The Widow by Fiona Barton was a popular choice for Mirror Book Club members this month.
The taut thriller tells the story of Jean Taylor, whose husband Glen was chief suspect in the disappearance of two-year-old Bella, although he was later acquitted.
But after he dies in a road accident, Jean is free to tell her side of the story.
“It’s excellent,” said Ronald Gray. “It gripped me from the start and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers. It has more twists and turns than a Curly Wurly! But be warned, it’s a dark subject.”
“It is utterly gripping,” said Rachael Bletchly. “And the reporter Kate is a brilliant character.”
But for Patsy Gray, it was too dark for comfort. “The Widow has a dark side that doesn’t make pleasant reading. A marriage built on control… A husband who isn’t quite what he seems… and rather a twist at the end!”
Join the Mirror Book Club Facebook group and tell us what you think!
Our next Mirror Book Club read is…
How To Be A Footballer, by Peter Crouch
(Ebury Press, £8.99)
You don’t have to like football to love former England striker Peter Crouch’s brilliantly funny tour behind the scenes of the beautiful game. He leads us into a world of pampered, privileged young men with a lot more money than sense.
From players’ extravagant houses to their flashy cars, from the politics of the team bus to fashion faux pas and regrettable tattoos, Crouchy pokes affectionate fun at his fellow players. And in a book spilling over with wit and self-deprecation, there’s also unexpected poignancy as he recalls the bullying and abuse he’s suffered over the years.
We’d love you to give How To Be A Footballer a read and let the Mirror Book Club know whether you enjoy it. We’ll print your feedback on these pages on Dec 20. You can also share your thoughts in the Mirror Book Club on Facebook or by post.
We have 25 copies of How To Be A Footballer to give away. For a chance to win, simply ‘like’ the post announcing the giveaway in our Facebook group or send your name and address to the address above right, marked Mirror Book Club Giveaway/Footballer, by November 28.
The Vanished Bride, by Bella Ellis
Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99
Ellis turns the Bronte sisters into detectives in this clever mystery story set in Yorkshire in 1845. Charlotte, Emily and Anne are distressed to learn that the mistress of Chester Grange has disappeared. Then they learn that Mr Chester’s first wife Isabel took her own life years before.
Declaring themselves “lady detectors”, they determine to find out what happened. An atmospheric mystery with a Gothic feel.
BY ANNE CATER
Blue Moon, by Lee Child
Bantam Press, £20
Jack Reacher returns an envelope bulging with cash to its owner, a frail elderly man caalled Aaron Shevick. But Shevick owes a fortune to grasping Ukrainian loan shark gangsters, money borrowed to pay his daughter’s medical bills. Not content with tackling the Ukrainians, Reacher also sets his sights on their equally deadly Albanian rivals.
Reacher’s violence is over the top but fans will relish Blue Moon’s fast pace.
BY JAMES MURRAY
