I read eight books in April.
V for Victory by Lissa Evans
The conclusion to the trilogy (I read Crooked Heart last month, and Old Baggage some time ago). Schoolboy Noel (except he doesn’t go to school) and his guardian, Vera, are running a boarding house and still lurching from one financial crisis to another, with the ever-present threat of being found out for Vera is not who she has to pretend to be. Noel’s parents, hitherto unknown to him, are revealed but his bond with Vera is now unassailable after such a bad beginning. A perfect conclusion, an absolute joy.
Under a Brighter Sky/A Light to Guide us Home by Dianne Haley
Following The Watchmaker’s Daughter which I read in February these two books continue the gripping story of ValĂ©rie, operating in the Resistance in Switzerland, helping refugees escaping from Occupied France.
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
The second in the wonderful private investigator Maisie Dobbs series, set in the aftermath of the Great War. I’ve read a few of them, not in order but always a pleasure.
The Harbour Lights Mystery/The Rockpool Murder by Emylia Hall
The second and third titles in the Shell House Detectives series, the detectives being an unlikely duo of sixty-something widow Ally, and Jason, a young former London cop now relocated to Cornwall. Great stories and lovely writing – although I’m getting a bit weary of books written in the present tense.
Past Lying by Val McDermid
More crime; this is a Karen Petrie cold case. Karen has more time than usual to investigate the murder of a female student because it’s the first lockdown in 2020. The streets of Edinburgh are eerily quiet and one of her colleagues is grappling with the reality of the virus. The suspect is a crime writer and several actual crime writers are mentioned by name, as an in-joke I guess.
The Two-Headed Whale by Sandy Winterbottom
Read for book group; suggested by a member who, by the time we came to read it, had done what the author did and visited part of Antarctica on a sailing ship.
Sandy Winterbottom left her husband and teenage children behind in Edinburgh and embarked on this voyage, partly for the adventure, partly for respite, and as it turned out to find out more about the history of the whaling industry pertaining to Scotland (far more recent than you might think).
When she saw the grave of a teenage whaler born very near where she lives, and buried so far from home, she imagines his early life and also embarks on finding his relatives.
All these strands come together to make a fascinating (and beautifully written) read. I am the world’s worst sailor so was glad to be able to make this amazing journey vicariously.
Highly recommended.