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The Harbour Lights Mystery

Posted on 20th December 2025 By Nicola

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shortbookandscribes

UK book blogger (Sheffield), Bookstagrammer and lover of all things bookish.
Just one person trying to read all the books.
Physical books only.

Book Review: Unknown by @heather.critchlow. Publis

Book Review: Unknown by @heather.critchlow. Published by @canelo_co and out now.
🎙️
Unknown is the fourth in the Cal Lovett series by Heather Critchlow. Cal is a podcaster, focusing on cold crimes. After the events of book three, when the trial of Jason Barr, the man believed to have killed Cal’s sister, didn’t mete out the justice Cal hoped for, he’s not looking for a new crime to investigate but one falls into his lap and he finds himself delving into the case of ‘Hillside Jane’, a woman whose remains were found twenty years earlier in a remote walking area but never identified. Surely somebody must have missed her.
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The case itself is intriguing and we get to see some of what happened to Jane and why through flashback chapters. Cal’s got a lot on his mind but it doesn’t stop him giving his all to the case, determined to find out who she was.
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This is an excellent addition to the series (which sadly will end with book five). I think Cal is an immensely likeable character and I enjoyed his relationships with Shona, a forensic anthropologist (so used to human remains!) and his daughter, Chrissie. His complex dealings with Jason Barr’s wife add another absorbing element to the complications of Cal’s life.
🎙️
I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a cold case storyline. It’s dark, tense, emotional and well-plotted and the author does a great job of keeping up the pace and the mystery throughout.
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#bookreview #Unknown #crimeseries #crimebooks #shortbookandscribes

Last • Now • Next Happy Sunday! I've been quiet o

Last • Now • Next

Happy Sunday! I've been quiet over the last week as I've had a mini reading slump. I started two books that I couldn't get into and read another that, whilst beautifully written, took me an age to read. So I picked up a book I had been looking forward to for ages (Unknown) and I enjoyed it so hopefully the slump is over.

Last
Unknown by @heather.critchlow was my last read. I always enjoy the books in this series which feature Cal Lovett, a true crime podcaster with his own demons to deal with.

Now
I've picked up The Sea Stone Sisters by @eleanorbuchananbooks. I've seen some cracking reviews of this one and fellow bloggers tell me I will love it. I only started it last night but I'm looking forward to reading more.

Next
It Could Have Been Her by @lisajewelluk. Let's face it, you can't go wrong with a Lisa Jewell, can you? This one's out on 2nd July.
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#lastnownext #Unknown #TheSeaStoneSisters #ItCouldHaveBeenHer #shortbookandscribes

Have you read any of my last, now, next reads?

What are you reading at the moment?

#lastnownextreads

Ad/PR product. New review: The Last Marriage of Do

Ad/PR product. New review: The Last Marriage of Dot Bright more by @laurapauthor
Published by @boldwoodbooks and out now.
💍
The Last Marriage of Dot Brightmore is the sequel to The Last List of Mabel Beaumont that I didn’t know I needed but now couldn’t bear to be without. A little trepidation set in: would I love it as much as I loved ‘Mabel’? I needed have worried for ‘Dot’ is just as wonderful a story and exactly the heart-warming experience I hoped it would be.
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This book picks up where ‘Mabel’ left off. Mabel and Dot, at 86, have finally got together, having known each other in their youth and then lost touch for decades. Marriage is on the cards but Dot is still married and that’s not all: Mabel knows that there is something else bothering Dot. Out comes the list and on it goes all the things that will hopefully produce a Happy Ever After for this lovely couple with another chance of happiness and some new adventures ahead of them.
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Laura Pearson has got this book just right. It made me smile...a lot. The friends that Mabel made in the first book make a reappearance and we, along with Mabel, are introduced to Dot’s family. The characters are portrayed to perfection, full of warmth and support, and I particularly loved Dot and Mabel’s love for each other and their wish to only make the most of whatever time they have left together.
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This is a gorgeous, poignant read about second chances and the power of friendship and love, one in which the gentle joys of life are reinforced. I thought it was simply superb.
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Thank you to the publishers and author for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #TheLastMarriageOfDotBrightmore #upliftingfiction #5starreads #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Summer at the French Ba

