Lola's Secret - Monica McInerney

If you are looking for an easy, good feeling read and you like Christmas, then why not try reading Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney.  It is a sequel to her previous book 'The Alphabet Sisters', but you don't need to have read it first, as this works as a stand alone book.  Lola Quinlan is a sprightly old lady in her eighties, who dresses somewhat eccentrically and has very strong opinions on most things, especially anything that concerns her family.

Her home is a rural motel in the beautiful wine growing Clare Valley of South Australia, where she lives with her son Jim and daughter Geraldine, whom she has never seen eye to eye with.  Lola has run motels for decades, but is now mostly retired and spends a lot of her time helping to run the local charity shop with her group of friends. Lola also likes to keep up with modern technology and has enthusiastically embraced the internet, sending emails and mobile phones.

As Christmas approaches she wants to encourage her relatives to take some time out and go off on their own holidays, without feeling that they have to stay for her sake.  But although the thought of a peaceful Christmas spent alone calls to her, she comes up with the plan of inviting a group of strangers to the motel for the festive break and creating a wonderful experience for them.  She uses her new skills on the internet to invite people, using the lure of a free stay to get a small group of people to sign up.  But does Lola know what she has let herself in for?  Because unbeknownst to her, all of the visitors she is expecting for Christmas have their own reasons for trying to escape their homes and lives for the holidays, and bringing them all together could create a very combustible mix of drama and tragedy.

Meanwhile, there are problems in her own family that need sorting and wounds that need healing.  The death of her granddaughter Anna at the motel several years previously has left a huge hole in the family, and any closeness that her death had initially engendered in the family felt long gone.  Anna's two sisters were once more at each others throats, as difficulties in their marriages and family lives cause them to go back into competition with each other and revisit old disputes that they had thought they had left behind.  And Ellen, Anna's young daughter, was also facing heart ache of her own many miles away in Hong Kong, as she takes a rebellious stance when her father starts a new relationship, feeling that she is being pushed out and that her mother is being replaced.

Even Lola's home at the motel is under threat as Jim and Geraldine decide that they want to buy a smaller business in a different part of Australia, and Geraldine makes it clear that Lola is not included in their plans for the future.  So as she tries to sort out and help her family, create a wonderful Christmas experience for a bunch of strangers and keep things running smoothly in the charity shop, will Lola take any time to look into her own heart and acknowledge some of her own needs?

But Lola is going to be surprised this festive season by things from the past that she thought were long gone and lost forever, giving her another chance to put something right that went awry so many years ago.  Can this redoubtable old lady pull her family together again, help ease their pain and steer them onto a brighter path for the future?  Will her disparate group of invited guests have a Christmas they will never forget? And most importantly, will Lola discover a new direction for her own life and perhaps even find new love for herself?

Lola's Secret is a pleasant read, especially if you enjoy delving into human relationships and the tangles and predicaments that we create for ourselves. It is a book to take into the garden on a hot summer afternoon and let the hours slip by, or to cuddle up with by the fire on a cold, snowy winter afternoon.  As it is set in the 40c heat of a South Australian summer, sip an ice cold glass of Australian white wine while you are reading and have some tasty savoury nibbles to dip into.  My one niggle regards the cover of the UK edition, which is a picture of a young girl running through a lush bluebell wood.  It is an attractive image, but to me says nothing about the dry, dusty heat of an Australian summer in a wine growing region.  Probably me being too literal, but I would prefer to see a cover that was a closer reflection of what is contained within the pages.

The Sign - Raymond Khoury

The Sign by Raymond Khoury is a fast moving thriller where the action moves from Antarctica to Egypt and then on to the United States. Gracie Logan is an up and coming journalist whose news team is investigating the splitting off of huge pieces of ice from cliffs of the Antarctic when they are the first to witness 'The Sign'; an amazing display of lights that moved, shimmered and changed before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrived. Is 'The Sign' a natural occurrence, has it been sent from aliens or is it a sign from God that all is not well with the planet? Not sure what to make of this amazing phenomenon, Gracie receives a call inviting them to Egypt, where an old priest who has been living as a recluse in a cave has been drawing the very same sign on the walls of the cave for several months.

