I am a member of NetGalley where one has to request books for review and I in the last week I have received three titles I asked for and, as well as reviewing on their site, I also write about them on Random. Please note that all of these titles are e-books though the Wood title is due out in paperback soon.
Vittoria Cottage – D E Stevenson - Years ago when I worked in the public library system I stamped in and out more books by D E Stevenson than I care to remember and thought they were probably rather boring. As a teenager they would be, but as one grows older and appreciates the subtleties of human interaction, then the reader can read and understand more.
This tells the story of a widow, Caroline and her children who live in Vittoria cottage in a village in the country. The daily routines, the shopping, the cooking, the regular life of its inhabitants may seem boring and mundane but underneath all of this real life lurks, the sadness and joys and this is where D E Stevenson is go good. I have read many of her books now and her output is so large that there are some titles that are pedantic and not so well written as others. This is inevitable if you write so much but the good far outweighs the indifferent and Vittoria Cottage is one of the gems. The story is told from Caroline's point of view and we learn that she was married young and unhappily to a very selfish man who made her life a misery. Now she finds that she can enjoy her life as it is and is more than content until a mysterious stranger with a secret in his past, come to live in the village and she finds herself falling in love with him.
I find myself relishing this kind of story and if you have read Dorothy Whipple or Richmal Crompton you will enjoy this too. I was delighted to find that this is part of a trilogy and goes without saying I am now going to hunt out the other two.
Only available as an e-book
Kit's Hill – Jean Stubbs.I spotted this on NetGalley and thought it looked interesting and decided to take a punt on it and I am so glad I did. Set in the county of Lancashire in 1760 Ned Howarth of Kit's Hill farm pens a humble proposal of marriage to Miss Dorcas Wilde. Dorcas is hesitant, should she marry him or remain single? Miss Dorcas Wilde lives with her aunt and is destined to remain at her beck and call and live out a life of lonely 
spinsterhood. When she receives Ned's proposal at first she does not consider it acceptable but gradually his honesty and open love for her changes her mind. Her aunt and friends in the village where she lives view this marriage as dreadful and when she becomes Mrs Howarth, she finds she is isolated and shunned from society and has to come to terms with the harsh life awaiting her. At first Dorcas finds it hard, the loss of a child is a great sorrow and yet gradually she makes her mark on the farm, takes her place as its mistress and earns respect and love. The story follows the ups and downs of her marriage over a period of thirty years with its sorrows and happiness and I found myself becoming more and more absorbed into the narrative. A really enjoyable book and I shall search out more by this author now. Good to see that they are being reissued and available, not only to this new reader, but to a others as well.
Only available as an e-book
For Reasons Unknown – Michael Wood. DCI Matilda Darke has returned to work after a nine month absence. after a disastrous end to a kidnap case she was in charge of. Now back at work she is tasked with re-opening a cold case: the brutal murders of Miranda and Stefan Harkness. The only witness was their eleven-year-old son, Jonathan, who was too deeply traumatized to speak a word. Now twenty years later still suffering from his childhood tragedy Matilda has to speak to him again to see if she can solve the long ago murder. Then his brother, from who he is estranged, is found dead and Jonathan is the main suspect.
The story is interesting and the characters well drawn, however, there are times when the dialogue becomes rather cluncky and forced. Only the odd sentence here and there which I find rather odd, or perhaps I am being a tad picky. I found the ending all rather rushed and a tad unbelievable with too many loose ends being tied up rather quickly. However, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series. DCI Matilda Darke, though the usual tragic cop with a past, sounds interesting.
Only available as an e-book at the moment, paperback edition due in Novenber
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