Untitled by Pete Hartley

I don't think this will win any prizes for best book covers, but give it a chance as I did and you will be pleasantly surprised. 5 stars for plot and writing.
Click on the pic to take you to Amazon.

It’s an old cliché to say don’t judge a book by its cover. With the picture of a dark haired woman and untitled across the top, it looks a bit unfinished and could be the cover for anything. Nothing alludes to the rather clever and well worked out cold war thriller you will find inside. The reader is swept along by the mystery of an unnamed woman trying to trace her war time lover. But she knows virtually nothing about him. We learn of a rather sweet romance that could probably only have happened in war time, where fleeting moments were all important and couples rushed into engagements and marriage before the war would claim one of them. Gradually the plot turns more sinister as the woman now finds herself caught up in the dangerous world of cold war espionage.

The book is quite unusual both in its style and story line. The writer likes playing with various shades of grey and nothing is ever clear cut or seems as it appears. I enjoyed this and would recommend it to all lovers of spy thrillers, crime and something with a well thought out complex plot.

The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One: A ghostly, gloriously witty feel-good romance with a liberal dose of comedy by Audrey Davis

Firstly a Happy New Year to all my readers. 2018 seemed to have gone by in a blur. I didn't achieve much on either the writing or reading front. A more challenging job and a new hobby (Painting) has gotten in the way. Here to 2019 and a resolution to read more books.
So here is to the latest book review. A mild mannered and very British comedy. I gave it 4 stars mainly because it was only 90 long and I feel that the story barely got underway. I did buy part two already.

This is the first in a three book series and this darkly comedic story is certainly a good opener. Middle aged Hattie, her layabout adult son and soon to be deceased husband are all characters we can relate to. They are ordinary British people thrown into an unusual situation and dealing with it as best as they can and with a good bit of humour. It was a fun read and I’m keen to snap up part 2 and 3; as there are still a lot of things that are unresolved and I think the fun is just beginning.