered. Whilst I enjoyed being duped and manipulated by the narrative, it was the people, the reminder of those I’ve taught who were just like Steve Smith and found themselves in prison too, that made the book successful for me.  It was the why of the story as much as the what that engaged me and made me think and I really enjoyed it. 

About Janice Hallett

Janice Hallett studied English at UCL, and spent several years as a magazine editor, winning two awards for journalism. After gaining an MA in Screenwriting at Royal Holloway, she co-wrote the feature film Retreat. The Appeal was inspired by her lifelong interest in amateur dramatics. Her second novel, The Twyford Code, was published by Viper in 2022 and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels in 2023. The Examiner will be published in August 2024. When not indulging her passion for global adventure travel, she is based in West London.

For more information you can follow Janice on Twitter/X @JaniceHallett, or find her on Instagram.

I can’t believe it’s over three years since lovely Julia Roberts last appeared on Linda’s Book Bag. Then I was reviewing My Mother’s Secret in a post you’ll find here. Now Julia has a brand new book out, My Daughter’s Lies, and I’m thrilled to be able to share an excerpt with you.

Published by Bookouture, My Daughter’s Lies is available for purchase here.

My Daughter’s Lies

In the middle of my beautiful daughter’s eighteenth birthday party, silence falls as I unfold my speech, my heart bursting with everything I want to say. But when I look down I see a note, and my world stops: She’s not who you think she is.

Ruby was our miracle baby. I would have done anything to become a mother, and when she finally arrived, I held her in my arms, looked in her blue eyes and swore I would never let anything harm her. Now she’s everything I could have dreamed of. I don’t even think about all the years of heartache I went through before she was born.

So when I get the strange warning at her birthday party, I ignore it, hiding it in my bag with trembling hands. Someone is simply jealous of her.

But as I watch my daughter, things I’ve been trying to ignore come flooding back to me – Ruby’s odd disappearances, her whispered arguments with her best friend, and a memory from her sixth birthday which still breaks my heart to remember.

I need to know the truth about who she really is, but digging into my daughter’s secrets might reveal my own. As the party draws to a close and the confetti is swept away, I gather my courage. I’ve spent eighteen years trying to forget my own mistakes, and it could only take a moment for everything to fall apart.

Do I risk tearing my family apart to keep my daughter safe? Because when my secrets come out, I could lose my precious girl forever…

An Excerpt from My Daughter’s Lies

“What part of “I DON’T WANT A PARTY” did you two not get?’ Ruby demands.

      She clearly has no intention of calming down and a quick glance in Steve’s direction tells me he is now almost as wound up as she is.

      There have been very few arguments between the three of us over the years, but after a moment of shocked silence, Steve replies at a similar volume to Ruby. ‘We’ll speak to whoever the hell we like!’

      I now feel like a spectator as the two of them lock eyes, glinting dark with anger. I’m pretty sure Ruby wasn’t expecting that reaction from her normally placid dad, and to be honest neither was I.

      ‘We’re your parents,’ he continues equally forcefully. ‘While you live under our roof, you’ll show us a bit of respect, young lady.’

      ‘Respect is not a given, it’s earned,’ she flings back. ‘How can I respect people who clearly have such little regard for my feelings?’

      I’ve been holding back tears as I witness the spectacle of the two people I love most in the world hurling abuse at each other, but now they pour freely down my cheeks.

      ‘Stop it!’ I scream, stunning them both into momentary silence.

      Steve starts towards me, but I hold my hands up, the palms facing outwards as though to push him away if he tries to come any closer.

      ‘Let’s just forget it. If Ruby doesn’t want a party to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, that’s up to her.’

      He examines my face intently, searching for my true feelings. It seems like an age but is probably only a fraction of a second before he turns away from me to face our daughter. ‘No, I’m not having that,’ he says, his voice more controlled but his anger still evident. ‘It might be your birthday, Ruby, but it’s also the day your mother gave you life. You have no idea what she went through before she finally became pregnant with you; the years of negative pregnancy tests, hormone injections, miscarriages, until, when she had long since given up hope of having the one thing she craved more than anything in the world, she finally conceived you; our little miracle.’

