Ad Books marked * were gifted in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
Well the Summer holidays are flying by and we are over half way through already – can you believe it?! Today I am rounding up 5 of the recent books I have read or listened to and letting you know what I thought and whether I would recommend them or not.
The Murders at Fleat House
by Lucinda Riley
The Blurb
The Murders at Fleat House is a suspenseful and utterly compelling crime novel from the author of the multimillion-selling The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley.
The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s–a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk–is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident.
But the local police cannot rule out foul play and the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Jazz has her own private reasons for stepping away from her police career in London, and reluctantly agrees to front the investigation as a favour to her old boss.
Reunited with her loyal sergeant, she enters the closed world of the school and, as Jazz begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death, events are soon to take another troubling turn.
Charlie is exposed as an arrogant bully, and those around him had both motive and opportunity to switch the drugs he took daily to control his epilepsy.
As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of a young pupil and the death of an elderly classics master provide Jazz with important leads, but are destined to complicate the investigation further. As snow covers the landscape and another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons . . .
Then, a particularly grim discovery at the school makes this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Because Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined .
What I Thought
As a huge fan of the Seven Sisters series I decided to check out some other Lucinda Riley books. This ne didn’t disappoint!
I loved the characters in this book and thought they were well written. The pace was good, it kept you on your toes and was full of twists and turns – I struggled to turn it off as I listened to this one on Audible.
A great thriller and once again, Lucinda Riley’s writing did not let me down – she is truly a huge loss to the literary world. If you haven’t listened to the Seven Sisters series yet DO IT, and then get started on the rest of her great back catalogue!
Buy ‘The Murders at Fleat House’
Justice in the Age of Judgment*
by Anne Bremner JD and Doug Bremner MD
The Blurb
From Amanda Knox to O.J., Casey Anthony to Kyle Rittenhouse, our justice system faces scrutiny and pressure from the media and public like never before. Can the bedrock of “innocent until proven guilty” survive in what acclaimed Seattle attorney and legal analyst Anne Bremner calls the age of judgement?
When unscrupulous Italian prosecutors waged an all-out war in the media and courtroom to wrongly convict American exchange student Amanda Knox for a murder she didn’t commit, family and friends turned to renowned Seattle attorney and media legal analyst Anne Bremner to help win her freedom. The case was dubbed the “trial of the decade” and would coincide with the explosion of social media and a new era of trying cases in public as much as the courtroom. While Italian prosecutors, the press, and online lynch mobs convicted Knox in the court of public opinion, Bremner would draw upon her decades in the courtroom and in front of the camera to turn the tide with a new kind of defense in pursuit of justice.
In Justice in the Age of Judgement, Anne Bremner and Doug Bremner take us inside some of the biggest cases of recent times and offer their expert, thought-provoking insights and analysis as our legal system faces unprecedented forces fighting to tip the scales of justice their way. Why couldn’t prosecutors convict O.J. Simpson despite all of the evidence seemingly proving he killed his wife Nicole? Could a jury remain unbiased in the face of overwhelming public pressure in the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd? Why was Kyle Rittenhouse exonerated after shooting three people (killing two) with an assault rifle at a violent rally despite widespread media reports seemingly proving his guilt, and national calls for his conviction?
Justice in the Age of Judgement is an unparalleled and unflinching look at the captivating cases tried on Twitter and TV, where the burden of proof and fundamental legal tenet of “innocent until proven guilty” is under assault from the court of public opinion.
What I Thought
As a huge fan of true crime I flew through this book and really enjoyed it.
While there isn’t a huge amount of new information on any of the cases, this book is a commentary on the impact the media had on them.
Super interesting, I flew through it, and well worth a read especially if you are a true crime fan like me.
Buy ‘Justice in the Age of Judgment’
Queen Victoria’s Daughters-in-Law*
by John Van der Kiste
The Blurb
Of Queen Victoria’s four sons, the eldest married a Danish princess, one a Russian Grand Duchess, and the other two princesses of German royal houses.
