Gaslight by Femi Kayode

While requested to investigate the disappearance of the wife of a powerful priest based in Lagos, accused of killing his wife, detective psychologist Philip Taiwo may get caught into the nets of corruption of the highst holy level. 

Gaslight by Nigerian writer Femi Kayode is the second in the series featuring detective Philip Taiwo and my first read by this author. Mixing investigation techniques with psychological observation and deep knowledge of the well oiled machine of local corruption, Gaslight is a paced murder mystery taking place in challenging circumstances.

The story - told by Taiwo himself - operates perfectly in the local environment, seamlessly adapting to it. Hence, the very authentic ambiance and the specific twists of the story that cannot make sense anywhere else. As a side thought, it shows how distorted the realities shaped by corruption of all kinds could be.

The suspense is built through the intermezzo of the fragments attributed to the victim preparing the unexpected dramatic ending.

Through Taiwo´s family story, especially her daughter challenges to adapt to the new school and social environment in general, there are also some no-crime related thoughts about beauty standards and self-acceptance worth considering.

I´ve enjoyed personally reading this book, also because I had the chance to discover a new Nigerian author, and new murder series that hopefully will continue soon.

Rating: 4 stars

Random Things Tours: Diagnosis or Death by Jake Lynch&Annabel McGoldrick

One may expect from books set in Oxford a bookish highly intellectual ambiance, maybe at the limit some exquisite noble mystery. But - surprise, suprise - in Oxford live very normal people as well, with everything that includes this category, including very mundane crimes.

As her colleague is unexpectedly killed, Janna Rose feels compelled to contribute to solving the investigation. A psychoterapist specialising in the very special Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and a former journalist, she is ingeniously looking for hints and explanations, although she may need to cope with extremely complex challenges built by the malevolent use of AI.

Diagnonsis or Death by the Oxford-based BBC-trained journalists duo Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick was a very interesting encounter both in terms of the writing as well as the subject. The second in the series featuring Janna - a blend of the authors´ names - but my first - it has a dense prose while bringing in the forefront topics like local corruption in the social housing and benefit fraud. The story in itself is engaging, but in subtext tries to explore the genesis of human motivation under different circumstances.

For me, it was a very intense read, while bringing up interesting topics in the very challenging context of new technologies. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu

 ´I wanted to live a big life too´.

Some books may ignite mixed reactions in the reader, but the challenge may just encourage the precious critical thinking. 

Soila, the character of Lucky Girl, the debut novel of Kenyan-American writer Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu left for the US in order to break the control of her over-protective and over-achieving mother. As she is growing up as a person, writing her own life story and breaking with tradition, she is caught in the boiling cauldron of choices. She followed a career for the sake of her mother´s expectations, and she will keep practising it long after she regained her own independence until a personal turn of events will convince her to follow her passion for photography.

Although I enjoyed the story milestones and the main character, as well as the change of perspective between African Amerians and Africans on issues like race and priviledge and the insightful take on dementia, I had some issues regarding either the plot or the characters´ development.

For instance, Soila lacks consistency, and so do her relationships: we are told about she having boyfriends, but there is no story. 

But despite those shortcomings and my mixed reactions, I´ve learned some interesting intellectual nuances from Lucky Girl that will keep in mind when thinking about race and priviledge.

Rating: 3 stars

Lost in Mecca by Bothayna Al-Essa translated by Nada Faris

´Was there a hidden meaning behind this hell?´

Literary journeys are even most open minding as the simple discovery travel. They open up the eyes towards worlds we accepted to ignore, deeply diving into our own self-sufficient bubble. I am a passionate reader of elaborated crime novels but unfortunately, for many reasons - translation being one of them, my limited literary proficiency, another - I am mostly stuck into the European-North American realm. But I know there are so many brilliant ´noir´ authors outside this realm and Lost in Mecca by bestseller Kuwaiti author Bothayna El-Assa translated into English by Nada Faris encouraged me to be more determined in discovering different literary voices.

Last year I´ve read several reviews of the book and was on my TBR for a long time, but nothing prepared me for the deeply trauma valiantly told. 

Lost in Mecca is a story of a kidnapping. A little 7-year old boy of Kuwaiti origin is getting lost and subsequently kidnapped while being separated from his parents during the circumambulating the Kaaba in Mecca. The happy normality of a rich normal family trying to fulfill their duties is shaken by the realities of a world where survival is beyond any other human consideration. 

Told from different perspectives, including the shivering testimony of the kidnapped child´s, during less than three weeks chronologically, but within the framework of a fluid time, this is also a story of how life cannot go as usual after the encounter of tragedy. Belief is shaken, relationships are shaken, trust is eroded. 

The realities surrounding the circumstances are far from what we usually associate with when talking about rich countries like Saudi Arabia. A region where illegal immigration and human trafficking reaches peaks we aren´t aware of (as a side note though, some ´facts´ regarding organ trafficking/harvesting in the region may miss some double checking and rather follow some ideological patterns). As we are also rarely aware of the randomness of life in some parts of the world. In the book, one (bad) character asks the other (very bad) character: ´Is it really possible to live a life - normal life - away from the world we currently inhabit?´. It is a rhetorical question, but the answer may be that we rarely can. The - terrible - fate of the little boy - is an example. Moral compass may lead to hunger. 

