June Library Haul

Today was just one of those days, I could only get three books out (as I already have seven renewed oops), and the library was full of new books to choose from. My local library is only tiny, and it's not even technically a library any more thanks to government cuts, so new books are a big thing for us! Here are the three novels I eventually settled on:

Northanger Abbey - Val McDermid
I literally ran through the door and grabbed this when I saw it; I've been desperate to read it ever since it was published, and thanks to the eye-catching cover  I spotted it straightaway.

Seventeen year old Catherine 'Cat' Morland has led a sheltered existance in rural Dorset, a life entirely bereft of the romance and excitement for which she yearns. So when Cat's neighbours, the Allens, ask her to accompany them to the Edinburgh Festival, she is sure adventure beckons.

Edinburgh initially offers no such thrills: Susie Allen is obsessed by shopping, Andrew Allen by the Fringe. A Highland Dance class, though, brings Cat a new acquaintance: Henry Tilney, a pale, dark-eyed gentleman whose family home, Northanger Abbey, sounds perfectly thrilling. And an introduction to Bella Thorpe, who shares her passion for supernatural novels, provides Cat with a like-minded friend. But with Bella comes her brother John, and obnoxious banker whose vulgar behaviour seems designed to thwart Cat's growing fondness for Henry.

Happily, rescue is at hand. The rigidly formal General Tilney invites her to stay at Northanger with son Henry and daughter Eleanor. Cat's imagination runs riot: an ancient abbey, crumbling turrets, secret chambers, ghosts... and Henry! What could be more deliciously romantic?

But Cat gets far more than she bargained for in this isolated corner of the Scottish Borders. The real world outside the pages of a novel proves to be altogether more disturbing than the imagined world within...


The Vintage Girl - Hester Browne
I received an e-copy of this book via NetGalley some months ago but never got around to reading it. I'm much better with physical books so I'll get it read this time!

When Evie Nicholson is asked to visit Kettlesheer Castle in Scotland to archive the family heirlooms, she jumps at the chance. Evie's passion for antiques means that, for her, the castle is a treasure trove of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered.

But in each heirloom lies a story, and in the course of her investigations Evie stumbles upon some long-buried family secrets. Add handsome, gloomy heir Robert McAndrew and a traditional candlelit gala to the mix, and Evie's heart is sent reeling with an enthusiasm that may just extend beyond the Kettlesheer silver..


Death by Gaslight (Professor Moriarty #2) - Michael Kurland
I was in the middle of checking my books out when I spotted this and just had to get it. As a mega-fan of all things Sherlock Holmes I'm surprised that I haven't heard about this series of books before!

London, 1887, and a vicious serial killer stalks the gas-lit streets of the capital. With a particular penchant for the blue-blooded aristocracy, he is leaving lordly corpses behind locked doors, and high society is in uproar. Scotland Yard call in the great Sherlock Holmes to hunt down the murderer, but even he is unable to bring the monster to justice. Several more noble throats are slit before the Yard turn to the one man who might be able to unravel the bloody atrocities: the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, ably assisted by American journalist Benjamin Barker, and the redoubtable Miss Cecily Perrine. However, Moriarty has his own unique methods of fighting evil, and he and Sherlock Holmes make for the most reluctant allies...


What's new on your shelves this month?