Waterstones, Piccadilly – Europe’s Largest Bookstore.

Since we have been back from holiday I have managed to still get some reading in despite cathing up on work and home jobs!!  Our holiday seems like a lifetime ago now but being in September  we are definitely feeling the Autumn weather making itself known now with cooler evenings and of course it is getting dark earlier and earlier.  I do love this time of year though and I also think I tend to read more as the nights draw in.  

During our holiday I did start three books which I ended up DNFing for various reasons.  They were:

“The Housekeepers” by Alex Hay  /  “The Village Library Demon Hunting Society” by C.W. Waggoner /  “A Winter’s Murder” by Simon Brew.

The Housekeepers was a good idea set in the 1920’s England and they get together to rob their employers.  However the writing and style did not come across at all well, so after 50 pages I DNF’d it!

The Village Library Demon Hunting Society was again a good idea except again the writing was not good and the demon appearing was not Stephen King inspired at all!  DNF

Finally A Winter’s Murder was a story where you decide what direction it will take and you jump around pages with the decisions and I took about four turns and then I was out as I had made the wrong decisions!  I could not be bothered to go back and start again! DNF

*

Finally “Yellowface” by R.F. Kuang I read and listened to this and got half way through the book and I just got to the point where I did not like any of the characters at all and would have quite happily slapped them all!  The whole premise of the book, one character stealing the unpublished book of her dead friend and passing it off as her own and then the person who discovers the deception being equally immoral.  Because of this I DND’d it also!

*****

Finally I read this and gave it five stars!   Small town life has lots of secrets especially at the school gates.  Newly divorced Mom Jude is drawn to Widower Will especially when their daughters become friends but she is warned off him by the other Moms because his wife died in mysterious circumstances and his partner has been missing for a few years!  Can Jude prove them wrong or will she be next?  

This was well written.  You get to follow Jude in her quest along with other mysteries surrounding the Mom’s at the school gates and their stressful lives even when they appear organised and happy!  A very good book and a good ending.

*****

Karin Slaughter is one of my favourite Authors and I have read several of her books already.  This one was published in June this year and I began it whilst on holiday.  North Falls is a small town and everyone knows everyone’s business and a lot of the time actually related to each other.  On 4th of July cook out and fireworks for the town, Deputy Sherriff Emmy Clifton is asked by her best friend if she will talk to her step-daughter, Madison, who has become very withdrawn to see if Emmy can find out what is wrong.  Before she has chance Madison and her best friend Cheyenne go mising and Emmy throws herself into finding the girls, but she is not ready for all the secrets that are going to be revealed.

The characters in the book are very well crafted and the interactions of them with each other whilst trying to find out what happened to the two teenagers is well done.  There is a twist near the end which I did see coming but it did not detract from the book.  It is a thriller but also about how human these people are.  I really enjoyed it.

***

Finally for this month is “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden.  This is where I will perhaps lose people with my opinion on this book!  Earlier in the year I listened to “The Tenant” by Ms McFadden on audiobook, the first of her books I read/listened to and my Review was in July 2025.  I gave it two stars!  As you can imagine I went into this with a bit of trepidation and I was right!

Millie is desperate for a job so she does not have to live in her car anymore.  The problem is that very few people want to give you a job after they know you have been in prison.  However she sees this job for a live in Housemaid in a very nice area on Long Island and she applies.  Mrs Nina Winchester interviews her and offers her the job to begin immediately and Millie is so relieved. 

Her room is in th attic and is small, cramped and the window does not open and to make matters worse there is a lock but on the outside of the door which makes her suspecious.  However the room has a bed, its own bathroom and it is going into winter.  Mr Andrew Winchester is very handsome and helps Millie to settle in and navigate Nina’s unstable outbursts and their daughters rude behaviour but she will have to be careful not to get too involved or attached she needs the job.   The longer she is at the house the longer Millie realises that things are not right with the Winchesters, but she has to stay, however how long can she last in this deeply disfunctional home?

Now don’t get me wrong the book is okay but having read The Tennant I quickly realised that it and The Housemaid are the same plat with slight tweeks here and there.  It has a similar twist and a flat ending again, just like The Tenant! However it did not have as many “ick” moments in as The Tenant does, hence three starts for this but only two starts for The Tenant!

I have found this problem with some other authors, where they find a formula and so every book is written in the same way and for me that gets boring.  Ms MCFadden’s books are not long and it does move quickly but if all of her books are the same I won’t be reading them. I have one more of her books on my TBR shelf and I will read that but if it is the same then I am afraid she will not become a favourite of mine.  I know there are a lot of thriller book readers out there who aboslutely love her books, but I don’t think I am going to be one of them! 

I have read one more book which was for Jayne’s and my Book Club book for September and I will tell you about that next week as I am seeing Jayne for lunch on Tuesday!  

I hope you lovely lot have a wonderful weekend, find some time to read, whatever you are up to and I shall see you all back here on Monday. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Cocoxx