I have another book by Bothayna Al-Essa on my TBR and definitely will read it in the next weeks, but as for now, I am deep in the thoughts ignited by Lost in Mecca. That´s how good books are shaking our mental comfort.

Rating: 4 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Wild Italian Nights by Christy McKellen

 

Good girl Juno meets Playboy Alessandro and both of them they have one full Italian (wild) week to enjoy life at its fullest. From Florence to the hills of Tuscany there are not enough places where they can literally feel the world. But could it be more? Should it be? Is there any place for more than passion?

Wild Italian Nights by Christy McKellen is spicy, passionate, even funny...a little bit of everything that one may need to for the hot season. As the title already suggests, it is definitely not for the prude of heart. 

I really enjoy the reading and the uneven meeting of the characters, in addition to the irresistible Italian environment which resonates very well with the hot feelings and adventures of the characters. I really appreciated that the characters, especially Juno, are more than protagonists in a hot setting, but they do also evolve according to their feelings and interests too.

For me it was the first encounter with this author, but from now on, I know where to look when I am in need of a spicy reading adventure.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary

DS Joseph Ashe is the sole survivor of a tragedy that happened 17 years ago. A bus carrying young people drove in Edenscar and all drowned but him. This miraculous survival is haunting him until now. As a detective he is requested later on investigating a crime that may bring him closer to elucidating an old mystery haunting him to this day. 

I´ve found the book from the very beginning emotionally challenging, but in the good literary sense. Both the atmosphere of the book and the characters - the bad and the good ones equally - are very well developed, with many hidden secrets that are dramatically challenging the plot in unexpected twists. 

Particularly Ashe is a world in itself, articulated and memorable. The choice of place and location in general may be surprising, as such a crime may work very well in a highly urbanized area. The eerie, spooky even, Peak District - situated in central-northern England - adds however additional elements of surprise to the challenges of the characters and of the story itself. 

The quality of the writing goes well beyond the usual police procedural investigation and this adds an additional quality to this very unique book.

The Drowing Place is the first in a series dedicated to Joseph Ashe and would be curious to continue with the next installments. For me, it was also the first encounter with this author that will definitely keep on my future radar.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Lázár by Nelio Biedermann

Lázár by Nelio Biedermann is like on everyone´s German speaking book list this summer and as usual, I couldn´t resist such a bookish temptation. Since the launch of the book in 2025, the 22-year old Swiss author is a literary sensation. The book was last year, among other prestigious nominations and awards, on the Schweizer Buch Preis list. Lázár is Biedermann´s second published novel.

I had one additional reason to read this book besides the German-speaking realm fame: it is set in Hungary/Austro-Hungarian Empires/Central Europe, a region that will always remain my big academic love. 

The author´s family, on the father´s side, is of noble Hungarian origin, refugiated to Switzerland in the 1950s. Lázár follows a family history during one century, from the times of the Austro-Hungarian empire until the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The format may remind of the Miklós Bánffy´s Transylvanian Trilogy that hopefully will review it one day part of my CLASSIC READS series (eventually with some additional reading in Hungarian).

The ambiance of Lázár is similar to many books set during this period in this geographical realm, therefore relatable and so is the behavior of most of the characters, suffering of a timeless mal-de-siècle.

But, but, but...I felt for the duration of the 300-page of the novel operating mostly in a bubble. Although towards the end of the book there are more characters relating to the noble family, most of the time they behave as being in a bubble, without too much interaction - and social reflection of their immediate environment. Many locations are vague, unclear, lacking any specific individuality and therefore largely unauthentic.

The sex is true and it keeps busy many of the characters, almost most of the time. Which is fine, but for many characters it seems like this was the only reason why they existed in the story; they had sex once and again, and then few years later they died - not necessarily due to the sex activity. 

Hence, the book missed for me some depth, although it is not easy to emulate the style and talent of the Central European literates. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the literature based in this region is still of interest and may create such a high wave of literary interest.

Rating: 3 stars

I´m a Fan by Sheena Patel translated into German by Annabelle Assaf

Let´s say that some books better would have not find me. At all. I am interested in books about relationships, dysfunctional, abusive (in books only, obviously). But not all those dysfunctional relationships are equal, especially if they are obsessively ideologic.

I´m a fan, the debut novel by Sheena Patel, was long listed for the 2023 Women´s Prize. I´ve read the book in the German translation by Annabelle Assaf, and at least from the language point of view it was definitely worth it. For the rest of the novel though, it didn´t resonate with me at all. 

The unnamed woman main storyteller - in her 30s - is obsessed by a successful writer - whom she sent a fanmail - , but also by his influencer American influencer lover - one of them. She wants to be like her and be with him. Both of them are white, highly priviledged. She is brown, middle-class. 

Instead of focusing on the relationship(s) dynamics and the obsession and the abusive dynamics between the two, the ideological is shortcuting the narrative without bringing anything else than stereotypes about race and power - which are fine, but in a work of fiction you expect to mix well with the facts of the story. A ´no go´ for me, no matter how many accolades and literary prizes this book was included. 

