ShortBookandScribes June 2025 Reads, Book Post and Stats
Goodbye June, I think I blinked and missed you. Hello July, I think I blinked and missed the last seven years as my son leaves primary school this month!
Viewing pleasures this month included series two of The Gold on BBC which I was gripped by. It follows the story of the Brinks-Mat robbery with the police chasing the other half of the stolen gold. Also season three of And Just Like That which I don’t think has gone down too well generally but I still love the characters and their messy lives.
It was another seven book reading month so here’s what I read:
Can You Solve the Murder by Antony Johnston
This was a quirky and entertaining ‘choose your own adventure’ style crime novel where the reader is the detective trying to solve a murder at a wellness retreat.
Births, Deaths and Marriages by Laura Barnett
An intensely character-driven story of six friends from university told over the course of a year, twenty years later. It felt realistic with all the joy and mess that is part of life.
The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry
The story of two women, Belinda and Mabel. Belinda is newly released from prison and working at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart where Mabel resides. Who is the stranger in room six and what do they want with both women? Gripping!
Claire is lonely and desperate for a baby. She joins internet forums about free-birthing and is sucked into what is basically a cult. A great read, uncomfortable and often true to life.
Isabella’s Not Dead by Beth Morrey
Gwen lost touch with her best friend, Isabella, fifteen years ago. A school hockey team reunion makes Gwen wonder what happened to Isabella and why she ghosted her so she decides to try and find her. A lovely light-hearted story of friendship and solidarity.
The Woman Who Laughed by Simon Mason
A highly enjoyable suspenseful mystery story with an enigmatic protagonist in ‘the Finder’, a man hired by the police to try and work out what happened to Ella Bailey in Sheffield. Was she murdered five years ago as previously thought or has she been alive all along?
The Flood-Tide by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
This is book nine and another brilliant instalment of the Morland Dynasty series. The action takes place at home at Morland Place, in America in the midst of the War of Independence and in France as the revolution looms.
Book post received this month with thanks to the named publishers and authors (buckle up, we could be here some time):
A Wedding for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin (sent by the author)
A Cornish Legacy by Fern Britton (sent by Harper Fiction)
Watching You by Helen Fields (sent by Avon)
Slow Burn by Oti Mabuse with Lorraine Brown (sent by Simon & Schuster)
Love on the Rocks by Elsie McArthur (reissued version sent by the author)
When We Were Young by Elaine Hastings (sent by Avon)
A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor (sent by Hemlock Press)
We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (sent by Orion)
Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox (sent by Swift Press)
25 Library Terrace by Natalie Fergie (sent by Embla Books)
Saltwater Mansions by David Whitehouse (sent by Phoenix Books)
Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan (sent by Michael Joseph)
The Hometown Bookshop by Jenna Warren (sent by Fairlight)
The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson (giveaway prize from the author)
The Devil’s Draper by Donna Moore (giveaway prize from Fly on the Wall Press)
I also bought:
The Names by Florence Knapp
The Low Road by Katherine Quarmby
Into the Fire by G.D. Wright
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Redemption by Jack Jordan
Number Thirty-Two by Cassie Steward
And regular readers will know how much I love my sprayed edges so behold these beauties:
Getting Away by Kate Sawyer
A Place in the Sun by Jo Thomas
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Phew…..
Finally, my Storygraph stats for June:
Please do let me know in the comments if you like the sound of any of the books I’ve read or received.
I’ve been eyeing up the sprayed edges on Getting Away. I can feel an order going in!
They are pretty special spredges aren’t they? I think I’ll take it on holiday with me.
I have a copy of the Liane Moriarty. I’ll get to it one of these days!
No idea when I will get to it but I really like the concept.