In 2012, five friends party to celebrate the end of university. A decade later, they decide to meet up again but their lives have changed considerably from what they expected…
The Weekend Trip is a warm book about friendship and the strength of love.
Erin’s husband has died. Becky is pretending to be someone she’s not to keep her girlfriend happy. Beth has been diagnosed with MS but is keeping it a secret. Tara is out of rehab and is in a new relationship. Alex is a successful author but her love life is non-existent until she meets a stranger on the plane.
The group of friends all had such hope and expectation ten years ago. But the reality of their lives is very different. There is a huge amount of emotion in this book and I’m sure every reader will identify with the gaping chasm between our plans and reality. I felt an underlying sadness at the distance between the friends which has developed naturally as their lives took them in different directions.
This book also raises awareness of MS which is a disease I had heard of but not understood the severity of the symptoms. Beth doesn’t want to be defined by her illness or elicit sympathy from her friends. Although I empathised with her situation, I was sad that she didn’t feel she could be honest with her friends, and also that the group hadn’t supported each other in the past decade. I thought Beth’s husband Paul was amazing for his dedication and devotion as well as his humour.
The Weekend Trip is an enjoyable and emotional book about the power of friendship. I have previously reviewed Bootcamp for Broken Hearts by Joanna Bolouri.
The Weekend Trip: A totally uplifting and heart-warming romantic comedy by Joanna Bolouri
Five old friends. Two new partners. One big problem…
In Erin’s beachfront home in Ireland, I blink at my former best friends and laugh. Is it awkward we haven’t seen each other in ten years and nobody really knows why? Yes. So I pull out the champagne with a flourish and start blasting our old playlist. It’s a reunion weekend, after all…
But it’s not long before my determination to have fun starts to fizzle. Perhaps inviting new partners was a mistake. I’m already exhausted by Becky’s new girlfriend, and Beth’s husband is trying too hard with the compliments. No, I’m not trying out a “cool silver highlights” look. It’s a grey hair.
Still, at least the others have partners. The most exciting romantic development I can report is a quick flirt with a handsome stranger on the plane over.
Even flighty, non-committal Tara is bringing someone. But if that wasn’t surprising enough, I could never have anticipated Tara’s ‘someone’ would be the man from my flight.
If things weren’t already awkward, they certainly are now…
The weekend was meant to finally bring us all back together. But will this reunion only push us further apart?
A hilarious and uplifting page-turner about the power (and pitfalls) of friendship and romance. Fans of rom-coms by Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Mhairi McFarlane will devour this laugh-out-loud tale.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanna Bolouri worked in sales before she began writing professionally at the age of thirty. Winning a BBC comedy script competition allowed her to work and write with stand-up comedians, comedy scriptwriters and actors from across the UK. She’s had articles and reviews published in The Scotsman, The Skinny, The Scottish Sun, Huffington Post and HecklerSpray.
She lives in Glasgow with her daughter.
AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @scribbles78
Morwenna Mutton discovers a seriously injured man at her daughter’s engagement party. He dies and she finds herself under suspicion so decides to find the real killer…
Foul Play at Seal Bay is the first book in a new cosy murder mystery series set in Cornwall.
Morwenna is at a crossroads, considering the past and future. Her marriage broke down but she is still friends with her ex. She has a couple of part time jobs and supports the family tearoom. She often cares for her granddaughter and offers support to her daughter Tam and mother Lamorna. A local businessman offers to buy the tearoom but is then found fatally injured at a party. Morwenna needs to prove her own innocence and that of her family but this puts her in danger and she is warned off by the killer.
Morwenna’s character is fab. She has some insecurities and vulnerabilities but is also a force of nature. She is devoted to her family and I was keen that she reconnect with her ex Ruan as I felt that they had forgotten to focus on themselves as a couple but never fell out of love. I really enjoyed the use of Cornish words to evoke the accent and people of the region.
There is only one death which is not graphically described. However, there are other violent attacks and warning notes to try to prevent Morwenna fining the truth. I did actually manage to guess the identity of the killer although I did briefly change my mind around two thirds of the way through before being convinced again of a certain person’s lies.
Foul Play at Seal Bay is a solid start to a new series and I hope to catch up with Morwenna in the future.
Foul Play at Seal Bay
It was meant to be the start of quiet season in the sleepy Cornish village of Seal Bay, but not for sexagenarian librarian and wild swimming enthusiast Morwenna Mutton. Because when a local businessman is found on the beach with a bread knife is his back, bungling police officer DI Rick Tremayne is soon out of his depth. Morwenna knows it’s going to be down to her to crack the case.
The list of people the victim upset is long, the evidence is slight, and an arrest illusive. Morwenna has plenty to occupy her time what with ghostly goings-on at the library and skullduggery at her granddaughter’s school, but she could never resist a challenge. And even the most ruthless of murderers should quake at the sight of this amateur sleuth getting on her bike to track them down.
If you love Miss Marple and The Thursday Murder Club, then you’ll love The Morwenna Mutton mysteries.
Author Bio –
Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.
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TRIGGER WARNING: rape, domestic abuse
Dr Sara Linton was raped 15 years ago. Now she has a case of a young woman’s rape that makes her confront the past to find connections. But her rapist was convicted and couldn’t be responsible for raping the latest victim…
After That Night is the 11th book in the Will Trent series. Relationships continue from earlier books but are easy to catch up on. Faith has been traumatised by her last case which I assume was the subject of the previous book in the series. There are references to incidents but no major spoilers.
