September sizzlers
Who said the heat had to finish with the end of summer? Turns out summer here in the UK wasn’t that hot after all, but there are some sizzlingly good reads coming out in September to get you hot, sweaty and nervous with excitement! Take your choice between a thriller on an island, a death in a pool house, a deadly Seagull (nightclub) , a grumpy old French detective or a world fair which deals in futures and lies. Evocative reads, that’s for sure…
Guernsey – The Devil’s Claw – Lara Dearman
Why should you read this? It’s a cracking debut, the setting is one of the best I’ve read in a while, and the story is both past and present, a mix of folklore and deadly history and there are more secrets than you can cope with. Books set on an island have an atmosphere before you start – and although this is a large island – Guernsey – it has that insular, claustrophobic feel that chills from page one. Think this is going to be the start of a series and I do hope so as I really need to see these characters again and find out more about them. Want to hear more from Lara Dearman that’s for sure!
Quebec – “Three Pines” Louise Penny Glass Houses
IF you’ve not met grumpy Gamache yet, then boy are you in for a treat. They say number 13 can be unlucky but this bucks the trend as it’s brilliant. I find Louise’s writing so lyrical and emotional and this one just made me so happy to return to Three Pines. I’ve read a few of the other ones again as I’m always so upset to leave Three Pines behind. Gamache is just one of my favourite characters ever in the entire crime fiction genre. He’s just so unique, quirky, grumpy but very loyal and good at his job. There’s a lot of cultural landscape and history wrapped up in these novels and they just get better and better.
The other kind of Seagull (c) The BookTrail
North East England – Whitley Bay – Ann Cleeves – The Seagull
Having always loved Vera, this is one of my favourites in the series so far. I was lucky enough to meet Vera herself and she was reading the book herself at the time!That was surreal – Vera reading her own story! Well, she’s going to enjoy it….she’ll be starring in the television version one day. And it’s sure to be a winner with Vera fans old and new. There’s bones buried near a lighthouse, a faded seaside town with secrets, someone controlling things from inside prison, mention of Vera’s dad and a community hell bent on protecting its own. A town undergoing regeneration in more ways than one. Brilliant pet.
New York – The Hamptons – Tasmina Perry – The Pool House
Set in the posh bit of New York State, where all the celebrities and wealthy people hang out, this is a crime at the heart of that scene. It’s a suspenseful read and should be read with a cocktail in your hand whilst reclining on a sun lounger…although probably not near a pool as that would be wrong…kind of. There’s parties, keeping up with the Jones or is it the Kardashians. It’s a house swap that goes very wrong indeed and with a mystery writer living in their midst, who knows what he might make of it all…
Seattle – Love and Other Consolation Prizes – Jamie Ford
Set in the early 1900s and 1960s, a half-Chinese boy called Ernest Young is sent on a boat from China to America to be raffled off as a prize. The author states this was a common practice at the time. He’s not the only child on board – the others are also headed to auction, to become servants of one kind or another. Written by the same author who gave us the lovely Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I really felt emotional during this book. Shocking that it’s based on true facts and even more so in the fact that this could all happen on a world stage in plain view. This is a fascinating read and one definitely to have on your radar this month.
There’s plenty more good September reads coming up…..keep a few places in your TBR pile and be ready to race out to that bookshop!
