Not that I was ever the most outgoing person, but having an actual valid reason to stay at home all the time has been quite beneficial in someways - Although quite difficult in others I will admit. When lockdown kicked in all those many years (months) ago, I was determined to make the most of my time and turn my life around. I was going to spend more time writing, exercising, and reading all the books I keep buying. It sounded perfect.
Now let's just pretend for a moment that I did manage to get myself into a great routine of waking up at 7am, going for a run, spending a couple of hours working on my novel, and then reading a book a day. Let's pretend that I haven't spent the past few months absolutely hooked on Warzone and constantly trying to improve my KD and then rage quitting cause hackers.
Anyway, so in lockdown, I did manage to catch up on a bit of reading. In fact, even before lockdown started I had managed to get back into the habit of reading a lot more. I thought I'd share on my blog a few of my top reads, who doesn't love an excuse to buy a new book? I sure do.
Dan Scottow - Damaged
Blurb:
"Do you believe everything you’re told?Journalist Emily Blake is sent back to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of a young girl called Becky Clarke. Emily takes the assignment willingly as the case echoes the disappearance of her childhood friend, Alice Abbott, twenty-five years earlier.Returning to the village, Emily renews old acquaintances and rivalries. She reconnects with her estranged brother Adam, who has never quite recovered from tragic events from their past.While she looks into the disappearance of Becky Clarke, Emily revisits Alice’s case but not everyone welcomes her investigation.As lies that have been told for twenty-five years surrounding Alice’s disappearance begin to unravel, Emily is drawn deeper into the mystery.What happened to Alice?Will Becky ever be found?And do the answers lie closer to home than anyone ever imagined?"
David Wong - What the Hell Did I Just Read
Blurb:
"It's the story "They" don't want you to read. Though, to be fair, "They" are probably right about this one. No, don't put the book back on the shelf it is now your duty to purchase it to prevent others from reading it. Yes, it works with ebooks, too; I don t have time to explain how.
While investigating a fairly straightforward case of a shape-shifting interdimensional child predator, Dave, John, and Amy realized there might actually be something weird going on. Together, they navigate a diabolically convoluted maze of illusions, lies, and their own incompetence in an attempt to uncover a terrible truth that they like you would be better off not knowing.
Your first impulse will be to think that a story this gruesome and, to be frank, stupid cannot possibly be true. That is precisely the reaction "They" are hoping for."
Kate Summerscale - The Suspicions of Mr.Whicher
Blurb:
"It is a summer night in 1860. In an elegant detached Georgian house in the village of Road, Wiltshire, all is quiet. Behind shuttered windows, the Kent family lies sound asleep. At some point after midnight a dog barks. The family wakes the next morning to a horrific discovery: an unimaginably gruesome murder has taken place in their home. The household reverberates with shock, not least because the guilty party is surely still among them. Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard, the most celebrated detective of his day, reaches Road Hill House a fortnight later. He faces an unenviable task: to solve a case in which the grieving family are the suspects. The murder provokes national hysteria. The thought of what might be festering behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class homes - scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing - arouses fear and a kind of excitement. But when Whicher reaches his shocking conclusion there is uproar and bewilderment. A true story that inspired a generation of writers such as Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Arthur Conan Doyle, this has all the hallmarks of the classic murder mystery - a body; a detective; a country house steeped in secrets. In The Suspicions of Mr Whicher Kate Summerscale untangles the facts behind this notorious case, bringing it back to vivid, extraordinary life."
Stuart Turton - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Blurb:
"Somebody's going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won't appear to be a murder, and so the murderer won't be caught. Rectify that injustice and I'll show you the way out.'
It is meant to be a celebration, but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden - one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party - can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.
The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...."
Holly Jackson - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Blurb:
"The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?"
Haha, I've totally enjoyed staying home too but also not exactly been able to get in a routine! I have the best intention but spend way too much time faffing on my phone. I've not managed to read many books either as it just makes me need a nap. Maybe tomorrow...?
ReplyDeleteCorinne x
www.skinnedcartree.com