Sara is a dedicated doctor but her career direction was adversely affected by being raped just before accepting a prestigious promotion. She is perfectly happy in the alternative life she has created until she treats a seriously injured young woman whose experience was just like her own. Now she is concerned that there could have been an error in the identification and conviction of her rapist.
The rape content, misogyny and domestic abuse contained within the book is deeply unpleasant and graphically described. The content is disturbing in its violence towards women. Yet I felt that Sara’s strength shines through. Her determination to find the truth offers a spark of hope to the other women degraded and undermined by the emotional and physical brutality of men.
After That Night is a tense and intense novel.
Book blurb
After that night, nothing was ever the same again
Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.
Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.
And it seems the past isn’t going to stay buried forever.
About the author
Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels THE GOOD DAUGHTER, PRETTY GIRLS, and GIRL, FORGOTTEN. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette. The Will Trent Series is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S, and Disney+ internationally). THE GOOD DAUGHTER and FALSE WITNESS are in development for film/tv. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.
www.karinslaughter.com
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Twitter @SlaughterKarin
Julia enjoys attending the pub quiz but is shocked when two members of her team are involved in a hit and run and then one is stabbed to death. The deceased, Lilian, was a police officer so could someone have borne a professional grudge or was there a more personal motive…?
Murder at the Inn is the 4th book in the Julia Bird cosy murder mystery series.
Julia needs to get sleuthing again when a police officer is stabbed. Lilian’s colleague Hayley was badly injured in the prior hit and run incident so is bitterly frustrated that she cannot investigate the death of her friend. Lilian was investigating a series of arson attacks, an old adversary had been released from prison and Lilian had recently separated from her husband. Plenty of suspects and motive!
Julia’s attempts at investigating are hampered by the lead police officer who is deliberately trying to exclude her and Hayley from the case. I liked the tension this created and the ensuing tenacity that Julia displays. The case isn’t straightforward and more deadly deeds change the direction of the investigation.
There is a lightheartedness in the tone of the book despite the murderous content. Several personal subplots have been included to counterbalance the murder mystery. Julia’s dog Jake forms an attachment with one of her hens, her ex husband announces he wants to remarry and her current boyfriend has another admirer.
Murder at the Inn is an enjyable cosy murder mystery.
Book Description:
Julia Bird loves the village pub quiz, but it seems one of her team won’t make it to the next round alive…
On the first Tuesday of each month, Julia Bird and her Agatha Quizteam teammates take part in Berrywick’s village pub quiz. They take it seriously – what’s the point of playing, after all, if you aren’t in it to win it? But it seems someone connected with the quiz night has taken the competition to a whole new level when Lilian, the local police constable and all-round general knowledge expert, is found fatally stabbed after the evening’s final round.
With local DI Hayley Gibson stuck home with a broken leg and an incompetent Superintendent brought in from the nearby town, it’s up to Julia to make sure the investigation stays focussed – whether they like it or not! While the police are convinced that the murderer is linked to Lilian’s professional life, Julia turns her amateur sleuthing eye to suspects much closer to home. Perhaps Lilian’s personal life could have something to do with the dreadful crime?
When another quiz team member is attacked, Julia is finally put on the right track. But what could possibly be important – or dangerous – enough for two attendees of the pub quiz night to meet such foul ends over? Could the culprit really be among them on that busy Tuesday night? As Julia’s race to identify the killer ramps up to desperate heights, she wonders, where will the murderous spree end?
Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands, Murder at the Inn is a brilliantly compelling English cosy mystery.
Author Bio:
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.
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You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
Another book club choice! I quite like having other people tell me what to read 🙂
Cecilia finds a letter from her husband to be opened only in the event of his death. He is very much alive so she debates with herself whether she should open it or not. Tess’ marriage is in tatters when her husband reveals he has fallen in love with her cousin. Rachel is swirling in grief after the death of her husband as well as a rage at the death of her daughter years earlier combined with the announcement that her son’s family are moving away.
The Husband’s Secret is a book full of domestic drama and devastating secrets.
I felt that the secret was pretty obvious although others in my book club disagreed. I enjoyed seeing how the characters soul search and consider their choices and actions.
The writing is very strong and I felt that the women’s voices were easy to discern on the audiobook without doing OTT accents. There is plenty of humour and frank observations: the women are often catty but are covering their own anxieties. This made them more human and authentic in my opinion.
I enjoyed the interweaving of the different characters’ lives. However, Tess’ plot strand seemed to have the least relevance and I thought it was more padding than plot. However, it did provide hope for Connor who suffers at the hands of other characters over the course of the book.
The epilogue reveals what ifs and more secrets for the past and present. Part of me really liked this for showing the potential and opportunities for the various characters, while another part of me thought it unnecessary.
The Husband’s Secret is an enjoyable domestic drama that will have you questioning how you would behave in similiar circumstances.
Blurb
At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read
My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died…
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.
Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.
About the Author
Liane Moriarty is the bestselling author of nine novels, including Apples Never Fall, The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers. Her novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and been translated into over forty languages. Big Little Lies is now an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning HBO series, produced by and starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Nine Perfect Strangers has been adapted for TV, starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy. Apples Never Fall is currently in production for TV starring Sam Neil and Annette Bening. Liane lives in Sydney with her husband, son and daughter.
