Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd

Published on by Margaret9 Comments

I’ve been making good progress with my reading, but I’m way behind with writing about the books I’ve read. So it’s time to catch up with a few short posts.

My first one is the first book I read for the 20 Books of Summer Challenge – Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd.

Description

Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy: every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War. When he’s offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into the shadows of espionage.

As Gabriel’s reluctant initiation takes hold, he is drawn deeper into duplicity. Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthless MI6 handler, he becomes ‘her spy’, unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia and passion consuming Gabriel’s new covert life, it will be the revelations closer to home that change the rest of his story . . .

Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd is his 18th book, but it’s the first book by him that I’ve read. I loved it right from the start. It’s well written, one of those books that makes me want to read on and on eager to know what happens next.

I wondered about the title – what is Gabriel’s Moon? The Prologue set in 1936 enlightened me straight away. When Gabriel was six years old his family home burnt down. He escaped, but his mother died in the fire, caused, so the fire brigade claimed, by the naked flame of the nightlight burning by his bed. It was a small candle covered by a glass dome that resembled the moon. His mother would light it as part of a bedtime ritual that was important to him, signifying order and calm. But, his mind has blanked out all his memories of that night, although he still has nightmares about the fire.

By the early 1960s Gabriel had become a successful travel writer and in 1960 he travelled to the newly independent Republic of the Congo to interview the Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. And thus he is accidentally drawn into the intrigue surrounding Lumumba’s murder. And then Dax is drawn into the dangerous and shadowy world of espionage.

I loved it. It’s a gripping tale that kept me turning the pages as Gabriel travels from Africa to London, Cadiz and then Warsaw. At home he visits a psychoanalyst, hoping to discover the truth about the tragic events of his childhood. He is drawn deeper and deeper into ever more complex and dangerous situations, whilst in thrall to Faith Green, his MI6 handler, who effortlessly manipulates him.

Gabriel’s Moon is the first novel in a new espionage trilogy. The second book, The Predicament will be released on September 4. 2025 and I’m looking forward to reading more about Gabriel Dax.

Many thanks to the publishers for a review copy via NetGalley.

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 5 Sept. 2024
  • E-book
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 263 pages 
  • Source: NetGalley
  • My rating: 5*

The Classics Club Spin Result

Published on by Margaret11 Comments

The spin number in The Classics Club Spin is number …

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

The rules of the Spin are that this is the book for me to read by 24 August 2025.

Synopsis from Amazon

Gripping, terrifying, an unputdownable read. Discover Graham Greene’s most iconic novel.

A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Seventeen-year-old Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold. Greene’s gripping thriller exposes a world of loneliness and fear, of life lived on the ‘dangerous edge of things.’

In this gripping, terrifying, and unputdownable read, discover Greene’s iconic tale of the razor-wielding Pinkie.

This has been on my Spin List for some while now, so it’s about time I read it.

“Why does this bleak, seething and anarchic novel still resonate? Its energy and power is that of the rebellious adolescent, foreshadowing the rise of the cult of youth in the latter part of the 20th century.”—The Guardian

Did you take part in the Classics Spin? What will you be reading?

Classics Club Spin

Published on by Margaret15 Comments

Before next Sunday, 15 June 2025 create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list. On that day the Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 24 August 2025.

Here’s my list:

Here’s my list:

  1. Emma by Jane Austen (a re-read)
  2. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  3. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
  4. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
  5. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  6. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
  7. Friends and Heroes by Olivia Manning
  8. The Birds and other short stories by Daphne du Maurier
  9. I’ll Never be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier
  10. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
  11. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
  12. The Go Between by L P Hartley
  13. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
  14. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  15. Daisy Miller by Henry James
  16. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
  17. Friends and Heroes by Olivia Manning
  18. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
  19. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
  20. Chess by Stefan Zweig

 

Spell the Month in Books: June 2025

Published on by Margaret3 Comments

Spell the Month in Books is a linkup hosted by Jana on Reviews From the Stacks on the first Saturday of each month. The goal is to spell the current month with the first letter of book titles, excluding articles such as ‘the’ and ‘a’ as needed. That’s all there is to it! Some months there are optional theme challenges, such as “books with an orange cover” or books of a particular genre, but for the most part, any book you want to use is fair game!

This month’s Spell the Month in Books theme is Books that you found or currently see at the library. For this theme I’ve used books I’ve previously borrowed from the library for the letters J, U, and E and a book I’ve seen on the library’s website for the letter N.

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear – Travelling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers – and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas!

Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith – an Isabel Dalhousie book – An unexpected appeal for help from a collector who has been the victim of an art theft threatens to take Isabel Dalhousie far outside her comfort zone.

