Night Train to Marrakech by Dinah Jefferies

Night Train to Marrakech, Daughters of War #3 by Dinah Jefferies.

                                                                                              

Ebook:  464 pages in Kindle Edition     

Genre: Historical Fiction                                           

Publisher:  Harper Collins June 27 2023

Source: My Kindle

First Sentence: The night train gathered speed, clanking and rattling, and the girl on the cusp of a new life held her breath.

Review Quote: A ‘gripping story of love, betrayal and danger’Woman’s Weekly

Setting: Morocco

Series: Daughters of War (#3) 'Night Train to Marrakech'

My Opinion: 

Dinah Jefferies has been a favourite author of mine, since 2014 when her debut novel 'The Separation'. was published. Over the years she has transported me with her vivid descriptive prose to some wonderful locations, some which I have been lucky enough to visit and other places I now wish to see for myself. This time it was to Morocco, somewhere I have been fortunate to visit and her descriptions are certainly evocative of my time spent there.

The story continues as Vicky, one of the younger generation of the Baudin family, travels to Marrakech to meet her grandmother for the first time. A dangerous place in the sixties, the visit turns out to be quite an adventure. Bringing together protagonists from the earlier books this final volume of the trilogy reveals some long hidden family secrets.

As with the previous volumes in this trilogy, it is a captivating read that transports the reader to Morocco which I can recommend to anyone that enjoys an immersive read. It stands alone but I feel more enjoyable  if you have read the earlier novels.

Links to Previous Reviews:  The Separation.  The Missing Sister. The Sapphire Widow. Daughters of War #1  The Tuscan Contessa Daughters of War#2 The Hidden Palace

Précis Courtesy of Amazon:

MARRAKECH 1966

Vicky Baudin steps onto a train winding through Morocco, looking for the grandmother she has never met.

It’s an epic journey that’ll take her to the edge of Atlas Mountains – and closer to the answers she’s been craving all her life.

But dark secrets whisper amongst the dunes. And in unlocking the mystery of Clemence’s past, Vicky will unearth great danger too . . .

Author Profile:                

                                          

                                               Courtesy of Twitter Profile

Dinah was born in Malaysia and moved to England at the age of nine.

As a teenager she missed the heat of Malaysia, which left her with a kind of restlessness that led to quite an unusual life. She studied Fashion Design and went to live in Tuscany where she worked as an au-pair for an Italian countess. There was even a time when Dinah lived with a rock band in a ‘hippie’ commune in Suffolk.

Although Dinah and her husband spent five wonderful years living in a small 16th Century village in Northern Andalusia, she's happy to say they now live close to her family in Gloucestershire along with two crazy Maine Coon cats.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Author Profile  Twitter Profile  Dinah Jefferies - Official Website

Amazon Author Page

The New Wife by JP Delaney

                                             

Hardback:  343 pages                                                                                 

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Fiction

Publisher:  Quercus, July 2023

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: Like Daphne du Maurier he sustains the ambiguity deftly and deliciously - whenever a resolution looks imminent, a new development preserves the enigma ― Sunday Times

Favourite Quote: Did any of us speak a word that day that was true, I now wonder? Perhaps those few words that weren't in English might have been the cold unvarnished truth - a brief instruction to the older woman on how she should respond.

First Sentences:  In rural parts of Mallora, you still come across clusters of carob trees surrounded by high nets, open to the sky. These are es trampes, the songbird traps.

Setting: Mallorca

My Opinion:  First discovered this author thanks to his earlier novel  Playing Nice  being selected as a Richard and Judy Bookclub choice. Since then he has been on the list of authors I select when in the mood for a psychological thriller.

Finn and Jess have just learnt that their father has died in Mallorca.  He has lived there for many years and the farmhouse he lives in with his third wife, is his children's inheritance. Between them they decide that Finn should travel to Mallorca to take control of the situation. It does not work out as simply as the siblings had hoped though. Who is telling lies and who is telling the truth about the situation?

Unpredictable as just when you feel you have worked out what is happening, along comes another twist! If you enjoy being kept guessing then this is definitely one for you. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

When Finn Hensen gets a call from his sister Jess to say their father has died, neither is heartbroken. Their parents divorced many years ago, after which their father, Jimmy, continued to live a bohemian lifestyle in sun-soaked Mallorca, while his family returned to the UK.

Ownership of his home, a beautiful but dilapidated farmhouse in the mountains, now passes to Finn and his sister. The only problem is that Jimmy recently remarried for the third time, and his new wife, Ruensa, is still living there.

The pair agree that Finn should go to Mallorca and tactfully take possession of their inheritance. When he arrives, however, Finn is surprised to find that Finca Siquia has been completely transformed into a chic Mediterranean bolthole by Ruensa - along with her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Roze. The Spanish police, meanwhile, are asking awkward questions about Jimmy's death . . . Are Ruensa and Roze the helpless victims of circumstance? Or will they stop at nothing to get Finca Siquia for themselves?

