Cold Sunset by William Boyd

1 Comment

This is the third of William Boyd’s novels featuring travel writer turned spy Gabriel Dax. If you haven’t read the first two, Gabriel’s Moon and The Predicament, I highly recommend you do so as it will make this book much easier to follow – and they are both excellent books in their own right, so you won’t regret it.

Cold Sunset opens in 1964 with Gabriel in California where he has been instructed by MI6 to make contact with poet Francis Falkner who says he suspects his former Bletchley Park colleague, Angus Fairford, of passing information to the Russians during the war. As always, Gabriel feels uncomfortable with this kind of task and would prefer to spend his time in America researching his new book, but by now he’s so deeply entangled with his double life and the requests of his M16 handler Faith Green that he doesn’t know how to get out of it.

After returning to England (and dealing with the reappearance of a villain from the previous book who comes looking for revenge), Gabriel finds himself sent on yet another mission, this time to Russia to help exfiltrate Kit Caldwell, a triple agent who is trapped in Moscow. Gabriel has successfully managed to convince Russia’s KGB that he himself is a secret agent working for them but how much longer will he be able to keep up this pretence?

Since starting this series I’ve been particularly intrigued by Gabriel’s relationship with Faith Green. Her true motives have never been clear: Gabriel is infatuated with her, but does she really have feelings for him or is she just using him for her own purposes? I’ve never trusted her at all but Gabriel seems to trust her completely, which is quite frustrating! Even when slight doubts creep into his mind, he never acts on them. However, Boyd does a great job of keeping us wondering exactly what she’s up to and whether she’s really the person Gabriel thinks she is. I’d hoped for some answers to my questions in this book, as I believed it would be the last one – although now I’m not so sure.

Another thing I love about these books is the range of interesting locations Gabriel visits. The settings for the previous books included the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala and Berlin; in this one, he finally makes his long-awaited trip to Russia, where the novel’s most dramatic scenes take place, and there’s also a section set on a Greek island. Although Gabriel finds that his travel writing usually has to take second place to his spying, we do still hear a lot about the books he’s working on and they actually sound fascinating – I wish they were real! His current project is On the Beaten Track, which looks at famous tourist attractions from unusual perspectives, and his next book, The Job, will explore people in different countries working in the same three basic jobs.

As for William Boyd’s own next book, who knows? This has been marketed as a trilogy but it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, with some key plot points still unresolved. Maybe we’re supposed to draw our own conclusions or maybe the door has been left open for more Gabriel Dax novels – if so I will definitely be reading them.

Thanks to Viking for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.

Six Degrees of Separation: From The Matchbox Girl to Ace, King, Knave

33 Comments

It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.

This month Kate has said that we should start with either our book group’s current read or the book we’re currently reading. I’m not in a book group so it has to be the latter for me. I actually put this chain together in the last week of August (I like to prepare it in advance), so I used the book I was reading at that time, which was The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly.

The Matchbox Girl won this year’s Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. It’s set in Nazi controlled Vienna and is narrated by Adelheid Brunner, a girl with autism who collects matchboxes.

I’m using collections as my first link. The Collector of Dying Breaths by MJ Rose (1) is set in the 16th century at the court of Catherine de’ Medici and follows a perfumer who believes he can capture a person’s dying breath in a bottle and use it to reanimate their soul. An interesting and unusual book, but it’s the sixth in a series and I think I really needed to have read the others first.

The author of my next book shares a name with the previous one: she’s Rose Tremain, whose novel Restoration (2) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1989. It’s another historical novel, this time set at the court of Charles II, where physician Robert Merivel comes to the king’s attention after tending to his spaniels and later becomes embroiled in his love affairs. I enjoyed the book but preferred the sequel.

The winner of that same year’s Booker Prize was The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (3). I loved this book, which is narrated by an elderly butler, Stevens, reminiscing about his career in the service of Lord Darlington of Darlington Hall. Stevens is played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1993 adaptation.

One of Hopkins’ earliest roles was Richard the Lionheart in The Lion in Winter. Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for the same film for her portrayal of Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor’s story has been told in many novels, including The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick (4), the first part of an excellent trilogy taking us through the whole of Eleanor’s life.

The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay (5) shares a word in the title – but this time, it’s not about a real queen. The ‘Queen of Fives’ is a title given to Quinn Le Blanc, the leader of a London network of con artists. This was an entertaining read and I’ve actually just finished Alex Hay’s new one, The Midnight Guests, which was also fun.

