Belle Nash and the Bath Soufflé - William Keeling

Who knew that the seemingly minor matter of a soufflé failing to rise would be the catalyst for a group of dinner party guests to instigate an investigation into some shady dealings. Seeking to gain the truth behind some questionable members of the local community and generally cause mayhem in the city of Bath. 

Bellerophon 'Belle' Nash, leads the cast of characters and as we get to know each one we discover a multitude of societal issues and hot topics of the 1830s as they unfold. The complexities of love, feminism, forbidden love, the pursuit of justice and the birth of psychotherapy are woven together as these characters interact on their shared quest to overcome corruption. 

It was such an enjoyable, easy read and the story is so much fun, with humour in every page. The characterisation is very Dickensian so the cast are incredibly visual, springing to life with ease. You get a sense of time and historical setting with the wonderful descriptions of the city that transport you there into the middle of the adventure. It was very hard for me to put this book down once I’d started and the conclusion was so unexpected and compelling, it has set the scene for so a variety of stories to evolve.

I have a lot of affection for these characters and hope they return. I think there will be many more escapades that start life behind the closed doors of the residents of Gay Street that I’d like to discover! 

Little Nothings - Julie Mayhew

This novel totally absorbed me from the first few pages. I could not put it down and finished it within 24 hrs. 

Becky has always felt like an outsider until she meets a couple of women at a baby group and suddenly she is part of a strong, supportive friendship that provides her with everything she has been missing out on. The friendship evolves beyond the children and soon there are coffee mornings, girl’s nights out and shopping trips. The husbands and partners are then folded into the mix and life events are shared as a group. All seems well until a new person joins the group. Ange is deep, thoughtful and the girls truly value her opinion and admire her style. Soon Ange is organising their social events that are now expensive nights out in London’s finest restaurants, advising on home improvements and the best private schools for the children.  Suddenly Becky feels she is being marginalised. But is she just being paranoid, reading too much into things?  

The drama climaxes in a luxury Greek holiday, where tensions overspill and truths unravel.

I predict great things for this book and can see this being a huge hit this summer!