Chickpea salads are one of my go-to recipes when we have a BBQ. I normally throw in whatever salad veg I have but thought I would be more organised this time and focus on green, red and yellow.
Ingredients
400g can of chickpeas, drained
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 tablespoons tinned sweetcorn
one quarter of a cucumber chopped
big glug of dressing
coriander or other fresh herbs to taste
optional: spring onions, red/green/yellow pepper
Method
Simply mix them all together!
Even the kids will eat this and I think this is due to the sweetness of the salad and the colour burst to keep each mouthful interesting.
1963, Germany. Hanni and Freddy’s son runs away to her Nazi father and Hanni decides it is time to make Reiner pay for his war crimes once and for all…
Her Last Promise is the fourth book to feature Hanni and Freddy. I have previously read and reviewed the earlier three books in the series: The Commandant’s Daughter,The Pilot’s Girl, and The Girl in the Photo. I think the books should be read in order as they chart the course of Hanni and Freddy’s life together.
Hanni and Freddy’s relationship has crumbled since the events of the last book. They are both united in their love for their son Leo but he is adamant he wants to reject his Jewish heritage and join his Nazi grandfather. Hanni and Freddy are horrified and spurred to take action against Reiner and avenge the war crimes he is guilty of.
I enjoyed the complexity of the emotions that are covered by the book. The war and Holocaust cast long shadows over the lives of the characters. I feel that this is quite a unique angle as most books focus on the experience in the camps rather than what happened afterwards. Reiner has been a classic baddie from the very start of the series, and I was longing for him to have a good downfall at last to free Hanni from her guilt and shame.
Her Last Promise is an emotional historical novel which covers big issues about family, identity and survival.
Book Description:
‘Too many have suffered at my father’s hands. I won’t let it continue. I’ll stop him, I’ll build a world where we can finally be free, I swear it…’
Berlin, 1938.When Hanni’s beloved sister suddenly vanishes in the middle of the night, Hanni knows her high-ranking Nazi father, Reiner, is not telling her the whole truth and may hold the key to her disappearance.
Years later, after finally learning how to live with her troubled past, Hanni dedicates herself to raising her teenage son, Leo, but her sister is never far from her mind. But when Leo begins to share Reiner’s pro-Nazi views and runs away from home to meet his grandfather, Hanni’s world collapses in an instant. She is determined not to lose her son to her father’s cruelty, like she lost her darling sister all those years ago…
Hanni has tried to stop her father before and nearly lost her life. Now she is fighting for Leo too and the stakes are higher than ever. She can’t lose him to the Nazis. She won’t let her father take her son away from her. Hanni knows this is her last chance to bring her father to justice. With her son’s life hanging in the balance, Hanni knows this will be her toughest battle yet. But with Reiner’s popularity stronger than ever, will she succeed?
A heartbreaking and gripping historical novel about courage, redemption and the endurance of the human spirit. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will be inspired by this heart-wrenching story about the choices we make to honour the lives of those we lose.
Author Bio:
I seem to have followed a rather meandering career, including marketing and teaching and politics (don’t try and join the dots), to get where I have always wanted to be, which is writing historical fiction. I am a story lover as well as a story writer and nothing fascinates me more than a strong female protagonist and a quest. Hopefully those are what you will encounter when you pick up my books.
I am from the North of England but now live very happily in Glasgow with my American husband. Both my children have left home (one to London and one to Berlin) which may explain why I am finally writing. If I’m not at my desk you’ll most probably find me in the cinema, or just follow the sound of very loud music.
I’d love to hear from you and there are lots of ways you can find me, so jump in via my website https://www.catherinehokin.com/ or on my Cat Hokin FB page or on twitter @cathokin
Leah went missing two years ago, leaving her best friend and adopted sister bereft. Now Claire finds herself kidnapped too…
The Victim is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
Leah and Claire grew up together and were devoted to each other. Yet after Leah disappears, secrets are revealed and Claire wonders if she really knew her at all. Then Claire herself is snatched from the street but she is determined to escape.
The book is written from Claire’s perspective in the past and present. This allows us to see the circumstances and immediate aftermath of Leah’s disappearance as well as events in the present day. The chapters are short which drives the pace and plot forwards as the twists develop.
