Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers

                                                                         

                                                  

Ebook:  390 pages                                                                            

Genre:  Literary Fiction, 

Publisher: August 29, 2024 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Source: My Kindle Library 

First Sentence: In all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline.

Review Quote: 'As compelling as you want fiction to be' SUNDAY TIMES

Favourite Quote: “Already there was between them that invisible thread that joins two people who have noticed each other for the first time.”

Setting: London suburbs 1964

My Opinion: 

When I discovered that Clare Chambers, first novel was published in the nineties I was surprised as she is an author I had not read before throughly enjoying Small Pleasures in 2021. 'Shy Creatures' is her first novel since then and has been on my to read list since it was published last year.

With 'Shy Creatures' Clare Chambers has very cleverly taken a true and woven a narrative, with brilliant characters around the event. In the fifties in Bristol a young man was found to have been kept housebound for twenty-five years. The protagonist of this novel William Tapping is based on this man. The story is revealed to the reader backwards from 1964, when William was discovered and admitted to a psychiatric hospital, back to 1938 when William's world was changed for ever. The relationships with the other characters are all very credible with details that felt authentic, if at times harrowing.

A beautifully written and compassionate tale, highly recommended as a five star read.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

In all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park.

Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her thirties and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with a charismatic, married doctor.

One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance from a derelict house not far from Helen's home. A mute, thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, with a beard down to his waist, has been discovered along with his elderly aunt. It is clear he has been shut up in the house for decades, but when it emerges that William is a talented artist, Helen is determined to discover his story.

Shy Creatures is a life-affirming novel about all the different ways we can be confined, how ordinary lives are built of delicate layers of experience, the joy of freedom and the transformative power of kindness.

Previous Review: Small Pleasures

Author Profile:

 

Clare Chambers was born in1966 in Croydon south east London the daughter of English teachers. At 16 she met her future husband a teacher fourteen years her senior. She studied English at Oxford and spent the year after graduating in New Zealand, with her by then husband where she wrote her first novel, Uncertain Terms, published when she was 25. She has since written eight further novels, including Learning to Swim (Century 1998) which won the Romantic Novelists’ Association best novel award in 1999 and was adapted as a Radio 4 play, and In a Good Light (Century 2004) which was longlisted for the Whitbread best novel prize.

Clare began her career as a secretary at the publisher André Deutsch, they not only published her first novel, but made her type her own contract. In due course she went on to become a fiction and non-fiction editor there herself, until leaving to raise a family and concentrate on her own writing. Some of the experiences of working for an eccentric, independent publisher in the pre-digital era found their way into her novel The Editor’s Wife (Century, 2007). When her three children were teenagers, inspired by their reading habits, she produced two YA novels, Bright Girls (HarperCollins 2009) and Burning Secrets (HarperCollins 2011).

She took up a post as Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Kent in September 2020.

She lives with her husband in south east London and generally has her nose in a book.

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Author Profile 

 Clare Chambers on Twitter

One Night at the Chateau by Veronica Henry

                                               

Hardback:  386 pages                                                                                   

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction

Publisher:  Orion Fiction 2025

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: 'Romantic, moving and sensual, another delightful novel from one of my favourite authors' Santa Montefiore

 First Sentences: It sits there in the shade of the cypress tree, the Chateau Villette, hiding from the heat of the mid-afternoon sun.

My Opinion: Veronica Henry is known for her escapist romantic, realistic and relatable stories. A prolific author she has 62 titles currently listed on Amazon. As this is only the second of her books that I have read I cannot count myself as a fan yet!

Set in two different decades to tell the protagonists individual stories we are transported to Château Villette. Lismay and Piers are the current owners but now in their seventies are starting to find that running such a beautiful place is rather hard work for them. Their god-daughter Connie comes to the rescue. Great timing for her, as a fifty something woman with marital problems causing her depression, life at the Chateau is just what she needs, to get her life back on track.