Ad/PR product. New review: Summer at the French Bakery by @jothomasauthor. Published by @panmacmillan and out now.
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Juliet has enjoyed her life as a wife and mother, but after recovering from serious illness she realises that she doesn’t want to carry on living the same kind of life. Having been captivated by a rundown watermill whilst on holiday in France, she makes a break from her old life and decides to try and run it as a tearoom. To get through the bureaucracy, she finds herself talked into breathing new life into the village by reopening the boulangerie. But Juliet doesn’t know anything about bread-making. Will she succeed?
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Having read so many Jo Thomas books before, I knew that Juliet most likely would succeed because this is an author who writes the most uplifting of stories. Although Juliet comes up against many obstacles, she makes some good friends and slowly but surely she begins to find her way in France.
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Thomas has a winning formula, a tantalising combination of food and place which never fails to draw me in and make me feel kind of wistful for the enticing way of life she sells in the pages of her books, not to mention extremely hungry. I loved the descriptions of the baguettes that Juliet learns to make, the rural beauty of the mill, the villagers who slowly begin to warm to Juliet, and of course Laurent, the handsome, strong French hero who runs the tabac opposite the boulangerie. The less said about Claude, the rival baker, the better (pantomime boos galore!). Apart from him, I really liked all the characters and I think there could be mileage in a sequel someday. I’d love to see how things progress for Juliet and Laurent, and find out what happens with the mill.
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Summer at the French Bakery is an absolute joy to read, an atmospheric and beguiling romance novel. I now want to visit France and eat baguettes! One thing is for sure: Jo Thomas never lets me down.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy and the wooden spoon! 🥄
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#bookreview #SummerAtTheFrenchBakery #foodiefiction #booksetinfrance #shortbookandscribes

📚May Reads - I managed 10 which I am thrilled with

📚May Reads - I managed 10 which I am thrilled with as my norm seems to have become 7.🥳

🚪An Unlikely Visitor by Joanna Cannon - A beautiful, comforting and poignant exploration of loss, grief, love, family and connections

🚨Body of Lies by Jo Callaghan - The final book in the Kat and Lock series (sob) is pretty much the perfect crime thriller.

🏠The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart - An illustrated novel about two couples who move into one house together. I loved the mixture of text and illustrations.

🎨Alison by Lizzy Stewart - An illustrated story of a young woman who leaves her marriage and Dorset for the bohemian art world in London. A lovely book.

🛤️Five by Ilona Bannister - A busy train platform, a train due in five minutes, but when the train comes, one of five people on the platform will die. A great read and a great premise.

🖌️Rose & Renzo by Carolyn O'Brien - An interesting story set during the rise of fascism in 1936. Principled and forward-thinking Rose meets an Italian painter, Renzo.

🇮🇸The Repentants by Kate Foster - Taking in Scotland and Iceland in the late 1700s, this is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction and it is the strong women who take centre stage.

◾Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller - A mesmerising and dark read with a horror element. It's about 16 year old Ursula who moves into an abandoned bungalow. Claire Fuller's writing is brilliant.

🌹The Burning Roses by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - book 29 of the Morland Dynasty series follows Bertie and Ned to the front in WWI amidst the horror of warfare. At home Jessie is determined to do her bit and takes up nursing. As always, a brilliant, historical read.

🪖The Measure of Days by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - There's a lot of sadness in book 30. It's set in 1916, right in the middle of WWI.The author transported me to the battles in France, whilst in England I enjoyed following Jessie's nursing experiences in London.