My final link is to another book with playing cards on the cover. Ace, King, Knave by Maria McCann (6) is also a similar sort of novel, with two young women becoming embroiled in a world of thieves, pickpockets, gamblers and grave robbers. I really enjoyed this book but had forgotten all about it until putting this chain together!

~

And that’s my chain for September! My links have included: collectors, the name Rose, the 1989 Booker Prize, Anthony Hopkins, the word Queen and playing cards.

In October we’ll be starting with Life of M by Rachel Cusk.

The Heiress of Northanger Abbey by Nancy Bilyeau

17 Comments

Although I like Jane Austen’s novels, I’ve never had much interest in reading any of the many sequels, prequels or retellings written by other authors. However, I’ve read and enjoyed all of Nancy Bilyeau’s other books, so was happy to give this one a chance. As the title suggests, it’s inspired by Northanger Abbey, not my favourite Austen novel (that would be Persuasion), but one that I found entertaining and amusing. Those of you who have read it will remember that the heroine, Catherine Morland, is obsessed with Gothic novels; The Heiress of Northanger Abbey pays tribute to this with plenty of Gothic touches of its own!

The novel opens twenty-two years after the events of Northanger Abbey. Catherine has settled into married life as the wife of clergyman Henry Tilney and they have two daughters, Phoebe and Susan. Seventeen-year-old Phoebe, the eldest, is away from home accompanying her uncle and aunt, Frederick and Aurelia Tilney, who have gone to Bath to take the healing waters. Catherine is aware that as Frederick and Aurelia have no children of their own, they are considering making Phoebe their heiress, which means she would eventually inherit Northanger Abbey. However, in the 19th century being an heiress can be dangerous – as Catherine herself discovered twenty-two years earlier when a misunderstanding made her the target of fortune hunters John and Isabella Thorpe.

Catherine’s sister-in-law Eleanor Granville has come to visit for a few days with her children and Catherine offers to read Phoebe’s latest letter from Bath to them. She’s horrified when Phoebe mentions that the Thorpes are in Bath and that John Thorpe has suggested Phoebe go out riding with his son, Jack. Have Isabella and John set their sights on Phoebe and her possible fortune this time? Leaving eleven-year-old Susan in Eleanor’s care, Catherine heads straight for Bath to investigate – but is she right to distrust the Thorpes or is she just letting her imagination run wild again?

I really enjoyed this book, despite my usual aversion to Austen sequels. If you’ve never read Northanger Abbey, I don’t think that would be a problem at all; Bilyeau doesn’t just assume that you’ve read it and provides enough background information to make it easy to follow what’s happening and to understand Catherine’s history with the Thorpes. The writing style and use of language aren’t exact imitations of Austen’s, but still feel appropriate for the time period and the book can easily be read as an entertaining novel in its own right.

I loved the way we are kept guessing, at least for a while, about whether Catherine is correct about the Thorpes and Phoebe really is the target of their schemes or whether Catherine is judging them based on their actions all those years ago rather than the people they are now. I had my opinion and was proved right, but the story could have gone in different directions and been just as interesting. My favourite thing about the book, though, was the way Bilyeau uses Gothic elements to create suspense and atmosphere: a beautiful heiress who is (possibly) in danger; a mysterious villain; a lonely house on the moors; noises at night; and plenty of discussion of various Gothic novels, particularly John Polidori’s The Vampyre, published the year before the book is set.

My favourite Nancy Bilyeau novels are still the Genevieve Planché thrillers (beginning with The Blue), but this one was also very enjoyable and I’m happy to recommend it, whether or not you’re an Austen fan.

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book for review.

I’m linking this to RIPXXI hosted by @perilreaders

The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry

8 Comments

Close to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, there’s a stream known as Meggie’s Dene Burn. According to legend it’s named after Old Meg, a witch who lived in the area in the 17th century and whose burial site is said to be marked by a pink thorn tree. When Violet Marsh, the modern day heroine of Kirsty Ferry’s The Snow Witch, comes to Hadrian’s Wall to research her new book on the Newcastle Witch Trials, it’s Meg’s story that she finds most captivating. Basing herself near the village of Newbrough, Violet sets out to discover the truth about Meg, who she was and how she died.

