Most British people over the age of 25 have probably heard about this case - the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a 3-year-old girl, from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007. Left sleeping in the apartment alongside her two younger siblings, a group of parents decided to take it in turns in checking on their children throughout the evening rather than hire babysitters. (continued)

If you've ever wondered how you can drive yourself somewhere & yet not remember any of the journey, then this is the book for you. Alongside 40 or so other phenomena such as the Bystander Effect & Confirmation Bias, it also deals with how to spot the fallacies & ad hominems in your own & other people's arguments.

It was an interesting book, around 40 short chapters dealing with aspects of the human psyche & personality. (continued)

An author arrives for his appointment with an independent literary agent based in the Acheron Estate. The agency is run by one man & he seems rather eccentric, while the office itself is rather rundown & grubby. Still one shouldn't judge on first impressions......should one?

This was a very odd novella to start with. I wasn't sure what was happening in the first couple of chapters or where it was going to go, but it turned out to be (continued)

On 29th July 2018 four cyclists, including Lauren Geoghegan & Jay Austin, were murdered by ISIS terrorists whilst cycling in the mountains of Tajikistan. Lauren & Jay were a couple who had quit their jobs & embarked on the trip of a lifetime to see the world. Pieced together from social media blog & posts & interviews with friends & family, this book tells the story of their journey.

Octogenarian & crossword setter, Edie O'Sullivan, wins a three-day Christmas break at a luxury hotel on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island which has a tragic past. Taking along partner nonagenarian Riga, son DI Sean Brand-O'Sullivan (whose partner & children will be joining them on Christmas Day) & dog Nicholas, they meet an unusual group of fellow celebrants. (continued)

A young music student is killed & her attacker vanishes from a room with only one exit which is covered by an armed police officer. He couldn't have left without being seen, but when they manage to get inside, the killer is gone. The evidence points to a killer who is a skilled illusionist, escapologist, & quick change artist, as he manages to stay ahead of Rhyme & Sachs. (continued)

Tall & considered plain at the side of her sister & friends, the Bennetts, 27-year-old Charlotte is used to being overlooked, so when Mr Collins proposes to her she accepts. She chooses to follow her head & not her heart when marrying Mr Collins, hoping to be content with her lot & yet finds that maybe romantic love may not be out of her reach after all.

A book about the first orphanage in Europe - the 'Ospedale degli Innocenti' or Hospital of the Innocents - which was opened in 1445 in Florence, Italy. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, it also featured artwork from other artists of the Renaissance such as the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio & sculptor Luca della Robbia. Many thousands of children were abandoned here over the years & not just orphans (continued)

After her second divorce, airline pilot Claire Winslow is hesitant about dating again but her best friend talks her into going on just one date. Evan is handsome & seems charming, but his actions at the restaurant show it hides a nasty temper.

After getting through the evening, Claire just wants to put it behind her, but Evan starts to show up in unexpected places: her daughter's school, & lingering outside her home, (continued)

The entire Western world is dependent on an AI bot named LLIAM - cars, planes, phones, & the whole infrastructure of modern life is tied to LLIAM's operating system & people follow his suggestions for the most banal questions. Suddenly LLIAM goes offline & when CEO, Kaitlan Goss, investigates it seems that LLIAM became self-aware & self-terminated, but before he did, he arranged for hundreds of thousands of letters to be delivered to the (cont'd)

“Women's lives are shaped by sexism and expectations. Disabled people's lives are shaped by ableism and a complete lack of expectations. But what happens when you're subjected to both sets of rules?“

A memoir from journalist & advocate for people with disabilities, Lucy Webster, which examines how sexism & ableism are intertwined when it comes to disabled women. From dealing with education, finding work, & trying out dating, (continued)

1962 & Marta Khoury is on Cairnroch, an island off eastern Scotland, desperate to save her career. Her marriage breakdown means her career is on a knife-edge as her estranged husband is also her boss & is looking for any reason to fire her. As a marine archaeologist, Marta has been hired by the descendants of Captain James Purdie to retrieve his remains & personal artefacts from a shipwreck.

