Another Life by Jodie Chapman

She could be the girl dancing on tables one night, and the next she’d be hiding in the shadows.

Just when I thought I understood her, she would melt away and become a completely new person, and I’d have to start all over again.

That’s how it was with Anna.

Nick and Anna work the same summer job at their local cinema. Anna is mysterious, beautiful and from a very different world to Nick.

She’s grown up preparing for the end of days, in a tightly controlled existence where Christmas, getting drunk and sex before marriage are all off-limits.

She’s grown up preparing for the end of days, in a tightly controlled existence where Christmas, getting drunk and sex before marriage are all off-limits.

So when Nick comes into her life, Anna falls passionately in love. Their shared world burns with poetry and music, cigarettes and conversation – hints of the people they hope to become.

But Anna, on the cusp of adulthood, is afraid to give up everything she’s ever believed in and everyone she’s ever loved. She walks away and Nick doesn’t stop her.

Years later, a tragedy draws Anna back into Nick’s life.

But rekindling their relationship leaves Anna and Nick facing a terrible choice between a love that’s endured decades and the promises they’ve made to others along the way.

Trude 4, Sally 7, Jane 6, June 7, Christine 7, Janet 7, Elaine 6

Sally M
Score: 6.3
2021-09-08

Girl, Women, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

This is Britain as you’ve never heard it.

This is Britain as it has never been told.

From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the 20th century to the teens of the 21st, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of 12 characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years.

They’re each looking for something – a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope…. 

janet 6, june 9, christine 8, trude 8,pauline 8,jane 9,cai 8, elaine 5

Jane B
Score: 6.8
2021-08-11

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?

Elaine 6, Jane 7, Janet 6,June 6, Trude 6, Christine 8, Sally 7

Janet J
Score: 6.6
2021-07-14

Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Nora’s life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?

Elaine 6, Sally 8, June 7, Cai 6, Christine 7, Jane 6, Trude 6

Cai M
Score: 6.6
2021-06-09

The Lido by Libby Page

Rosemary has lived in Brixton all her life, but everything she knows is changing. Only the local lido, where she swims every day, remains a constant reminder of the past and her beloved husband George.

Kate has just moved and feels adrift in a city that is too big for her. She’s on the bottom rung of her career as a local journalist, and is determined to make something of it.

So when the lido is threatened with closure, Kate knows this story could be her chance to shine. But for Rosemary, it could be the end of everything. Together they are determined to make a stand, and to prove that the pool is more than just a place to swim – it is the heart of the community.

The Lido is an uplifting novel about the importance of friendship, the value of community, and how ordinary people can protect the things they love.

E 8, Christine 7, Jane 7, Pauline 8, Janet 8, Trude 6, June 7, Cai 8, Sally 7

Pauline C
Score: 7.3
2021-05-17