Look in at your library...

This weekend celebrated National Libraries Day on the 4th February, and since my local area has just opened a brand new, beautiful library I am determined to make the most of all the lovely books on offer, and will try to visit as often as I can....
Rather like shoppers who trawl the supermarket with a shopping list , I always peruse my library with a long list of wish list books to hand, and since most libraries have a computer search facility I can usually find what I'm looking for fairly quickly.
I'm amazed at how much technology has improved the library service, now you can search virtual shelves from the comfort of your home, order and reserve online, and borrow the latest books by paying a very modest reservation fee.



These are my latest library books:


Plague Child by Peter Ransley




Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

The first instalment of a captivating trilogy set against the backdrop of the English Civil War.
September 1625: Plague cart driver, Matthew Neave, is sent to pick up the corpse of a baby. Yet, on the way to the plague pit, he hears a cry - the baby is alive. A plague child himself, and now immune from the disease, Matthew decides to raise it as his own.
Fifteen years on, Matthew's son Tom is apprenticed to a printer in the City. Somebody is interested in him and is keen to turn him into a gentleman. He is even given an education. But Tom is unaware that he has a benefactor and soon he discovers that someone else is determined to kill him.
The civil war divides families, yet Tom is divided in himself. Devil or saint? Royalist or radicalist? He is at the bottom of the social ladder, yet soon finds himself within reach of a great estate - one which he must give up to be with the girl he loves.
Set against the fervent political climate of the period, 'Plague Child' is a remarkable story of discovery, identity and an England of the past.



Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes



Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous - Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.



The Picture Book by Jo Baker



Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Set against the rolling backdrop of a century of British history from WWI to the 'War on Terror', this is a family portrait captured in snapshots. First there is William, the factory lad who loses his life in Gallipoli, then his son Billy, a champion cyclist who survives the D-Day Landings on a military bicycle, followed by his crippled son Will who becomes an Oxford academic in the 1960s, and finally his daughter Billie, an artist in contemporary London. Just as the names - William, Billy, Will, Billie - echo down through the family, so too the legacy of choices made, chances lost, and secrets kept. Rich in drama and sensuous in detail, The Blue Album is a beautifully crafted story about fathers and sons, about fate and repetition, and about the possibility of breaking free.