Definitely, I´m not a fan.

Rating: 2.5 stars  

Joyride by Susan Orlean

 ´(...) reporting makes you invincible´.

I don´t believe in role models in both journalism and literature. Trying to replicate someone else´s life and writing takes away your own creativity. But I strongly believe in people who are keeping your inspiration alive just by showing you how important is to keep what are you doing and how do be the best literary version of yourself.

Susan Orlean writes because she is curious. She examines closely ordinary things. She doesn´t teach a lesson, but wants to show you something that you never tought it is there. Her memoir, Joyride, I had access to in the audiobook format, read by the author herself, is a pleasure for the creative years. I felt blessed to have the chance of reading the contemporary works of such a talented nonfiction writer.

One can read it as both a handbook of contemporary journalism but also as the best remedy against writer´s block. You write because there is no other place for you in the world. You writes because you have the passion to open up to a timeless portal of human experiences. You write because you document humanity - yours and the other´s. 

I´ve had the chance few years back to watch a short video by Orlean explaining how to open up an article. Her articles - her iconic are included in the memoir - have the catchiest opening lines. Once you read it you cannot go away from it until you are reading them. 

Joyride also shares a lot of personal stories - like about her getting drunk on Twitter/currently X, but gives many examples of working with edition houses and the publishing industry in general. 

I will recommend this book to any journalist - in the making or just a bit disillusioned about the current state-of-the arts in the media. It makes you believe again in the power of written words. 

Rating: 5 stars

Compulsive Readers Blogtours: The Stranger on the Stairs by Ruth Mancini

How does it feel to spend decades in prison paying for a crime you never committed, based on an incomplete, unreliable main testimony? Although one cannot bring all those years back, the act of justice itself has a restorative function that should follow its way nevertheless.

The Stranger on the Stairs by Ruth Mancini is based on a true crime story of miscarriage of justice. Jamie Clark is a recovered criminal who knows he paid for someone else´s crime. 

A seven-year old discovers her beloved mother dead on the kitchen´s floor. Her testimony was most important element in reaching a conclusion two decades ago. But now, it seems that there were other elements that haven´t been considered. 

As the case is being reconsidered, there are much more details that are revealed, and this creates an ambiance of incertainty and expectations. The impressive cast of characters and the different points of views going back and forth from the past to the current times creates a confusion that matches so well a thriller. 

I´ve particularly liked how the elements of the thriller are well mixed with details typical for dry the procedural investigation. It gives a completely different perspective to the story. Philosophically, the events in this book also shows, at a higher level, how connected we are, and how our deeds and words may influence the destinies of the others, over decades and generations. 

Personally, it was a very dark yet psychologically insightful read, well-written and seamlessly developed. 

This was my first book by Ruth Mancini, but I am definitely interested in reading her acclaimed debut novel as well. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: Old Bones in Puglia by Tom Benjamin

There are topics that cannot be missed while when writing a book, particularly a thriller, based in Italy. Topics like mafia connections and religious devotion may be necessary motives without whom such a novel may sound largely unauthentic. 

Some authors though can bring both topics in a highly eventful thriller. Old Bones in Puglia by Tom Benjamin was my chance to meet again Daniel Leicester, the Italy-bounded Brit. In a fascinating environment, Daniel is caught in the midst of a tale where mafiosi threats are coming dangerously close to home and his family, while trying to trace some stolen antiquities. 

I am personally fascinated by stories where antiquities and archeology are the canvas where thriller stories are written, and this book is exceptionally feeding my expectations in this respect. The personal story is tightly connected to the thriller and creates a special tension within the story. After all, the life and death in Leicester´s close knit family creates higher stakes as in a very neutral matter-of-factly investigation. 

Well-written, tensed and impossible to put it down; this is how I like my Monday thrillers. 

The book is the seventh in the Daniel Leicester series, but can be easily be read as a stand-alone. I personally hope there will be a number eight and many more installments in the series, as both the characters and the ambiance scream against an early farewell. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Orenda Books Tours: Stop Dead by Katrín Júlíusdóttir translated by Larissa Kyzer

The author of the bestselling debut Dead Sweet entrepreneur, former politician and crime author Katrín Júlíusdóttir is back with the timed sequel Stop Dead, published by Orenda Books, translated from Icelandic by Larissa Kyzer. 

Detective in training Sigurdis has to abandon her academic training in criminal psychology in the US for further investigating the murder of her father. However, as a controversial media personality is murdered as well, during a marathon, inconvenient truths are revealed as the crime web goes deep into the darkest layers of the Icelandic society and especially its politics.

The mixture between political intrigue and crime is one of my favourite crime sub-genres, therefore, I enjoyed every single page of this novel, well-paced and diving deep into the dark encounters of corrupt and machiavellic politicians and their supporters. 

The story is slowly switching from what was considered as a simple procedural investigation into a much serious and clearly dangerous dive going beyond a simple crime. But the book itself does not read only as a true crime as Júlíusdóttir creatively built momentum through both the plot and the characters. 

