What We're Reading - August



August has been a funny month weather wise, lots of rain, that meant less time spent gardening and more time spent reading!

If you're already a fan of Harlan Coben then I recommend that you read  Just One Look, I've read  four of his books so far (there are many more waiting on the bookshelf thanks so a special Amazon promotion recently) and I enjoyed this one the most.
When Grace Lawson stops by the Photomat one afternoon, before doing the school run, she gets more than the happy snaps of her family's trip to the cider orchard than she expected.
Inside the pack is an unexplained photograph of a group of college students, one of which could be her husband, Jack.
When confronted with the photograph her husband denies all knowledge of it, later that night he get's into his car and disappears.
A great read, the pace is fast and grips you from the start.
Grace is an unlikely heroine but she will do anything to find Jack and to save her children from the sinister hit man, Eric Wu.
Along the way she uncovers not only her husband's past but also sheds light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding her own near fatal accident at a rock concert several years previously.
Mermaids In The Basement, my third Michael Lee West book, was a light and easy read. Full of great female characters oozing Southern charm and hospitality, and with a few great recipes thrown in for good measure.
The Last Apache Girl  by Jim Fergus is set in during the Depression era and tells the story of Ned who's father committed suicide when his business failed.
After his fathers suicide Ned drops out of his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago and  with the insurance money buys an expensive camera to indulge his love of photography.
Whilst working part time at the Chicago Raquet Club, he hears about The Great Apache Expedition which will leave Douglas, Arizona on April 1, 1932 to search for a young Mexican boy who had been stolen by Apache Indians some years before.
Knowing that he cannot expect to join the expedition as a "gentleman" he drives across country in his father's Roadster and manages to sign on as the expedition photographer.
The Last Apache Girl is based on historical fact.
The Rocky Mountain News said:
"History, romance and enough adventure to make us wish by the closing chapter that the story didn't have to end quite yet", and I'd have to agree!
The Times called Trespass by Rose Tremain " Thrilling....a terrific book, accomplished and poised" .
It is a story of sibling love and rivalry; at the Mas Lunel an isolated stone farmhouse in the Cévennes
Aramon Lunel lives in squalor, whilst his sister Audrun lives in a shoddily built bungalow close by. There is something very sinister about their relationship, at first just hinted at but which is explained further as the story unfolds.
When Aramon announces that he plans to sell the Mas Lunel, to Anthony Verey, an English antiques dealer, Audrun's grasp on reality becomes ever more tenuous.
Anthony leaves his depressing life and failing business behind in London to visit his sister V a garden designer and her lover Kitty at their home in the Gard.
His arrival and decision to buy the Mas Lunel creates conflict not only between Aramon and Audrun but also between V and Kitty and sets into motion a terrible series of events which changes all their lives for ever.
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen was by far the book I enjoyed reading the most, this month.
It had been on my TBR list for ages so I was thrilled when my sister Kathryn brought it over for me in June.
I'm sure that most everyone else in the world has read WFE by now so you probably know the storyline.
Suffice it to say it was nothing like I expected to be, it was way better than that!

Joining Ricki Jill for the What We're Reading linky party tomorrow