As the world is whipped into a frenzy by what is meant by 'The Sign', Gracie and her team travel to Egypt to meet with the saintly Father Jerome. But the appearance of another sign over the arctic and then over the head of Father Jerome on the roof of the monastery makes it very dangerous for them to stay at the ancient Coptic monastery as a large mob gathers outside the walls. They need to get Father Jerome away to safety; somewhere where his presence will not trigger religious riots and he will be safe.

Meanwhile back in the United States Matt Sherwood learns that his beloved brother Danny might not be dead after all, and that he might still be being held captive somewhere. On a crusade to find the truth and his brother, he realises that he has gotten on the wrong side of some very powerful people. He has to go on the run after he was set up as the murderer of one of his brother's associates, and teams up with another of his brother's old friends, Jabba, after saving his life from the thugs who are after them.

As Gracie starts to realise that all is not as it seems regarding Father Jerome and 'The Sign' and Matt begins to work out what Danny was working on and which powerful people he is dealing with the danger both for them and the world grows. They learn that a dream of idealism to create a better, greener world has been hi-jacked for the sake of personal power and that it is beginning to unfold and unravel.

A thriller based on one man's desire to save the world and shock it into a cleaner, greener way of living. Matt Sherwood is an all-action hero; a one-time bad boy come good. His physical prowess and ability to take out large amounts of armed, trained men strained my credulity at times, but it is rollicking, fast-moving story. And I don't think you need me to tell you where the love interest happens! Fix an organic avocado and prawn salad and sip a nice glass of organic white wine with this one!

The Man In The Moss - Phil Rickman

The village of Bridelow has always been an isolated, wind swept place; a place where the old beliefs and the newer Christian beliefs have been woven together. The only way to get to Bridelow is across a primeval peat bog known as 'The Moss'.

When an ancient body is discovered in the peat and taken away to be investigated by the archaeologists, perfectly preserved after thousands of years, the villagers know what they have to do to preserve the balance between light and dark in their town. They must get the body back, and put it back where it belongs. The body in the peatbog had been an ancient sacrifice, and the sacrificial victim had died the triple death.

Bridelow is also a village that draws back the people who left; and musician Matt Castle buys the village pub, after the local independent brewery is sold. Matt who plays the Pennine Pipes to appease the Moss.

Drawn into this circle of gathering darkness are folk singer Moira Cairns, American film Director Mungo Macbeth and the fundamentalist vicar Joel Beard. But one of Bridelow's own is using the energy in the town for his own ends. Having once been banished, he has now found a way to return and work his black magic.

But Bridelow has guardians; a group of women who have retained the old knowledge and pass it down from generation to generation. As people are killed and disaster threatens to destroy the village, can the remnants of the Mother's Union do enough to save Bridelow and it's inhabitants?

Set in the dark, wet weeks around Halloween - ancient Samhain - this is one to read with a big bowl of hot chilli, a baked potato and a pint of real ale!

The Reef - Di Morrissey

Di Morrissey is a best-selling Australian author, but for some reason her books are hard to find over here in the UK. Most of her books are set in Australia, and some are historical. She often intertwines an historical storyline with one set in modern times. If I had to compare her to an author known in the UK, it would be Victoria Holt (showing my age!).

The Reef is the story of an island on the Great Barrier Reef called Branch and of a young woman called Jennifer, who had not had an easy life. She had been brought up on a small country farm in Victoria, but when she was still a small child her only brother had been swept away by a rogue wave on a seaside holiday and drowned. Jennifer was left with a dread of the sea and swimming and was further devastated when a eighteen months later her beloved father was killed in a fishing accident on the same beach.

Her controlling mother, Christina, sold up the farm and moved into a small town. Jennifer grew up and moved to Sydney, where she went to University and stayed with her Auntie Vi and Uncle Don. She met a chef in a cafe called Blair and after a few years they got married.

Jennifer's course at University was Environmental Science, which was something she loved. Blair's career in Hospitality and Hotel Catering came first, however, and he moved them both to the resort on the island of Branch.

Branch was a tropical paradise, but from the moment they arrived Jennifer realised that there were strange undercurrents and her marriage to Blair started to crumble. He expected her to live in a small resort unit and help with his career, but Jennifer discovered that there was another side to the island when she found Gideon and the Shark Bar.

