Three book reviews

Three books read in just under a week. That's pretty good going. They were all quick reads, though.
The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri filled in a gap from the series for me and the storyline was good. I didn't work out who the killer was of the woman found with her face pushed into the mattress of the bed, but then I never normally work these out. I did, as usual, enjoy the banter of Inspector Montalbano with his staff and others and now and then you see a softer side to him. Seeing how the maverick detective operates is always a joy! I think I am too biased to write reviews on this series anymore!

The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh is a steamy little number. Jenn and her husband Greg return to Mallorca for their annual holiday. This year Emma, Jenn's stepdaughter, joins them with her new boyfriend Nathan, who threatens to upset the balance. Jenn finds herself seduced by Nathan's youth and it seems he has taken a fancy to her too. Passionate sex in moments they are together mix with shame and guilt (at least from Jenn). A story of forbidden lust which has the means to break a family apart. Well written, and if you are yet to take a poolside holiday, a good book to take and lose yourself in.

Black Sheep by Susan Hill is a short book, 135 pages and I read it in twenty-four hours. It tells the story of the Howker family, five boys and one girl growing up in a mining village. All the men are set for working at the pit. One son, Arthur escapes, just walks out one day and never comes back. Ted, too doesn't want to work down the mine and at fourteen finds work on a farm way up on the hill away from smuts which gets into everything. He loves his new life, but circumstances bring him back down to the life he never wanted and when he stands up for his sister Rose to save her reputation everything changes for him. This was a great story but it had such a sad and dramatic ending. I kept wanting something to happen that would save Ted. It wasn't to be. Susan Hill at her best.


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