As always, my book post for the month and Storygraph stats are on my blog post (link in bio).
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#May2026Reads #monthlywrapup #monthlyroundup #MayReads #shortbookandscribes

New review: Alison by @lizzy_stewart. Published by

New review: Alison by @lizzy_stewart. Published by @serpentstail and out now.
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After enjoying The Wreck I was keen to try another of Lizzy Stewart’s graphic/illustrated novels. Alison tells the story of a young woman, already married at 18 and living with her husband in Dorset, in effect tied down before she really knows what she wants to do with her life. She starts to explore art classes and meets a much older artist who bewitches her and shows her what’s possible. Alison makes the break and goes to London to become part of the bohemian artistic world.
🎨
I really enjoyed reading Alison. It’s sort of a coming of age story as Alison grows into who she really is. I liked following the successes and failures of her life over the ensuing decades, her friendships, relationships and art. The illustrations are striking and drew me into the story very effectively, making this book a visual joy. There isn’t as much text in this one as in The Wreck, but there’s still a really nice mixture of text and illustrations, the combination making a highly satisfying reading experience. Whether you are a fan of graphic novels or, like me, have never really got on board with them before, I recommend Lizzy Stewart’s books. They won’t disappoint.
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#bookreview #graphicnovels #alisongraphicnovel #fortheloveofbooks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: An Unlikely Visitor by

Ad/PR product. New review: An Unlikely Visitor by @drjocannon. To be published by @boroughpress on 4th June.
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Margaret Ford is simply going through the motions since the death of her beloved husband, Derek, and as a couple they spent 40 years in much the same state after their 11 year old daughter, Jeanie, went missing. Margaret is lonely, wondering what her life can be now she’s all alone, when she comes home to the Unlikely Visitor of the title. I’m not going to spoil for you who that visitor is and I hope nobody else does, because it leads to a most exquisite cascade of events and meetings that will hopefully help Margaret to work out a few things, not least of which is what actually happened to Jeanie.
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Having read Joanna Cannon’s books before, I know that she excels at this kind of story, one of what it means to be human, taking a tale that is riddled with despair and weaving it into a touching and emotional one. I loved every bit of An Unlikely Visitor, which follows Margaret now and also takes us back to the events surrounding Jeanie’s disappearance, the two strands entwining to create a novel that is plotted to perfection.
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The characterisations are just wonderful. I had this image in my mind of Margaret scurrying around, gathering information, with the presence of her visitor creating some amusing scenes. It’s not only Margaret who stands out though, every single character jumps off the page and each one feels 100% real.
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Although the book has its sadnesses, it also feels really uplifting and hopeful and it was an absolute joy to read. It went in a direction I couldn’t have guessed at and in different hands it might not have worked, but Cannon manages to get the balance just right, making this a beautiful, comforting and poignant exploration of loss, grief, love, family and connections. I adored it.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #AnUnlikelyVisitor #5starreads #upliftingfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Repentants by Kate

Ad/PR product. New review: The Repentants by Kate Foster. To be published by @panmacmillan tomorrow.
🧂
The Repentants begins in a scandalous way as Florrie Aitken sets off to commit adultery. Life with her husband Jonny has become difficult and she realises that there might be more pleasure to be had than Jonny could even dream of giving her. This is 1790’s Fife, though, and it isn’t long before Florrie finds herself on the repentants’ bench in the local church. There she meets Eliza, a salt serf, which means that she is bound for life to her employer, destined to remain sifting salt.
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The story is inspired by an attempt by Scottish merchants to annex Iceland as a remote prison and it is to Iceland that Jonny takes Florrie and Eliza, as her maid. What seems like something of an adventure to Florrie and something extremely unwelcome to Eliza, soon becomes something much worse as the women discover the truth of Jonny’s plans. A third woman, Hallgerd, enters the story in Iceland and I thought the way their lives were linked and entwined was very effective.
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I always enjoy a Kate Foster book and this is no exception. The women take centre stage, as with her other novels, telling a tale of oppression, dissatisfaction, strength and cunning in the face of adversity. Although Florrie is rich, her life is really no more enjoyable than Eliza’s or Hallgerd’s.
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Foster’s imagery and scene-setting is stunning. From the very first page I was captivated by her prose and her descriptions. I was transported to Fife and to Iceland and was able to sense the despair of the women as they try to survive and get the better of the men who shackle them.
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The Repentants is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction and Foster is a talented writer. Highly recommended for historical fiction fans.
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Thank you @libraryofchlo for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #TheRepentants #historicalfiction #bookish #shortbookandscribes