The story of Meg Noble unfolds alongside Violet’s and the first thing we learn is that she isn’t old. When we first meet her in 1650, she’s a young woman who has inherited her grandmother’s gift of creating herbal remedies which she uses to help the people of Newbrough. She’s aware that fifteen people have been executed in the recent witch trials just a short journey away in Newcastle and, although she doesn’t really expect the witchfinder to come to Newbrough, she can’t help feeling uneasy. Her childhood nickname, a reference to her white blonde hair, is the Snow Witch, and she worships regularly at the well of the goddess Coventina, both things that could count against her if things go wrong…

Like Ferry’s previous book, The Witch’s Stone, this is a dual timeline novel where the two narratives become more and more entwined with each other as the story progresses and the characters begin to slip between time. There’s a strong supernatural element as Violet and Meg each become aware of the other’s presence despite being separated by centuries and Violet starts to see scenes from the past play out in front of her almost as if they were really happening. However, although I did like this book, I felt that it was very, very similar to The Witch’s Stone, even in the way the time periods merge together, and I think if I hadn’t already read that other book just a few months ago I would probably have enjoyed this one more.

Meg’s story is tragic and moving, especially when you remember that it’s based on historical fact; whether or not there really was a woman known as Old Meg who was executed for witchcraft in Newbrough, we do know that many other women (and some men) really did face this fate. I was frustrated with Meg’s naivety in thinking that the witchfinders wouldn’t come for her and wished she had just run away from the village, but I suppose then there would have been no story! In the modern day, I enjoyed watching Violet unearthing information about Meg, helped by her partner, history teacher Jake, who turns up unexpectedly, and another man, Ollie, who is in the area researching his family tree. All three become emotionally invested in Meg’s story, in one way or another.

I loved the setting of the book; I have visited some parts of Hadrian’s Wall but not the place where Meg supposedly lived. I was particularly interested by the inclusion of Coventina’s Well, as I recently read about Coventina and her links with water and healing in No Fair Maidens by Kim Willis, a book about ancient British goddesses. It seems that Kirsty Ferry will be writing more books about historical witches: her next one, The Witch of the Solstice is advertised for February 2027 and I’ll be looking out for it.

Thanks to Boldwood Books for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.

The dark atmosphere, witch trial theme and supernatural aspects meet the requirements of RIPXXI, I think!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Nationalities In The Title

9 Comments

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is: “Books With Nationalities In The Title” (submitted by Cathy @What Cathy Read Next)

I’ve managed to find ten different nationalities and also had English, Persian and French as options which I didn’t use. These are all books I’ve read and written about on my blog – I’ve linked to my reviews if you’d like to read my thoughts.

1. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer

2. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

3. The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley

4. The Greek House by Dinah Jefferies

5. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim

6. The Irish Princess by Elizabeth Chadwick

7. Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

8. The American Boy by Andrew Taylor

9. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

10. The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter

~

Have you read any of these? Which other books with nationalities in the title can you think of?

My Commonplace Book: August 2026

13 Comments

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent August’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?

Othello by William Shakespeare (1603)

~

‘Cornelius might well have done that,’ Bodkin revises, looking up at the vicar. ‘Folk are like books written in another language. I know them by their cover but can’t always fathom what’s inside.’

Little Spark by Jess Kidd (2026)

~

The world in which we live is one of error and mistake. Rumours break like waves in some nameless river, dappling our sleeves with falsehood.

Troubled Waters by Ichiyō Higuchi (1893-95)

~

Bas-relief of the goddess Coventina (Robert Charles Hope, 1893)

‘I know! Roman tombstones in an Abbey, a gaol made out of bricks from a Roman fort – and a witch held there before her trial. This place is amazing. It’s like around every corner, there’s a new “old” thing to discover, and they’re all connected.’

The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry (2026)

~

‘I think’ he said, ‘you will be surprised. They love you, and if we love someone then we want what’s best for them, not for us. Tell them, don’t be frightened of it.’

The Curse of the Saltmarsh Girl by Clare Marchant (2026)

~

I have been told I tend to overthink things. Well I have known enough people to underthink things and could put a little more thought in their decisions.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (2026)

~

“Time goes a different pace in different places. Some places you come back to, and you feel that time has been busting along at a terrific rate and that all sorts of things will have happened – and changed.”

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie (1968)

~

Only looking at me with Searching Eyes and saying: Such vast Questions. Of course, you must appreciate that we can never know all the Answers. However, I feel that the Questions themselves are most important. Would you not agree?

The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly (2025)

~

Joan of Kent (from The Benefactors’ Book of St Albans Abbey)

She wanted to believe them but knew with her logical mind that tales were spun for gold every day. Did she really want to know if there was heartbreak and disaster in her future? Was it better to live as a butterfly and not know that winter was on its way?