Although more than one topics approached may pertain to everyday social challenges, their role in the narrative is not to demonstrate a thesis or to prove a theory, but to nurture the plot and allow the characters - like Sigurdis, which is my favorite - to expand.

I haven´t read too much Nordic Noir this year, but Stop Dead is definitely a book that I will remember and keep recommending to anyone interested in clear and strong Icelandic crime voices.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Das Narrenschiff by Christoph Hein

In the written and visual tradition of the early Renaissance, the Ship of fools refers the idea of ignorant leaders - religious but political as well - taking their subjects to nowhere but clearly to perdition. A ship led by fools, cannot stand the power of a storm in the middle of the sea. They are all meant to disappear.

The expression, used with the same meaning until today, was branded by a poem in German by the Basel author Sebastian Brant. There are many variants of European communism - the Germa one, among them - perfectly fitting the poem´s description. 

Hence, my interest in readng the monumental - 700-page plus - work with the same name - Das Narrenschiff - by author and French-translator Christoph Hein. In the German tradition of Bildungsroman - formative roman, at the end of which the character is reaching its own potential only that in this case, the main character growing up, foolishly, is the GDR/DDR itself - the author is following the destiny of three families, bureaucrats/apparatchiks, from the last years of the WWII until the end of the German Democratic Republic.

Deemed for mediocrity, either personal or professional, the characters are ´alive´ only within the political/ideological interactions. Even if tbey may think critically the decisions of the government and even their Soviet experiences, they are unable to reach out of their limited circle of friends. They are fools governed by fools, leading fools to perdition. 

The book is extremely precise when deals with communist bureaucratic procedures and mechanisms. From the chain of command to the chain of denial, everything is very well researched and possibly well known - the author worked as a journalist and author in East Germany. But, as much as I acknowledged the historical precision, I was mostly disappointed about the literary life of the characters, who - I understand they are mediocre - but are mostly existing only to show how decisions operate without depth or even emotional existence. 

I was personally more story flesh and literature, but I´ve stoically resisted until the very end of the book - at least for the language and vocabulary - highly specialized.

I fully acknowledge that I´ve let myself fooled with this book, but partially it encouraged me to do a bit of more research into the GDR´s history. And maybe I will stumble upon some better literary references as well.

Rating: 3 stars  

Rachel´s Random Resources: Audiobook tour Butterfly Summer by Toni de Palma

I am very grateful for audiobooks, although my relationship with them wasn´t always a smooth one. After being very much reluctant because of my very limited attention span, which may affect my understanding of a book, I educated my attention learning to properly focus and keep a track of the information. Now, I am practically listening at least to one book per week, being able to deeply delve into the topics and complexities of the plot. 

My latest ´read´ was a novel that suits very well the time of the year, with a character that just gets under your literary skin. Anna, the main character of Butterfly Summer by Toni de Palma is a successful Hollywood producer whose advice about romance and love are very much appreciated. In reality though, she is a mess romantically and soon her professional life may be labeled likewise. 

As she is back to Italy, the setting of a bride-related show, she s curious to investigate a bit more the secrets of an aunt with whom she spent some idyllic time in her youth. But her wish to find out more may turn around her; her life and her professional success.

The story is well paced and also well told - exceptionally read by Teresa Mastrobuono - for the audio version and I enjoyed to get to know the characters and their challenges. 

A recommended read if your heart is already longing for a summer time in Italy, while being guided by Anna´s own (mis)adventures. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Random Things Tours: The Night Lagoon by Jo Morey

An atmospheric and well-crafted debut novel set in the exotic Carribean destination, the debut novel by Jo Morey, The Night Lagoon is a complex story of secrets and deceive. 

Laelia is happy to start a new life with her partner and her children in what for many may look like a paradise: a jungle with luxurious vegetation promising a peace of mind many may envy her for. But in life, no gift comes easily, and sooner, she may realize that she is trapped in a web of lies and deception from where she has to get out of. 

Uniquely, Laelia is a character with a hear impairment, and with tinnitus, which makes her account and understanding of the episodes she is experiencing even more interesting. The ways in which she relates to the story plot are different and may sound confusing sometimes, but nevertheless it creates an authentic difference in telling and interpreting the story. 

The pace is intense and I also enjoyed the extended descriptions of the nature paradise - and I appreciated the presence of the orchids -, and with a real story construction. The nature seems to resonate with the psychological ambiance of the book, and such a coordination is usually very delicate to build in a credible, crime/thriller-related way. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Relentless Lady by Eva Harris

I simply cannot have enough of books featuring bold women; women who against all odds are stronger than their destiny. Women who are not intimidated by the impossibility of their dreams.

Francesca Silva, the character of Eva Harris´ The Relentless Lady, is one of those exceptional people. She left her traditional world in Brazil, following her dream of freedom and personal and professional achievements. Based on true events, it is set in the 2000s, it is a story of defying the promise of a life of survival in exchange of a search for oneself. 

Personally I got very much invested in the character´s decisions and journey, who is far from being idealized and polished to a perfect image. In fact, Francesca is making mistakes, sometimes put her heart in the wrong place, but she is very much like anyone of us, on the road to writing one´s story. 

