TODAY’S REVIEW features the latest Richard and Judy winter selection. As always with this husband and wife team a varied and interesting selection of some very good reads. Also recently arrived to be found in our new book section novels that will take you to Venice, Nazi-occupied Europe, 1930’s Burma, Arles in the Camarge and a lemon grove in Sicily. There’s something on offer for everyone’s taste, from romance, thrillers, investigations and of course the odd murder or two.

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THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS – LISA JEWELL

In a large house in London’s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them a hastily scrawled note. They’ve been dead for several days. Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go?

THE SILENT PATIENT – ALEX MICHAELIDES

Alicia Berensen lived a seemingly perfect life until one day six years ago, when she shot her husband five times. Since then she hasn’t spoken a single word. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations – a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

BLOOD ORANGE – HARRIET TYCE

Described as a psychological thriller. Alison has it all a loving family and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems ….

Obsession, revenge, lust and murder play out on the pages as a female barrister tries to hold her life together while her personality tries to tear it apart. At once shocking and riveting, You won’t be able to stop reading this book.

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING – DELIA OWENS

For many years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the Marsh she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be loved. When two young men from town became intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

DVD – MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS – DV1306

The film explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart Queen of France at 16, widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry and instead returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. By birth, she also has a rival claim to the throne of Elizabeth I who rules as the Queen of England. Rivals in power and in love, the two Queens make very different choices. Betrayal, rebellions and conspiracies within each court imperil both Queens – driving them apart, as each woman experiences the bitter cost of power.

PANDEMIC – ROBIN COOK

In New York City, a young, seemingly healthy woman is struck down by a respiratory attack as she heads home on the subway. By the time she arrives in Manhattan, she’s dead. She ends up on forensic pathologist Jack Stapleton’s table, which reveals surprising findings about the cause of death. Fearing the woman’s case could be the first in a severe outbreak of a deadly airborne virus, Jack works in overdrive for a diagnosis. When further cases occur round the city, and then in LosAngeles, London and Rome, Jack enters a race against time to discover the link that connects all the victims before it’s too late….

SLEEP – C.J.TAYLOR

All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But paralyzing insomnia, terrifying nightmares and memories of that horrendous horrific day are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…. To escape the past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum. Yet even when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare. Each of the guests has a secret, but one of them is lying -about who they are and why they’re there. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View Hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.

HOME FROM HOME – VERONICA HENRY

Dragonfly Farm has been a home and haven for generations of Melchior – rivals to the Culbones, the family who live on the other side of the river. Life there is dictated by the seasons and cider-making, and everyone falls under its spell. For cousins Tabitha and Georgia, it has always been a home from home. When tragedy befalls their beloved Great-Uncle Mathew, it seems the place where they’ve always belonged might now be theirs. But the will reveals that a third of the farm has also been left to Gabriel Culbone, who has no idea what his connection to farm – or the Melchior family – can be.

WAR OF THE WOLF – BERNARD CORNWELL

Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg knows that peace is far from reach. Though he has won the battle for his ancestral home, rebellion looms in Mercia and invading Norsemen appear at every turn. Surrounded and outnumbered by new enemies, Uhtred must call on all his skill and courage to survive, and prevent his beloved Northumbria from falling to the Viking hoards.

DVD Corner

THE WIFE – DV1307

Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) has spent forty years of sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to support her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Price) and his stellar literary career. Ignoring infidelities and excuses made in the cause of his art, but Joan has reached a turning point. On the eve of Joe’s Nobel Prize for literature, rewarding a spectacular body of work, Joan will confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and some long-buried secrets. The Wife is a poignant, funny and emotional journey, a celebration of womanhood, self-discovery and liberation, featuring a stunning cast that also includes Max Irons, Harry Lloyd, Annie Starke, Elizabeth McGovern and Christian Slater.

AS WE HEAD rapidly towards Easter and that time of year when most of our winter ‘swallows’ head back home, the Library nonetheless continues with its year-round programme of activities.

New books have been added to the shelves and we take our usual look at the pick of the crop, which this time round all feature big-selling women writers.

The Perfect Girlfriend

by Karen Hamilton

JULIETTE LOVES Nate. She will follow him anywhere. She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline so she can keep a closer eye on him. They are meant to be.

The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back. She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting what she wants.