New Book Purchases 📚📚📚 These four books arrived in

New Book Purchases
📚📚📚
These four books arrived in the house last Thursday.

🔸Wonderful by Louise Beech – ‘Three women, three eras, surprising things in common…’. I’ve read quite a few of Louise’s previous books and really enjoyed them so I had to get myself a copy of this one which is partly about Marilyn Monroe.

🔸Entitled by Andrew Lownie – this is the explosive royal exposé that felled a prince and there are sure to be some shocking revelations in here.

🔸Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd – this is the second in the Nora Breen Investigates series. I haven’t read the first book yet but having bought that one with spredges I felt I needed to keep up the good work. I’ve heard good things about this series anyway.

🔸The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow – I don’t think this needs any explanation as it’s been everywhere since the, frankly brilliant, TV series. I’ve been hunting for this hardback version secondhand as I really like the cover much more than the paperback and TV tie in versions (shudder to the last one). It’s a brick though, in fact it’s bigger than a brick.
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Have you read any of these or do you like the sound of them?
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#bookpurchases #newbooks #fictionbooks #fortheloveofbooks #shortbookandscribes

Bank Holiday Weekend Last ● Now ● Next Reads ☀️ Ha

Bank Holiday Weekend Last ● Now ● Next Reads
☀️
Happy Bank Holiday weekend. It’s looking like a scorcher which isn’t my favourite kind of weather but I’m sure there are a lot of people in the UK who can’t believe this is actually our Bank Holiday weather. I thought I’d share my last, now and next reads with you today.
☀️
Last: Body of Lies by Jo Callaghan - I absolutely flew through this brilliant book about a detective and her AI sidekick, only sorry that it’s the last one in the series (😭). I reviewed it on Thursday if you’d like to read my thoughts.
☀️
Now: The Repentants by Kate Foster – I always enjoy this author’s historical fiction. This one is inspired by an attempt by Scottish merchants to annex Iceland as a remote prison for the British empire in the late 1700s.

I’m also reading my ‘morning book’ The Measure of Days by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, book 30 of the Morland Dynasty series which is set in 1916 and follows the family’s fortunes during WWI. I could not love this series more.
☀️
Next: I’m going to start Alison by Lizzy Stewart. I bought this after enjoying The Wreck so much. This illustrated novel will be my ‘downstairs’ book, one that I dip into every evening.

I think then I will read Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray because I’ve been looking forward to this one since I first heard about it and I love a legal thriller.

I’m hoping to read The Last Marriage of Dot Brightmore by Laura Pearson soon too. This is the follow up to The Last List of Mabel Beaumont which I thought was brilliant, so I’m looking forward to it very much.
☀️
What will you be reading this Bank Holiday weekend? Have you read any of my choices?
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#lastnownextreads #crimefiction #historicalfiction #contemporaryfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Body of Lies by @jocall