Gideon introduces her to the crowd at the Research Centre, and Jennifer finds herself being drawn into their work and interests. She is introduced to Isobel Belitas, an internationally renowned marine biologist, who takes a keen interest in Jennifer and helps her to see the world in a different way.

Jennifer's unexpected pregnancy drives a further wedge in her marriage to Blair, who dreams of working in Europe. Also there are strange happenings at the Resort, and Jennifer does not know how deeply involved her husband is.

So what was happening on Branch and threatening the Research Centre? And would investigative journalist Tony Adams be able to get to the truth? Will Jennifer be able to protect herself and her unborn child from the dangers that swirl around them, deal with her controlling mother and put her fears of the sea to rest once and for all?

A good poolside book, so order a bottle of ice-cold dry white and a big bowl of peanuts and read it in one gulp!

Scott Mariani - The Heretic’s Treasure

Ben Hope has left the SAS, and after the tragedy of his wife’s death, has settled down to run a training school for hostage retrieval, leaving his old life behind him. His ordered existence is thrown into disarray when he receives a phone call from a man to whom he owes a great debt; a man who is now calling that debt in.

Ben is torn, but Colonel Harry Paxton had once saved his life in the jungles of Sierra Leone, so he answers the call and is asked to track down the killers of Harry’s scholarly son in Egypt. But is everything as it seems? What was it that Morgan Paxton was looking for in the sands of the Egyptian desert? Was it something worth killing him for?

Ben soon realises that he can trust nobody; and the action moves from Italy, to Egypt, to Scotland and the Sudan. He soon learns that a number of people want the treasure of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten that Morgan Paxton was seeking and will stop at nothing to get it. Even the woman he loves may not be who she seems to be.

This is a fast moving novel, with plenty of action and a high body count. Lots of severed limbs and heavy duty weapons! Definitely one the lads will enjoy. It is one of a series featuring Ben Hope, so if you enjoy it, you can carry on reading.

Good holiday book – around the pool, on the beach or on the plane. I’d say it would go down well with a pint of lager and a cheese and pickle on brown.

Warning Rant – this is my little rant, but who else is getting fed up with book covers that say ‘fans of Dan Brown will love this’. It’s not like Dan Brown is a particularly good author. He was lucky enough to have one phenomenally best selling book, but I’m sure that not every writer out there is trying to emulate him! We’ll see what his new offering is like when it’s released in the autumn.

Miss Garnet's Angel - Salley Vickers

After the death of her long-time friend and flatmate, Julia Garnet for the first time in her life gives in to impulse and rents a flat in Venice for six months. She was brought up by narrow-minded, religious parents and had escaped into a life of teaching and dabbling with socialism. She had never explored her emotional or spiritual self and had always kept other people at arms length.

The beauty and history of Venice begin to open her up and she makes friends and connections in a way that she has never done before. She becomes especially interested in an old story of a family of Jewish exiles in ancient Nineveh, whose only son Tobias goes travelling to claim a debt long owed to his father. He is unaware that his travelling companion is the Archangel Raphael, and has to face great danger in order to claim his bride and bring her home safely.

As Julia falls in love for the first time with an unsuitable man and has her heart broken, makes friends with the English restorers who are working on an old chapel associated with the artist Raphael, and wanders through the ancient buildings of Venice, she has to absorb new truths and start seeing the world around her in a totally different way.

This is a slow moving book that took me a while to read. The descriptions of Venice and the story of Tobias were fascinating, and it was a refreshing change to have an elderly heroine. Lovers of fast-moving action will not enjoy this, but if you are in the mood to just gently drift along with a book; this one is for you.

Break out the prosecco in honour of Julia Garnet’s favourite drink in Venice and have a dish of olives handy!

Nights of Rain and Stars - Maeve Binchy

'Nights of Rain And Stars' by Maeve Binchy is a gentle summer read. Five strangers from around the world gather one hot afternoon in a taverna high in the hills above the little town of Aghia Anna in Corfu. A tragedy is unfolding in the bay below them, as a pleasure boat suffers an explosion and many lives are lost. As they struggle to come to terms with what is happening far below in the harbour, they gradually open up to each other about the details of their lives, aided by the support of the elderly taverna owner, Andreas.

