Book-Mad-Mum

  The year is 1896 when life was more complicated than it is now especially for women. Aged 28, main character Violet is seen as an old spinster and her father is concerned that she won’t settle down and get married, but Violet isn’t interested in that life – she wants to work and be independent – which didn’t really happen in that era. Violet sets out to discover what happened to her mother who disappeared ten years previously, and as this is no job for a lady, Violet hires a detective but is this the best thing to do, and is she taking the lid off Pandora’s box? This was a nice gentle read, something that you’d pick up on a Sunday afternoon with the rain beating down outside – it will whisk you away to another lifetime with characters that you will warm to.

  I have always been a massive fan of Catherine Alliott’s book and so was very excited about reading this. Initially I found it quite difficult to get into the story – the first few chapters seem to feature lots of character names and to be honest I struggled with the family dynamics for a bit until I settled into the story. I also found that similar names for characters added to my confusion – we had a Sally and a Susie and then a Rupert and a Rorie! This didn’t help my menopausal brain and I often had to stop and think “Sally? Is she the sister-in-law or the friend?”   The Pink House is a book about love but starts with Emma having a love affair with her husband’s parents country house. It always held a special place in her heart, and when her in-laws divorced, Emma and her husband Hugh made the move from London to the country to start a new life. But country living is not all roses around the door and although it sounds idyllic, cracks appear but we’re talking relationshi...

  Just by reading the first paragraph of this book you will be completely and utterly hooked and will instantly want to know more about the person that is "Strange Sally Diamond". Sally has always been very different from the other children, bullied at school with no ability to make friends she lives on a remote farm with her elderly father. When she does have to go into the village, she pretends to be deaf so that she doesn’t have to interact with anyone. Sally leads a very literal life, and so when someone asks her to do something, she’ll carry out their wishes, to the letter. She does not have the ability to read between the lines, and at the start of the story she doesn’t possess a lot of emotions, but this is something she works through.   Bought up by her adoptive parents, we learn more about Sally’s upbringing and what happened to her previously with her back story. This book will send shivers down your spine and make the hairs on your arms stand up, which is what we...