      My chest tightens at the words ‘our little miracle’. Ruby is not the only one who has no idea of the lengths I went to in my efforts to become pregnant. My breath is coming in shallow gasps, and although I’ve never previously experienced a panic attack, I fear I’m about to have one.

      Ruby’s cheeks start to colour, but my normally mild-mannered husband hasn’t finished.

      ‘She endured thirty-six hours of torturous labour,’ he continues, emotion now fuelling his anger, ‘before conceding that she would need to have an emergency caesarean section because your life was in danger.’

      Ruby is gripping the edge of the table, and her eyes are filling with tears. I want Steve to stop, but he clearly isn’t done yet.

      ‘She literally bears the scars of giving birth to you and you want to deny her the chance to celebrate your coming of age because of something that happened twelve years ago and was totally beyond our control? The volume of his voice is increasing with every word. ‘I thought we’d raised a nicer human being than that. You’re pathetic! No, I take that back,’ he rages. ‘You’re selfish and cruel.’

      Steve has gone too far, but before I can voice my opinion he slams out of the room, leaving silence in his wake, only broken by Ruby’s sobs.”

****

I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling things are not going to go well! My Daughter’s Lies sounds brilliant!

About Julia Roberts

Julia was born in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, and began her career as a professional singer/dancer. This enabled her to travel the world in her late teens storing up experiences she has since included in her writing.

Following roles as a hostess on The Price is Right and a member of the Beadle’s About ‘hit squad’ in the 1980s, she became a TV Presenter and filmed features for Sky Sports before launching the QVC shopping channel in 1993 where she still presents today. Having always wanted to write, she penned her first book, a memoir sold on QVC, in 2013 and has since written seven full length novels, two novellas and several short stories.

You can follow Julia on Twitter/X @JuliaRobertsTV and visit her website. You’ll also find her on Instagram and Facebook.

Life has been rather complicated of late and I’m struggling to fit in everything I’d like to, but I simply couldn’t let publication day for Allie Cresswell’s Salad Days go unmarked. You see, Allie has always been so generous to me as a reader, sending me copies of her books with no expectation that I’ll review, but just hoping I’ll enjoy reading them.

Allie also provided a super guest post about mature characters when her book Widow’s Weeds was published that you’ll find here. Consequently, the least I can do is bring Allie’s new book, Salad Days to your attention – especially as it sounds fantastic.

Available in ebook too, Salad Days is published in paperback today, 7th June 2024, and is available for purchase here.

Salad Days

“My earliest memory is of you, Arthur. We were children, running across the garden at Granny’s house. The sun on your hair made it look like copper wire. Then you stopped, and I cannoned into you. We both went headlong into the rockery. It was 1964, the summer before I started school, so I was nearly five. You would have been just three.
It’s strange, isn’t it? That my first memory is of you. Or maybe it isn’t very strange at all.”

Prudence and Arthur take a nostalgic trip down memory lane to the sixties and seventies; turbulent, changeful years that contrasted with their idyllic childhood at ‘Salad Days,’ the market garden run by Prue’s extended family.

But was it idyllic? Tragedy makes uneasy waypoints in their journey of recollection, and Arthur’s overbearing father casts a dark pall. How did he inveigle himself into Prue’s close-knit family circle? What was his hold on them?

As Prue and Arthur retrace their youthful attempts to get to the facts, it’s clear that truth and memory aren’t always the same.

What of the mysteries that defy the clarity of hindsight? The uncanny auspices of eccentric Mrs Glenister, latest in the line of ‘peculiar’ Glenister wives—why did she only materialise at times of calamity? And most oddly of all, why, in all their reminiscing, does Arthur never speak a word?

Memory is a curious thing—unreliable and awkward. Shaping it into an account Prue and Arthur can both live with might take a lifetime. Or two.

***

Doesn’t that sound completely brilliant? I love the way the cover has a slightly indistinct quality, rather like the unreliable quality of memory explored in Salad Days. I think this sounds a very special book.

About Allie Cresswell

Allie Cresswell is the recipient of two coveted One Stop Fiction Five Star Awards and three Readers’ Favorite Awards

Allie was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.

She went on to do a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.

She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, and has run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.