True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain…

Tell Me A Secret

by Jane Fallon

HOLLY AND Roz spend most of their days together. They like the same jokes, loathe the same people and tell each other everything.

So when single mum Holly gets a shot at her dream job after putting everything on hold to raise her daughter, she assumes her friend will be dying to pop the champagne with her.

But is she just imagining things, or is Roz not quite as happy for her as she should be? As Holly starts to take a closer look at Roz’s life outside their friendship, she begins to discover a few things that don’t add up.

Who is the woman who claims to be her ally? Perhaps it was a mistake to tell Roz all her secrets. Because it takes two to forge a friendship. But only one to wage a war…

Old Baggage

by Lisa Evans

IT IS 1928. Matilda Simpkin is a woman with a thrilling past and an uneventful present. In her youth, she was a militant suffragette. Jailed five times, she marched, sang, smashed windows and heckled Winston Churchill.

But nothing since then has had the same depth the same excitement. Now in middle age, Mattie is looking for a new purpose.

Giving the wooden club she still keeps in her handbag a thoughtful twirl, she is struck by an idea – but what starts as a brilliantly idealist plan is derailed by a connection with Mattie’s militant past, one which begins to threaten every principle she stands for.

DVD Corner

Strangers

DS454

PROFESSOR JONAH Mulray’s life is turned upside down when his wife Megan is killed in a car crash in Hong Kong. Although she lived and worked there half the year, Jonah’s never been. He lives a small, sheltered life, and his fear of flying has kept him in London.

But now he has no choice but to cross the ocean to identify the body of the woman he loved.

Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, Jonah makes a shocking discovery about his wife. Over the course of eight thrilling hours, Jonah is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of conspiracy as he comes to terms with this utterly alien and unfamiliar environment, battling to uncover the truth about his wife’s death.

THIS MONTH’S SELECTION of new books are taken from the Richard and Judy winter selection and include three new authors and their debut novels.

As is usually the case, it’s an interesting and varied selection from Britain’s favourite husband and wife team.

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder

by Sarah J Harris

THERE ARE THREE things you need to know about Jasper. One: He sees the world completely differently; Two: He can’t recognize faces – not even his own; Three: He is the only witness to the murder of his neighbour, Bee Larkham.

But uncovering the truth about what happened that night will change his world forever…

The Woman in the Window

by A J Finn

IT’S BEEN TEN MONTHS since Anna Fox last left home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house. Lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside.

Anna’s only lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits, watching her neighbours. When the Russells move in, Anna is instantly drawn to them. A picture-perfect family, they are an echo of the life that was once hers.

But one evening, a scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something horrifying. Now she must uncover the truth about what really happened. But if she does, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

Dear Mrs Bird

by A J Pearce

AMID THE FALLING BOMBS in 1941 London, Emmeline Lake dreams of becoming a fearless War Correspondent. Unfortunately, Emmy instead finds herself employed as a typist for the formidable Henrietta Bird, the renowned agony aunt at Woman’s Friend magazine.

Mrs Bird refuses to read, let alone answer, letters containing any form of unpleasantness, and definitely not those from the lovelorn, grief-stricken or morally confused.

But the thought of these desperate woman waiting for an answer at the most desperate of times becomes impossible for Emmy to ignore. She decides she simply must help and secretly starts to write back – after all, what harm could that possibly do?

DVD Corner

The Cry

DS452

JOANNA AND HER HUSBAND Alistair travel with their baby from Scotland to Australia to see Alistair’s mother. And to fight for custody of Alistair’s daughter Chloe against his Australian ex-wife.

However, when they arrive in Australia, Joanna and Alistair are forced to face an unthinkable tragedy that changes their lives and their marriage forever. It is the catalyst for a journey into the disintegrating psychology of a young woman, exposing the myths and truths of motherhood.

ICONIC Scottish writer Ian Rankin’s 22nd novel in his series of Edinburgh thrillers featuring one of the genre’s most enduring characters, rogue detective John Rebus, is among the latest titles to be added to the Library collection.

Rebus novels have so far been translated into 22 languages worldwide and remain best sellers across the globe to an army of followers who eagerly gobble up every baleful twist and turn of the intricate and carefully-crafted tales.

In A House Of Lies

by Ian Rankin

A MISSING PRIVATE investigator is found, locked in a car hidden deep in the woods. Worse still – both for his family and the police – is that his body was in an area that had already been searched.