The book is the first in a series dedicated to featuring exceptional destinies, and personally I cannot wait to read another storie(s) of women resilience. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Children Spanish Books for Beginners

Almost half through the year, I am seriously keeping my promise of improving my Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, at a level allowing me to pass the European B2 - with an aim at C1 - certification tests. Plus, started learning a new language, but this for another time.

For my Spanish warming up, I´ve read recently two children books, in bilingual version, with an interesting neurodivergent take. It is very important for neurodivergent children to relate to characters sharing their own issues, and for me it was a first time encountering such characters in children books. A plus for the bilingual aspect.

The author of both books, Eleni Tassopoulos Wehner is herself a ´neurodivergent mother´, and this probably helped to properly represent such situations. Both books were colourfully illustrated by Danamarie Hosler. The main characters, Roscoe&Ivy are faced with dealing with daily chores, like cleaning the room, or organising the shoes, or finding/trying the best house shoes.

The books are part of the Roscoe&Ivy series, but can defintely read as standalone. The sentences are clean, unequivocal, using sentences and expressions useful for the daily communication. The text goes along nicely with the illustrations. 

I really loved the books, and even learned a word or two. They can be nicely used as good night stories for bilingual children, and it also creates topics to discuss afterwards, either commenting the characters or their actions.

Rachel´s Random Resources: Stikki the Squirrel: Tree Spirits by Jane H. Wood

 

Give me any time a children book and I will leave instantly anything I am doing to read it. Children books connect me to life in a straight forward way that cannnot exist in the world of books for adults.

Stikki the Squirrel: Tree Spirits by Jane H. Wood was my latest read from this genre, written exactly as I am expecting from a well written book: smart dialogues, an entertaining story, interesting characters. Add to this beautiful illustrations, that suit any respectable children book.

Fighting with an unbearable winter, Stikki and Rella are trying to survive in a world of adversities, surrounded by a magical ambiance. There is a sense of unity in the adversity, as the little or bigger creatures are struggling to survive, as generations from time immemorial did before them. 

Clearly, I´ve read the book as an adult, trying to connect - forcefully or not - various ideatic dots. A child though will simply enter into the book spirit and allow to being taken away by the story. No mattr the reading choice, in this book you will discover a trustworthy companion, leading the reader through the magic of a Welsh forest and its funny talking animals.

The book is aimed for children between 8 and 12 years.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

We Can´t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

´I´m no longer the girl who always says ´yes´ ´.

I am always interested in discovering books with a multicultural topic, therefore We Can´t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon, an author whose name often appeared on my bookish feed, sounded like a good recommendation.

To my shame, I´ve started the book five years ago, abandoned it - although was considering resuming the reading every few months, and was only able to finish it last week. I am a very compulsive reader and even though I am trying to keep my overactivity under control - including in its bookish manifestation, I often embrace my limitations.

Quinn, who is Jewish - her name isn´t though - is trying to part ways with her family´s wedding company, while finding out herself in playing harp and being tormented of the idea of comitting to a relationship with Tarek, the son of an Egyptian family owning a catering company. There are few, but not enough identity markers of the two main characters so for me it looked a bit make up. It sounds good to have inter-racial love, but it is not enough as long as the characters do not really belong. 

However, other details regarding the characters are more fulfilling rendering them and their stories more relatable. Quinn´s transformation and the acknowledgement of her interests and need to follow her own dreams, happening at the same time with her fully acceptance of her feelings for Tarek, are important story pivots. 

Better placed and developed than the inter-racial story, the struggle of the characters with mental health issues like OCD, chronical illnesses and family trauma do relate to topics of interests for the younger generation.

I think this book brings a lot of contemporary topics and I am very much glad of being able to finally finish it. In the meantime, would be more than happy to give more than one chance to this author in the coming months.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Random Things Tours: 138 Main Street by Gavin Bell

I love a good crime story, but I love even more a fantastic premise for creating a story. Each story has a start but some do have a greater spring priviledge.

138 Main Street by Glasgow-based Gavin Bell created such an unique reading encounter. An unknown killer is picking up his victims from the same address: 138 Main Street. And, not surprisingly, there are 7,000 such addreses in the US. As the corpses pile, the killer is issuing a manifesto of social justice to the media, warning of a continuation of the killing spree. 

Personally, I couldn´t stop reading this book, because it sounded both authentic and scary. I went thinking that although it is important catch the killer, but nevertheless sounded more intellectually challenging to guess if there will be any reasons why - except being killed - the crimes may stop.

The professional team assigned to find the killer - Ben Walker and Zoe Hill, especially Zoe Hill who is playing a terrific role in catching the killer - deserves a special place in the evolution of the plot - with an interesting dynamic, personalities and character threats. 

Both the original premise and the well-structured story itself - with mounting tension as the terror threat continues - were outstanding, and the ending was equally interesting. 

A recommended read if you are looking for a strong unexpected thriller.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

A famous mysterious library in New York hosts a legendary book many do have reasons to see, and maybe to have it too. A group of curious among which, an architect, a journalist, a bookseller, a famous author and a professor, taking part to a special after dark tour of the aptly named Daedalus Library. And a potential killer on the run who must be found as soon as possible. 

