#WWWWednesday – 20th January 2021

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

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Currently reading

An ARC and a new acquisition…

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements (ARC, courtesy of Zaffre and Readers First)

Sweden, 1942 – Two old friends meet. They are cousins. One is Prince George, Duke of Kent, brother of the King of England. The other is Prince Philipp von Hesse, a committed Nazi and close friend of Adolf Hitler.

Days later, the Prince George is killed in a plane crash in the north of Scotland. The official story is that it was an accident – but not everyone is convinced.

There is even a suggestion that the Duke’s plane was sabotaged, but with no evidence, Cambridge spy Tom Wilde is sent north to discover the truth…

The Dead of Winter by S.J. Parris (hardcover)

Three exhilarating novellas – The Secret Dead, The Academy of Secrets, and The Dead of Winter – following the early adventures of young priest Giordano Bruno in the dramatic days of sixteenth century Italy.

The Secret Dead – During the summer of 1566, a girl’s body is found within the walls of a Neapolitan monastery. Novice monk Giordano Bruno has a habit of asking difficult questions, but this time his investigations may lose him his place in the Dominican Order – or deliver him into the hands of the Inquisition.

The Academy of Secrets – An invitation arrives from a secret society of enlightened philosophers, led by the eccentric Don Giambattista della Porta. Bruno is captivated – even more so when he meets della Porta’s beautiful niece. But keeping these new heretical secrets soon becomes a matter of life or death…

A Christmas Requiem – When Giordano Bruno is told the pope wants to see him, he fears he may be walking into a trap. The pope is intrigued by Bruno’s talent for complex memory games, but Rome is a den of intrigue, trickery and blood, and Bruno will be lucky to escape the Eternal City alive.

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Recently finished

Links from the titles will take you to my reviews

Artist, Soldier, Lover, Muse by Arthur D. Hittner 

The Art of Dying (Raven, Fisher & Simpson #2) by Ambrose Parry 

Game of the Gods by Paolo Maurensig, translated by Anne Milano Appel

Forgotten Lives (DCI Doug Stirling #2) by Ray Britain

To The Dark (Simon Westow #3) by Chris Nickson (eARC, courtesy of Severn House)

Winter is about to take a chilling twist…

Leeds, 1822. The city is in the grip of winter, but the chill deepens for thief-taker Simon Westow and his young assistant, Jane, when the body of Laurence Poole, a petty local thief, emerges from the melting snow by the river at Flay Cross Mill.

A coded notebook found in Laurence’s room mentions Charlie Harker, the most notorious fence in Leeds who’s now running for his life, and the mysterious words: To the dark. What was Laurence hiding that caused his death? Simon’s hunt for the truth pits him against some dangerous, powerful enemies who’ll happily kill him in a heartbeat – if they can. (Review to follow for blog tour)

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What Cathy (will) Read Next

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (paperback)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness – in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.