Books of 2022 part 1.

Sixty years a nurse ( part 1 )

when 18 year old Mary Hazard touched down in post – war putney to begin her nurse training, she could not of know that it would be the beginning of a colourful 60 year career in the NHS.

An insightful and interesting read especially for those going in to or currently doing their nurse training. Its great to hear what it was like to do nurse training back in post war Britain.

A 5 star read.

Dead man’s footsteps (Roy Grace #4)

Amid the tragic unfolding mayhem of 9/11, a failed Brighton business man and ne’er-do-well Ronnie Wilson sees the chance of a life line: to shed his debts, disappear and reinvent himself in another country.

Like the others, this one was very easy to get into and you just had to know what happened next, who done what and did they get away with it. Peter James is a marvellous author who keeps you gripped.

Definitely 5 stars.

A letter From Pearl Habor

Ninety eight year old Ginney McAllister’s last wish is for her granddaughters to complete one last treasure hunt containing clues to her past. Clues that reveal her life as one of the first female pilots at Pearl Harbor and a devastating world war 2 secret.

Anna Stuart goes between timelines effortlessly and you never loose track of the story and what has happened already. Looking forward to reading more in her series.

Another 5 star read.

Twilight.

Every one knows the twilight saga. My niece got my mum into watching it on the TV and only caught glimpses of when walking past the front room but at the time it never interested me. Its been 3 years since my mum passed away and i thought i would see what all the fuss was about, im glad i did and wondered what took me so long.

The Thursday Murder Club #1.

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find them selves in the middle of their very own live case.

Richard Osman has based this story on his mum and her friends in the retirement village where she lives and has you hooked and wanting to know “who did it”

The winter ghosts.

From the same author as the labyrinth, this one was a lot easier to get into. This one keeps you gripped.

Not dead enough (Roy Grace #3). Peter James.

July 15th – October 20th 2021.

“On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was sixty miles away in bed at that time. Or at least thats the way it looks to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Roy Grace is called in to investigate the kinky slaying of beautiful young socialite Katie Bishop. Soon Grace starts coming to the conclusion that Bishop has preformed the impossible of being in two places at once.”

Peter James yet again keeps us hooked and kept us guessing on who the killer actually was.

Wonderfully written as usual. A well plotted thriller. Its like a puzzle where the pieces keep moving. Roy seems to move the pieces together with ease along with his colleuges.

Early on we get the picture that Bishop isnt the best husband to Katie but not even he can be in two places at once can he?

The ABC murders (Hercule Poirot #3)

Agatha Christie Aug 14th – Oct 10th 2021.

“The ABC murders sets Hercule Poirot on the trail of a serial killer. There is a serial killer on the loose and they are working their way through the alphabet and the whole country is in a state of panic”.

I remember watching this on the tv and wanted to see how the book compared against the programme.

Agatha made you feel like you were the killer half way through, very well written.

Many different kinds of love: A story of life, death and the NHS.

Michael Rosen, 19/9/21 – 24/9/21.

“A national treasures journey to the brink and back. “Will i wake up? Theres a 50/50 chance”. Michael Rosen wasnt feeling well and soon he was struggling to breathe, and then he was admitted to hospital, suffering from coronavirus as the nation teetered on the edge of a global pandemic”.

2020 – 2021 was the birth of a national pandemic to which many people lost their lives. People were separated from family and friends, only allowed out for essentials and to exercise once a day.

The pandemic also put a lot of pressure on the NHS service,

This book see’s one mans fight against covid-19 and how it affected him and how the nurses working on the front line looked after him during one of the worst times in history.

The pandemic affected a lot of people, some more then others, some were hospitalised, some in ITU on ventilators and some suffered at home. The NHS was under a lot of stress to which it still is today.

Luckily Michael has no recollection of his time in hospital and maybe thats a good thing despite what he and so many people went through.

A good first hand account of how someone suffered.

4 stars.

I let him go – Denise Fergus.

Aug 9th – Aug 14th 2021

“On 12th February 1993, Denise Fergus’ life changed forever. As she was running errands at New Strand shopping centre, she let go of her two-year-old sons hand to take out her purse. She never saw her son again. For the first time since that moment 25 years ago, Denise tells her extraordinary account of that terrible day”.

This book is a difficult but interesting read. It was good to hear the story of Denise and how she coped or didnt cope in her case.

When you go shopping with you child you dont expect them to be taken by 2 10 year olds and murdered but the train line. Unfortunately for Denise it broke her marriage.

It was nice to read how she met Stuart and fell pregnant with Michael, and that they talk about James on a daily basis.

I dont think that there are many people that are unaware of the James Bulger case and i dont think that many people will forget what happened on that faithful day.

Denise has done a lot of campaigning for James and keeping his killers behind bars and has also set up a charity in James’ name so he will not be forgotten.

5 stars.

The women in the white kimono (Ana Johns)

June 21st – August 9th 2021

“Oceans and decades apart, two women inextricable bound by the secrets between them. Japan 1957, seventeen year old Naoko Nakamura’s pre-arranged marriage to the son of her fathers business associate would secure their families status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man – an American sailor – and to marry him would bring great shame to her family”

17 year old Naoko is promised to the son of her fathers business partner but she has fallen for another man – an American sailor and when its found out that she is expecting his baby she is cast aside by her family and sent to a mother and baby home.

In modern day America Tori Kovac is caring for her father when a shocking letter is delivered which contains a shocking revolution and after her fathers death Tori sets out to learn about the truth of the letter which takers her half way round the world to Japan.