The first to join the family of the ‘Grandmama of Europe’ was Alexandra, eldest daughter of the prince about to become King Christian IX of Denmark. Charming, ever sympathetic and widely considered one of the most attractive royal women of her time, she was prematurely deaf and suffered from a limp which was made fashionable by court ladies due to her popularity. Alexandra proved an ideal wife for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
Grand Duchess Marie, daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and wife of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and later Saxe-Coburg Gotha, was cultured and intelligent, but dowdy, haughty and, convinced of the Romanovs’ superiority, resented having to give precedence at court to her in-laws.
Louise of Prussia, a niece of William I, German Emperor, had the good fortune to escape from a miserable family life in Berlin and marry Arthur, Duke of Connaught, a dedicated army officer who was always the Queen’s favourite among her children.
Finally, Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont, sister of Emma, Queen Consort of the Netherlands, became the wife of the cultured Leopold, Duke of Albany, but he was haemophiliac and their marriage was destined to be the briefest of all, cut short by his sudden death less than three years later.
All four were very different personalities, proved themselves to be supportive wives, mothers and daughters-in-law in their own way, and dedicated workers for charity at home and abroad. Based partly on previously unpublished material from the Royal Archives at Windsor and Madrid, and the Leonie Leslie Papers, University of Chicago, this is the first book to study all four as a family group.
What I Thought
I am a bit of a history geek and Queen Victoria is one of my favourite Queen’s as well as periods of time.
I really enjoyed this book, written in chronological order and providing lots of interesting facts and information about the women and their mother-in-law. While a fan of Victoria, being her daughter-in-law was not at all easy, as she enjoyed controlling not just her children’s lives but their wives too.
I felt that the book did jump around a bit and this led to a little confusion at times, but overall it was well written and interesting.
Buy ‘Queen Victoria’s Daughters-in-Law’
Dear Dolly: On Love, Life and Friendship
by Dolly Alderton
The Blurb
What I learnt from sharing my most private pain with a semi-professional problem-solver was that the mere act of asking for help was, in itself, healing. It was as if I had crept down to the docks under cover of darkness and floated a message out in a bottle, imagining how it might be received. By writing it, I was acknowledging that someone might care about me; that they’d be able to say the right thing without knowing me. Because I was feeling something that other people had felt and therefore I wasn’t, as I suspected, the loneliest and strangest woman in the world’
Since early 2020, Dolly Alderton has been sharing her wisdom, warmth and wit with the countless people who have written in to her Dear Dolly agony aunt column in The Sunday Times Style. Their questions range from the painfully—and sometimes hilariously—relatable to the occasionally bizarre. They include breakups and body issues, families, friendships, dating, divorce, the pleasures and pitfalls of social media, sex, loneliness, longing, love and everything in between.
Without judgement, and with deep empathy informed by her own, much-chronicled adventures in love, friendship and dating, Dolly leads us by the hand through the various labyrinths of life, proving that a problem shared is truly a problem halved.
What I Thought
I purchased this book on my Audible account and enjoyed listening to Dolly narrate the book. I really enjoyed the content of the book and Dolly’s great advice and style of writing.
My only complaint was I felt it was quite short and over too quickly. I think if I had realised this, I would have probably read the book as opposed to listening to it, but it is still well worth a read.
Buy ‘Dear Dolly’
Three Little Lies
by Laura Marshall
The Blurb
Prepare for your latest obsession….
The addictive new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Friend Request.
Sasha North has gone missing.
Everyone says she’s run away, but I know better. We’ve been best friends since we were teenagers, since Sasha swept into the neighbourhood and brought colour to my life. Until a brutal attack changed both our lives forever.
I know what happened that night. I know who wants revenge.
And if Sasha has been taken, does that mean I’m next?
What I Thought
Another thriller I flew through on Audible – I listened every chance I got!
A well written story with sensitive topics well handed by the author. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat with a good pace.
I’d recommend this n Audible ut I imagine it is as equally comellng to read as well.
I hope you enjoyed reading what I thought about my latest reads – I would love to hear if you have read any of these and what you thought in the comments below. And if not, let me know which one you want to read first in the comments!
Take care and happy reading,
The Spoonie Mummy 
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