The Weekend by T.M. Logan

                                                 

Ebook:  410 pages      

Genre:  Contemporary Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Suspense.                                         

Publisher: 26 Feb 2026 - Bonnier Books UK  Zaffre Publishing Group

Source:  NetGalley

First Sentences: We're lost. Jason won't admit it but I can always tell by the way he walks: striding ahead full of confidence as if he absolutely knows where he's going.

Review Quote: A fiendishly gripping 'What would I do?' thriller, which explores what it takes to crack apart a group of lifelong friends. This is T.M. Logan at his finest, delivering a rocketing pace, whiplash twists, and a stylish denouement. ― Lucy Clarke - Author

Setting:   Yorkshire Dales, Northern England

My Opinion: 

I first discovered the writing of T. M. Logan a couple of years ago. He is now definitely on my list of favourite thriller writers and this is the third of his novels I have read and enjoyed.

What would you do if you came across a large amount of cash, previously hidden in what must have been thought to be a safe place! This is the moral dilemma facing six friends when they come across a rucksack full of money, whilst out hiking during a weekend break together in the Yorkshire Dales. The story line is full of secrets and lies as the situation escalates, to what for me were some unexpected twists.

A fast paced gripping read that will keep surprising you. A must read if you are a thriller fan.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Six friends. Five secrets. One holiday to die for . . .

Welcome to THE WEEKEND.

When a group of friends rent a converted farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales, they have little idea that this one weekend may change the course of their lives forever.

While out on a walk, a storm descends and the friends take shelter in the mouth of an old lead mine. Inside, they discover a backpack filled with more money than they've ever seen.

Of course, they agree, they will hand the money to the police at the first opportunity. But as the storm continues and time passes, some of the party begin to think again. Because there are secrets festering at the heart of this group. Debt. Obsession. A career on the brink. Problems that could be solved instantly with an unexpected windfall.

And perhaps they don't know each other as well as thought they did.

Before long, six good friends find themselves sliding headlong into a world of deceit, treachery, betrayal and murder . . .

Previous Reviews: The Dream Home.   The Daughter

Author Profile:                                                                                                

                                      

Bestselling author TM Logan was a national newspaper journalist before turning to novel-writing full time. His thrillers have sold more than two million copies in the UK and are published in translation in 22 countries around the world including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, South Korea, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Greece, Romania and the Netherlands.

He was born in Berkshire on the 19th of December 1975 and grew up in Reading, the youngest of three boys and a fully-fledged bookworm from a very young age. He read history at Westfield College, part of the University of London, and went on to do a postgrad at Cardiff University.

Wanting to write journalism seemed an obvious choice, and after five years as a reporter and then education correspondent on the Nottingham Evening Post he moved to London to work on the Daily Mail. The next move took him back to the East Midlands, where he worked for the University of Nottingham as a press officer, writing fiction in any spare time he could find. In January 2017 his first thriller was published. a few weeks later his current position as a deputy director in charge of the university’s communications team – was scrapped as part of a restructure. That was when he decided to take the plunge into writing full-time.

He lives in Nottinghamshire with his wife and two children, and writes in a cabin in the corner of his garden.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Author Profile.    Amazon Author Page   Official Author Website

Twitter Profile.    Instagram Profile.   Facebook Profile

  

Island in the Sun by Katie Fforde

                                                        

Audible-Book:  8hrs 55m listening

Genre:  Romantic Contemporary Fiction

Publisher:  Penguin 2024

Source: Audible Account

First Sentences: Cass had been travelling all day. There had been an early morning flight from Bristol to Glasgow, two long bus journeys, a largish ferry and now this tiny ferry that took a dozen cars at best. She was nearly there.

Setting: Dominica

Review Quote: 'All the elements of a moving love story are blended to perfection.' The Lady

My Opinion:

I have been reading Katie Fforde's novels since she was first published back in 1995. Her characters are always believable and set in places we can imagine, stories that are easy to read but with enough drama to keep you interested.

