Well a dreaded lurgy laid me low again last week. This time an inflammation of the cartilage between my ribs and no I do not know where it came from, or where it has gone, but it had me weeping with the pain and wondering if I was having a heart attack. It has vanished as quickly as it arrived, leaving me feeling as though a steam roller had flattened me out. Getting a tad fed up with all of this I can tell you.
So I have been reading and reading and reading and a lot of re-reading as well as I simply was not in the mood for the intake of new thoughts and ideas for much of the last ten days.
I was curled up in bed one day, hot water bottle and tea to hand and I re-read all of the books by Madeleine Brent which were on my shelves. I wrote about these here, so please do nip over and check out my thoughts. Basically, they are all the same story, orphan child brought up in adversity in far flung location and suffering great difficulty, is reunited with family but only after undergoing huge trials and upset. Loved them all and loved reading them all over again. Worth mentioning again that Peter O'Donnell, who wrote these books under a pseudonym, was the author of the Modesty Blaise books which celebrate their 50th year in 2015. These titles are all available from Souvenir Press.
I also re-read a whole pile of Mills & Boon by my favourite author from that stable, Catherine George. Again, nearly all the same, involving falling madly in love with tycoon/businessman/greekbillionaire/dynamic boss, misunderstanding and argument separates them and then all sorted out. In her later books lots of pregnancies and heroine standing alone when veracity as to paternity is cast, hero always devastated at his behaviour (unreal or what!!) but all resolved. I have dozens of them and love them all.
I am a huge Heyer fan and pulled down a few of those as well. The Black Sheep and Lady of Quality, two of her later works, are essentially the same story but are among my favourites though nothing beats A Civil Contract as an example of just how good she was. I then re-read the marvellous biography of Georgette by Kloester which I reviewed her when it was published, and I enjoyed reading that all over again as well.
I have read a few newbies. The House on Cold Hill by Peter James whiled away an hour or two. A ghost story and one of this author's stand alone titles, being better known for this Inspector Grace books set in Brighton. I do enjoy those books enormously but even when reading and enjoying I sometimes come across a passage or two or three, usually dialogue, when I find it all a bit clunky and awkward, and this happens quite a bit in this particular story. A malevolent spirit is at work in the house, recently purchased by a family who are going to renovate it and enjoy living in the country. It is chilling at first but as the story progresses it all gets a bit Grand Guignol and a bit silly and by the end I was beginning to think Oh for Gawd's sake get on with it. But if you want a read on Halloween by candlelight then I reckon this will do the trick nicely. Due to be published 8 October 2015.
House of Dreams - Fanny Blake. I had the pleasure of meeting Fanny Blake a few years ago when her first novel was published, What Women Want. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have read all her others as they have arrived and find her a very perceptive writer when it comes to the nuances and interactions of family life. In this latest title, House of Dreams, a family come together to say farewell to In the hilltop villa with its spectacular views across rolling countryside to the straits of Gibraltar They're spending the weekend together to say farewell following the death of their mother. The sisters and brother all have hidden issues and and feelings which come to a head during the party which has been organised by them as a fitting goodbye. In a way you can almost guess what is going to happen and that the intricacies and emotions will all be sorted by the time you read the final page, but this does not stop the reader thoroughly becoming involved in it all and becoming sympathetic to those left behind. Well up to this author's standard. Due to be published 5 November 2015.
OK I think I have now caught up on the backlog etc and have new reads to hand which I can now review at my leisure.