The Library after Dark by Ande Pliego  is an alert thriller, with a sense of emergency. I love books sets in libraries, but don´t remember to have read a looked room thriller set in one. For all the right reasons, it was a stellar choice and I was clearly caught into the story web from the very beginning.

The details of the plot are very important for the further development and so is the chain of different points of views reflecting the story. The multiple voices sharing their own version of things echoes the facts, without offering us however enough information for sharing a conclusion of our own. I love books with a generous cast of characters, especially thrillers, because it challenges me more to trace the mystery solution.

Ande Pliego weaved a captivating story, where personal and historical stories are brought together in a puzzle dominated by powerful emotions and hidden family histories. 

A recommended read if you are looking for a very eventful thriller story, happening in an unexpected Gothic setting.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Tous mais pas Beyrouth by Mathieu Diez illustrated by Jibé

´Le pays de la guerre des autres´.

French embassy in Lebanon and one of the most important abroad, which shows still French´s interest in the region, although politically speaking French politics internationally aren´t at their best. French soft power however still plays an important role, not only from the linguistic point of view.

Mathieu Diez, founder of Lyon BD Festival, spent four (very) eventful years in Beyrouth working at the embassy´s cultural section, where he was involved in organising important cultural events like book fairs and literary prizes awards, swimming through the trouble waters of a country forced to restrain its cultural potential while serving as arena of other people´s wars.

Tous mais pas Beyrouth/Anything but Beirut, illustrated by Jibé, is his graphic memoir covering time spent in the diplomatic service, between 2021 and 2024, very intense years for the country and the region in general. With an acribie and empathy not always expected from this genre, he is not only serving as a chronicler of his times, but also is doing his best in understanding the history, current challenges and culture of Lebanon. 

This book is another example of the potential of graphic novels, allowing their authors to play the role similar with the journalist: taking notes of their times, and putting it into words and images. It is a humorous, yet subjective take, that may help you get to know a topic through its main actors, their interactions and last but not least their feelings.

A recommended read for anyone curious about personal experiences from a conflict zone.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Les Enfants de la Nuit by Eva Ionesco

 

The perception of childhood changed through ages, with our Western times, in my opinion, enjoying the most generous definition of it, extending the age of childhood - and implicitly, of consent - until late teens. The legal protection - from abuse, forced labour or marriage - in the Western world goes far from the previous approaches. Sexualisation of young girls, that we no need to go too far than the glorious rebelious 1970s. Personally, I experienced it much later, in the 1990s, but those are stories for another time.

I´ve first heard about Eva Ionesco as she was mentioned in Vanessa Springora´s book, with her very sharp insights into the French literary afterwriting debacle, as a case of young girl in the attention of social services. Ionesco´s story however, is even much cruel and her struggle with sexual abuse continues until today. 

Eva´s mother - Irène/Irina - who died at the beginning of 2020s, was a Romanian-born photographer famous for her sexualized portraits of young girls, for whom her daughter was forced to pose from the very early age of four. Before being a photographer, Irène born from an incestuous relationship, used to play in a circus, until being partially incapacitated for this type of work from an accident. 

In the autobiographical novel by Ionesco, read in the original French language - part of a series of three - Les Enfants de la Nuit/Children of the Night - her mother is portrayed in very cruel, sadistic even terms: manipulative, narcissistic, self-absorbed. Her daughter, in her very early teens, became aware of being used for purely financial purposes, as a free-model for her mother sexual photographic fantasies. Although she despised Irène, she is not cutting her out completely, even accepting a little dance of lies with the representatives of the social services. Her silent scream of abuse is her self-destructive night life, wasting herself out with drugs and illicit sex during the nights spent with her hard-partying band of dysfunctional teens, among which Christian Loboutin.

Without excusing her mother´s fundamental role in her traumatic story - until today Ionesco is fighting in court for her right to taking out of circulation her sexualised pictures - the amplitude of her case was facilitated by the so-called esprit du temps. In other words, it was a public open to the consumption of the media her mother produced; or the society accepted the picture of an 11-year old in Playboy; or a bunch of teenagers were accepted to roam the best of the Paris´ dubious clubs. It is the same world where Brooke Shields played the role of a 11-year old prostitute. 

The topic of the book is not easy to digest, but it mirrors an age, an episode from the last century French world, introduced in its cruelest possible way. It is not an easy read, at times the writing is raw and traumatic - if it´s for the reader, spending some hours only with this book, think about how does it feel for Eva -, but necessary. As parents or just humans, it is vital to understand how to protect our children - from themselves and the others.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered for the publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Collector by Rae Devine

Lucien, a billionaire art dealer is tasked -- by the Devil - with the recovery of a forbidden artifact stolen centuries ago by a rebelious Gatekeeper. Curious, he wants to know more and may found the task challenging, but the dangerous pathway to Hell may threaten the hierarchies and provoke loyalties.