In 'Island in the Sun' the novel opens with the female protagonist Cass, a young and somewhat naive young woman, visiting her father in his remote Scottish home for the first time. It is here she meets Ranulph and they find themselves travelling to Dominica together to assist in a project for a friend of Cass's father. Cass and Ranulph's relationship is something of a slow burn due to the circumstances they face over the coming months. Will love overcome the difficulties?

In conclusion this was easy, relaxing, listening. It made a pleasant change from reading and I recommend this story to all fans of romantic escapism and Katie Fforde.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

When Cass is asked by her father to take on an unusual photography project in the Caribbean Island of Dominica, she really can't see a reason to say no.

But the remote island has just been hit be a severe hurricane, leaving destruction in its wake. Cass is travelling with Ranulph who is searching for the rare stone carvings her father wants her to photograph.

Their hunt leads Cass down a path of bravery and self-discovery, and she soon falls for Ranulph, who has been by her side every step of the way.

But does he feel the same way about her?

Previous Reviews:  Summer of Love.  Recipe for Love  The Perfect Match.  

A Wedding in Provence.  One Enchanted Evening.   From London with Love

Author Profile:                                                                                       

                                                

                                       

                                     Courtesy of Goodreads Profile

Catherine Rose Gordon-Cumming was born 27 September 1952 in England, UK and she lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire. She is the daughter of Shirley Barbara Laub and Michael Willoughby Gordon-Cumming. Her grandfather was Sir William Gordon-Cumming. Her sister is fellow writer Jane Gordon-Cumming. Katie married Desmond Fforde, cousin of the also writer Jasper Fforde. She has three children: Guy, Francis and Briony and didn't start writing until after the birth of her third child. She has previously worked both as a cleaning lady and in a health food cafe.

Published since 1995, her romance novels are set in modern-day England. She is the founder of the "Katie Fforde Bursary" for writers who have yet to secure a publishing contract. Katie was elected the twenty-fifteenth Chairman (2009-2011) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is delighted to have been chosen as Chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association and says, "Catherine Jones was a wonderful chair and she's a very tough act to follow. However, I've been a member of the RNA for more years than I can actually remember and will have its very best interests at the core of everything I do."           

                                                      

Biographical Information and Photo courtesy of the following sites:

Katie Fforde - Official Website   Facebook Profile    Instagram Profile   Twitter Profile

Amazon Author Profile  Goodreads Author Profile

The Cottage in the Clouds by Caroline Young

                                                  

Ebook:   327 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance                                            

Publisher:  Feb 20th 2026 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentence: Anwen's day ended with a brief walk in the woodland around her cottage, as her days had done for more years than she cared to count.

Review Quote: ‘Really captured my heart' Reader Review

My Opinion: 

Caroline Young writes heart-warming stories about ordinary people and their everyday lives in Wales. This is the third of her novels that I have read, previously they have been set on the beautiful island of Anglesey, where she lives. This is the first novel she has set anywhere other than the island, this time the setting is in the mountains of Eryi or Snowdon. Living on the edge of the National Park myself  it is lovely to be able to visualise the locations that the author describes so well.

The main protagonist in 'The Cottage in the Clouds' is Elin Pugh who is currently feeling very unsettled in her London life. A call to help an elderly friend back in Wales where she grew up sounds like the ideal escape and opportunity to decide what she wants to do next with her life.  Anwen, the elderly lady who played a large part in Elin's childhood is a talented artist but known locally as very grumpy and somewhat of a recluse.  The homecoming makes Elin realise that something is missing from her life. As she and Anwen become closer and secrets from the past come to the surface, Elin begins to feel that maybe this is where she is meant to be.  The big secret I guessed early on in the novel as it is rather predictable, however that did not detract from the story as the truth is slowly revealed to Elin.

Recommend this gentle story to lovers of Wales looking to be transported to the wild and beautiful  countryside whilst enjoying a tender tale of finding oneself.

Thanks to Storm Publishing, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review ' The Cottage in the Clouds' 

Previous Review:  Coming Home to the Windmill by the Sea.   The Lighthouse Keeper of Anglesey

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

When Elin Pugh’s life in London crumbles, she returns to the Welsh mountains of her childhood to care for Anwen Jones, the enigmatic artist who once filled her young heart with dreams of creativity and freedom.