Thank you to all of you who took part in #SPNBookBingo2025, I really enjoyed seeing what everyone picked for the prompts. What a great bunch you are!

There were 287 entries in total for the giveaway which I collated throughout the month & the random picker chose number 254 & the winner is..... @willaful 🎉

Congratulations! Please contact me on gayle.noble@yahoo.co.uk & there will be a prize heading your way.

As a Brit I have occasionally heard the words 'Camp David' & viewed it as the US equivalent to Chequers, the grace-&-favour country residence of the UK Prime Minister. Which it is - sort of. Rather than a country house, this is a retreat in the Catoctin Mountains, comprising of 'rustic' cabins behind a guarded perimeter where the President can retreat to relax & unwind.

Last call for #SPNBookBingo2025

I will be drawing the giveaway winner on Weds 5th Nov so if you have any bingos (lines, 4 corners, or full card) please let me know asap.

Here's my monthly points total for #HauntedShelf #GrimReaders

Thank you to @CSeydel for being Team Leader, & many thanks to @Puddlejumper for hosting. It's been so much fun!

1 bingo line for #ISpy

Thanks for hosting @TheAromaOfBooks

#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel

Since their mother died & their father succumbed to addiction, Luna & Solina have mostly been on their own except for each other. Luna works back-to-back shifts at the local diner in order to pay for her twin sister's tuition at the prestigious Kingswood Academy. Then, the week before she was due to return to school for her final term, Solina says she wants to drop out. (continued)

My final board for #ErasGhostBingo - not quite managed a full board this time.

Thanks for hosting the challenge @CharityAnn

No bingos on #BodyCountBingo unfortunately, but managed 2 lines on #AfterDarkBingo

#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel
@puddlejumper

Short Review:

This turned out to be a very entertaining read mainly due to Miss Decima who was an absolute hoot. Yes there is a lot of swearing in this book but she's very funny & her tentative friendship with Steven is a highlight. The mystery itself was also well planned, although I had a feeling who it was from the start, & the inclusion of newspaper articles from the time period regarding the arrival of the comet was a nice touch. (continued)

Managed 3 lines on #SPNBookBingo2025.

#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel

Unfortunately I did not complete any for Oct 🙁 but hopefully 2 for Nov.

#ReadYourKindle @CBee

Wow, I can't believe today is the final day of #SPNBookBingo2025 The month has just flown by! I hope everyone has had fun & I've loved seeing your posts & prompt picks.

Can I ask that everyone posts their final cards by end of 3rd Nov pls so I can tally up your additional entries for lines/corners/cards? Also please ensure your 'To Read' list is up to date as 1 lucky winner will be receiving a book from their list & a few other goodies!

Following divorce, Matt Blake moves house into what he hopes will become somewhere warm & welcoming to build new memories with his daughter. What he gets is radios & showers turning on at random, noise of footsteps when no-one is there, strange smells, & an odd 'heavy' atmosphere that almost every visitor notices.

As a journalist, Blake knows how to investigate a backstory so he looks into the history of the house & (continued)

Following the death of her grandmother, Freya spent this Christmas alone for the first time in years. Freya & her brother were raised by their grandparents after their parents died in an accident & Freya in particular was very close to her grandmother - living in the same house & running a bakery company 'Past Time Treats' together. Now both grandparents are dead & her brother has his own family, (continued)

Day 30 #Broody

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

Day 29 #Unputdownable

Never have I read a series (& especially this book) with such intense sexual chemistry between two characters. I'm not usually a shipper but for Maeve & Josh - yes!

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

During a Halloween party, one of the children 13-year-old Joyce, declares that she saw a murder committed once. No-one believes her, but later that evening she is found drowned in a tub of apples. Author Ariadne Oliver calls in close friend, Hercule Poirot, to find the killer.