Previous Reviews: Playing Nice   My Darling Daughter

Author Profile : 

                                               

                                                      Courtesy of Author Website

JP Delaney is a British writer of psychological suspense. His novel THE GIRL BEFORE was an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller which sold over a million copies in 40 countries. It was adapted by him for the BBC and HBO Max in 2021. His second thriller, BELIEVE ME, was also an international and Sunday Times bestseller, as were his subsequent books THE PERFECT WIFE and PLAYING NICE. His fifth psychological thriller, MY DARLING DAUGHTER, was published in 2022.

JP Delaney has previously written bestselling fiction under other names. The Carnivia Trilogy, a series of three standalone but interlinked thrillers set in present-day Venice and written under the name Jonathan Holt, was published in more than 20 countries. 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Author Official Website   Amazon Author Page            

From Venice with Love by Rosanna Ley

                                                

Ebook:  396 pages                                                                                 

Genre:  Romantic Contemporary Fiction 

Publisher:  Quercus 2020

Source: My Kindle

Review Quote: Vicarious travel to Venice is always welcome, especially in these uncertain times. Perfect holiday reading, wherever you go ― The Lady

First Sentences:  Joanna was hardly aware of the train leaving Waterloo station. She supposed she was in shock - if shock was the right word for what she was feeling.

Setting: Venice (Italy), Italy, Lisbon (Portugal), Prague (Praha) (Czech Republic), Dorset, England (United Kingdom)

My Opinion: 

Rosanna Ley has written around twelve novels, I think. Including this one I have read five of them since 2014. Therefore not a regular reader of her work, but when I do read one it is always a relaxing read. I have already added her 2023 release ' The Forever Garden' to My Kindle.

‘From Venice With Love’ is a story of two sisters whose lives have taken very different directions. Harriet has always lived at home on the family farm in Dorset, whilst Rosanna has lived a London lifestyle, until a recent upheaval in her life sent her home to rediscover herself. As a freelance travel journalist she combines an assignment with researching the background story to some old love letters, that have recently come into her possession.  The story is rather fanciful in parts as Joanna’s imagination runs in overdrive at times, but then we all need to dream don’t we.

In conclusion, those who enjoy armchair travel along with some light romance will find this a pleasure to read.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

With her marriage in danger of falling apart, Joanna returns home to the beautiful but dilapidated Mulberry Farm Cottage in rural Dorset, where her sister Harriet is struggling to keep the farm afloat and cope with their eccentric mother.

When Joanna discovers a bundle of love letters in the attic, written by a watercolourist named Emmy, she is intrigued and sets out to discover Emmy's true story. Emmy's letters take Joanna to the picturesque alleyways and bridges of Lisbon, Prague, and the most romantic place of all: Venice - where a whole new magical world seems to unfold in front of her.

Meanwhile, back at Mulberry Farm Cottage, a mysterious prowler adds to Harriet's problems and interrupts her search for a perfect partner. Will she ever find true love? Where will Emmy's mesmerising pathway lead? And more importantly, will Joanna and Harriet be able to rescue the cottage and finally be able to rediscover their sisterly bond?

Author Profile : 

                                                 

Rosanna has written numerous articles and short stories for magazines, and her novels have been published in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Norway, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Denmark, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel and the Czech Republic. All Rosanna’s titles are also being published by Quercus in the US.

Rosanna has worked as a creative writing tutor for over 30 years. She has led courses for colleges and universities in England, and runs her own writing retreats and holidays in the UK and in stunning locations in Europe. She has worked with community groups in therapeutic settings and completed an MA in creative writing for personal development in order to support this. She has also mentored and appraised the work of new writers.

Travelling and cliff walking are two of Rosanna’s favourite things to do. She also likes tennis, swimming, reading, eating very dark chocolate and drinking Italian coffee (preferably in Italy…) She lives with her husband in West Dorset and her favourite writing place is anywhere with a sea view.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites: 

 Facebook - Rosanna Ley Novels  Author Official Website   Twitter Profile  

Instagram - Rosanna Ley Author   Goodreads Profile    Amazon Author Page

                                     

                                                            

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

 

                                                 

Paperback:  385 pages                                                                                 

Genre: Historical Fiction, Chinese History

Publisher:  Wildfire 2023

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: Tender and graceful, this vivid historical novel shows the cost of war while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit and the life-affirming gifts of storytelling. -- Eithne Farry ― The Mirror

First Sentences: Tell us, they say, tell us where you're from. He is from walking and walking and walking.

Favourite Quote: “To tell a story is to plant a seed and let it grow.”

