My best reads from January are:
Shari Low - One Year After You
The novel follows a dramatic day in the lives of three people in Glasgow. It's the anniversary of Tress's husband Max's death, and her son Buddy's first birthday. She's determined to make it the best day possible for her little boy, and not associate it with anything dark. Noah was Matt's best friend, and remains Tress's constant support and friend. But they have another bond - Matt's death revealed that he and Noah's wife Anya had been having a long-term secret affair. Anya survived the accident, but Noah and Tress have had to come to terms with their betrayal. Tress's friends are trying to persuade her to begin dating again, and she's wondering whether it's time to take the plunge. Meanwhile Odette is a sixty-nine year old actress, stalwart of the local soap, The Clydeside. Now she's been written out of the show, shooting her final scenes that day. On her mind is the guilt of a bad deed she did as a young woman, and she's determined to try and put things right. Tress recently started work as a designer on the set. As Tress, Noah and Odette's stories begin to collide, old and new problems surface and bring the day to a dramatic climax, when nothing will ever be the same again. An intricate story, with many dramatic twists, sympathetically written. Very enjoyable.
Joy Ellis - Guard her with Your Life
Detective Sam has struggled to come to terms with his daughter being taken away to Greece by his ex-wife, Julia. T his surprise, Julia unexpectedly arranges for Zoe to come over to stay with him for a while. Excitedly he waits at Heathrow airport for the ten-year-old's arrival. In the hubbub of the airport he hugs the little blonde girl who's handed over to him by the air hostess. But when he looks into her face, he realises that this child is not his daughter. As a message comes through from Julia, warning him, "Guard her with your life", he takes the child home and begins a bizarre situation where he's pretending this girl is his daughter to everyone around him. What has happened to Zoe? As he and his brother get dragged into a dangerous situation, it becomes clear that the unknown little girl is in real jeopardy. Fleeing for their lives, they leave London, and Sam has to use all his policeman's expertise to protect them, while his police partner, Terri, also gets caught up in the mystery. A thrilling read, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge of their seat.
Jeff Wheeler - The Invisible College
I find the worlds of this fantasy author absolutely fascinating. This is the first book in a new series, set in a different universe from most of his previous books. This is a world which is like the early twentieth century, but where technology runs from magic. Human beings were given this magic in the distant past by a mysterious race called the Aesir, who are cold-loving beings and have long hibernation cycles. But every so often they awaken and wage a war with humanity, their old alliance long forgotten. Robinson is a talented sorcerer, a researcher and professor at the Invisible College, where young people are taught magic. The key to magic is sounds, with music paramount. The Aesir have in the past released plagues on the human race which cause deafness, and eighteen-year-old McKenna is one who has suffered this fate. But she's supremely intelligent, and a talented lip-reader. She believes that one day she will have the ability to weave magic. Her parents employ Robinson to teach her how to improve her speech, and she's certain that this will be the key to her learning magic. As the Aesir awaken and a new war begins, Robinson and McKenna's relationship deepens. But someone is stalking him to the death, and McKenna suffers an accident which leaves her with strange sensations. Plenty of mystery, adventure, and magical imagination, this is another of Jeff Wheeler's novels that I couldn't put down.