Ad/PR product. New review: Body of Lies by @jocallaghankat. Published by @simonschusteruk today! Happy #publicationday 🎉🎉
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The chilling ending of book three in the Kat and Lock series, Human Remains, left me champing at the bit for book four and my goodness, what a book it is and what a truly brilliant finale to the series as a whole….sob.
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After the terrible events of book three, DCS Kat Frank is getting back to some normality with AIDE Lock, the AI detective which resides in a bracelet on her arm and which manifests itself as a hologram, by her side. The two characters and their interactions are what make this series so very special and Body of Lies is no different. Lock, as you might expect, is very literal and the juxtaposition of AI and human can be really funny at times. It’s no laughing matter, though, when an MP is murdered in a very public and disturbing way. Kat and Lock begin their investigation but things get even worse when there is a major cyberattack on the National Grid.
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This is a fast-paced and VERY exciting book. Thrillers don’t get any better than this for me and I particularly like the AI aspect which illustrates all the good and bad sides of a technology which feels both futuristic and a part of everyday life. AIDE Lock exists in that way, working alongside the police, which makes it feel like just another member of the team. Just as AI is already all around us, largely unregulated and gaining in power, it all feels very believable and possible.
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I’m bereft at the end of this spectacular series (tears were shed). I honestly can’t praise it enough. Body of Lies rounds it all off nicely, being both an outstanding story in its own right and the perfect conclusion overall. The murder aspect alone is utterly gripping but add in the thrill of the race against time to save the UK from the consequences of an extended period without electricity (think about how much we rely on it) and Body of Lies is pretty much the ideal crime thriller. In case you couldn’t tell, I absolutely adored it.
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Thank you @likely_suspects for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #BodyOfLies #5starreads #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Wreck by @lizzy_ste $Ad/PR product. New review: The Wreck by @lizzy_stewart. Published by Jonathan Cape and out now. 🏠 Reading an illustrated novel is really unusual for me, in fact I think I’ve only read two graphic novels before (both by Audrey Niffenegger if you’re interested). What drew me to The Wreck is that it is a combination of written and graphic elements, the written being the story and the graphic the dialogue, which gave me a real sense of the characters. 🏠 Those characters are Charlotte and Bill, Francesca and Adrian. Charlotte, Fran and Adrian were friends at university in the 1970s but over the years had drifted apart, partly due to Fran and Adrian getting together, and later getting married, which kind of fractured the friendship with Charlotte. Twenty years later Fran gets in touch with Charlotte with an unexpected and surprising proposal: that Charlotte and Bill move into Fran and Adrian’s large house in the country, known as The Wreck, and embrace a kind of communal living. 🏠 I enjoyed The Wreck so much. It’s a large book so I have been reading a little every evening and I always very much looked forward to picking it up. The story itself is engrossing, told for the first three parts from Charlotte’s perspective and then in the last part from Fran’s. It takes the reader back to the university days, setting the scene for all that was to come, the old friendships and the new ones, and life at the Wreck. At first life is really good but there was a sort of inevitability to the outcome I think. 🏠 The illustrations are absolutely stunning. Lizzy Stewart is a brilliant artist and I got to truly know the characters through her art, each one so perfectly drawn and which put me right there with them at the Wreck. I took a bit of a chance on this book, it being something different for me, and I’m so glad that I did. In fact, I’ve now bought Stewart’s first illustrated novel, Alison. I highly recommend The Wreck; it’s a captivating and pleasing written and visual experience. 🏠 Thank you @vintagebooksinfluencers for the review copy. * * * * * * #bookreview #TheWreck #illustratednovel #illustratedfiction #shortbookandscribes$

Ad/PR product. New review: Rose & Renzo by @caroly

Ad/PR product. New review: Rose & Renzo by @carolynmanc. Published by @northodoxpressofficial and out now.
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Rose and her older sister Ivy have to leave the vicarage where they grew up after their father dies. Motherless too, Ivy steps into the role, much to Rose’s discontent. She feels Ivy is holding her back and preventing her from fulfilling her dream of attending art school in Manchester. They move to Ancoats, to an area known as Little Italy, where Rose meets painter Renzo. They’re immediately drawn to each other but fascism is on the rise and Rose doesn’t know enough about Renzo’s past to be totally sure of where his loyalties lie.
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Rose is a brilliantly drawn character who jumped off the page. I loved her individuality, her cropped hair and daring outfits (both rather outlandish for 1936 Manchester) and her desire to do the right thing. Renzo is passionate, principled and kind, and he made a good hero.
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The tensions of the time around the fascist behaviour and the prejudice against the Jewish community are portrayed well and they provide a backdrop to what is essentially a burgeoning love story. What I perhaps enjoyed most of all was Rose’s introduction to a new way of gritty city living after a sheltered existence in a Cheshire vicarage, and the opening of her eyes to what is going on around her. Sense of place is strong and this is a well-written piece of historical fiction.
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Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #RoseAndRenzo #historicalfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Hunger and Thirst by Cl

