Welcome to What I’ve Been Reading Lately, a feature where I’ll be giving short reviews of what I’m currently reading:
All links lead to the StoryGraph listing.
The Exiled by Sarah Daniels
US Title: The Only Way Out by Sarah Daniels
Trust no one.
It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn’t the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.
Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .
Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it’s left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.
Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik’s mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings – a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.
It’s time for the final showdown. (Credit: Penguin UK)
I LOVED The Stranded and it left on an amazing cliffhanger that I was in desperate need of discovering what happened next. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait that long since the next book was released (in the UK, The Exiled was released last year). I am loving what I’ve read so far and I am just loving the tense atmosphere that is created within the story. There is so much that can be dived into with this book, which is great since I’ll have a lot to talk about with Sarah next month!
Heretic by Robbie Morrison and Charlie Adlard
Sherlock Holmes meets The Name of the Rose in an original graphic novel by artist extraordinaire and former Comics Laureate Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), and award-winning crime novelist Robbie Morrison (Edge of the Grave).
Belgium, 1529: The city of Antwerp is ravaged by a macabre series of killings. Forced to investigate by the all-powerful Inquisition, knight, doctor, lawyer and reputed black magician Cornelius Agrippa and his young pupil Johan Weyer are plunged into a maelstrom of murder, madness and magic. (Credit: Image Comics)
Not only am I finding the premise of the story engaging but I am loving the artwork and attention to detail. This tells a story that takes place in the past has connections with what we deal with today and I am looking forward to discussing that and more with the creators of this comic this coming week.
The Chamber by Will Dean
Six experienced saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. Calm and professional, they know that rapid decompression would be fatal and so they work in shifts, breathing helium, and surviving in hot, close quarters.
Then one of them is found dead in his bunk.
With four days of decompression to go before the locked hatch to the chamber can be safely opened, the group must watch one another’s backs at all times. And when another diver is discovered unresponsive, everyone is on edge. What…or who…is taking them out one by one? And will any of them still be alive by the time the four days is up or will paranoia, exhaustion, suspicion, and pressure destroy them all? (Credit: Atria Books)
The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy
When a group who have met on a creepy Deddit thread decide to meet in real life, they only have one plan in mind: they are going to summon the Midnight Man. And once you start the Midnight Game, you must finish it – there’s no other way out!
Six strangers. One night. But how many survivors? (Credit Scholastic UK)
I have already read two books by Cynthia Murphy. Why not make it three? And this one has a twisty and spooky premise that I am immensely interested in so far!
Pupposites Attract: Volume 1 by Hono Natsuna
Chiharu’s bold personality in a petite frame strikes a contrast in every way to her scaredy-cat Rottweiler Tsubu-chan—and the same could be said for the sturdy but shy Kiyotaka and his outgoing Pomeranian, Monjuro. Yet, for these inseparable pairs, their long walks together are the highlights of the day. One encounter leads to another, and before long, these two unusual duos find their feelings changing…(Credit: Kodansha Comics)
What I Plan to Read Next:
Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox
Expected Publication Date: December 10
On the run from his shady past, Lynch has just arrived in London, still looking over his shoulder to make sure he isn’t being followed. His phone is dead, he has no money, no contacts, no one at all. Until he runs into a young woman named Bobbie who mistakes him for her brother, Heydon Pierce, who disappeared five years ago without a trace.
At Bobbie’s suggestion, Lynch goes to the Pierce family home, posing as Heydon to try and con some money out of them. But far from tricking them, his subterfuge is instantly discovered. He strikes the devil’s bargain with them – their silence for his cooperation in finding out what really happened to Heydon.
But Lynch’s investigation goes too deep and uncovers the fact that Heydon Pierce was tangled up with some dangerous and powerful people in London. Everyone has their own motives to keep Heydon well buried in the past. In such a conspiracy of mirrors, there’s only one thing Lynch know for certain: the only person he can trust is himself. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
Rest. In. Pieces.
On 1st of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner, and Christmas curmudgeon Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces.
Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle.
Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”
When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.
Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.
Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning. (Credit: Viking)
The Examiner by Janice Hallett
Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one.There’s Jem, a talented sculptor recently graduated from her university program and eager to make her mark as an artist at any cost. Jonathan, who has little experience in art practice aside from running his family’s gallery. Patrick runs an art supply store, but can barely operate his phone, much less design software. Ludya is a single mother and graphic designer more interested in a paycheck than homework. Cameron is a marketing executive in search of a hobby or a career change. And Alyson, already a successful artist, seems to be overqualified. Finally, there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final works–an art installation for a local cloud-based solutions company that may have an ulterior agenda–and who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger…or already dead. And nothing about this course has been left up to chance. (Credit: Atria Books)
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