BookTalk
Book Talk with Smiffs book & card store , Nerja
The Last Chairlift ( l ) by John Irving . John Irving , one of the world ’ s greatest novelists , returns with his first novel in seven years - a ghost story , a love story , and a lifetime of sexual politics . In Aspen , Colorado , in 1941 , Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships . Little Ray , as she is called , finishes nowhere near the podium , but she manages to get pregnant . Back home , in New England , Little Ray becomes a ski instructor . Her son , Adam , grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past . Years later , looking for answers , Adam will go to Aspen .
The Last Chairlift leads off this month ’ s Soltalk Hotlist of titles , some entirely new , others moving into small paperback format for the first time or being reissued , sometimes after years out of print . All are due for publication on dates in October , with availability in print this month or in early November . The Hotlist helps readers to budget for and plan book ordering .
John Rebus returns in A Heart Full of Headstones ( l ) by Ian Rankin . John Rebus stands accused : on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life . Although it ’ s not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands , it might be the last . What drove a good man to cross the line ? Or have times changed , and the rules with them ? Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh ’ s most explosive case in years , as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city ’ s police force . But in this investigation , it seems all roads lead to Rebus - and Clarke ’ s twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit .
Livid ( l ) by Patricia Cornwell . Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news . The judge ’ s sister has been found dead . At first glance , it appears to be a home invasion , but then why was nothing stolen , and why is the garden
strewn with dead plants and insects ? Although there is no apparent cause of death , Scarpetta recognizes tell-tale signs of the unthinkable , and she knows the worst is yet to come . The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past , and her time to catch the killer is running out ...
The Cat who Caught a Killer ( l ) by LT Shearer . Meet Conrad . You ’ ve never met a cat like him before . Neither has Lulu Lewis when he walks into her life one summer ’ s day . Mourning the recent death of her husband , the former police detective had expected a gentle retirement , quietly enjoying life on her new canal boat , The Lark , and visiting her mother-in-law Emily in a nearby care home . But when Emily dies suddenly in suspicious circumstances , Lulu senses foul play and resolves to find out what really happened . And a remarkable cat named Conrad will be with her every step of the way ... West Londonset cosy-crime fiction featuring a very special calico cat , for fans of ‘ The Thursday Murder Club ’.
Dream Town ( p ) by David Baldacci . 1952 , Los Angeles . It is New Year ’ s Eve and PI Aloysius Archer is dining with his friend and rising Hollywood actress Liberty Callahan when they ’ re approached by Eleanor Lamb , a screenwriter who would like to hire him , as she suspects someone is trying to kill her . A visit to Lamb ’ s Malibu residence leaves Archer knocked unconscious after he stumbles over a dead body in the hallway ; and Lamb seems to have vanished ... Private investigator and Second World War veteran Aloysius Archer returns to solve a new case in Hollywood in this riveting thriller from international number one bestselling author , David Baldacci .
The Fell ( p ) by Sarah Moss . At dusk on a November evening in 2020 a woman slips out of her garden gate and turns up the hill . Kate is in the middle of two weeks of isolation , but she just can ’ t take it any more - the closeness of the air in her small house , the confinement . And anyway , the moor will be deserted at this time . Nobody need ever know . But Kate ’ s neighbour Alice sees her leaving
42