Ad/PR product. New review: Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller. Published by @penguinfigtree and out now.
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Hunger and Thirst is the story of 16 year old Ursula. After a childhood trauma followed by a succession of children’s homes, she’s now working in the post room of the local art school where she meets Sue, a slightly older and much more worldly-wise woman who becomes Ursula’s friend and whose large and chaotic family she wishes were her own. Ursula lacks any real joy in her life and so when she’s invited to share a deserted bungalow she jumps at the chance of the new experience. The Underwood has a sinister past, though, and events take a turn for the worse, leading to an incident that haunts Ursula for the rest of her life.
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The first half of this book set the scene and built up the tension, whilst the second half became virtually unputdownable. Is Ursula an unreliable narrator? Did she do what she thinks she did? To be honest, I got to the end and I still don’t know but somehow it doesn’t really matter as the writing is so strong and it’s such a consuming story. It’s unsettling to witness Ursula apparently unravel before us as some very weird and disturbing things happen. It’s unclear if it’s the malevolence of the Underwood that’s to blame or Ursula’s own deluded mind playing tricks on her. Either way, it makes for a really gripping and dark read with a thrilling horror element.
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Claire Fuller is such a great, versatile writer. She nails Ursula’s inner demons and Sue’s devil-may-care attitude and portrays perfectly the uneasy creepy feeling of the vividly-described abandoned bungalow with all the previous owners’ belongings still in place. Hunger and Thirst is a mesmerising novel which I’m still thinking about it days after I finished it.
🪰
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy along with 'squashed fly' biscuits and tea bags.
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#bookreview #HungerAndThirst #grippingreads #atouchofhorror #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Five by @ilona.banniste

Ad/PR product. New review: Five by @ilona.bannister . Published by @readingjuniper and out now.
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A busy train platform, a train due in five minutes, the usual mixture of people stand waiting. But when the train comes, one person will die. We are told it will be one of five people, a child, his mother, a businessman, a young gambler, or an old lady. It’s an unusual premise: a conversational, often mocking narrator gives us an overview of the train station situation, interspersed with deep dives into the backgrounds of the main players, so that we find out not only what led to them being on the platform on this fateful day but also what led to them being the person they are. We also get to see the impact that the death has on each of them.
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What I like most about Ilona Bannister’s writing in this book (and I saw it in her first book, When I Ran Away, too) is that she gets to the heart of motherhood - how it feels to be a mother and what a mother will do for her children - with searing and unflinching honesty. This is what felt like the overarching theme of the book for me,
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Expect more than a psychological thriller. Expect a human story about complex and messy lives, unlikeable characters but ones whose stories draw you in and make you realise that nothing is ever black and white. Who really knows what is behind the facade of the people you pass by in everyday life? I really enjoyed Five and found it a well-written, thought-provoking, powerful and engrossing character-driven story.
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Thank you to the publishers and author for the proof.
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#bookreview #Five #psychologicalfiction #grippingreads #shortbookandscribes

April Reads 👑 Elizabeth and Marilyn by Julie Owen

April Reads

👑 Elizabeth and Marilyn by Julie Owen Moylan
A compelling story about Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe, and the lead up to their brief meeting in 1956, the year they both turned 30. I loved this one.