As they get to know each other better in the aftermath of the disaster, they also receive help and wisdom from Vonni, an Irish woman who escaped to the island to be with her love many years ago. Will Elsa, Fiona, Thomas and David be able to work through their individual problems and find the right path to follow to happiness? Will the magic of this sleepy little town in Corfu, dozing in the sun beside the sparkling blue sea help to heal their past and let them move forward with their lives?

Make a Greek salad, uncork a bottle of retsina and read this in one gulp!

Phil Rickman - The Smile of A Ghost

Merrily Watkins is no ordinary vicar looking after a parish. For a start she is female, she is a single mother and she also happens to be the Diocesan Exorcist or as they call it in these supposedly more enightened times 'deliverance consultant'

The Smile of a Ghost picks up Merrily's story when a teenage boy seemingly jumps to his death from the walls of a medieaval castle in the ancient town of Ludlow on the Welsh border. By the looks of it an 'open and shut' case of suicide, the boy's uncle, a retired detective called Andy Mumford, contacts Merrily to talk about his worries.

Merrily is drawn into a web of mystery in the old town, where it is hard to see whether events are supernaturally inspired or are the actions of man. More people will die and Merrily herself is put in danger, before she can get to the bottom of the mystery.

Another supernatural chiller, to snuggle under the duvet with. Have a large cup of strong tea and lots of chocolate!

The Good Guy - Dean Koontz

Most of us enjoy a couple of beers or a wine or two after work occasionally (or regularly!), but when Tim Carrier sits down to enjoy a quiet beer one night, he will find that it will change his life forever! He enjoys having a chat with the people who come in the bar, but on this particular evening is taken aback when a nervous stranger hands him an envelope full of cash, and the photo and address of a beautiful woman and then leaves with the chilling words 'Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone.'

Within a few minutes of his departure his place is taken by another stranger; the man who was obviously supposed to have been given the money and the details. A hired killer. What does Tim Carrier do? His split second decisions will have a shattering effect on his future. Does he find the strength and courage to do the right thing and save a stranger, risking his own life in the process? Or will he turn the other way and try and forget it all happened?

A tense and eerie thriller, where Tim finds that he really does need to be 'The Good Guy' if he is to help Linda Paquette and find the killer who proves to be much more than a hired gun. Even with the help of his friend from Homicide, Pete Santos, will he be able to save all their lives?

A couple of glasses of red to gulp at the scary bits and a large bowl of crisps are required to navigate this truly chilling tale!

The House of Lost Souls - F.G Cottam

Now this book - The House of Lost Souls by F G Cottam - is as different to Kelley Armstrong's slightly tongue in cheek supernatural chills as day is to night. I am not easily spooked, but the is a creepy book that you want to read with the lights on and someone else in the house!

Ten years ago Paul Seaton stumbled into the wrong house and his life has never been the same and he clings to this sanity by threads. He is living a narrow but reasonably stable life, when everything in it is totally disrupted by the arrival of Nick Mason, an ex-soldier who needs his help. Nick's sister has also found her way into the notorious Fischer House and now Nick must find a way to save her before it is too late.

One of the few leads they have is a few photographs taken by the beautiful society photographer Pandora Gibson-Hoare, and they must delve into her life in the hedonistic upper class society of the 1920s to search for clues, unaware of the evil that they will find there.

Can Nick persuade Paul to return to the Fischer House in order to save his sister and her friends? Can Nick and Paul prevail against the terror that they find there?

A big glass of red and a family pack of Maltesers for this one!

The Swarm - Franz Schatzing

Now I am very partial to an 'end of the world is nigh, humanity is doomed' disaster novel or film, and The Swarm by Frank Schatzing is one of my favourites. A big book, with a story on a large scale, it takes you into the world's oceans amongs the creatures who live there. What would we do if the ocean's whales and dolphins suddenly started to attack shipping and fishermen? Or if previously harmless crabs and lobsters were suddenly mysteriously poisonous and started coming ashore in great waves? These are the questions that Inuit whale expert Leon Anawak has to ask himself and come up with the answers quickly, when reports of attacks on shipping start coming in from around the world and the animals that he studies off Vancouver island start display the same disturbing behavioural patterns.

