Author: Nadia Hashimi

While I read the book, I had to keep reminding myself that this was a novel, not a memoir. Written from the perspective of a widowed mother fleeing Afghanistan (for England) with her three young children I couldn’t help but imagine that this might have been the story of many refugees. The second narrator in the story is her eldest son who is arrested while out finding food for his family. He is detained, and sent back to Iraq from where he must start his long journey to England all over again.

Author: David Lagercrantz

They’re back – Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. It’s been awhile since I read Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl …” trilogy but I didn’t think this one was as good. I hadn’t realized that Larsson’s books were published after his death; Lagercrantz was hired by Larsson’s father and brother to write this fourth novel in the Millennium series.

All the characters are back but the story seemed a bit light in comparison to Larsson’s books. That being said I read during the day and stayed up late because I enjoyed it so much. I understand there is a fifth book, written by the same author, and the library has it. I’ll probably check it out at some point.

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Author: Ruth Hogan

A delightful story that moved along quickly with interesting characters. There are two storylines but it isn’t until near the end of the book that the two stories connect. The author had a good sense of humour and I found myself laughing quite a few times. It may have deserved a higher Goodreads rating, but after the last book I read this seemed a bit frivolous.

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Author: Nadia Hashimi

I had a book by this author on my Want to Read list but a fellow quilter passed this one to me. I absolutely loved this book; I’ve already picked up a third title by the author from our library.

The story is set in a women’s prison in Afghanistan. Zeba, a mother of four, has been accused of murdering her husband; misconduct of almost any kind lands women in prison and murder is the most serious offence. A young lawyer, from America, is given the task to defend Zeba but her reluctance to tell the full story makes his job even more difficult.

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