The Collector by Rae Devine is dark, may belong to the paranormal genre while adding some spicy romance to the already packed plot. Paranormal isn´t my genre, but I´ve found the combination literarily attractive and Devine´s writing kept me engaged from the very beginning. There is a lot of ´sin and shadow´ into this story, but the ambiance is skillfully built. An important element in the plot are the detailed descriptions creating perceptive environments so important for the paranormal genre. 

The book is relatively short and it can be easily read in one sitting. This was my reading choice, and it was very helpful to keep a fast track of the characters and the very action-packed story. 

The Collector is the second installment of the paranormal romance series The Seven Gates. 

A special word of appreciation of the cover, with both lettering and the images are in a tensed sync. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: Work Love Balance by Sophie Loxton

Romance is being rewritten, over and over again. Each generation, its love stories. As much as I love romance - without being too much of a Romantic myself - I´m usually drawn to contemporary stories I can actually relate to.

From this point of view, Work Love Balance by Sophie Loxton was a great read to start the week with. The author is a romance writer with a sharp, witty voice, and her story was such a fun and relatable read, especially if you love influencers characters and stories from the world of art. The main female character, Lizzy, seems to have everything under control...until a few work-related encounters bring her closer to a charming young man who threatens the delicate balance she´s built between her career and her love life. Her boss however, doesn´t mind too much keeping those limits and this may challenge Lizzy in unexpected ways. 

From the very beginning, Lizzy became my favorite character. As the main storyteller, she is sharing her own - very vivid and humorous - interpretations of things. Through her experiences, she learns what she expects from herself, from others and from her work. The story keeps the reader entertained, with unexpected situations twists that not only make you want to keep reading, but also reveal new and engaging details about the characters. The book itself starts with a surprise - an unexpected wedding between Esme and Ajax and the meeting of Olly - and keeps entertaininng the reader until the very end. The fact that it also includes travel - clearly of the work-related kind - and influencer-related episodes, was definitely a big plus for me as well.

I loved that the characters who give the tone of the book - Lizzy and Esme - are women, successful in their own professional areas. The mention of Esme´s dyslexia is noteworthy, as one may rarely associate successful people with such issues, which is far from being the truth. 

Work Love Balance is a great book to start - or end - your workweek, with or without the counter-balance of love.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

 

Random Things Tours: Call of the Isles. A Scottish Anthology

 

Scottland has not only a high literary potential, as source of inspiration and literary background but it does as well write literary history, through the diversity of the voices identifying themselves as ´Scottish´. 

A  collection published recently by Glasgow-based edition house Tantallon Tir, carefully curated by John Gerard Fagan features one - if not the - best literary voices made in Scotland. In a bit over 100 pages, this collection is an impressive overview of the topics and ideas inspired by life on an island. Even when they are not explicitly referring to it, talking about experiences in other realms, the personal experience of having lived here continue to shape their literary influences and writing in general.

Initially I was very curious about this collection, as I am sharing a Scottish interest for some time already and I felt rewarded in terms of the quality of the writing and topics. The ideas shared and impressions collected will definitely nurture any incoming trip to the island. 

A recommended read to anyone interested in literary travel or just looking for some well-curated lists of quality authors. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

London Falling. A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family´s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe

Zack, grand nephew of Shoah survivorrs seemed to be just another 19-year old troubled teenager, but as he disappears and found dead in the Thames, his middle class parents may discover in horror that their belovoed son was leading his very own secret life. 

At first, Zack seemed to be a slightly more dangerous masculine version of Anna Delvey: he built up an identity as the son of a fictive Russian billionaire with connections as high as Roman Abramovic, mixing up with the London underworld. 

In any of the details meticulously shared in the well-documented and well-written true crime story of his case by Patrick Radden Keefe - London Falling. A Mysterious Death in the Guilded City and a Family´s Search for Truth, there is no mention that Zack didn´t love his family, or was alienated in any possible way from them. Swallowed up by social media, trying to show off and build a satisfactory identity. An identity that everyone seemed to take it seriously, until something may have been revealed and put himself into danger in relationship with his entourage. There is a new world, with new expectations and trusting your child is not enough; one needs also to understand what the actual dangers and illusions luring ahead may be. 

Patrick Radden Keefe is going so much into the deep details of the case, from social to family history, in a curious yet empathic way. As a mother of son, was often thinking of the deep drama his parents are going through. Lovely parents with a sense of justice who just wanted to understand what actually happened to their son, and maybe also why did he followed this path, or at what extent they were sharing a responsibilty. 

This book - that I had access to in the audiobook version - is a complex investigation where parenting meets true crime, in a contemporary episode in a city with a century-old personal history of crime. A recommended read for understanding the world our children are living in. 

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars

 

Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

A mother-daughter trip to Japan turns into a memory journey through unsettled memories. With allusions and suggestions of impressionist nature, Cold Enough for Snow by Australian-based author Jessica Au  was a minimalistic, although too short - 90-page length - read.

There is no plot or proper story, but memories within memories prompted by the encounter. There is not too much proper communication between the two, not the expected empathy that you may show as a mother towards your child you haven´t seen in a while or as a child towards the mother you haven´t see in a while. The encounter itself creates the context for unclear memories and unsettled endings.

