The Content Reader

Another excellent book from my own shelves, The Book of Secrets by Tom Harper. It just shows how many good books are hiding there. The book covers two separate stories, one in the past and one in the present. This structure I find very appealing, maybe because I love historical fiction. It is a mystery and thriller and it holds you captured to the very end. "In a snowbound village in the German mountains, a young woman discovers an extraordinary secret. Before she can reveal it, she disappears. All that survives is a picture of a mysterious medieval playing card that has perplexed scholars for centuries.  Nick Ash does research for the FBI in New York. Six months ago his girlfriend Gilliam walked out and broke his heart. Now he's the only person who can save her - if it's not too late. Within hours of getting her message Nick finds himself on the run, delving deep into the past before it catches up with him.  Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian's trail int...

This week's book is one that I have had for quite some time on my shelves, The Book of Secrets  by Tom Harper. The back cover summary tells a story that is exactly my cup of tea. "In a snowbound village in the German mountains, a young woman discovers an extraordinary secret. Before she can reveal it, she disappears. All that survives is a picture of a mysterious medieval playing card that has perplexed scholars for centuries.   Nick Ash does research for the FBI in New York. Six months ago his girlfriend Gilliam walked out and broke his heart. Now he's the only person who can save her - if it's not too late. Within hours of getting her message Nick finds himself on the run, delving deep into the past before it catches up with him.   Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian's trail into the heart of a 500-year-old mystery. But across the centuries, powerful forces are closing around him. There are men who have devoted their lives to keeping the secr...

At the recent Book Fair I tried to be very selective and not buy too many books, considering I am moving, and my shelves are already overburdened! I did come out with four books, which is far less than usual. Apart from one author, Karin Fossum, they are all new to me. Here they are with blurbs from the back cover. A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly The short review from Sunday Telegraph on the back cover, made me buy this book: "If George Clooney had walked into the room I would have told him to come back later when I'd finished". Must be a good read I would say! " Based on a real murder at the turn of the century, this outstanding debut novel is a powerful and moving coming-of-age book. Mattie is torn between her familial responsibilities, her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance. Her dilemmas and choices are quietly reflected in the life of a young woman found drowned in a lake, a woman that Mattie only gets to know through ...