Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 3

The unspeakable acts of Zina Pavlou (by Eleni Kyriacou)

(Amazon UK link) I didn’t know anything about Eleni Kyriacou, except that she is a British Cypriot. And I definitely would not have picked up her book ‘The unspeakable acts of Zina Pavlou’ under normal circumstances. But it was allocated for the August novel in our local reading group, so I downloaded it for my Kindle a few months ago when it was on special offer. 
I knew that this novel was based on a true and rather horrific story. Apparently, back in the 1950s, a Cypriot grandmother visiting he...

Ellie and the harpmaker (by Hazel Prior)

(Amazon UK link) I met Hazel Prior briefly, over ten years ago, at an annuel writing conference which we were both attending for the first time. I haven't been back, and my writing has mainly been limited to blogging in the past decade. But she has published several novels. When I saw some of them available inexpensively for the Kindle, I bought them, and decided to read one of them on recent travels.
I had thought, based on the cover, that ‘Ellie and the Harpmaker’ would be a children’s book. But...

To the manor born - book 2 (by Peter Spence)

(Amazon UK link) About a month ago I read the first ‘To the manor born’ book by Peter Spence. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed the television series - one which we must remember to watch again soon, as we have the complete DVD set. Since I had the sequel to the book, simply called ‘To the manor born (book 2)’, I decided to read that over the past couple of days.
It’s essentially more of the same, continuing the ongoing feud between Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and Richard deVere. Richard is now est...

The cactus stabbers (by Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link) I’ve collected quite a few books by Jeff Lucas over the years. He was originally British, but worked for many years as a pastor in an American church. He’s now retired. I like his writing very much. He includes anecdotes, many of which show up his faults and weaknesses. But he also includes thought-provoking comments and Bible teaching that’s relevant to 21st century readers.
I first read ‘The cactus stabbers’ in 2016. It’s a short book, and I couldn’t remember anything about it. ...

Accomplice of love (by Titia Sutherland)

(Amazon UK link) It’s a long time since I read the novels by Titia Sutherland, which I acquired close to twenty-five years ago. It’s a pity her books were out of print even then, as her writing was excellent. She wrote just six books in all, with interesting, believable characters and a style of expression that reminds me, on occasion, of Susan Howatch. 
It’s over twenty years since I read ‘Accomplice of love’. So, inevitably, I had forgotten everything about it. And it has a slightly unusual form...

Prince Caspian (by CS Lewis)

(Amazon UK link) I’m glad I decided to reread the Narnia series by CS Lewis. It was long overdue. Since I’m familiar with the books, I didn’t read them in publication order, which is recommended for the first time of reading. Instead, I’ve been reading them with Narnian chronology in mind. So I reread ‘The magician’s nephew’ in April, ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ in May and ‘The horse and his boy’ in June. 
I’m very surprised to find that I hadn’t read the next book in the series, Prince...

Dreaming of flight (by Catherine Ryan Hyde)

(Amazon UK link) I have liked all the books I’ve read so far by Catherine Ryan Hyde. So from time to time I put a couple more on my wishlist. I was given ‘Dreaming of flight’ for my birthday two years ago, but have a lot of books on my to-be-read shelf. So I’ve only just read it in the past few days.
What an excellent book it is, too. There are two main characters, and the chapters alternate between them. The first one we meet is Stewie. He’s eleven years old when we meet him in the first part of ...

A week in winter (by Maeve Binchy)

(Amazon UK link) I have thoroughly enjoyed re-reading the late Maeve Binchy’s novels over the past eighteen months or so. And in the past few days I have re-read her last novel, ‘A week in winter’, which I first read in 2015. I had, unsurprisingly, forgotten everything about it.
It’s written, as so many of this author’s books were, as a series of interconnected short stories, each one featuring a different character.  The first person we meet is a young woman known to all as Chicky. She grew up on...

The very worst missionary (by Jamie Wright)

(Amazon UK link) Years ago, I used to follow a blog called ‘Jamie: the very worst missionary’. It was honest, refreshing and extremely well-written. About a year ago I realised I had not seen any new posts from it, and discovered that it had been deactivated. But I also discovered that the author, Jamie Wright, had published a book of the same title. So I added it to my wishlist, and was given it for my birthday a few months ago. 
I had seen reviews saying that this book was ruined by foul languag...

Indigo's star (by Hilary McKay)

(Amazon UK link) I do like the books by Hilary McKay! She’s one of only a handful of modern children’s writers whose book I have recommended unreservedly. She writes with humour and poignancy, and creates memorable, realistic and likeable people.
‘Indigo’s Star’ is technically the second in the Casson family series, but third chronologically. I reread ‘Caddy’s world’ (the prequel) in May and ‘Saffy’s angel’ in June, so was looking forward to the next episode in the lives of this chaotic but lovabl...