Summer's End

The Dirty South (A Charlie Parker Thriller Series) by John Connolly

Hardback: Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

It is 1997, and someone is slaughtering young women in Burdon County, Arkansas.

But no one in the Dirty South wants to admit it.

In an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD detective, stricken by grief. He is mourning the death of his wife and child, and searching in vain for their killer. 

Obsessed with avenging his lost family, his life is about to take a shocking turn.

Witness the dawning of a conscience.

Witness the birth of a hunter.

Witness the becoming of Charlie Parker.

​The Dirty South (2020) is the eighteenth and latest instalment in the brilliant and exceptional Charlie Parker Thriller series. 

About the author: John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. (A dogsbody, for our North American friends, is a 'go-fer'.) He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He divides his time between Dublin and Portland, Maine; makes regular donations to the wine industry; and keeps a number of dogs in a remarkable degree of comfort.

Rating: 5/5

Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl

Paperback: A prominent Viennese psychiatrist before the war, Viktor Frankl was uniquely able to observe the way that both he and others in Auschwitz coped (or did not) with the experience.

He noticed that it was the men who comforted others and who gave away their last piece of bread who survived the longest - and who offered proof that everything can be taken away from us except the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. The sort of person the concentration camp prisoner became was the result of an inner decision and not of camp influences alone. Frankl came to believe man's deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose. This outstanding work offers us all a way to transcend suffering and find significance in the art of living.

Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about, and then immersively imagining that outcome. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity.

According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, Man's Search for Meaning belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in the United States." At the time of the author's death in 1997, the book had sold over 10 million copies and had been translated into 24 languages.

Man's Search for Meaning (Part One) is translated from the German by Ilse Lasch. 

(Some excerpts are taken from Wikipedia)

About the author: Viktor E Frankl was professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School until his death in 1997. He was the founder of what has come to be called the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy (after Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's individual psychology) - the school of logotherapy.

Born in 1905, Dr Frankl received the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Vienna. During World War II, he spent three years at Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps.

Dr Frankl first published in 1924 in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and has since published twenty-six books, which have been translated into nineteen languages, including Japanese and Chinese. He was a visiting professor at Harvard, Duquesne, and Southern Methodist Universities. Honorary Degrees have been conferred upon him by Loyola University in Chicago, Edgecliff College, Rockford College, and Mount Mary College, as well as by universities in Brazil and Venezuela. He was a guest lecturer at universities throughout the world and made fifty-one lecture tours throughout the United States alone. He was President of the Austrian Medical Society of Psychotherapy.

Catechism Of Saint Pius X

Paperback: The Catechism of Saint Pius X is a 1908 short book, issued by Pope Pius X with questions and answers regarding the essentials of Christian faith. A shortened version was published in 1930 with the addition of illustration.

The Fathers of the Vatican Council (1869-1870) desired a Catechism for the faithful similar to the Roman Catechism that came as a fruit of the Council of Trent. The Roman Catechism is also known as the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

The Fathers of the Vatican Council desired a uniform catechism for the whole world. Early during the sittings of the Council, forty-one of the assembled Fathers devoted six sessions (10-22 February) to an examination of the question; and the report which they drew up occupied the attention of the whole Council during the sittings of 29 and 30 April. 

They question being put to a vote on 4 May, an immense majority was found to be in favour of the compilation of a small uniform Catechism, to be compiled in Latin, translated into every language, and made obligatory in every diocese. But the approach of the Italian troops towards the walls of Rome brought the Council to an untimely end and there was no time to promulgate the constitution on the proposed uniform Catechism, so that it has not the force of law. The idea, however, has never been lost sight of.

During the sitting of the first Catechetical Congress in 1880, the then Bishop of Mantua (later St Pius X) proposed that the Holy Father be petitioned to arranged for the compilation of a simple, plain, brief and popular Catechism for uniform use all over the world. 

Shortly after his elevation to the Chair of Peter, Pius X at once set about realising, within certain limits, his own proposal of 1880, by prescribing a uniform Catechism - the Compendium of Christian Doctrine - for use in the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Rome, at the same time indicating that it was his earnest desire to have the same manual adopted all over Italy. The text selected was, with slight modifications, that which had been adopted for some years by the united hierarchy of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia and Tuscany.

The Catechism of St Pius X was printed on the command of the pontiff in order to combat the poor catechesis of his day. How much more has this lack of knowledge spread since his own times? There is a pressing need for this catechism to be widely available once again, so that Catholics might be well-grounded in the truths of the Faith.

Lost Connections: Uncovering The Real Causes Of Depression - And The Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari

Hardback: From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing The Scream (2015), a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety.

What really causes depression and anxiety - and how can we truly solve them?

Award-winning journalist Johann Hari suffered from depression since he was a child and started taking anti-depressants when he was a teenager. He was told that his problems were caused by a chemical imbalance in his brain. As an adult, trained in the social sciences, he began to investigate whether this was true - and he learned that almost everything we have been told about depression and anxiety is wrong. 

Across the world, Hari found social scientists who were uncovering evidence that depression and anxiety are not caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains.

