Friday Fiction - Leith and Whitehouse

I'm back in the reading groove again and have been racing through novels over the last few weeks.  When I find an author I like I read everything by them, one after the other.  My latest find was an author that I usually associate with cooking, 'The Great British Menu' and The River Cafe.  Pru Leith.  I didn't know she wrote anything other than cookery books.  This is one very multi-talented lady!  A few weeks ago when I was staying in Sussex I stumbled upon a second-hand book sale in the village market hall.  It being my very favourite thing to do, I spent a glorious hour perusing their titles.  I came away with a handful of children's novels that I LOVED as a child and they were free!  I also bought (for 30p) The Gardener by Pru Leith.  I sat, in the garden, and read it cover to cover in practically one sitting.  She writes about people and their relationships with each other and the world they find themselves in.  The characters are wholly likeable and realistic and I came away from the book feeling better about life; a bit the way you do with a 'feel-good' movie.  They aren't intellectually challenging, but nor are they meant to be.  They are 'a good read' when you want something softer and gentle, to use a cooking analogy, they are the lemon posset dessert, not the treacle sponge.

Continuing in the same vein, I downloaded two novels from this author in one go, after reading the gripping The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse.  She writes psychological thrillers that I just can't abandon until the end.

So, these two made their way onto my kindle and I recommend them if you like to delve into people's motivations and the lies and mess that they try to hide.  I particularly enjoyed 'The House at Midnight' about a group of friends, who's loyalties are stretched to breaking point when one of the group inherits a large house in the Cotswolds...

What are you reading at the moment? Do let me know as I'm in need of more recommendations for my upcoming hols!