Anwen lives alone in a ramshackle cottage high in the hills, surrounded by cats and decades of dust-covered paintings. Fiercely independent and famously difficult, she’s spent years driving away visitors with her sharp tongue and signs warning trespassers to ‘Go Away’. But as Elin settles into life in the shadow of the mountains, she discovers that beneath Anwen’s prickly exterior lies a woman with an extraordinary story to tell.

Helping the ailing artist catalogue a lifetime of work, Elin begins to uncover long-buried secrets about her own past that her mother has kept hidden for over thirty years. Soon she discovers that her journey home was about more than escaping – it was about finding out who she really is, rediscovering the life-changing joy of creativity and learning where she truly belongs.

A sweeping story of love, loss and the wonder of the natural world, The Cottage in the Clouds explores how creativity and unexpected bonds can help us to heal and find our way back to ourselves.

Author Profile:           

         

Caroline Young has always written stories and found inspiration in the world around her, be it a bustling city or a windswept beach. She has worked for many years as a writer of non-fiction books for children, which allows for few adjectives or creative expression, so she keeps these things for her fiction. As the mother of three grown-up daughters, she now has the time to focus on her own writing, and tell the stories she wants to tell. Caroline has a degree in English from Cambridge University where she was exposed to wonderful writers from every age, and she aims to relate just some of their ideas and language to her life and writing. Caroline's idea of paradise is a bright day with a bracing wind and the sea, waiting for her to dive into it (even in January!). She hopes to write stories that the reader can lose themselves in, which take them somewhere different and fill them with joy in the beauty of the natural world, and all the amazing people in it.

            

Amazon Author Page.     Goodreads Profile.   Caroline Young - Storm Publishing

Photos and Biographical information Courtesy of the above links.

The Names by Florence Knapp

                                                     

Hardback: 336 pages 

Genre: Literary Fiction, 

Publisher:  Phoenix 2025

Source: Tywyn Public Library

First Sentence: Cora's mother always used to say children were whipped up by the wind, that even the quiet ones would come in after playtime made wild by it.

Setting: England and Ireland

Main Characters: Cora Atkin, Gordon Atkin, Maia Atkin, Bear Atkin, Julian Atkin

Review Quote: 'An unadulterated success: moving, evocative and utterly convincing' The Times

Favourite Quote: “She catches snippets of what they’re saying: how dogs don’t need to live as long as humans, they’re simply so good at finding the joy in life. As if we are put on this earth to extract a certain amount of happiness and can leave once the job is done.”

Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction and for Debut Novel (2025), Book of the Month Book of the Year AwardNominee (2025), She Reads Best of Award for Literary Fiction (2025), Libby Award Nominee for Best Debut (2026)

My Opinion:

I have been wanting to read this debut novel from Florence Knapp for sometime and my expectations were high. Were they met, most definitely.

Cora Atkin is about to register the birth of her son and the novel is about how her choice of names will impact on the future of her and her family. Related to the reader as three separate stories, following the life of her son, depending on which name she chooses.  Her daughter wanted him called Bear, Cora's preference was Julian, which she thought suited him, but her controlling husband was insisting on Gordon. Each name meant a vastly different life unfolds. Three names but the story of one family and how love is enduring despite everything.

A really successful debut novel with an ambitious premise that works. It is a compelling and moving read that I highly recommend. A warning though, if you are in any way sensitive to domestic violence scenarios you may find it disturbing.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates...

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the "one . . . precious life" we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.

Author Profile:       

Courtesy of Goodreads

In her own words : I live just outside London with my husband, our dog, and sometimes one (or two) of our now-adult children. Some of my favourite things are: words, photo booths, old tiles, rain, long phone calls, clothing with pockets, book covers, dimples (I don’t have any of my own, but I covet the cheeks of those who do), houses lit up at night, the word eiderdown, notebooks, kaleidoscopes, homemade soup, Italy, taking photos, book chat, hummus, barre, house plants, a thick duvet with wool blankets piled on top, hand-stitching, making lists. 

I’m less keen on condiment bottles, driving on motorways, and socks where the heel slips down.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Author Profile.   Author's Official Website.   Instagram Profile 

Amazon Author Profile