None So Blind by Alis Hawkins – West Wales, 1850. When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery. He knows exactly whose bones they are. Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is determined to expose the guilty. But the investigation turns up more questions than answers and raises long-buried secrets. The search for the truth will prove costly.

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell a Wallender thriller – Kurt Wallander’s life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house is accepted, only for him to uncover something unexpected in the garden – the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. As police officers comb the property, Wallander attempts to get his new life back on course by finding the woman’s killer with the aid of his.

The next link up will be on July 5, 2025 when the optional theme will be: Set in a fantasy world or fictional place.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List

Published on by Margaret6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For the rules see her blog.

The topic today is Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List. I’m taking part in the 20 Books of Summer but didn’t make a list this year because In the past I don’t think I’ve ever managed to read the lists I’ve compiled because I just can’t stick to reading from a list – as soon as a book is on a list my desire to read it just dies. So, I decided to make it simple and read from my TBRs and the books on my Netgalley Shelf.

Anyway, here is a list of books I might read this summer, just picked at random from the e-books on my Kindle, without thinking too hard about which ones to list.:

  1. The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry (A Raven and Fisher Mystery Book 5) Historical fiction set in Victorian Edinburgh, a mix of fact and fiction incorporating the social scene, historical and medical facts.
  2. The Elopement by Gill Hornby, historical fiction about the life of Jane Austen’s niece Fanny Knight and her stepdaughter.
  3. One Dark Night by Hannah Richell, a gothic thriller about the murder of a young girl at Halloween.
  4. The House of Seymour by Joanna Hickson, (The House of Seymour, Book 1) historical fiction set in the 15th century during King Henry VI’s reign.
  5. A Cold Wind from Moscow by Rory Clements, (Tom Wilde Book 8) historical fiction set at the start of the Cold War,
  6. All that Matters by Chris Hoy, a memoir cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy reveals the truth of his cancer diagnosis and how he is determined to find hope and happiness on the home straight.
  7. Meetings With Remarkable Animals by Martin Clunes, the Heartwarming Journey of Animals Who’ve Guided, Rescued, and Saved Us in Surprising Ways.
  8. The Neighbour’s Secret by Sharon Bolton, a psychological thriller.
  9. The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier, historical fiction set in Venice in 1486.
  10. Written in Bone by Sue Black, hidden stories in what we leave behind.

By Your Side by Ruth Jones

Published on by Margaret2 Comments

Transworld Digital |22 May 2025| 362 pages| e-book| Review book| 5*

Description

Linda Standish has been a friend to the friendless for the past thirty-three years, in her role at the council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit. And now she’s looking forward to the joys of an early retirement.

But before she hangs up her lanyard, Linda takes on one last case – that of Levi Norman – a Welshman who made his home on a remote Scottish island for the five years before he died. Linda must visit Storrich to track down Levi’s remaining relatives . . .

What brought Levi here? And who did he leave behind? Obliged to travel (by hearse!) with her arch nemesis, and helped (and hindered…) by the local residents, Linda searches for clues to a life now lost. And in the process unexpectedly makes new friends, and discovers things about herself she never knew.

Bursting with all the heart and humour that has made Ruth’s name as a screenwriter and author, By Your Side is a joyful celebration of friendship, love and community.

I loved the TV series Gavin and Stacey which Ruth Jones co-wrote with James Corden and I loved By Your Side too. It’s the first one of her books that I’ve read but I’ll definitely look out for more to read. It’s an emotionally charged book as Linda Standish takes on her last case for the Council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit, tracking down Levi Norman’s next of kin.

The story is told mainly from two perspectives, those of Linda and Levi. It’s told with gentle humour and laced with sadness as the details of both Levi’s and Linda’s lives are revealed. I really liked Linda, such a kind, compassionate character, who hides her vulnerability behind a confident exterior. She was looking forward to retirement and had made plans, most of which involved her four-year-old grandson, Zander, who lives with her and his father Struan. So she is devastated when she learns they will be moving to live near his ex-wife and her parents. All this just before Christmas and Linda has to travel to Storrich, the island where Levi died.

All she knows is that for the last five years seventy-five year old Levi had lived alone in Storrich, twenty miles off the mainland of Scotland. He had kept himself to himself and none of the local people knew anything about him. The story moves between their lives as Linda gradually discovers more about Levi, a Welshman, and the circumstances of his life and death.

It’s a well paced story, with wonderful characters, all well defined and believable. As I read it I could so easily hear Ruth Jones’ Welsh accent in Levi’s words. It’s a heartbreaking and poignant story, and at the same time an uplifting story, beautifully written bringing it all to life. It was a joy to read.

Many thanks to the publishers for a review copy via NetGalley.