Recommended to anyone that loves France and enjoys a feel good read. I was certainly transported and found it to be perfect escapism from this current grey weather.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Over the last few months, Connie's whole world has fallen apart. Her husband's run off with an older woman, the magazine she works for has gone bust and she's having to sell the family home. So when her beloved godmother, Lismay, begs her to help run the beautiful Château Villette, it couldn't come at a better time...

No one knows the château quite like Connie. She spent a blissful summer there in her twenties, learning to cook delicious French food for the guests, ironing the lavender-scented sheets - and trying to resist the very handsome neighbour, Remy.

As soon as she arrives, it's clear that the château is close to crumbling and Connie knows she's going to have her work cut out. Could it be the fresh start she didn't even know she needed - and will she find a way to save the château, before it's too late?

Previous Review:  Thirty Days in Paris

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 a seaside clifftop; a trip to Paris or on board the Orient Express. There, my characters go through the trials and tribulations of everyday life, embroiled in situations and dilemmas we can all relate to. And of course at the heart of my writing is love. All kinds of love, not just romantic: the love of friends and family, or a place, or a passion (food, wine and books, in my case . . .)

I also live by the sea and head to the beach every day with my dog Zelda. I love discovering new restaurants, and do a bit of sea swimming to offset the calories. I love a bit of upcycling too - never happier than when painting a set of bookshelves with a tin of Farrow and Ball.

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

Never Look Back (#3 in Christy Ward Series) by Susan Lewis

                                                           

Ebook:  320 pages 

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction,  Adult Fiction, Mystery 

Publisher:  HarperCollins (6 Nov 2025)

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentence: 'I think my love, that I might have come up with a way out of the unfortunate situation we're in'

Review Quote:  Its a brilliantly written novel and has characters full of intrigue. Highly recommended Reader Review 

My Opinion: 

It is over twenty-five years ago that I first read a novel by Susan Lewis and I have continued to read her writing from time to time over the years. She is a prolific author, who writes across a broad range of genre, crime, thrillers, suspense and family drama. 

'Never Look Back' sees the return for a third story of podcasters Christy and Connor and their team with another mystery for 'Hindsight' their podcast. This time the company has been approached by a friend, as a close friend of their family has disappeared. they are worried about her safety as her behaviour is very out of character. Christy and Connor have doubts about the suitability of this live case for 'Hindsight' but curiosity gets the better of them and they decide to try and unravel the mystery.

In inevitable Susan Lewis style this cautionary tale for our times will keep you guessing and the use of Artificial Intelligence is particularly disturbing! Although the books in this series stand alone, reading them all in order enhances the understanding of the relationships between the characters. Recommended to those readers following the series, fans of mystery and the authors many fans.

Thanks to Net Galley, Harper Collins UK and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

Previous Reviews:  A Sicilian Affair.  Don't Believe A Word Nothing to See Here

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

A dead husband. A missing wife. Will they find her in time?

Romy Kaplan has vanished from her home.

Or has she?

When Romy begins posting on her social media accounts asking everyone to stop looking for her, the police are certain she is safe. But Romy's nearest and dearest are far from convinced.

Her husband died in the bath under inconclusive circumstances six weeks ago. And Romy would never disappear without telling someone where she is going.

As true crime podcast host, Cristy Ward, picks up Romy's case… she has the whole world asking…

Where is Romy now?

Author Profile:         

                                                                         

                                      

                                               Courtesy of Official Author Website 

I was born in 1956, in Bristol.  My father was a Welsh miner, a poet, an engineer and a thinker.  My mother was one of 13 children who, at 20, persuaded my father to spend his bonus on an engagement ring instead of a motorbike.  We were a normal, happy, nuclear family, living in a spanking new council house on the outskirts of town – my mother’s pride and joy.  But we were going to do better, my mother had made up her mind about that.  My father, an unabashed communist, was writing a book, I was signed up for ballet, elocution, piano and eventually a private boarding school, and my brother, (the real great love of my mother’s life) was going to succeed at everything he set his mind to.

