One of my first reads for the new year was A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh. I bought the trade paperback version, cover below.
It was gripping right from the get-go, set in a coastal tone in New Zealand where the South Island setting is perhaps
the star of the story. It is of course a murder mystery; a beautiful young local woman is murdered while out on a run. There is wild sea and dense bush, and danger in the elements. Beautiful, dangerous New Zealand.
I'm always a bit reticent about saying I like a book that deals with awful topics. I went through a Jack Reacher phase a year back, and did my dash there. And much as I'd give A Madness of Sunshine a high rating, which I do, I think I'll stick to light reading. This book is proof, though, (if we needed it) that our Nalini is one heck of an amazing writer and story teller.
In other reading, I've been taking part in a summer reading challenge for the fun of it.
Besides a graphic novel about a zombie cat (kind of gross), and watching a movie based on a book (Sense and Sensibility with beloved Alan Rickman), the classic I chose to read was Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute. Not 'light' reading in that it deals with WW2, though and how war keeps killing. A lot of WW2 detail as our heroine, Janet, is indeed a Wren. The story begins with Alan coming back to his parents Australian farm to find their maid has killed herself and he explores her personal papers and his own memories of her to uncover why she ended her life. So not happy.
Clearly, something funny and... cheerful, is needed right about now!
It was gripping right from the get-go, set in a coastal tone in New Zealand where the South Island setting is perhaps
I'm always a bit reticent about saying I like a book that deals with awful topics. I went through a Jack Reacher phase a year back, and did my dash there. And much as I'd give A Madness of Sunshine a high rating, which I do, I think I'll stick to light reading. This book is proof, though, (if we needed it) that our Nalini is one heck of an amazing writer and story teller.
In other reading, I've been taking part in a summer reading challenge for the fun of it.
Besides a graphic novel about a zombie cat (kind of gross), and watching a movie based on a book (Sense and Sensibility with beloved Alan Rickman), the classic I chose to read was Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute. Not 'light' reading in that it deals with WW2, though and how war keeps killing. A lot of WW2 detail as our heroine, Janet, is indeed a Wren. The story begins with Alan coming back to his parents Australian farm to find their maid has killed herself and he explores her personal papers and his own memories of her to uncover why she ended her life. So not happy.
Clearly, something funny and... cheerful, is needed right about now!