My Opinion:  

'Peach Blossom Spring' although fictional, the author's father was born in China, went to Taiwan as a youth and later to America. One day in the late nineties he told his family some of the stories that he had kept to himself for many years. Nearly twenty years later Melissa Fu took the notes she had taken that day and spun this remarkable story from them.

Three generations of a Chinese family on a quest to find a home where they can feel safe. Spanning nearly seventy years, commencing with the Japanese conflict with China which started in 1937 and lasted until the end of WWII in 1945. Life was all about constantly fleeing from the Japanese advance for Meilin and her young son, Renshu. The author gives us a scary and vivid picture of life as a refugee during this time. Despite eventually building a new life there was always the constant fear of the Chinese regime.

In conclusion this novel is a touching semi autobiographical  and personal narrative that the author was motivated to write based on her father's memories. Recommended to readers of historical fiction and or an interest in Chinese culture.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

A "beautifully rendered" novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).

"Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time."

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

Author Profile and Photo From Amazon: 

                                     

 Melissa Fu grew up in Northern New Mexico and has lived in Texas, Colorado, New York, Ohio and Washington. She now lives near Cambridge, UK, with her husband and children. With academic backgrounds in physics and English, she has worked in education as a teacher, curriculum developer, and consultant. She was the 2018/19 David TK Wong Fellow at the University of East Anglia. Peach Blossom Spring is her first novel.                                     

                                                            

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites: 

Amazon Author Profile.     Goodreads Profile

Learned By Heart by Emma Donoghue

                                                  

Hardback:  323 pages                                                                                 

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT,

Publisher:  Picador 2023

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: Her touch is so light and exuberantly inventive, her insight at once so forensic and intimate, her people so ordinary even in their oddities ― The Guardian

First Sentences: My dear Lister, Last night I went to the Manor again.

My Opinion: The inspiration for this novel was Anne Lister, a real life person, whom I first came across as the character 'Gentleman Jack.' She is the protagonist in the television series of the same name, which I throughly enjoyed.

This heart breaking story of the love between Anne Lister and Eliza Raine is from a much easier period in her life when she was just fourteen and at boarding school. It is an insightful depiction of their school life and what was expected of young girls in society at this time. Also  we learn of life after school in Eliza's letters to Anne, some years later.

Emma Donoghue writes with an emotional intensity that draws me in and 'Learned by Heart' was no exception. The authors notes give the reader a great insight into just how much research was involved in writing this bitter sweet love story. I can recommend this compelling read to fans of the author, plus anyone interested in learning more about lesbianism in nineteenth century society.  

Links to Previous Reviews : Room  The Wonder  The Pull of the Stars  Haven

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Eliza and Lister have never been this wide-awake in their lives, and the Slope, with its curtains drawn wide, is bright with starlight. They talk in whispers, not to disturb the maids who lie sleeping on the other side of the box room. The question Eliza’s been needing to ask swells like a great berry in her mouth, and all at once she’s not scared to let it out, not scared at all, not scared of anything . . .

In 1805, fourteen-year-old Eliza Raine is a school girl at the Manor School for Young Ladies in York. The daughter of an Indian mother and a British father, Eliza was banished to this unfamiliar country as a little girl. When she first stepped off the King George in Kent, Eliza was accompanied by her older sister, Jane, but now she boards alone at the Manor, with no one left to claim her. She spends her days avoiding the attention of her fellow pupils until, one day, a fearless and charismatic new student arrives at the school. The two girls are immediately thrown together and soon Eliza’s life is turned inside out by this strange and curious young woman.

Learned by Heart, Emma Donoghue’s mesmerising new novel, tells the heartbreaking story of the tangled lives of two women whose intense, and unlikely, relationship will change them for ever.

Author Profile and Photo From Amazon: 

                                                                        

                                        

                                                              © Una Roulston 2021. 

Born in Dublin, Ireland, in October 1969, she is the youngest of eight children of Frances and Denis Donoghue (the literary critic). She attended Catholic convent schools in Dublin, apart from one eye-opening year in New York at the age of ten. In 1990 she earned a first-class honours BA in English and French from University College Dublin (unfortunately, without learning to actually speak French). She moved to England, and in 1997 received her PhD (on the concept of friendship between men and women in eighteenth-century English fiction) from the University of Cambridge. From the age of 23, she has earned her living as a writer. After years of commuting between England, Ireland, and Canada, in 1998 she settled in London, Ontario, where she lives with Chris Roulston and their son Finn and daughter Una.

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites: 

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Profile   Author Official Website   Facebook Profile

Twitter Profile 

Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry

 

                                            

Hardback:  372 pages                                                                                   

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction

Publisher:  Orion Fiction 2023

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: 'A perfect Parisian fantasy every woman will love' KATIE FFORDE

First Sentences: Juliet stood in the middle of the kitchen, overwhelmed by its emptiness.

