No Way Out ~ Lynda Page

Stephanie Mortimer feels trapped. Her alcoholic mother and domineering father have never loved each other, let alone their only child, and her upbringing has been one of violence, repression and neglect. In an attempt to escape, Steph agrees to marry a man she doesnt even love but a tragic accident means their marriage never takes place. Then her father dies and the terms of his will reveal that he still has a hold on Steph even beyond the grave. Reeling from the news, the last person Steph expects to meet is the man of her dreams. Jason Connor could change her life for ever, but will their whirlwind romance be the answer to Stephs prayers or the beginning of a nightmare?


Lynda Page is a local author to me and i always love to read her books, she writes about the City i live in so when you are reading you know where she is talking about and it makes it that bit more real and exciting to me ... i really enjoyed this one and it kept me captivated till the end when a secret is revealed. I only got this book on Mothers Day, DS said he wont buy me anymore if i read them to fast LOL

I'm sorry ladies but this one will join my collection of her books, i have them all and a lot of them are signed by Lynda too.

Whispers in the Sand, Barbara Erksine

The gripping suspense story is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide. Recently divorced, Anna Coburn decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother, Louisa, a renowned artist, made in the mid-nineteenth century -- a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings.
Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions -- an ancient Egyptian scent bottle, and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle.
Meanwhile, two men from the tour party are showing a disturbing interest in these mementos, and developing an unfriendly rivalry for Anna's attention. And, most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a haunting, a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax.

I found this book a joy to read, although I did find it hard when it kept switching between Louisa and Anna. I do hope that there is a sequel as it was left too open for my liking!

If anyone would like this, let me know!

Kate Morton - The Forgotten Garden

A lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.A mysterious inheritance: On Nell's death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

This is the second book written by Kate Morton and it was as exciting as the first. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this, she is a very good author. i hope its not long till she releases her third novel.

Thank you Barb for passing this one on to me, its now ready to travel to its new home if anyone would like it.

The Birthing House
When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion...

I bought this book on the strength of its cover.

It purports to be a 'horror/ghost' story, but its major failing in my opinion, is that it is not at all scary - in fact the first half of the book is more about some sort of mid-life crisis revolving around the central character - Conrad.

I though the ending was terrible - really rushed and badly executed.

The idea behind the book is sound but just wasted in poor execution. The initial characterisation is OK - but Conrad's & Jo's descent into 'madness' is too abrupt and not at all convincing. Take The Shining as a benchmark and this falls far short.

All in all, not a book I enjoyed, but will keep it for a week if anyone would like to borrow it.

Whispers in the Sand - Barbara Erskine

Recently divorced, Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great grandmother, Louisa, made in the mid-nineteenth century - a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions - an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for over a hundred years.

As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past - and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle. Meanwhile two men from the tour party are developing an unfriendly rivalry for her attention. And why are they showing such a disturbing interest in Louisa's mementoes? Most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax...

It's mostly based in Egypt so it's a given that I would love this book for the mental imagery of the ancient sites it conjures up alone. :0) It was also good to see how the three separate stories were interwoven through the book in such a way that I didn't once lose any of the plots (makes a nice change, as I often feel I lost the plot a long time ago! LOL)

There were a couple of things in the book that made me think of Lady of Hay - anyone else pick up any similarities with certain character traits in both books? (Such as: a bullying guy, inconsistent heroine who takes her time to stand up to him, alcohol regularly consumed - though there was a little more fruit juice and water thrown in this time LOL). The twist for one of the characters was unexpected (I even felt sorry for him, even though he was a right royal pain in the derriere for much of the book), as was the somewhat open ending which has me hoping for a sequel........ but that's me, always wanting every lose end tied up.

All told, it was a good read that kept my interest throughout the book, containing all the spooky elements I've come to expect from the author. Although, for me, for a real spooky/scarey story none of her other books I've read (so far) have yet beaten Midnight is a Lonely Place! :0)

Now registered with Book Crossing and released. :0)

Atlantis - David Gibbins

ATLANTIS: The fabled island which disappeared beneath the waves at the dawn of history; One of archaeology's most enduring mysteries; Fact or myth? No one has ever known - until now.....

One day, on a dive in the Mediterranean, marine arcaeologist Jack Howard gets lucky. Very lucky. He and his team uncover what could be the key to the location of the lost island.

Jack is on the verge of making an astounding breakthrough, but someone else knows about Atlantis's location. And Jack and those closest to him are suddenly locked in a life or death game with consequences that could destroy thousands of lives. For what Jack discovers is beyond his wildest dreams - but it comes at a terrifying price.

You can read more about the author and his other books here.

I was really looking forward to this book, as it is based on various things that interest me, and it started out well and did have me hooked initially but that soon dwindled some. Whilst there was plenty of action and a reasonably strong story/plot line it did start to feel more like a tutorial/lecture after a while, with all the different historical, archaeological and geological facts it contained - and the book certainly had those in plentiful supply. By the end of the book it felt as if all the extra information had distracted me from the storyline and made the characters seem somewhat stilted at times.

All told, it's obvious the author knows his stuff and I did learn a few things along the way......... but that's not why I chose to read this and it's definitely not what I expected from a fictional book. If I want to learn something I opt to read non-fiction books!

Registered with Book Crossing and added to my swap list - shout if you're interested in it. :0)