So what or who is causing these disturbing new developments beneath the waves? Could it be that we have been searching for alien life in the wrong place, and it has been amongst us in our seas all along? Leon, the Norwegian scientist Sigur Hohanson, Jack Greywolf and the rest of a small band of disparate scientists around the world, frantically search for answers as time begins to run out, and the world as we know it begins to crumble. Their research also takes them on an inward journey, and for Leon particularly as he has to finally come to terms with his Inuit heritage and the sadness and tragedy of his early years.

I wouldn't recommended sea food for lunch, but a warm, hearty bowl of soup with fresh bread and a big mug of tea!

Tutankhamun - Nick Drake

Tutankhamun by Nick Drake is the second outing for Rahotep, Medjay officer and super sleuth in Thebes in the time of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. Rahotep is summoned from his bed in the early hours of the morning to attend the unusually gruesome murder scene of a young man. When the murderer strikes again, along with his faithful assistant Khety, he has to try and get inside the head of the murderer and find out what is motivating him.

As events spiral out of control, Rahotep is once again sucked into the very heart of Egyptian political life and intrigue, when he is summoned by the young queen Ankhesenamun, wife of pharaoh Tutankhamun to discover who has been leaving gifts and messages in the palace designed to terrify the royal couple. She needs him to find out who is behind this campaign of terror and fast!

Can the events in the city of Thebes and those in the palace be connected? Which of the powerful courtiers surrounding the pharaoh and his queen are implicated? Will Rahotep only discover the information he is seeking too late to prevent a major tragedy?

An atmospheric and detail filled murder mystery adventure set in Ancient Egypt - get your hammock out in the sun, chill a nice bottle of dry white and fill a bowl with grapes as you disappear for a few hours into another time and ancient culture.

Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly

Seven Ancient Wonders by Australian author Matthew Reilly is a 'Boy's Own' type romp through the locations of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the world to find the pieces of the capstone of the Great Pyramid at Giza and reassemble them in time for a solar event that can bring immense power or peace for whoever possesses them.

Three different groups are on the hunt for the pieces, two for their own gain and one heroic, brave group, led by the dashing soldier and archaeologist, Jack West Jr, for the good of mankind and to stop the 'baddies' gaining control.

They have seven days to find all the pieces; battling against time, the other two groups and booby-traps and false trails. Will they make it in time, can the little team beat the 'Goliath' of the other two powerful groups? It is rip-roaring, action-packed and good fun.

A good beach read - fish paste sandwiches and lashings of ginger beer!

I Just Can't Get into This One!!

The first in an irregular series - books that I just can't get into! I bought this book because it had rave reviews and it seemed really interesting. It is the story of two different men who have lost the loves of their lives, one a soldier in the Great War who has to overcome the Siberian Wilderness to try to return to the girl he loves, and one who wakes up in a hospital in South America to find that his gorlfriend is dead.

I'm sure that most people who have read this book loved it - so can someone please write a review in the comments, so that I can try again to get into reading it!

My most memorable 'can't get into it' to date has to be Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Ecco. A vertiable classic that was recommended to me by all my friends, who told me that the subject matter was right up my street and how much they had all enjoyed it. To date I have never been able to get past page 66!

Lottery - Patricia Wood

Lottery - the fortunes and misfortunes of Perry L Crandall, is an enchanting book about a young man with a low IQ who wins a fortune on the lotttery.

Although not blessed with brains, Perry was blessed with a grandmother who taught him how to cope with life, how to write everything down, and how to play the lottery. After she dies, his grasping family take her house, which is rightfully Perry's, leaving Perry to rely on his work colleagues and friends. Luckily, Perry has a knack for making good friends and moves in over the boating supplies shop where he works.

His family, however, come crawling back into his life when he wins a large amount of money on the lottery. Follow Perry's adventures as he comes to terms with his new riches, fends off his greedy family, and builds new relationships with the people who care about him.

Lottery is often funny, sometimes sad, and ultimately a parable on how greed and love of money do not buy you happiness and contentment. Makes sure that you have a box of tissues, a large bowl of nachos with extra sour cream and a large glass of white wine!

