Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

Book Description : In such a small community as the Falkland Islands, a missing child is unheard of. In such a dangerous landscape it can only be a terrible tragedy, surely...

When another child goes missing, and then a third, it’s no longer possible to believe that their deaths were accidental, and the villagers must admit that there is a murderer among them. Even Catrin Quinn, a damaged woman living a reclusive life after the accidental deaths of her own two sons a few years ago, gets involved in the searches and the speculation.

And suddenly, in this wild and beautiful place that generations have called home, no one feels safe and the hysteria begins to rise.

But three islanders—Catrin, her childhood best friend, Rachel, and her ex-lover Callum—are hiding terrible secrets. And they have two things in common: all three of them are grieving, and none of them trust anyone, not even themselves.

In Little Black Lies, her most shocking and engaging suspense novel to date, Sharon Bolton will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.

My thoughts : I was sent this book for review and I seemed to be so bogged down with books I'm ashamed to admit that Little Black Lies sat on my shelf for quite a while before I finally got round to reading it. Oh my word, I wish I had brushed the others to the side and read this as soon as got it. I loved it.

Set in the Falkland Islands this is a dark, emotional rollercoaster of a read that pulls at your heart strings and absorbs you completely. I've never read a book set in the Falkland Islands before and I was engrossed as you get a real feel for the place and also what it was like during the Falkland war. It sounds like a wonderful place.

Little Black Lies centres round Catrin, Rachel and Callum and told over 5 days, each of them being the narrator. I've found in some books I've read the jumping back and forth from characters can get a bit confusing but it's not done like that in this book and is just perfect and by the end you feel like you know each one of them personally.

I'm not going to say too much about the story as I want anyone who reads this review to be surprised and enjoy it as much as did. Its a fabulous intense psychological thriller about family, friendship, fear and heartbreak and it's a must read book you wont be able to put down. It's full off twists and turns right up to the last page and it will stay with you for a long time after you're finished reading.

Second Hand Jane by Michelle Vernal

Book Description : When footloose and fancy-free Jessica, a thirty-something writer, decides to follow her journalistic instincts and trace the story of a young girl for her weekly column in a Dublin newspaper, she unwittingly embarks on a journey into Northern Ireland’s tragic past.

With her love of all things vintage, Jessica Jane Baré is known as Second-hand Jane to her friends. Hailing from New Zealand, these days she’s finding the grass is greener in Dublin and not just because of all the rain. In fact, life would be sweet if it weren’t for the reason she left home in the first place–her meddling mother. Marian views Jess’s life in Dublin as nothing more than a stop-gap until she meets Mr Right and he’s taking his time. Things look set to change, however, when Jess meets the delectable Nick, who ticks all of Marian’s boxes.

In the meantime, Jess’s latest second-hand collectible–a children’s book—gives her an idea for her column. Deciding to track down the girl whose name is scribbled inside the cover of that book, she uncovers more than she ever expected. “Amy was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the girl’s taciturn brother, Owen, informs her. Intrigued, Jess travels to the family pig farm in County Down and listens to Amy’s poignant tale unfold through Owen. With a little help from a rather cute runt of the litter she names Wilbur, Jess is about to help put the past to rest and learn that appearances can be deceptive.

Then Marian announces she is coming to Dublin to sort her daughter’s increasingly tangled love life out and Jess’s chance of a happy ending like those in the story books she collects looks about as likely as Wilbur flying.

My thoughts :

First off I'd like to say a huge thank you to TBC on FB for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Second Hand Jane is a wonderful book, It's easy to read and so easy to get lost in. Jess the main character is a very likeable character, she's quirky and her love of second hand things is really nice. Especially the books, I love buying second hand books and often when I find a name inside I find myself wondering who the person is etc. Jess's two best friends are fab too in the story, Nora and Brianna are two very different characters but all three are fab together.

Marian, Jess's mum is quite funny and it was nice to see the relationship between her and her daughter and you could also feel the dread Jess felt when her mum announced she was coming to Dublin. I was reading and cringing at the thought.

I really enjoyed this book, the writing is lovely and the description through out made me want to jump on a ferry and go and visit Northern Ireland and find out more about the sad history of The Troubles. Also I have fallen head over heels in love with Wilbur the little piglet, I live on a farm so really a little piglet would just fit in ha ha.

A really enjoyable read and I highly recommend this book.