Blogger-Inspired Wishlist is a
feature where I post recent additions to my wish list, which had been inspired
by reviews from my fellow bloggers. It includes some synopsis, as well as some
excerpts of the review which have intrigued me, complete with a link to the
blogger's original post.This episode is supposed to be up
last month, but as I’ve been busy due to my father’s death, I can only publish
this today. These eight interesting books have been inspired by some bloggers I’ve
been following. Some are nice literary fictions, and the rest are murder mystery
novels. Hope you enjoy it!
The Bangalore Detective Club by
Harini Nagendra
Synopsis:
When clever, headstrong Kaveri
moves to Bangalore to marry handsome young doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself
to a quiet life. But that all changes the night of
the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace
and quiet—and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour
later, the party turns into a murder scene. When a vulnerable woman is
connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a
private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious
brothel to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari
isn't as hard as it seems when you have a talent for mathematics, a head for
logic, and a doctor for a husband . . .
From Cath's review:
"
Cozy isn't always my thing
but I found the depiction of 1920s Bangalore to be absolutely fascinating. The
author is Indian and lives there and this 'really' shows as we gets a warts and
all description of a very crowded city with a lot of poverty. I liked Kaveri
who breaks all the rules about where she can go and what she can do as the wife
of a quite well to do doctor. Said husband is a great character too, a man who
appreciates his intelligent wife even if she can't cook. The neighbour, Uma
Aunty, who aids and abets Kaveri and teaches her to cook in exchange for reading
lessons is brilliant too and there's a very rich and varied cast of other well
drawn extras. I did not guess the culprit until nearly the end as the whole
thing was quite complicated. I liked this a 'lot'."
Five Quarters of the Orange by
Joanne Harris
Synopsis:
When Framboise Simon returns to a
small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the
daughter of the infamous Mirabelle Dartigen - the woman they still hold
responsible for a terrible tragedy that took place during the German occupation
decades before. Although Framboise hopes for a new beginning she quickly
discovers that past and present are inextricably intertwined. Nowhere is this
truth more apparent than in the scrapbook of recipes she has inherited from her
dead mother. With this book, Framboise
re-creates her mother's dishes, which she serves in her small creperie. And yet
as she studies the scrapbook - searching for clues to unlock the contradiction
between her mother's sensuous love of food and often cruel demeanor - she
begins to recognize a deeper meaning behind Mirabelle's cryptic scribbles.
Within the journal's tattered pages lies the key to what actually transpired
the summer Framboise was nine years old.
From Davida's review:
"
Harris has a writing style
that feels like the writer is chatting with you. It’s almost as if an old friend
has come to visit and has begun to tell you a slice of their life, in a
nostalgic manner.
To my mind, Five Quarters is the
best of these three (although not my favorite Joanne Harris book), with the
most well rounded and developed characters, the most involved but
comprehensible plot and the most charmingly delicious descriptions of culinary
designs, yet. In short, I highly recommend this book and give it a rating of
four and a half stars out of five!"
Apricot Sky by Ruby Ferguson
Synopsis:
“I’m haunted by an awful dread,”
said Raine. “It was a wedding Mysie once went to. The bridegroom never turned
up and the bride swooned at the altar.” “Have you practised swooning?” It’s
1948 in the Scottish Highlands, with postwar austerity and rationing in full
effect, but Mr. and Mrs. MacAlvey and their family and friends are too
irrepressibly cheerful to let it get them down. There’s Raine, newly engaged to
the brother of a local farmer, and Cleo, just back from three years in the
States, along with their brother James, married to neurotic Trina, who smothers
their two oversheltered children. There are also three MacAlvey grandchildren,
orphaned in the war, whose hilarious mishaps keep everyone on their toes. There
are wedding preparations, visits from friends, an adventurous hike, and
frustrated romance. But really the plot of the novel is, simply, life, as lived
by irresistible characters with humour, optimism, and affection.
From Davida's review:
"
This is truly a fun novel,
and one that is very sweet (without being saccharine), and richly written with
poetic adulation for this spectacularly special land that only a true
Scotswoman could imbue.
The highly poetic descriptions of
the sea side, and the islands, and the lands, and the homes themselves, are so
lovingly written, it is hard to not ache to be there to see it ourselves. Even
bad weather and annoying midges don’t seem to tarnish her adoration in the
least. For nothing else, this would be an excellent reason to read this book,
to get a taste of Scotland or be reminded of its beauty."