Kings in Grass Castles - Mary Durack

When I was travelling in Australia and New Zealand, I had lots of time to read - some of the journeys between towns on the Greyhound Bus in Australia took 20 hours or more! When I was staying in Kununnura, I visited the Durack Homestead which had been the home of one of Australia's remarkable pioneering families. The original homestead was flooded by the creation of Lake Argyle when they dammed the Orde River, so it has been recreated on higher ground using some of the original materials.

Kings in Grass Castles tells the story of Patrick Durack leaving Ireland with his family in 1853 for Australia and their struggles to establish themselves and to build a great cattle empire across outback Australia.

Follow them from their landing point in Sydney and early days in New South Wales, through to opening up remote parts of Queensland to cattle ranching and then driving cattle overland to establish huge cattle stations in the Kimberley. The hardships that they faced are almost umimaginable now, but the sights they must have seen and the experiences that they had are now out of our reach.

Kings in Grass Castles has lots of family and historical detail, so I found it slow, but fascinating reading. Leaving on a jet plane for Oz? This is the perfect book for that 24 hours - order a gin and tonic and recline your seat!

The Durack Homestead

Life Sentences - Laura Lippman

How well do we really know anyone? How much of our past is a scramble of events and people that we remember, things that we have been told, connections that we refuse to make and memories that get pushed deep down beyond the fringes of awareness.

Writer Cassandra Fallows is unaware of the can of worms that she is going to open when she decides to follow up her first book about her earlier life with a book about her ex-classmate Calliope Jenkins, who was accused of murdering her infant son.

Cassandra returns to her home town of Baltimore and starts asking questions and doing research, trying to find out what really happened to Calliope's baby, only to find that what she had always believed about her past is not always what had actually happened.

As she tries to reconnect with three former classmates, track down the elusive Calliope, and forge a new relationship with her divorced parents, dark secrets come tumbling out and the her picture of her world will never be the same again.

A fascinating look at childhood memories and alliances, distorted memories and how things are never really as they seem. Find a comfortable sofa, make the tea, break out the chocolate and keep on reading!

Fractured - Karin Slaughter

A classy thriller from Karin Slaughter set in the torrid heat of late summer in Atlanta. Special Agent Will Trent walks into a crime scene where a teenage girl lies dead on the landing in a pool of blood, a young man who is believed to be the perpetrator has been killed in the hall and a misjudgement by the local police leads to the life of another young girl being put in grave danger.

Agent Trent has secrets of his own to hide, so is dismayed to be partnered for the the first time with detective Faith Mitchell. She in turn, has her own reasons to resent and mistrust Agent Trent, and as time starts to run out for the missing teenager, they have to try and find a way to work together to bring her home.

With many twists and turns, graphic portraits of violence and human cruelty, the plot delves into the darkest parts of the human psyche, and it is sometimes difficult to tell who is a victim and who is a perpetrator.

Not one to read if you've got got rare roast beef sandwiches for lunch and if you read it late at night - leave the light on!

The Laughter of Dead Kings - Elizabeth Peters

I have been reading Elizabeth Peter's novels now for many years, and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. 'The Laughter of Dead Kings' is the latest in the 'Vicky Bliss Murder Mystery' series. It reprises the characters of Vicky Bliss a tall, blonde American Professor of Art History, her erstwhile lover 'Sir John Smythe,' a former antiquities and art thief now going straight, and Schmidt, Vicky's madcap boss at the Museum of Art in Munich.

The plot centres around the theft of the mummy of one of Ancient Egypt's famous pharaohs from under the noses of the authorities in the Valley of the Kings. A desperate visit from an old friend, who is also an Inspector of Antiquities in Upper Egypt, begging for their help leads to Vicky, John and Schmidt pursuing leads from London, to Rome, to Berlin and finally to Egypt and the Valley of the Kings itself.

Throw in a handsome, charismatic Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, an agent called Suzi who pretends to be in love with Schmidt, and a thoroughly unexpected villain and you have an effervescent mixture of murder mystery and comedy, with a strong dash of romance thrown in!

A very easy read, so pack it for the pool or drag it out of your overstuffed handbag for a lunchtime read in the park!