There is plenty of mystery as we wonder what happened to Leah and why Claire has now been taken. I also enjoyed the emotional side to the plot as Claire reflects on her relationship with Leah and the grief at her loss. The characters and their actions seemed authentic so I felt invested in finding the truth.
Leah should have been enjoying a night in with her best friend and housemate Claire, binging on chocolate and her favourite Netflix show.
But instead, she is suddenly forced to fight for her life when strong hands grab her. A knife is pressed to Leah’s throat and as tears run down her cheeks, she knows she will have to do as she is told if she wants to survive the night.
2 years on …
The community has forgotten about the woman so violently snatched from their midst. Leah’s best friend, however, can’t forget the person who was closer to her than a sister. Nor does she want to believe the shocking secrets she has unearthed about her friend in her absence.
Claire refuses to let go. She won’t forget the only person she ever really cared about. And she will never go about her life as if Leah never existed. She also knows that the danger that took her best friend still lurks unpunished in their hometown. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when Claire is snatched too.
But the last thing she intends is to become one more victim. She feels her abductor should be the one who should be afraid.
Can Claire survive longer than one night?
Will she ever discover what really happened to Leah?
Author Bio
Ruth Harrow was born and raised in England and graduated from university before embarking on an unfulfilling career in an office job. She eventually put pen to paper and her debut psychological thriller, In Her Footsteps, was published in 2018. It quickly became a bestseller. Following the success of her first novel, her second and third books followed shortly afterwards. She lives in the UK with her husband, two children and chocolate Labrador, Rolo.
Sasha heads to her old family home to find answers about her past but is mistaken for a nanny. The owner of the house invites her in and leaves her in charge of her children while she heads off to work. But Sasha begins to remember the past as well as facing problems in the present…
The Babysitter’s Secret is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
The book is written mainly from two perspectives: Sasha in the third person and Emily in the first person (and then later from Cecelia’s third person as well). Sasha is pretending to be from a babysitter agency and inserts herself into Cecelia’s family so she can move into the house and search for answers about her own past. Meanwhile Emily has been released from a psychiatric unit and is trying to live independently. She constantly hears a child screaming and thinks that her carers are trying to get her locked up again.
There are some serious issues dealt with in this book. Cecelia’s mum guilt at the beginning is so easy to relate to as a working mother myself. Emily’s mental health struggles are very emotive and don’t make for comfortable reading but felt very authentic. Sasha’s past trauma has severe implications for her own mental health as she has flashbacks.
I had a few theories about how the two main characters relate to each other, and one of them was correct. As the midway point approached I was pretty certain of how things would link together but the author couldn’t resist a twist even in the final chapter.
The Babysitter’s Secret is a tense and emotional psychological thriller.
Everything I thought I knew about my life is a lie. My mother revealed a terrible, dangerous secret in her last letter to me. But, with her death, any chance of knowing the truth has disappeared. I’ll have to do whatever it takes to find out for myself.
Going back to the house where I was born, I find a family living the life I’d always dreamed of. And when Cecelia, the mother, mistakes me for the new nanny, I seize the chance to move in. Maybe, being in the house every day and night, I will remember more, uncover more, about the secret that haunts me…
But this family is not the happy one it appears from the outside. Cecelia is angry, unpredictable, unstable. She is not the mother these children deserve. They are scared of her, and rightly so.
As my memories start to crystalize, I am ever more determined to shelter them from harm. Because history has a horrible way of repeating itself, and I’ll do everything I can to protect these children. But how long can I stay here, undetected, pretending to be someone I’m not? And if the children end up in danger, what will I have to do to save them…?
With twists no reader will EVER see coming, this incredibly gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Widow and The Housewarming.
Author Bio
Casey Kelleher was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, and she grew up as an avid reader.
Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up their three children together with my husband, she penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that Casey could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time.
If you click the yellow ‘follow’ button, Amazon will send you an email when she has a new release, or if there’s a special deal you might be interested in. It’s the best way to make sure you never miss a book! Casey loves connecting with her readers, and there are plenty of ways you can get in touch:
The summer sun has landed in the UK at last! Happy half term! How are you all?
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