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is part of a new inquiry, combing through the mistakes of the original case. There were always suspicions over how the investigation was handled and now – after a decade without answers – it’s time for the truth.

Every officer involved must be questioned, and it seems everyone on the case has something to hide, and everything to lose.

But there is one man who knows where the trail may lead – and that it could be the end of him. That man is John Rebus.

Dead Man’s Gift

by Simon Kernick

PART ONE IN A SERIES of three novels, sub-titled respectively Yesterday, Last Night and Today, sees MP Tim Horton’s seven-year-old son abducted by a gang of ruthless kidnappers, leaving behind the child’s brutally murdered nanny.

The gang’s demands are simple: the MP must sacrifice his own life to save his son’s. Enter ex-soldier Scope, British writer Kernick’s character who specialises in extracting people from impossible situations.

The Music Shop

by Rachel Joyce

FRANK OWNS A MUSIC shop. It’s 1988 and the shop is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk – as long as it’s vinyl he sells it.

Then into his life walks Isle Brauchmann. Isle asks Frank to teach her about music.

His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes black as vinyl.

But Isle is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to reopen and a past he will never leave behind

Look For Me

by Lisa Gardner

A FAMILY HOME has become a crime scene. Four of them – mother, step-father, daughter, son – have been savagely murdered.

The fifth, the eldest daughter, is missing. Did she escape? Or is her absence evidence of something much more sinister?

Detective D.D. Warren is on the case, as is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Together they must make sense of the clues left behind by a 16-year-old girl who, as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, ‘Look for me.’

Villa of Secrets

by Patricia Wilson

FAMILY SECRETS were locked away during the dark days of war on the island of Rhodes. Now, it’s time to unlock the truth. When urgent news from her estranged family calls Rebecca Neumanner back to the beautiful island of her birth, she realises how little she knows of her grandmother’s past.

Her Bubba has never spoken about the Nazi occupation but there have always been whispers. What desperate measures did she take that terrible day when her family was ripped apart? Can the rumour she has blood on her own hands really be true? What will the discovery of long-hidden documents bring to light?

As Rebecca arrives on the island, reuniting with her sister, and bringing the promise of new life, it’s time for this broken family to come together and face their history. But Bubba has always intended to take her secrets to the grave…

Bitter Sun

by Beth Lewis

IN THE HEATWEAVE of 1971, four kids find a body by a lake and set out to solve a murder. But they dig too deep and ask too many questions.

Larson is a town reeling in the wake of the Vietnam draft, where the unrelentingly heat ruins the harvest, and the people teeter on the edge of ruin. As tension and paranoia run rife, rumours became fact, violence becomes reflex…

The unrest allows the dark elements of the close-knit farming community to rise and take control. And John, Jean. Gloria and Rudy are about to discover that secrets are best left buried…

The Last Secret of The Deverells

by Santa Montefiore

IN 1939, THE DARK CLOUDS of war are building over Europe; in Ireland, much has changed for the Deverill family, with a new generation is waiting in the wings. Bridie Doyle now Countess di Marcantonio and mistress of Castle Deverill, is far surpassing her humble roots.

But when the eyes of her dashing husband begin to stray, his identity is called into question, putting Bridie’s happiness at terrible risk.

Once Bridie’s best friend, Kitty Deverill lives nearby with her devoted husband Robert. Her world is suddenly rocked by the unexpected return of Jack O’Leary, her never forgotten first love. But, this time, might Jack’s heart belong to another?

Martha Wallace arrives in Dublin desperate to track down her birth mother. Her efforts thwarted, she has no one to turn to – until JP, scion of the Deverill’s, catches her eye.

DVD CORNER

Striking Out

Series One, DS444

WHEN DUBLIN-BASED solicitor Tara Rafferty discovers that her fiancé and fellow solicitor, Eric has been cheating on her with a colleague, she breaks up with him, quits her job at the prestigious law firm were they worked together, and begins accepting clients out of a makeshift office in the back of a cafe.

With the help of Ray her street-smart client-turned-assistant, private detective Meg Riley and friend and mentor Senior Counsel Vincent Pike, Tara takes on a series of cases that often put her against her former colleagues and the influential families of the legal establishment she is trying to leave behind.

Kingsman, The Secret Service

DVD DT607

A SUPER SECRET organisation recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training programme just as a dire global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

The star-studded cast brings together Colin Firth, Michael Caine and Samuel L Jackson.