Ana Johns duel timeline is written effortlessly where you never lose the plot of what has happened already and has lots of twists and turns.

A fictional story based on true events that have already happened.

A story that i will read over and over again and that will never leave me.

A women torn between her culture and her heart and another women on a journey to discover the true meaning of home. A story which will make you feel as though you are there with them and will make you look at your own life differently.

5 stars without a doubt.

Looking good dead. (Roy Grace #2)

Peter James. March 2nd 2022 – June 21st 2021.

“ Tom Bryce did what any decent person would do but within hours of picking up the CD that had been left on the train on the seat next to him, and attempting to return it to it’s owner, he is the sole witness to a vicious murder, and his family are threatened with their lives if he goes to the police”.

Another great novel in the Peter James’s Roy Grace series and brilliantly written.

When Tom Bryce commutes from London to Brighton by train on his way home from work one friday evening, the jerk next to him leaves a CD on the train seat when he gets off , but instead of either leaving it or handing it in to lost property he takes it home to attempt to reunite it with its owner.

When he inserts it into his computer hoping it would lead him to its owner, he becomes a witness to the murder of Janie Stretton, he’s computer is wiped clean and his family is threatened with their lives if he goes to the police.

With his wife Kellie’s backing he goes to the police.

After a night out Kellie drops the babysitter home and her car is found torched on the side of the road and she herself is missing.

Roy Grace is called in to a dead body in a field which is later identified as Janie Stretton and a dead beetle is found where you really wouldnt want it to be,

Peter James’s research in the Brighton police force and their actions with crime is exceptional and on point with what the police force actually does.

5 stars.

The secret letter ( Kerry Barrett ).

February 17th 2021 – June 16th 2021.

“London 1910 – twenty-one year old Esther Watkins will do anything for the suffragette cause. Imprisoned, force-fed and beaten. Kent 2019 – with her marriage in tatters, school teacher Lizzie Armstrong moves to sleepy Elm Heath for a fresh start, and her pupils and community soon steal her heart”.

Really enjoyed this read and was glad I read it.

Esther a 21 year old suffragette believed that women should have the right to vote and would do anything for that to happen. After being imprisoned and force-fed she returns home to be disowned by her mother and having to leave her home she goes in search for another suffragette Mrs Pankhurst and becomes nanny/teacher to Agnes’s (a fellow suffragettes children. After a suffragette March went wrong and her employer (Agnes) gets pushed by a police officer which results in her loosing her baby Esther accompanies Agnes to a convalescent home to recover where she gets the go ahead to start a primary school in Elm Heath.

Lizzie moves to Elm Heath to become head teacher of Elm Heath Primary when her marriage breaks down and she needs a new start. She doesn’t intend to stay at Elm Heath long but when the school is threatened with closure Lizzie and her colleagues along with the school decide to take a leaf out of Esthers book with realising and follow the suffragette movement to fight and keep Elm Heath primary open.

Kerry Barrett writes this story fantastically somehow managing to seemly switch from one era to the other without loosing the readers interest or loosing the plot of the book and forgetting where they are or what has happened.

The Secret Letter is beautifully written and gripping, and wasn’t a disappointment and I loved every minute of this read. It will be one books that I will read over and over again.

This story shows that some things are worth the fight.

“Sometimes the fight is all part of the fun”.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This man – Jodi Ellen Malpas

31st October 2019 – 16th February 2021.

“Young interior designer -Ava O’Shea has no idea what awaits her at the manor. A run-of-the-mill consultation with a stodgy country gent seems likely but what Ava finds instead is Jesse Ward”.

Jodi Ellen Malpas has a good way of writing, the way she goes from chapter to chapter is great but this book has no story to it. It seems to be all about sex.

Boy meets girl – she fancies him – they have sex – he treats her like shit, even her work life – she tried to leave – he keeps stalking her refusing to get the point – and he gets even more possessive.

We don’t even know anything about Jessie not even his age.

Not recommend and only ⭐️⭐️⭐️ .

Dead Simple (Roy Grace #1) Peter James.

December 30th 2020 – January 26th 2021.

“ it was ment to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only 3 days till the wedding, detective superintendent Roy Grace – a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife – is contacted by Michael’s beautiful, distraught fiancée Ashley Harper”.

Set around brighton and the surrounding area’s Peter James’s dead simple was absolutely great to read and highly recommended.

When Michael Harrison decided to marry his girlfriend, his friends plan his stag do and decide to get their own back for all the pranks he has done to them, they decide to borrow a coffin and bury him for a while while on a pub crawl with the intention of getting him out a few hours later.

Shortly after leaving him four of his friends die in a car crash and the other on his was back from a meeting, a few days later Roy Grace is contacted by Michael’s fiancée after he fails to return home and with only 3 days till the wedding.

With Ashley appearing distraught and with Grace being watched by those above him whilst offering to help his colleague – Glenn Branson- look for Michael, will they find him before it’s too late?

A great read from start to finish, Peter James’s Roy Grace series has been recommended by numerous people and finally i decided to give it a go and I didn’t regret it one bit.

Peter James who lives in Sussex and knows the area had his house burgled and became close friends with the officer in charge of the case who opened a lot of doors within the police force which allowed Peter James to gain the correct facts about how they operate and because I know the area it makes it easier to picture what’s going on and where they are mentally.

A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read without a doubt and so worth the read.