She has two grown-up children, two granddaughters and two grandsons, is married to Tim and lives in Cumbria.

For further information, visit Allie’s website, or follow Allie on Twitter/X @Alliescribbler, Facebook and Instagram.

I love Phillipa Ashley books, although I don’t always get chance to fit them in to my reading and when Hana Sparkes sent me a surprise copy of Phillipa’s latest book, Second Chance Summer I was delighted. Even better, Second Chance Summer is my latest My Weekly magazine online review and I’m thrilled to share details today.

You’ll find other posts featuring Phillipa here on Linda’s Book Bag, including reviews and extracts.

Published by Penguin on 6th June 2024, Second Chance Summer is available for purchase through the links here.

Second Chance Summer

From the moment Lily Harper arrives at a remote retreat on the breath-taking Scilly Isles, she is itching to get back to civilisation – and her thriving business.

Slowing down simply isn’t in her vocabulary, and so she quickly clashes with the gorgeous but dour Sam who runs the retreat.

Just as Lily is about to give up and leave, disaster strikes, and she is involved in an incident that changes her perspective on everything.

Lily is no longer sure she wants to return to the life she thought she loved. But will she have the courage to give the retreat, and Sam, a second chance?

My Review of Second Chance Summer

My full review of Second Chance Summer  can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Second Chance Summer is absolutely delightful. It transports the reader to Stark and provides them with an uplifting, warm and wonderful story that is every bit as good as taking a holiday.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Phillipa Ashley

Phillipa Ashley is a Sunday Times, Amazon and Audible best-selling author of uplifting romantic fiction.

After studying English at Oxford University, she worked as a copywriter and journalist before turning her hand to writing. Since then, her novels have sold well over a million copies and have been translated into numerous languages.

Phillipa lives in an English village with her husband, has a grown-up daughter and loves nothing better than walking the Lake District hills and swimming in Cornish coves.

For more information about Phillipa, visit her website or find her on Instagram or Facebook. You can also follow Phillipa on Twitter/X @PhillipaAshley.

It’s just over a year since lovely Emma Cowell stayed in with me to chat about The House in the Olive Grove in a post you can find here. Today, not only do I welcome Emma back to Linda’s Book Bag to tell me about her latest release, but there’s a wonderful giveaway for you too!

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Emma Cowell

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag Emma and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me once more.

Thank you for inviting me back! Did the baklava I baked last time that helped secure a return visit?!

It did indeed – that and the wonderful books! I rather think I know, but tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along The Island Love Song– my third novel! It still feels strange to say that and I’m not sure how I’ve written three, and in the middle of drafting my fourth. But I feel very lucky to be living a dream and I wouldn’t be able to without the support of the readers and amazing bloggers like you, so thank you.

It’s always a pleasure to support authors Emma! And I understand today is The Island Love Song publication day, so congratulations.

The Island Love Song also marks another step away from how it all began with my first novel, One Last Letter From Greece, which was inspired by the death of my darling Mum. I so wish she was here to see everything that’s happened. Sorry to put a downer on the evening- I’m pouring you a shot of ouzo!

That’s not a downer Emma. Of course you should remember your Mum. I’m sure she would be very proud of you. Let’s drink a toast to her.

What can we expect from an evening in with The Island Love Song?

It’s a story about love and family, which I’ve realised are unintentional themes in all my novels so far- though the stories are all unconnected. It’s about two sisters- Ella and Georgia- and their journey to an island called Hydra in Greece to scatter their mother’s ashes. But their relationship is strained to say the least! They’re both hiding secrets, hiding from themselves and from their past. All their troubles bubble up to the surface against a backdrop of blissful Greek paradise. They are both very different. Georgia is one of those women who plan and try to control everything so much that they forget to have fun. Ella is carefree with no urge to settle down, she lives out of a suitcase and follows her creativity wherever it takes her. There’s also a love song that has haunted Ella for decades. It was written about her by the man who broke her heart, and she has tried to escape it, but she can’t. The island forces them to confront their demons and face the truth… it isn’t all sunshine and crystal clear blue waters, but there’s a sweeping love story in there too.

