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She's not there - P J Parrish

They say it’s better to battle the devil you know. But what if you don’t recognize him before it’s too late? She knows her name is Amelia, but after waking up in a hospital battered and bruised with just the clothes on her back, it’s all she knows. Unable to piece together her shattered memory, she’s haunted by a vision: menacing faces and voices implying her nightmare is far from over. Relying only on her wits and her will to live, Amelia becomes a fugitive from a mysterious man, and a life she can’t even remember. But the past she’s fleeing has no intention of letting her go. I've really enjoyed reading this book. The author is in fact two people but this doesn't show at all in the writing it flowed seamlessly. They have eleven crime fiction awards, so I should have known it would be good, but I didn't read any of that before I began the book. For me the characters voices in this book were so credible, I really felt like I got to know them, especially Ameli

The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas - Carole Matthews

Christmas is just around the corner but the women of The Chocolate Lovers' Club have more to worry about than present shopping . . .  Lucy  loves running Chocolate Heaven but she hasn't spent time with her boyfriend, Aiden, in weeks. And then her ex-fiance turns up and things become even more complicated.  Nadia  hasn't let herself get close to a man in a long time, yet she can't help feeling drawn to Jacob. Will he be her last chance for a happy ending? Chantal  and her husband, Ted, are besotted with their baby daughter Lana - but she's not sure that's enough to base a marriage on. Autumn  is dealing with a tragedy that has hit too close to home. But when she doesn't get the support she needs from her fiance, will she look elsewhere for comfort? Can friendship overcome all in . . .  The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas . This is the third book in the chocolate Lovers' series by Carole Matthews and I have read them all. Consistently a feel good read,

Redemption Road - Lisa Ballantyne

The crash is the unravelling of Margaret Holloway. Trapped inside a car about to explode, she is rescued by a scarred stranger who then disappears. Margaret remembers little, but she's spent her life remembering little - her childhood is full of holes and forgotten memories. Now she has a burning desire to discover who she is and why her life has been shrouded in secrets. What really happened to her when she was a child? Could it have anything to do with the mysterious man who saved her life? Flitting effortlessly between past and present, this is a suspenseful, gritty and emotionally charged journey of an estranged father and daughter, exploring the strength of family ties and our huge capacity for forgiveness. I have to admit that the title of this book put me off reading it for a while. It was on my to be read list and it came around to the top so I decided to read it. Straight away I thought - why did I not read this sooner! I was gripped from the beginning, both by

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

I'm not sure there is a product description for this book, and having read it on my kindle, I don't know what the "back page cover" said. This is a book from my personal bookshelf, which I decided to read mainly because of all the hype surrounding it. It's taken me a while to get around to it mainly because I wasn't sure what it was about and also the lobster on the cover put me off! So, what is it all about? Don Tillman is a genetics professor who views the world very logically due to him I believe having Aspergers Syndrome. To me he comes across as Spock meets Roy Cropper (Coronation Street).  He has reached the age of 40 and the research he has read points to married men living longer and happier lives. So he decides to tackle the acquisition of a wife in the same way he would his research. He formulates a questionnaire to garner suitable candidates to be his wife. Alongside this is his friend, Gene, who is also a professor and collecting wome

What Milo Saw - Virginia Macgregor

 A BIG story about a small boy who sees the world a little  differently For fans of  The Rosie Project ,  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time  and  Wonder , comes this spellbinding and generous-hearted tale about a small boy who just wanted his gran to come home. The description of what this book was about was very vague, as you can see from the blurb above. So in deciding to read it,  I went on the premise that I had enjoyed the other books cited and I wasn't disappointed. Milo is a 9 year old boy - but this book is not a children's book. Although the tale is told through Milo's eyes some of it is very grown up material - like when he catches his Dad with his "tart".  Basically the book is about Milo's Gran who goes into Forget Me Not Nursing Home, whereas he wants her to continue to leave with him and his Mum at home. Milo doesn't think she is being cared for properly and sets about investigating behind the scenes at the ho

The Other Me - Saskia Sarginson

Eliza Bennet has the life she's always dreamed of. She's who she wants to be, and she's with the man she loves. But Eliza is living a lie. Her real name is Klaudia Myer. And Klaudia is on the run. She's escaping her old life, and a terrible secret buried at the heart of her family. This is the story of Eliza and Klaudia - one girl, two lives and a lie they cannot hide from. To put this into perspective, one woman two lives I think is a little strong. Klaudia was a child and then she called herself Eliza when she went to University - not quite the dramatic event of two lives that the book cover proclaims. So I was wrong footed when I began to read, as I had assumed (!) that this was going to an adult who had reinvented herself. Ultimately I suppose the book is about identity and how others perceive you through the bloodline you carry. However, to me this book was far more interesting from the perspective of Klaudia's Father and Uncle who ha

Killing Eva - Alex Blackmore

Witnessing a dramatic death at London’s Waterloo Station triggers a series of events that shatter Eva Scott’s world. Dying words uttered on the station concourse awaken a history she had thought long buried. But the past is about to be resurrected, in all its brutal reality. Soon, Eva's life is out of her hands. A genetic key is keeping her alive – but foreshadowing her death. People she loved and lost materialise and then disappear, testing the limits of her sanity. Inextricably linked to her survival is the potential takedown of an economic power, on which hang the lives of many others. The only way out is through. But Eva’s life is no longer her own. And it's killing her. I read the prequel to this novel - "Lethal Profit" a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.  My only gripe with that book was that the heroine Eva had  no survival skills or training in combat and yet luck got her through.  Quite near the beginning of the book Ms Blackmore makes the poi