Mareli Thalk ink ......

Title: The Girl in the Ice Author:  Robert Bryndza Published by: Bookouture Publication date: February 2016 Read:  August 24 - 27, 2017 Genre: Mystery; Thriller Pages:  396 (kindle edition) Series: Detective Erika Foster #1 Mareli's rating:  2.5  stars Recommend to: Readers of fast paced thrillers. Or if you watch crime series with female detectives, you might like this one as well. Description:  When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.   The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.   What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?   As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is...

Title: Where the sweet bird sings Author:  Ella Joy Olsen Published by: Kensington Books Publication date: 29 August 2017  Genre: General Fiction ISBN:   9781496705648 Mareli's rating: 3 stars Recommend to: Lovers of adult fiction that deals with loss and grief Description:  People respond to tragedy in different ways. Some try to move on. Some don’t move at all. A year after her young son’s death due to a rare genetic disease, Emma Hazelton is still frozen by grief, unable and unwilling to consider her husband Noah’s suggestion that they try to have another child. As the future Emma once imagined crumbles, her family’s past comes into sharp relief. Searching for the roots of her son’s disease, Emma tries to fit together the pieces in her genealogical puzzle. Hidden within an old wedding photograph of her great-grandparents is an unusual truth Emma never guessed at—a window into all the ways that love can be surprising, generous, and fiercely brave...

Title: The Memory of Water Author:  J.T. Lawrence Format: Audiobook (Audible) Read/listened:  August 4 - 9, 2017 Genre:  Thriller; Black Humor (is that a genre, or just preferred reading?) Mareli's rating: 3.5  Stars (loved the story, didn't care for the narration much) Recommend to:  If you find Jay Gatsby an intriguing character, you will have a field-day with Slade Harris Description:  Slade Harris will do anything for a story, including murdering the woman he loves.   Slade doesn’t think twice about jumping out of a plane or conducting disastrous love affairs to gather material for his work, but his self-indulgent life is catching up with him. Stumbling through his late thirties hopeless and a little drunk, Slade has a dazzling, dangerous idea which will change his life forever. It’s going to be Slade’s ultimate story ... and all he’s hoping for is to survive it.   Goodreads

An opening line like that has the same effect on me as: " You had me at hello".....   A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness  is one of those Russian-doll books.  A gift within a gift that leads to yet another gift. So I just have to share it on  Thursday Quotables  hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage during your past reading week. Whether it's something funny, startling, gut-wrenching or just  really  written beautifully - this is where you must share! Just remember to link back to  bookshelffantasies.com  

It's the second week of August already. My goodness.... How did we get here without therapy? Actually, I didn't. But it doesn't help all that much. Or at least not as much as a good book does.  This past week I've had two books that were better for my soul and state of mind than any therapist could possibly be. I might go as far as saying it was better than chocolate. At least one was better than chocolate.  So is life any better? No. But at least books don't fail me anymore. Yes, the sun does shine a bit brighter on my book pages this morning. So let's get reading for this week!

Greetings from a rather dreary Jeffreysbay and an even drearier me. Thank heavens for a couple of good books awaiting my utmost attention. Kindle, audio, physical and coloring books.  Meet me on Friday @  Friday 56  for a bit of  Book Blogger Hop   to kick-start the weekend with  Book Beginnings .

Title: Leaving Time Author: Jodi Picoult Published: November 2014 Read: 02 August 2017 My Rating: 5 Stars and listed as a favorite Goodreads Blurb:  Number One bestselling author Jodi Picoult returns with her compulsive new novel - about the lengths we go to for those who have left us behind; about the staying power of love; and about how three broken souls might have just the right pieces to mend each other. Jenna Metcalf was with her mother the night she disappeared in tragic and mysterious circumstances, but she remembers nothing. Over ten years have passed, and still Jenna reads and rereads her mother's journals, hoping to find some clue hidden there, in the meticulous recording of her scientific research with elephants. Desperate for answers, Jenna uses all her savings to recruit the aid of a private detective - and a psychic. Jenna knows her mother loved her. She knows she would not leave her. And she will not rest until she finds out what happened that night. In her mo...