My Opinion: Veronica Henry is known for her escapist romantic, realistic and relatable stories. Her latest novel set in Paris was a delight to read.

The protagonist Juliet is returning to Paris after a thirty year gap. The dual timeline enables the reader to fully understand and appreciate what happened to her all those years ago in Paris. She has now returned to address the past.

This novel stirred my many lovely memories of Paris. Recommended to anyone that loves Paris and enjoys a feel good read. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Because Paris is always a good idea...

Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris - and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it's time to get it back!

So she puts on her best red lipstick, books a cosy attic apartment near Notre-Dame and takes the next train out of London.

Arriving at the Gare du Nord, the memories come flooding back: bustling street cafés, cheap wine in candlelit bars and a handsome boy with glittering eyes.

But Juliet has also been keeping a secret for over two decades - and she begins to realise it's impossible to move forwards without first looking back.

Something tells her that the next thirty days might just change everything...

Author Profile and Photo From Amazon: 

                                       

In the authors own words: 

I'm Veronica - otherwise known as Ronnie - and I'm delighted you've found your way here!

I love to take my readers somewhere they might like to be, whether a gorgeous house in the countryside or on a seaside clifftop. There, my characters go through the trials and tribulation of everyday life, embroiled in situations and dilemmas we can all relate to. Love is at the heart of it, but all kinds of love, not just romantic: the love of friends and family, or a place, or a passion for what you enjoy (food, wine and books, in my case . . .)

My next book, Thirty Days in Paris, is set in the place I love best of all. Whenever I step off the train at the Gare du Nord I always feel as if I belong, even though I am not your typical Parisienne! But I love soaking up the food, the fashion, the art - everything! - and I'll never tire of visiting. My dream is one day to have a little apartment, if only fora month, to live the Parisian dream. But in the meantime, I've given that dream to my heroine, Juliet . . . thirty days in a bijoux apartment near the Seine. What will she get up to?

A little bit about me: I live by the sea and head to the beach every day with my dog Zelda. I love cooking and discovering new restaurants on city breaks, with a bit of yoga to offset the calories. My biggest writing influences are HE Bates, Nancy Mitford, Jilly Cooper and any book that has a big rambling house and an eccentric family . . .

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.     Goodreads Author Page.    Official Author Website

Instagram Profile.    Facebook Profile     Twitter - Veronica Henry

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

                                         

Hardback:  362 pages                                                                                   

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Penguin Random House July 2023

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: 'In Sally Diamond, Nugent has given us an astounding creation with a singular voice . . . an absorbing, twisty, compulsive psychological thriller with surprising humour and pathos' Sunday Independent

First Sentences: 'Put me out with the bins,' he said regularly. 'When I die, put me out with the bins.'

My Opinion:  Creepy and Brilliant writing in this original novel  from Sally Nugent. This is the first book I have read by this author, but hopefully it will not be the last.  The storyline is creepy with people locked away for years against their will. We have all heard such real life stories I am sure! Brilliant is the author's protagonist Sally Diamond, a character that comes alive on the printed page and will stay in your mind.

A distressing story of the dark world of abuse and manipulative behaviour. Sally's story unfolds along side that of Peter. It is soon apparent that their stories will merge at some point. How they do so makes for a gripping narrative.

A remarkable and extremely disturbing story that will haunt me for a long time. Highly recommend this 5* read.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.

But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .

Author Profile and Photo From Amazon: 

                                                  

Liz was born in Dublin in 1967, where she now lives. She has written successfully for soap opera, radio drama, television plays, short stories and animation for children. Liz’s first novel Unravelling Oliver was published to critical and popular acclaim in March 2014. It quickly became a firm favourite with book clubs and reader’s groups. In November of that year, it went on to win the Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year at the Bord Gais Energy Book Awards and was long listed for the International Dublin Literature Prize 2016. She was also the winner of the inaugural Jack Harte Bursary provided by the Irish Writers Centre and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Dec 2014. Her second novel, Lying in Wait, was published in July 2016 and went straight to number 1 where it remained for seven weeks. Liz won the Monaco Bursary from the Ireland Funds and was Writer in Residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco in Sept/Oct 2016. In Nov 2016, Lying in Wait won the prestigious RTE Ryan Tubridy Listener's Choice prize at the Irish Book Awards. Aside from writing, Liz has led workshops in writing drama for broadcast, she has produced and managed literary salons and curated literary strands of Arts Festivals. She regularly does public interviews and panel discussions on all aspects of her writing.

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Author Official Website  Liz Nugent - Amazon Page.   Twitter Profile  

Goodreads Profile