🌳 Woodspring by Elizabeth Buchan
This is about three generations of people connected to Woodspring, their ancestral home. It didn’t quite live up to expectations for me, but I still enjoyed the transportation into the past.

📞 Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
An exciting, ‘edge of your seat’ story about a woman whose daughter is kidnapped and held to ransom. One of my favourites by this author.

💭 Dreams Come True at the Wartime Hotel by Maisie Thomas
The final instalment in this lovely trilogy about three women courageously forging their own way through life during wartime. Full of warmth and friendship.

💦 The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary
Dark and compelling first in a new police series with fascinating main characters.

🌿 Spring at Flora’s House by Freya North
Second novella in the series set on the Isle of Harris. I had trouble liking the three main characters in this story but as always, the setting is beautiful and there’s a lovely sense of community.

🚢 The Restless Sea by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Book 27 in the Morland Dynasty series – the sinking of the Titanic forms a large part of the story, with some of the Morland family being on board the so-called unsinkable ship. The younger generation play their part in history, as do the women fighting for the vote.

🪖 The White Road by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Book 28 covers the first few months of WWI amidst the hell and heartbreak of war.
📚
As always, my book post for the month and stats are on my blog post - link in bio.
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#AprilReads 2026 #monthlywrapup #monthlyroundup #AprilReads #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Drowning Place by S

Ad/PR product. New review: The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary. Published by @harvillbooks and out now.
💦
When he was 11, Joseph Ashe was on a school bus when it veered off the road into a reservoir. Everyone on board drowned apart from Joseph. Why did he survive and no one else did? It’s a mystery, but as Joseph never moved away from his childhood town in the Peak District, he’s treated with either awe or a kind of suspicion. Now a DS in the Edenscar police, he’s joined by DI Laurie Bower, a newcomer to the area with personal reasons for her move, in investigating a terrible local crime.
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The Drowning Place is a well-written police procedural with the addition of a number of other interesting aspects to the storyline: there’s the accident that Joe inexplicably survived and the legacy of that, which is his uncanny supernatural ability; there’s Laurie’s home life and her move from an inner-city police force to a more rural one (expecting a slower pace and then being thrust into the heart of a major investigation); and there’s the setting in the Peak District, an area with which I’m reasonably familiar.
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The characters are all well-drawn and often flawed. Joe has a massive case of survivors’ guilt but his police work helps a little with that. I found him hugely likeable, if something of a closed book. Laurie is a no-nonsense cop with tons of experience so I’m looking forward to seeing her and Joe work alongside each other in the next book in the series, and I’m also keen to see if more insights about what happened on the day of the crash emerge.
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The plot of this book is dark and compelling, although I must admit that at times I found it a little difficult to concentrate on, possibly due to the number of characters or the complex storyline. I’m definitely interested in reading the next Joe and Laurie book – the quirkiness of this one has me curious to know more.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #TheDrowningPlace #crimefiction #policeprocedural #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Dreams Come True at the

Ad/PR product. New review: Dreams Come True at the Wartime Hotel by Maisie Thomas. Published by @boldwoodbooks and out now.
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Dreams Come True at the Wartime Hotel is the third book in this heartwarming trilogy and my favourite of the three as it rounds up every character’s story perfectly.
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Kitty, Lily and Beatrice live at Dunbar’s Hotel with Abbie, Kitty’s daughter, and Mrs Ivy Dunbar, Kitty’s mother-in-law. Whilst the men are away at war, it’s the women who step forward on the home front. The feckless actions of Bill, Kitty’s husband, mean that she is running the hotel as a storage business and has also branched out into wedding and funeral receptions with the help of her friends and family.
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The future for Kitty and Lily seems uncertain. The thought of Bill coming home and taking all that Kitty has built up is unthinkable to her, and Lily is pregnant with another man’s child so reconciliation with her husband seems an impossibility. Beatrice is content with her life working in welfare and running children’s clubs but she does sometimes feel like she has missed out on family life. What will the future hold for these three plucky women?
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I loved reading this book and catching up with the characters I have so enjoyed reading about. I had hopes for the conclusion of both Beatrice’s and Lily’s stories and I was thrilled with the outcome for each, but with Kitty I thought it could only go one way and I was wrong. The author came up with a much better idea and I couldn’t have wished for more.
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This whole trilogy has been a delight to read. It’s about strong women courageously forging their own way during wartime and doing a jolly good job of it. The stories are easy to read and flow beautifully whilst covering the hardships of life during conflict and the joys of romance and friendship. Highly recommended for all saga fans.
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Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy.
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#bookreview #DreamsComeTrueAtTheWartimeHotel #sagabooks #warfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Caller Unknown by @gill