The Crownless Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick (2026)

~

‘I know exactly what you mean,’ Gabriel said. ‘It’s unimaginable if you project, or revisit or posit it – your recent history, I mean. No, no, inconceivable – not me, I could never have done that. But when you have done it, when it has happened, it just becomes experience. Something that you lived through.’

Cold Sunset by William Boyd (2026)

~

I feel a bit exhausted and then decide I don’t have to be in a rush. I don’t have to physically go anywhere anyway. I can travel through time and space just by lying down on my sofa if I have the right book in my hand.

The Agatha Christie Cure by Cathy Rentzenbrink (2026)

~

The example par excellence is the commonplace book: a notebook kept by every Tudor grammar school pupil, and many adults, to record pithy phrases and useful sayings for later deployment in personal letters, or professional text such as sermons.

The Story of Tudor Art by Christina J Faraday (2025)

~

Favourite books read in August:

Little Spark, The Calamity Club and Cold Sunset

Authors read for the first time in August:

Ichiyō Higuchi, Christina J. Faraday, Alice Jolly, Cathy Rentzenbrink

Places visited in my August reading:

Italy, Cyprus, England, Japan, USA, France, Austria, Russia, Greece

~

Reading notes: My August reading mainly focused on trying to finish the 20 Books of Summer challenge, which I successfully did! If you missed my summary, here it is. I’m pleased I was able to make one of my 20 books count towards Women in Translation month. In addition to the challenge books, I also read a few others which I haven’t written about yet – Othello was a re-read and I’m intending to follow it up soon with two modern retellings I have on the TBR.

I’ve already discussed some of my plans for September which include taking part in RIP XXI and Short Story September. I also need to read my book for the latest Classics Club Spin, The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, so it’s going to be a busy month!

Have you read any of these? Which quote is your favourite this month?

The end of 20 Books of Summer – and September plans

27 Comments

With August almost at an end, that means this year’s 20 Books of Summer challenge (hosted by Annabel of AnnaBookBel) is also nearly over, so let’s take a look at how I did. I’m pleased to say that for the second year in a row I completed the challenge with a few days to spare!

I had listed 10 books in advance for the challenge and managed to read all of them:

1. The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
2. The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott
3. By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
4. The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden
5. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
6. The Lost Château by Dinah Jefferies
7. This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint
8. The Crownless Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick
9. No Fair Maidens by Kim Willis
10. This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz

I left the other 10 slots on my list blank so I could choose the books as I went along. My only self-imposed rule was that they needed to have already been on my TBR prior to the start of the challenge otherwise they wouldn’t count. Here’s what I decided to read:

11. A Far-flung Life by ML Stedman
12. Gigi and The Cat by Colette
13. She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
14. The Kill by Émile Zola
15. The Scandalous Ladies Football Club by Frances Quinn
16. The Boleyn Secret by Alison Weir
17. The Forever Summer by Lulu Taylor
18. Troubled Waters by Ichiyō Higuchi
19. The Story of Tudor Art by Christina J Faraday
20. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly

I enjoyed all of these books, some more than others, and am particularly happy that I was able to include three non-fiction books, which is a part of my reading that I often neglect.

~

The end of summer always means the start of one of my favourite reading events of the year: the RIP challenge, which is now in its 21st year. It now takes place mostly on Instagram, where it’s hosted by @perilreaders, but a lot of bloggers still join in and it’s something I always look forward to as the idea is simply to spend September and October reading mysteries, Gothic novels, ghost stories or anything else suitably dark and atmospheric! I’m not planning to make a list that I need to stick to, but here are some possible options:

Books for the Read Christie challenge:
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (September)
Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie (October)

On my NetGalley shelf for September/October:
Murder on the Haunted Express by Emma Mason
The Scholars by MacKenzie Common
The Well by Elizabeth Jolley
The Riptide by Gareth Rubin
The Witch Elm by Sally-Anne Martyn

Some others I would like to get to:
The Clock House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Catching a Killer by FH Petford
Strange Buildings by Uketsu

~

Another event taking place in September is Short Story September, hosted by Bookish Beck. I’ll probably only have time to read one book for this, but here are a few short story collections I have that would also work for RIP:

By Horror Haunted by Celia Fremlin
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by MR James
Grim Tales by E Nesbit
The Haunting Season by various authors

Always good if you can make a book count for more than one challenge!

~

How has your summer been? If you took part in 20 Books of Summer, have you completed it yet or are you still working on it? And do you have any plans for your September reading?