The rest of this fascinating biography can be read on the authors  Official Author Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

 Official Author Website  Twitter Profile   Instagram Profile   Facebook Profile 

Amazon Profile    Goodreads Profile

The Kings' Witches by Kate Foster

                                                      

Hardback:  326 pages

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Denmark

Publisher: Mantle, Pan Macmillan, 2024

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: The witch Doritte Olsen is being burned at the stake today and they're making us watch.

Review Quote: Memorable and moving, The King’s Witches is a dramatically rich and absorbing tale  LoveReading.co.uk

My Opinion:  

After my enjoyment of Kate Foster's debut novel ' The Maiden'  I was keen to read this one. Once again the author has created story based on historical events with real people in addition to fictional characters.

'The King's Witches revolves around the betrothal of King James VI of Scotland to Princess Anna of Denmark in 1589. When the ship carrying his future bride to Scotland was hit by a severe storm, it was blamed on witches. witchcraft is the catalyst for the story linking the protagonists. The most important o whom are Princess Anna, Kirsten Sorensen her loyal lady in waiting and Jura a young housemaid. The story is told in alternating chapters by them as King James becomes personally involved in the infamous North Berwick witch trials, even writing about them as he supports hunting witches and punishing them severely.

I knew very little of this period in history and as gruesome as it may be found it fascinating. Overall a compelling and extraordinary period tale that I recommend if you enjoy historical fiction based on fact.

Previous Review:  TheMaiden

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

The King’s Witches by Kate Foster is a gripping and beautiful historical novel, giving an unforgettable voice to the women at the heart of the real-life witch trials in sixteenth-century Scotland.

Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive.

1589. Princess Anne of Denmark is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland – a royal union designed to forever unite the two countries. But first, she must pass the trial period: one year of marriage in which she must prove herself worthy of being Scotland's new Queen. If the King and the Scottish royal court in Edinburgh find her wanting, she faces permanent exile to a convent. Determined to fulfil her duties to King and country, Anne resolves to be the perfect royal bride. Until she meets Lord Henry.

By her side is Kirsten Sorenson, her loyal and pious lady's maid. But whilst tending to Anne's every need, she has her own secret motives for the royal marriage to be a success . . .

Meanwhile, in North Berwick, a young housemaid by the name of Jura is dreaming of a new life. She practises the healing charms taught to her by her mother, and when she realises she is no longer safe under her master’s roof, she escapes to Edinburgh. But it isn't long before she finds herself caught up in the witchcraft mania that has gripped not just the capital but the new queen . . .

Will Anne, Kirsten and Jura be able to save each other and, in doing so, save themselves?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Goodreads

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children. 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Kate Foster - Amazon Profile.   Goodreads Profile       Kate Foster on Twitter

The Marriage Contract by Sasha Butler

                                                

Ebook:  362 pages

Genre: Historical Romantic Fiction 

Publisher: Salt, 6 Oct 2025

Source:  NetGalley

First Sentences:  He comes running across the fields in the early light. Eliza would know him anywhere, a smudge against the green through the diamond panes.

Review Quote:  ‘The Marriage Contract is a beautifully atmospheric, searingly romantic novel that is ultimately a celebration of female empowerment and self-discovery. This book broke my heart over and over again, and I loved every word. Eliza, Francis and Edmund will haunt me for some time.’ —Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women

My Opinion:  

‘The Marriage Contract’ is Sasha Butler’s debut novel and I am surprised that despite being sort listed for a couple of awards in 2022, it has only just been published.

This is an emotive story that unfolds against the background of the first Elizabethan era in England. The protagonist is Eliza a young girl forced into a marriage she does not want because she loves another man. Her ambitious and unpleasant Yeoman father is determined that she will marry well. An intense and emotional read grounded in the reality of life in the 16C.