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna
Raybourn
Synopsis:
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and
Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty
years. But now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates
their real-world resourcefulness in an age of technology. When the foursome is sent on an
all-expenses-paid trip to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of
their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the
termination of field agents, and the women realise they've been marked for death. To get out alive they have to turn
against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the
job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival.
They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman - and a
killer - of a certain age.
From Cath's review:
"
I liked this without
actually loving it. It was a fun, if slightly unlikely, romp which took me on a
mad jaunt to various countries. I imagined Helen Mirren leading this disparate,
motley bunch of four oap assassins, one of their partners, and a computer nerd.
I didn't find characterisation to be that strong, the women blended a bit too
much into one person sort of thing, not much to tell them apart. But it was
fine and I did actually enjoy it."
Minor Disturbances at Grand Life
Apartments by Hema Sukumar
Synopsis:
Grand Life Apartments is a
middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of
Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be retired dentist
who spends her days counting down to the annual visits from her daughter who is
studying in the UK. Her neighbour, Revathi, is a thirty-two-year-old engineer
who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date
in the arranged marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved
to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London. The residents have their own
complicated lives to navigate, but what they all have in common is their love
of where they live, so when a developer threatens to demolish the apartments
and build over the gardens, the community of Grand Life Apartments are brought
even closer together to fight for their beautiful home...
Simon's post which has intrigued
me in the first place.
Mr Kato Plays Family by Milena
Michiko Flasar
Synopsis:
Mr Katō―a curmudgeon and recent
retiree―finds his only solace during his daily walks, where he wonders how his
life went wrong and daydreams about getting a dog (which his wife won’t allow).
During one of these walks, he is approached by a young woman. She calls herself
Mie, and invites him to join her business Happy Family, where employees act as
part-time relatives or acquaintances for clients in need, for whatever reason,
if only for a day. At first reluctant, but then
intrigued, he takes the job without telling his wife or adult children. Through
the many roles he takes on, Mr Katō rediscovers the excitement and spontaneity
of life, and re-examines his role in his own family. Using lessons learned with
his “play families,” he strives to reconnect with his loved ones, to become the
father and husband they deserve, and to live the life he’s always wanted.
From Davida's review:
"
In this book, some parts of
some of the conversations are described rather than being written out as
dialogue. So, for example, instead of writing something like ‘She asked him
“did you see that dog?”’ you have something like ‘she asks him if he saw the
dog.’ These are interspersed with regularly defined dialogue, and sometimes
included parts of a conversation that Katō is just thinking about, or wants to
say, but doesn’t articulate out loud. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t confusing,
nor is it distracting. Instead, it gives this whole book a more inward-looking
feel to it, where what we are witnessing is more about Katō’s thought processes
than his actions. ...very, VERY warmly recommend it for lovers of literary
fiction who like a good, slightly unusual, somewhat twisty, character-driven
novel."
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen
Cambridge
Synopsis:
Colleen Cambridge's charming and
inventive new historical series introduces an unforgettable heroine in Phyllida
Bright, fictional housekeeper for none other than famed mystery novelist Agatha
Christie. When a dead body is found during a house party at the home of Agatha
Christie and her husband Max Mallowan, it's up to famous author's head of
household, Phyllida Bright, to investigate...
Rekha's post which has intrigued
me in the first place
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
Synopsis:
Mrs. King is no ordinary
housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself
respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with
treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in
the shadows. When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed
from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in
revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate
for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s
predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance. Their plan? On the night of the
house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the
year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the
distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs.
King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…
From Margaret's review:
"
The Housekeepers builds
slowly. Secrets are revealed like foil peeled off of chocolate. It takes time
to get to the heist itself, though watching these women work is a lot of fun.
The biggest weakness of the book, perhaps, is how little we get to know the
women themselves. While each have moments of inner reflection, none are fully
fleshed out before the book ends. It can leave the reader wishing they knew
Mrs. King better – but happy to be along for the ride she carefully
crafted."
Have you own/read these books? If you haven't, which
book appeals to you most? For me, it's perhaps
Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments, just because I myself live in a middle-class apartment building, and I think I'd be able to relate a lot with it. Hopefully!
You might want to check:
Previous episodes of Blogger-Inspired Wishlist
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