My book list for May

 I'm not sure that I can call this a 'list' when there is only one title to include!  I don't know why I haven't read so much this month but here is the one book I finished

I downloaded this book as I wanted something nice and easy to read when we went away to Norfolk.  In the end I didn't get as much reading done as I expected as that Norfolk sea air made me so tired in the evenings I barely read a chapter a night.

This is the third in the Thursday Murder Club series and you do really need to have read the previous books to know the ins and outs of the characters who live Coopers Chase retirement home.  Although I had read the earlier books, it took me a couple of chapters to remember all the characteristics and personalities!  

The Thursday Murder Club are a group of elderly residents who try to solve cold cases and they are about to investigate the disappearance of a local news reporter who is assumed to have died after her car drove off the edge of a cliff ten years ago.  She was on the cusp of discovering the whereabouts of a large quantity of money involved in a fraud case and there were several suspects who may have wanted to stop her enquiries.  Although there are many clues to suggest she was murdered, her body has never been found and neither has the money.

Then, out of the blue, Elizabeth is contacted by someone from her past with the demand that either she kills someone on their behalf, or she will be killed herself.  

You do, of course, need to suspend belief that such things could happen to someone living in a retirement home but once the story becomes more intricate (and bearing in mind Elizabeth's past life of espionage!) you become caught up in the twists and turns of the story.  

I enjoyed reading this, and will definitely be reading the next in the series to see what crime they get involved in next. 

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My next book was a little different.  There is a series of Philly Barker books and I downloaded the first book in the hope that if I enjoyed it, there were more to come in the future!

Philly Barker is an antique dealer and has bought a 'lot' at a local auction mainly due to her eye being drawn to an old painting of Whitby.  Along with the painting was a box of odds and ends which she does not look at properly until she returns home.  Little does she know that her successful bid has included some items that have caught the attention of someone else who is desperate to obtain them.  Upon closer investigation into the painting and wooden box she finds documents which lead her to believe that these items should never have been taken to auction and that someone will be desperate to have them back.

After her dealership is broken into, Philly decides that there is more to this than meets the eye and that there must be something of value in her possession.  She joins forces with a local policeman to see if she can solve the mystery before anyone else is hurt.

This is a nice, cosy mystery.  Likeable characters and an intriguing storyline. I shall definitely be downloading the next book in the series!