With well formed characters and flowing prose one wonders if the author is going to become a popular new voice in Historical Fiction. We shall have to wait and see, meanwhile recommended to fans of this genre.

With thanks to NetGalley, Salt Publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

Précis Courtesy of Amazon: 

'Once she had thought of them, their love, as a fortress that nothing, not giants nor dragons nor men with fists and minds of gore could tear down. She realises now, that their love is malleable, mouldable, breakable. As soft as dreams.'

Summer in Worcestershire, 1577. Eliza Litton, a talented artist, is in love with childhood friend, Francis. But her tyrannical father, who rules the household with insults and fists, has other ideas. As summer comes to an end, Francis vanishes after a drunken night at the inn and Eliza's father forces her to marry a gentleman, Edmund. 

Thrown into a new, unfamiliar life with her husband who appears distant and cold, Eliza cannot tear herself from the memory of Francis. Yet her feelings for Edmund soften with time; he presents a life to her better than she ever dreamed. He provides her a safety she never had beneath her father's roof and encourages her to paint, to pursue the things she loves.

As she begins to fall for Edmund, Francis is adrift on his own voyage, doing all he can to survive, fixated on returning to Eliza. 

But as Eliza grows closer to Edmund, she uncovers a deceit she never imagined, causing her to question her own loyalties and commit her own betrayals. After everything, who will Eliza be? And what choices will she make? 

The Marriage Contract vividly portrays life in the precarious and unforgiving Elizabethan era, exploring love's many forms; how we can betray the ones we love, and how we can find forgiveness; and explores a woman's fight to follow her desires and find her autonomy.

Author Profile

                                                                           

                                                                                                                         

                                                            Courtesy of Amazon

Sasha Butler is a writer based in the West Midlands. Her first novel, The Marriage Contract will be published in 2025 and was shortlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize 2022 and the Bath Novel Award 2022, under the former title, As Soft as Dreams.

She is interested in writing historical novels focusing on ordinary people who, despite living in eras so different from our own, are ultimately recognisable in their humanity - with desires, hopes, loves and fears.

In addition to novels, she occasionally writes short stories. Her short story Map of an Affair featured in Floodgate Press’ anthology, Night Time Economy (September 2024).

In her spare time, Sasha enjoys exploring National Trusts and planning trips to far-flung places. She lives with her partner in a little apartment with an ever-growing collection of books and plants.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.    Instagram Profile

The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club 4)by Richard Osman

                                                         

Audiobook:  10 hours 55 minutes

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Humour, Crime

Publisher: Penguin Audio 14 Sept 2023

Source:  Audible Membership

First Sentences: Kuldesh Sharma hopes he's in the right place. He parks up at the end of the dirt track, hemmed in on all sides by trees, ghoulish in the darkness.

Review Quote: 'Deeply moving... some of his best writing yet' Telegraph

My Opinion:

I was wary of reading Richard Osman’s first novel in 2021, as it was not really a genre of choice. His wit had me laughing out loud though and I have throughly enjoyed it in the now four novels I have read in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ series.  All the characters are first rate as the author writes in a very character driven style and the reader really feels they are getting to know their personalities. 

In the ‘The Last Devil to Die’ Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, Ibrahim and the rest of the quirky cast of characters are investigating the death of an antique dealer friend and the subsequent disappearance of a box that was in his possession. Sub plots around a romance scam and end of life decisions are sensitively woven into the story line which is overall definitely entertaining with plenty of chaos ensuing from these elderly characters growing old disgracefully.

This was for me a moving Audio Book listen and the experience was lifted to another level by Fiona Shaw who did a brilliant job of the narration. Personally I would recommend that you read or listen to the earlier books in the series before this one, to fully appreciate the characters. 

My Reviews The Thursday Murder Club   The Man Who Died Twice. The Bullet That Missed

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.

An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Goodreads

.

Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England on  November 28, 1970. He is now well known as an author, producer and television presenter. The Thursday Murder Club was his first novel. He is well known for TV shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. As the creative director of Endemol UK, Richard has worked as an executive producer on numerous shows including Deal Or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He is also a regular on panel and game shows such as Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You and Taskmaster.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Author Profile  Twitter - Richard Osman

Vianne by Joanne Harris

                                                         

Hardback:  416 pages

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, France,

Publisher: Orion 2025

Source: Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: 22 July 1993, I scattered my mother's ashes in New York on the night of 4 July.

Review Quote:  'A symphony of tastes and smells so glorious you almost find yourself drooling' THE INDEPENDENT

My Opinion:

Vianne is the prequel to 'Chocolat' and other books in the series.  Her many fans including myself have long been hoping for this story.

As a young pregnant woman, whose mother has recently died, Vianne finds herself in Marseille, France. It's while living here that she discovers her love of cooking and the magic of chocolate.

What a wonderful story. A joy to learn more about Vianne who first appeared over twenty five years ago in the novel 'Chocolat' which is now a modern day classic. 

Highly recommended as once again Joanne Harris will stimulate your senses with her descriptive writing.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Vianne is the long-awaited story of Vianne Rocher and begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet.

Just twenty-one years old, Sylviane arrives in Marseille to start a new life, and charms her way into a job as a waitress in a run-down bistrot. Here, under the guidance of eccentric Guy Lacarrière she discovers the joy of cooking, a secret love affair and, for the very first time, the true magic of chocolate.

Yet as she starts to dream of making a future for herself in the town, she finds herself at the centre of a growing conspiracy that will threaten everything she's fought so hard for...

 

My Review of  Chocolat

Author Profile:

Goodreads  Author photo.

About Joanne Harris (courtesy of her official website)

Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche .

Since then, she has written 19 more novels, plus novellas, short stories, game scripts, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a stage musical (with Howard Goodall) and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, has honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield, and has been a judge for the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, the Betty Trask Award, the Prima Donna Prize  and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science, as well as for the Fragrance Foundation awards for perfume and perfume journalism (for which she also received an award in 2017). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.

She is a passionate advocate for authors’ rights, and was the Chair of the Society of Authors (SOA) for four years. She is currently a member of the Board of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).

Her hobbies are listed in Who’s Who as: “mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion of the system”, although she also enjoys obfuscation, sleaze, rebellion, witchcraft, armed robbery, tea and biscuits. She is not above bribery and would not necessarily refuse an offer involving perfume, diamonds,  foreign travel or pink champagne. She works from a shed in her garden, plays in the band she first joined when she was 16, and lives with her husband in a little wood in Yorkshire.

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. 

Amazon Author Profile - Joanne Harris    Official Website - Joanne Harris  

 Goodreads Author Profile

The Legacy by Ann Evans

                                                          

Ebook:  346 pages

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural, 

Publisher: Independently published

Source:  Purchased from Amazon

First Sentences:  "Can I have this one?" Picking up the drawing Adam had just finished, Maggie scrutinised it closely. "Who is she? She looks so sad."

My Opinion:  

As this author lives locally I decided that I would read 'The Legacy'  The story of the main characters are all interweaved and linked to a house "Awelon" that is the hub of this intriguing story.

I found the many local references of particular interest. Would recommend this to readers who like an easy gratifying read, particularly those that know the locality, or are holidaying in the Aberdyfi and Tywyn area. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

When artist Adam and his wife Maggie move into the big white house overlooking the bay they can scarcely believe their luck. A drawing of a mystery girl, however, is about to change their lives forever, and those of many other people. Who is she, and what does she want from them? The answers have far-reaching consequences. The Legacy is an intriguing tale of mystery, romance and the supernatural.

Author Profile

                                                     

                                                                                                                                                 

                                                            Courtesy of Amazon

 No Biographical Information Available

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page