That sounds gorgeous. I’m so glad I have The Island Love Song on my TBR pile.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

Last time I inflicted the husky sounds of Leonard Cohen on you, so you’ll be thrilled to know I have my playlist that I wrote the book to. It has become part of my process to create a soundtrack, choose a candle and make a mood board to transport me into the world I’ve created. It’s filled with some of the greatest love songs- in my humble opinion- ever written. For the audiobook version of The Island Love Song, I wrote three original songs as music is an important part of the novel and such an integral part of my life- I couldn’t be without it.

Wow! As someone tone deaf I find that amazing!

The song that Ella is trying to avoid is one of those iconic songs that gets used for weddings, funerals and christenings, like Angels by Robbie Williams or Something by George Harrison- my personal favourite love song. Do you have a favourite, Linda?

It’s so hard to choose a favourite song but I think probably Love is the Drug by Roxy Music as I am somewhat obsessed with Bryan Ferry – I’ll make you look at my photos of me with him later!

And of course, I’ve cooked Greek food for you which features heavily in all my writing.

I was hoping you might say that!

I’ve made a very simple dish of roasted vegetables- tomatoes, aubergine, onions, and courgettes with herbs, a little lemon and a sprinkling of capers- it’s my twist on a dish called Briam. Served with a classic Greek salad of course.

That sounds delicious…

And there’s pudding…I’ve made Portokalopita which is the most delicious orange cake that I discovered in Greece years ago. It’s a light orange flavoured sponge, though the Greeks call it a pie, and is covered in a sweet orange and cinnamon syrup glaze and is absolute heaven. It’s mentioned somewhere in all of my books. I can’t go to Greece and not have a slice or four!

You might have to fight me for that actually…

I also love that my readers have sought out some of the dishes featured in my stories and they send me pictures of their home cooking or taverna orders.

How brilliant.

And before I go, I’d also like a re-match of our Backgammon tournament we had last time we stayed in…the dice weren’t kind to me then, but I’m always hopeful that luck may turn in my favour….

I think they might be Emma. All that ouzo seems to have gone to my head! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about The Island Love Song. You set up the Backgammon board and I’ll give readers a few more details and a chance to win a copy for themselves!

The Island Love Song

Escape to the beautiful Greek Island of Hydra with this moving novel, filled with family secrets and romance

Emma Cowell, author of The House in the Olive Grove, returns with her brand new, emotional and romantic novel set on an idyllic Greek Island.

Hydra, the picturesque Greek island, is a paradise for most, yet for sisters Ella and Georgia, it is a place where their darkest secrets dwell. And now the time has come for them to confront their past as they return to Greece to scatter their mother’s ashes.

Ella is haunted by a love song that was written for her by the man who broke her heart years earlier and she longs to find peace so she can move on with her life.

Georgia pretends everything in her life is perfect, but she is plagued with guilt. If what she’s kept hidden for decades was revealed, their family would never be the same again.

The island is urging the sisters to confront the truth, but can they build a future on the ruins of their past?

Published today, 6th June 2024, by Harper Collins imprint Avon, The Island Love Song is available for purchase through the links here.

Giveaway

A Paperback Copy

of

The Island Love Song

Doesn’t The Island Love Song sound amazing? Thanks to lovely Laura Sherlock I have a paperback copy to give away to a lucky UK reader. The giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday 9th June 2024 and the winner needs to provide a UK postal address to receive their prize. Winner details will not be retained once the prize is dispatched.

To enter, click here.

Good luck!

About Emma Cowell

Emma lives in Cornwall with her husband, Tony, and their fur baby, a Russian Blue called Papoushka Gerald Cowell. A former actress and BBC presenter Emma is currently Head of Philanthropy for national charity Together for Short Lives. Outside of work, Emma is a keen angler and held a Cornish record for over 10 years until her crown was toppled. She is yet to get over it but tries to keep calm by practising yoga. Also, a keen linguist, Emma is attempting to learn Greek to maintain her love affair with the country where she has set her debut novel. She is yet to achieve a level of proficiency outside of tavernas and bakeries.

For further information, follow visit Emma’s website or follow Emma on Twitter: @EmmaLLoydCowell, and find her on Facebook and Instagram.