I Defy You Not to Find a Book for July!

 

Dear friends. I'm guilty of saying this every month, but my newly published selection of reads in July is absolutely stellar! 

There's a welcome return for best selling writers Joyce Carol Oates and Louise Candlish;  a chilling alpine adventure;  a story of a female entertainer turning the tables on a critic, and 100 delightful walks across Britain featuring secrets and treasure. 

All the books were rated by me as 4 out of 5 this month. 

Getting Away by Kate Sawyer 

General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction | Women's Fiction

Getting Away is an intriguing novel. It weaves a couple of story lines over several generations, and entirely while we're with the Smith family on holiday. The holidays start in a modest way with a day trip to the seaside by bus. This was a common practice in the 30s when only the wealthy could afford holidays. The destinations change, and become more upmarket, over the decades. 

The story line is mostly focused on the differing attitudes to illegitimacy over 70 years. It's told from the perspective of the two women involved and their children. The result is a fascinating tapestry of social history and family relationships. 

A Neighbour's Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish 

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers | Women's Fiction

Fiendishly clever writing from the incomparable Candlish. She serves up more topical current issues and creates two very memorable characters in friends Gwen, a bit of a nosey parker, and Pixie, several decades younger.

Retiree Gwen is thrilled when her new neighbour Pixie turns out to be delightful. Before long the two women have formed an unlikely age-gap friendship and Gwen is making herself useful to Pixie in all kinds of ways.

But when a crime comes to light Gwen’s protective instincts go into overdrive, igniting an appetite for revenge that none of the residents are prepared for.

Totally gripping and full of twists and turns that pack a punch.

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates  

Mystery & Thrillers

  

The American writer Joyce Carol Oates surely needs no introduction. Her books are eagerly awaited, certainly by me. 

Francis Fox is a charming English teacher, new to the idyllic Langhorne Academy. He beguiles many of his students, their parents, and his colleagues at the elite boarding school, while leaving others wondering where he came from and why his biography is so enigmatic. 

When two brothers discover Fox’s car half-submerged in a pond in a local nature preserve and parts of an unidentified body strewn about the nearby woods, the entire community, including Detective Horace Zwender and his deputy, begins to ask disturbing questions about Francis Fox and who he might really be.

I Will Find You by Jessica Huntley  

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

From the start you're immediately pulled into this exhilarating alpine adventure. Bonnie and her husband Steffan are hiking in the beautiful Swiss Alps when they are caught in a freak snowstorm. Fearing they may not survive, the couple are overjoyed when they stumble across an isolated cabin occupied by a lone woman, Annalise.

There are lots of twists and turns. I loved the tenacity of Bonnie and her determination to escape her situation. Annalise was a creepy, frightening character but Jessica Huntley somehow made her sympathetic.

Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie 

General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction

A hugely powerful book which looks at influence and power from different angles. Set during the Edinburgh Festival, culture critic Alex Lyons and his colleague Sophie, the narrator, are busily reviewing shows. Alex, noted for his brutal reviews, awards 1 star and gives an excoriating review of a one-woman event. He then goes to a bar, sees the performer, Hayley, and they end up sleeping together, although she doesn't know who he is. 

The fallout, with Hayley changing the name of her show to "The Alex Lyons Experience," and enrolling other women to relate stories of how coldly Alex treated them, is the main theme of the book. But there are numerous other talking points. The nature of journalism in these times of influencers and social media commentators. "Nepo babies" (Alex is the son of a famous actress). The role of a critic. The life of a career woman (Sophie) who feels torn by having a child, and resentful of her husband. Thoroughly enjoyed this insightful, biting read. It would be an excellent book for a book club.

The Last One by H Pearce

Novellas & Short Stories | Romance | Women's Fiction

On the surface it looks like a story of missed opportunities, a man and woman attracted to each other but circumstances never being right for a relationship to develop. But it' s far more than that. Daisy marries a military man somewhat impulsively and finds out he has sustained devastating injuries in an IED attack. The story examines duty, love and loyalty: a woman's need to pick up the pieces, no matter the cost to her. From the initial premise of a superficial meet cute that never goes anywhere, The Last One delivers a powerful punch and stayed with me.

Are You Awake? by Sarah Crossan 

Computers & Technology | General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction

Dolores appears capable and tough to those around her. The sort of woman who isn't needy and props everyone else up. But Dolores doesn't feel very much, and hasn't had any deep or meaningful conversations with her husband or dysfunctional family for a while. Her sister moved to New York and has no intention of returning. Her husband, it transpires, has a new companion, Zoey, who lives in the garage.

Avoiding spoilers means I must tiptoe around the main plot. It's an unusual storyline and very thought provoking. 

There's a big reveal as to why Dolores is the way she is at 97% of the book. Everything slots into place. I loved it.

NON-FICTION

100 Secret Walks by by Patrick Kinsella; National Trust Books, Health, Mind & Body | Outdoors & Nature | Travel

This lavishly illustrated book has some wonderful walks across the UK. How about a walk through an abandoned village?  Or seeing some hidden waterfalls? Or, the most desirable of all, a walk on a secret beach?

The book is dedicated to the author's wife and daughters, "whose delight at finding small secrets and hidden treasure while walking gives me all the reason I need to keep exploring."

Most of the walks ramble across the 250,000+ hectares of land owned by the National Trust, which includes over 780 miles of coastline. Genuinely remote sites include Worm's Head in Wales, which can only be accessed at low tide, and islands that have been deliberately hidden from view for decades,  such as Divis and the Black Mountains above Belfast.

There are also some gems in the middle of major cities, including a disused railway viaduct that has been transformed into a sky garden high above Manchester, and an East London building that started life as a Tudor mansion and was saved from destruction by punk era squatters  (I've been to that one!). 

One walk in Cornwall has several surprises: a nuclear bunker, a secret beach, one of Britain's best Bronze Age barrows, and the largest grave in Europe, containing the remains of sailors shipwrecked nearby.

I hope you found something of interest in my July reads. I'd love to know which book(s) in particular grabbed your attention. Do tell in the comments. 

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