Book discussion scheme - The two read books so far.

The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I started it this yesterday morning and couldn't put it down. Loved it.


Quoted from dsicussion notes, "The Crimson Rooms follows the story of Evelyn Gifford, who is training to be one of Britain's first female lawyers in the 1920's. She lives a stifling life in a household of women frozen in grief and mourning over the death of James in the trenches of the first world war. Into this bleak environment comes Meredith - a Canadian nurse and Jame's lover - with her six-year-son, Edmund, who is the spitting image of his father.
Evelyn is working on two case where she feels she can make a difference: one defending a mother on a kidnapping charge that leads to discoveries of children send to the colonies to work, and the other a man accused of murdering his wife. The latter is complicated by an offer of assistance from a handsome lawyer, Nicholas Thorne.
Meanwhile Meredith come to make an earth-shattering accusation against James, and Evelyn finally learns the truth of her brother's final days.


And here's the first book I read from the book discussion scheme.


 The 10PM Question by Kate De Goldi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a well written and brilliantly observed book. Set in New Zealand, where I live, which made it all very familiar. A novel that would appeal to adults and children alike. Highly recommended.

Quotes "Frankie Parsons is twelve going on old man, an apparently sensible, talented boy with a drumbeat of worrying questions steadily gaining volume in his head. Only Ma takes seriously his catalogue of persistent anxieties; only Ma listens patiently to his 10 PM queries."

"Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is a talented kid with a quirky family, a best friend named Gigs, and a voice of anxiety constantly nibbling in his head: Could that kidney-shaped spot on his chest be a galloping cancer? Are the smoke alarm batteries flat? Has his cat, The Fat Controller, given them all worms? Only Ma, who never leaves home, takes Frankie’s worries seriously. But then, it is Ma who is the cause of the most troubling question of all, the one Frankie can never bring himself to ask. When a new girl arrives at school–a daring free spirit with unavoidable questions of her own–Frankie’s carefully guarded world begins to unravel, leading him to a painful confrontation with the ultimate 10 p.m. question. Deftly told with humor, poignancy, and an endearing cast of characters, THE 10 P.M. QUESTION will touch everyone who has ever felt set apart.
Worry-prone Frankie keeps his family secret under control–until a bold, inquisitive girl enters his life–in this warm, witty, and captivating novel."

Next meet up is this Thursday, I can't wait for the next book. That will be another day lost!!