by Maggie O'Farrell
Set in Ireland this book follows the fortunes of Tomas and his wife and family, together with the land they inhabit. It starts in 1865 when Tomas, working for the british as a cartographer has a quasi religious experience in a wood on the West coast. It will change him and those close to him forever. It is an absorbing book and has some great characters in it from a slimy priest to a faithful irish wolf hound. 8/10
by M. C. Dulac
A gothic page turner which starts in current day Paris but then takes us back by way of a diary to strange happenings in a house in Paris. Can alchemists make gold or extend life, and what happens if they can. All will be revealed. Fun holiday read 7/10
by Georges Simenon
A policeman gets shot and Maigret is pulled into the art world and the lives of the rich Europeans who operate there. 7/10
by Deborah Levy
The narrator (called Deborah Levy) goes to Paris to write an essay on Gertrude Stein. She falls in with two women, Fanny and Eva. Eva is Swedish but has a husband in America who she hasn't seen for a couple of years-other than their weekly facetime call. Fanny is in finance and has three lesbian affairs going at any one time. The book quotes a lot from Gertrude Stein but the writing is clever, funny and pulls you along at a cracking pace. A cat also features throughout but I must not give too much away! 9/10
