BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

by Sabine Cassar-Alpert

Spending time with books is the one pastime that affords me complete relaxation. If I need a break from turning problems or worries around in my head, I snuggle up on my sofa and read a good novel. Sinking into the author's world, I disconnect so totally from my physical surroundings, that nothing and nobody will lure me into such mundane tasks as conversation - or worse, dusting the furniture or ironing clothes!

I love thrillers - and especially those written by women! Kathy Reichs,  Tess Gerritsen and Patricia Cornwell are but a few of my favourites. However, since I read her debut 'Blindsighted', Karin Slaughter tops that list. I was delighted when I discovered that her latest Sarah Linton thriller 'Indelible' made it into our bookshops:

Indelible – Karin Slaughter
Paperback - Publisher: Arrow

The gripping new thriller from international bestseller Karin Slaughter. When medical examiner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver take a trip away from the small town of Heartsdale - an escape from all the pressures which complicate their relationship - it should be a straightforward weekend at the beach. But they decide to take a detour via Jeffrey's hometown and things go violently wrong when Jeffrey's best friend Robert shoots dead an intruder who breaks into his house. Jeffrey and Sara are first on the scene and Jeffrey's keen to clear his friend's name, but for Sara things aren't so simple. The sear marks around the bullet-hole don't tally with Robert's story. Robert's wife, Jessie, is incoherent and confused. And when Jeffrey appears to change the crime scene, Sara no longer knows who to trust.

Twelve years later, Sara and Jeffrey are caught up in a shockingly brutal attack which threatens to destroy both their lives. But they're not random victims. They've been targeted. And it seems the past is catching up with both of them...

Adele Parks is one of those writers who explore and exploit relationships and rivalry between women with great talent. Whether it is about friends, sisters, or mothers and daughters... she always manages to make me nod my head in recognition while I'm reading her witty contemporary novels!

Husbands – Adele Parks
Paperback - Publisher: Penguin Books

Bella secretly married her childhood sweetheart, Stevie, over a decade ago; they were at university, two big kids playing at being grownups. When it all unravelled and reality hit, Bella simply got up and left. And the secret remained a secret. Years later, Bella meets Philip and, despite her vow never to marry again, she can't resist him. He is a catch. Funny, charming, interesting and kind. Only hitch is, she's still (technically, anyway) married to Stevie. Bella, typically, just ignores the problem. And the moment to tell Philip never quite seems to arrive.

So Bella plans never to reveal her secret after all, it's just a silly piece of paper, lodged at a registrar's office in Aberdeen, isn't it? She hasn't seen Stevie for years probably never will again. Except that Bella's best friend Laura has fallen in love, and when she introduces her new man to the gang it is none other than Stevie. Could things get any more complicated? Only if Bella and Stevie fall in love with each other again…

So, you don't like Science Fiction novels? (I don't either, really!) Do you hate romantic love stories? - In both cases, 'The Time Traveler's Wife' is a very unusual yet beautiful tale that could change your mind!

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Paperback - Publisher: Vintage

This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare and Henry who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future.

His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are alternately harrowing and amusing. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's passionate love for each other with grace and humour. Their struggle to lead normal lives in the face of a force they can neither prevent nor control is intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
 

‘BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS’ are sponsored by Swan Card Gallery