Ad/PR product. New review: Caller Unknown by @gillianmauthor. Published by @michaeljbooks and out now.
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I consider myself to be a Gillian McAllister fan and Caller Unknown is now one of my favourites of her books (along with How to Disappear and Wrong Place Wrong Time).
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Simone flies to the US to meet up with her teenage daughter Lucy who has been at summer camp before hopefully taking up a place at RADA. Bar some temporarily lost luggage, all goes well until the morning after Simone’s first night in Texas when she wakes up to find Lucy gone and a phone in her place. Lucy has been abducted and from that moment Simone’s only purpose is to get her back. Her husband, Damien, is back home in London but even if he was in Texas, it would still be Simone who would be following orders not to contact the police, complying with the abductor’s demands, and doing all she could to save Lucy.
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Some reviewers have said a suspension of disbelief was required when reading this book but of course that is the case as who can really imagine being in Simone’s situation? It doesn’t happen very often but it does happen sometimes. What shone through from start to finish is what parents, and mothers in particular, will do for their child, the hoops they will jump through, the laws they will consider breaking and the sacrifices they will make, all to keep their child safe. McAllister, in Caller Unknown, writes what she does best: a psychological thriller with moral dilemmas scattered throughout and a love story, not only between wife and husband, but in this case, even more powerfully, between mother and child.
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I found this book very hard to put down. It’s pacy and full of cliffhangers (good ones that lead into the next chapter rather than leaving you hanging for longer) and it’s exciting, edge of your seat, ‘one more chapter’ brilliant. The plot is so well executed and there are so many passages of wisdom about family life that I wish I had marked them all to come back to and read again. This is such a fantastic book.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #CallerUnknown #5starreads #psychologicalthriller #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Woodspring by Elizabeth

Ad/PR product. New review: Woodspring by Elizabeth Buchan. Published by Corvus and out now.
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Woodspring tells the story of three generations of one family, the Dane family who have been inextricably linked to their ancestral home for over two hundred years. The three timelines are 1940, 1975 and 2005, portrayed from the viewpoints of Harry, Nell and Mia respectively.
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I was drawn to Woodspring as it sounded like just my kind of book, one which tells the story of a family connected by their home. That wasn’t exactly what I got. To start with, Woodspring hardly features in two of the timelines. Harry is commando training in Scotland or on leave in London for his timeline and in Mia’s we see a Dane through her eyes with only a small focus on Woodspring. It’s clear much has changed at the estate over the generations, in the way of many large country houses, but it’s only Nell’s story that really takes us there and I would have liked more.
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Elizabeth Buchan’s writing is very good, it kept me interested (particularly where the focus was on Harry and Nell) but I did feel like Woodspring had more of a bit part than the lead role that the title suggests. I also felt that the joining of the three strands seemed rather disjointed, probably because the links between the characters were broken or partially broken so they didn’t flow as well as they might.
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What I did really enjoy were the descriptions of the house and its surroundings, the wartime experiences of Harry and his cohort, and Nell’s time at Woodspring discovering things she didn’t know about her family and the estate. Whilst not quite the read I was hoping for, I did still enjoy Woodspring for the transportation into the past.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #historicalfiction #histfic #shortbookandscribes

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