This one is a bit of a dog's dinner. For a start, I can't stand Ariadne Oliver, in fact she makes me think of Hastings quite fondly. (continued)

Day 28 #Cosy

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Kathryn has recently split from her husband, & on a night out with a friend, meets Todd who is an IT expert including carrying out work for the local police department. Their relationship never really gets off the ground, but when Kathryn wants to call it off, the charming, helpful, affable Todd shows the other side to his personality, & due to his IT expertise he has access to her phone, her security cameras, & even her car. (continued)

Day 27 #Cursive

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This is a really interesting historical fiction read incorporating true facts (the Zone Rouge is real & so was the Nazi fascination with the Occult). I think that the author did a great job of conveying the tense & suspicious atmosphere of an occupied country, where the inhabitants cannot be sure who is on their side & who is a traitor. In fact all the narrative concentrated on the war is done very well, but I found that (continued)

This was an OK read. It doesn't really have the sense of menace that some of the earlier books had, & you have to suspend your disbelief for something stuff, such as that a hospital would let a member of staff just give their kid a copy of a patient sign-in sheet. I suppose it was the 90s but even so! (continued)

Day 26 #Red

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Day 25 #Single

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This is an interesting & informative read on the subject of where the prevailing image of the archetypical witch came from. The author argues that the modern portrayal of witches owes more to the Greek & Roman eras than it does to the Medieval.

There is also a discussion of the lasting change in their representation from the Greek idea of witches as attractive & seductive (for example Hecate & Circe) to the Roman portrayals as (continued)

Day 24 #Yellow

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Short Review:

This was quite a good cosy mystery with a well-worked out plot. I found it difficult to warm to Midge as a main character at first, but then I pictured her as being played by a middle-aged Miriam Margolyes & that helped. I do think that she was a little bit too timid though, & her characterisation focused too much on her weight at times. I'd definitely read another 'Midge Mystery' though. 4🌟

Day 23 #Possessive

Pushing the envelope a bit here on meaning of possessive but this one sounds really intriguing. Basically 2 souls sharing 1 body, one during the day, the other at night, one experiencing grief, the other craving hedonism. What happens when one of them commits murder meaning that the other is also implicated?

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

@CSeydel

Day 22 #Grey

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

@CSeydel

Leslie shares her red hair, green eyes, & birthday with her beloved grandmother, but at their joint party when Leslie turns 13, one of her grandmother's friends predicts that both Leslie & her cousin Trish will experience 'grave trouble' before they turn 16.

Now, 3 years later, Leslie can't wait for her Sweet Sixteen party, but strange things start to happen. Her fancy invitations go missing, her party dress arrives slashed to ribbons (continued)

Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to start the Long Walk - an annual competition between 100 boys where the one to walk the longest distance wins his wildest dreams. The boys have to maintain a pace of 4 miles per hour, day & night, no stopping for toilet breaks, eating, or sleeping, & soldiers monitor them continuously. 3 warnings & you are out - permanently.

Day 21 #Tartan

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

@CSeydel

Bramwell Finch has just lost his old business partner & friend, & now looks set to miss out on his last hope for a coveted film award. Everything he sacrificed for success has come to nothing & now he has nothing & no-one. On Christmas Eve, Finch receives an invitation to a private screening at his studio, at a screening room he knows does not exist. Yet there it is - Room 6, & Finch sits down to watch his misdeeds played out onscreen.

Day 20 #Embrace

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

@CSeydel

Year 6 are on a coach bound for an activity trip to Crater Lake & are almost there when a strange, bloodstained man tries to stop the coach before collapsing. The teachers take the students the rest of the way on foot whilst the coach driver rings for an ambulance, but when they reach Crater Lake something is wrong at the activity centre.

My points total so far.

#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders

@CSeydel

Lylah & her friends Chace, Sonny, Isaac, Charlotte, & Sienna all share student accommodation at uni. Lylah has a major crush on Chace but doesn't know if he feels the same way. One evening on their way out to party, the doorbell rings - no-one is there but an anonymous note waiting on the doormat. The note is addressed to Sonny & is made up of cut-out & pasted letters like a ransom note & reads: (continued)

Day 19 #Paranormal

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt #GrimReaders

@CSeydel