It enfolds as an episode, as the fragment of a dream, as a memory of the memory. Sometimes, as the angle of the story is changing, there are details added, that are soon after abandoned due to the next shift of memory. 

The writing is seamless and powerful, and from the beginning to the end it was a full immersion, with many hours of afterthought afterwards.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rachel´s Random Resources: Murder in Rome by T.A.Williams

 

Long time no news from DCI Armstrong and his sweet Oscar canine assistant! I am happy to share some good news, as the newest book from the series Murder in Rome is ready and it was really worth waiting for it.

After 30 years in the Murder Squad, Dan Armstrong is nowadays based in Florence, but this time, shortly after his wedding with history professor Anna his investigative steps are taking him to the historical city of Rome, where he is requested to help finding the murderer of a rich UK financier, the uncle of a famous TV personality Tamsin Goodfaith, settled in a Roman castle. And who can say upfront ´no´ to a famous and beautiful TV star? Soon after though, there is a second murder taking place, and Dan has to find who is behind it, until it is not too late. It seems that getting to know Rome took him - and the curious Labrador Oscar who is accompanying him - into a completely new unexpected direction.

Cosy, smart and very well connected to the daily realities and Italian history, Murder in Rome is well planned and written with humour that may not affect the seriousness of crime investigations. As usual, the environment is well depicted, and the ambiance is very specific, as you almost feel yourself transported into old castles and Rome´s historical sightseeings. Add to this some lavish food descriptions, worth the fame of a Roman banquet.

The story unfolds within less than a week, in diary-like entries, with well-observed characters. It is relatively impossible to fathom what will really happen until the end, and I liked how T.A.Williams spread various hints at specific moments, most of them being nothing more than hints.  

A recommended read if you love Italy and want to discover it, especially Rome, with different eyes and in a more unique, history-seasoned and crime-related way.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Hotel by the Sea by Julie Caplin

I love Portugal for its sense of privacy and calm, and for the warm and friendly people. A romantic novel set in this beautiful country can only promise good things, in addition to some more inspiration for the coming summer holidays.

The Hotel by the Sea by bestselling author Julie Caplin is an invitation to relax, and spend some romantic adventurous hours in the company of Rebecca and the handsome Felipe and his bubbling family. 

Disappointed in love, Rebecca decided to take a temporary job at a family hotel in Algarve. But love is following her, and instead of taking a break from the life of the heart, she is faced with some complicated choices and a very charming acquaintance. 

What I usually love about Caplin´s books is the relatable and realistic characters: they are very much alive with their mistakes and flaws, bad choices and blind love. They reflect the behavior and choices - bad or good - of people one may encounter in the everyday life, although they are always part of well planned stories that will definitely finish within a couple of hours. But as long as we are spending time with those characters, it feels like a movie where love is always in the air.

This is the 13th book from the Romantic Series by Julie Caplin, some of them previously reviewed on my blog.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: The Woman in the Wall by Heidi Amsinck

 

When human remains are accidentally discovered in an apartment in Copenhague, it is almost impossible to fathom how the criminal can be caught any time soon. As the police investigator is trying to get the media involved, the smart reporter Jensen - whose full name remains a mystery - comes to mind. She may be professionally smart, but her choice of life partner, with whom she is having a child, wasn´t so, as the father of her child is a murderer. Jensen herself has a complicated family story of herself, with a legendary author claiming now being her father. In the end, all those dots and a bit more, may be connected in many unexpected way, leading to a terrific key to the murder.

The Woman in the Wall by Heidi Amsinck is an unforgettable thriller. Amsinck is a London-based Danish journalist and crime writer, whose Jensen thriller series are based in Copenhague. 

What makes the reading of this book fascinating is the skillful art of misdirecting the reader. The twists are so brutal - in the good, crime writing kind of way - that you cannot guess what will happen next. The best approach is to simply give up any projections and just follow the directions Amsinck chose, with her own plot in mind. 

The book is the newest (the fifth) installment from the Jensen Thriller series that I´ve reviewed previously, but can be easily read as well as a standalone. Personally, I always love smart women journalists as main characters in thrillers, therefore, these series are definitely a great read.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Sunshine Teashop by Jaimie Admans

 

Some people may have it all until...all plans and dreams are falling down as a fragile game of cards. In some cultures, there is the concept of ´evil eye´ that may hunt the success, hitting hard those who may enjoy life´s gifts way too much.

Before Dolly took up on the road on a campervan, she had dreams of opening a café and a charming boyfriend. Until the named boyfriend was caught kissing her best friend...Running away from the broken dreams on a campervan loaned from the boyfriend, Dolly may be trying to forget everything she went through. But, maybe the chance is knocking again to her door, as she is landing in Yorkshire and meets a gorgeous stranger. Could she trust someone again so fast?

The Sunshine Teashop by Jaimie Admans is a humorous and uplifting romantic comedy. Dolly is my favorite character but I suppose it´s almost impossible not to like her. Although heartbroken, she is able to see the light and follows her survival instinct running away from a place that hurted her. Starting a new love story, while feeling safe and appreciated, is part of her strength of trusting herself again and giving a new chance to romance.

A recommended read for unbeated romantics and strong women.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own