In fact, they are largely caused by key problems with the way we live today.

Hari's journey took him from a mind-blowing series of experiments in Baltimore, to an Amish community in Indiana, to an uprising in Berlin.

Once he had uncovered nine real causes of depression and anxiety, they led him to scientists who are discovering seven very different solutions - ones that work. 

Lost Connections (2018) is an epic journey that will change how we think about one of the biggest crises in our culture today.

About the author: Johann Hari is the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing The Scream, which is being adapted into a feature film. He was twice named Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International UK. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and others. His TED Talk, 'Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong', and the animation based on it, have more than 20 million views. 

The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

Hardback: A lifetime of love. Six months of silence. One last chance.

Frank hasn't spoken to his wife Maggie for six months.

For weeks they have lived under the same roof, slept in the same bed and eaten at the same table – all without words.

Maggie has plenty of ideas as to why her husband has gone quiet, but it will take another heartbreaking turn of events before Frank finally starts to unravel the secrets that have silenced him.

Is this where their story ends?

Or is it where it begins?

With characters that will capture your heart, The Silent Treatment (2020) celebrates the phenomenal power of love and the importance of leaving nothing unsaid from a promising debut author. 

About the author: Abbie Greaves studied at Cambridge University before working in a literary agency for a number of years. She was inspired to write her first novel, The Silent Treatment, after reading a newspaper article about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before. Abbie lives in Oxford and is hard at work on her next novel, The Ends of the Earth.

Rating: 5/5

Alone With God by Dom Jean Leclerq OSB

 

Paperback: Upon the recommendation of a Scottish publisher, Ercam Editions in Bloomington, Ohio is reprinting as a single volume this most critically acclaimed and popular of modern Camaldolese books. It is a guide to the hermit way of life, based on the teaching of Blessed Paul Giustiniani and featuring a memorable preface by Thomas Merton.

Alone With God (revised and reset, 2008) is translated from the French Seul avec Dieu: La Vie Eremitique (1961) by Elizabeth McCabe. 

About the author: Dom Jean Leclerq OSB (1911-1993) is widely regarded as the foremost twentieth century scholar of Western monasticism, and this is one of his most impressive achievements. 

If you are going to read only one work of monastic spirituality in your lifetime, this could be your best choice. 

I Survived: I married a charming man. Then he tried to kill me (True Story) by Victoria Cilliers

Paperback: I Survived (2020) is a chilling, eye-opening story of marriage and attempted murder, revealing the truth about a case that made headlines around the world.

On Easter Sunday 2015, experienced skydiver Victoria Cilliers undertook a parachute jump, a gift from her husband, British army sergeant Emile Cilliers. Her parachutes failed to open and she plummeted 4,000 feet to the ground, sustaining life-threatening injuries. 

Miraculously, she survived. 

Then the police arrived at her door. Someone had tampered with her parachute and they suspected Emile.

In I Survived, Victoria describes how she fell for Emile, and how the charming man she thought she knew gradually revealed a darker side, chipping away at her self-worth until she found it impossible to sift truth from lies. Can she really believe that her husband - the father of their two young children - tried to kill her? 

As more shocking revelations come to light, and she has to face his trial and relentless media scrutiny, she struggles to come to terms with the past. Even a guilty verdict does not free her because Emile is not ready to let her go.

Powerful and honest, I Survived is the story of a woman who was put through hell and yet found the strength to forge a new life for herself and her children.

About the author: Victoria Cilliers is a trained physiotherapist who served in the British army reaching the rank of captain. Today she works as a physio for the Ministry of Defence. She has two children and lives in Wiltshire. I Survived is her first book.

Sweet Tea Revenge (Tea Shop Mysteries) by Laura Childs

Paperback: Theodosia Browning’s dear friend Delaine Dish has asked her to be a bridesmaid for her wedding. But when the big day arrives, everything seems to be going wrong. 

First, a massive storm is brewing over Charleston. A bad omen? 

Second, Delaine’s sister is late for the ceremony. 

And finally, the groom not only has cold feet - his whole body is cold. 

A murderer has crashed the wedding.

 

As Theodosia comforts a devastated Delaine, she needs to sort out the suspects on the groom’s side from the suspects on the bride’s side. One thing soon becomes apparent - revenge won’t be the only dish served cold at this wedding. And if Theodosia does not watch her step, a cold-blooded killer may have a rude reception in store for her.

Sweet Tea Revenge (2013) is the fourteenth instalment in the delectable Tea Shop Mysteries set in Charleston, South Carolina and includes recipes and tea time tips. 

About the author: Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr  Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Shar-Peis.

Rating: 5/5

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Paperback: In 2017, a migrant died every twenty-one hours along the United States-Mexico border. That number does not include the many migrants who simply disappear every year. But statistics cannot conjure individual human beings. The number of deaths is staggering, the enormity of the crisis almost impossible to take in. Migrants are people, sons and daughters. They are people, with laughter and songs and prayer. Some of them are beautiful. Some of them are funny and talented. Every one of them is loved. - Jeannie Cummins 

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they will never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favourite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy - two of them her favourites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. 

But what exactly are they running to? 

American Dirt (2020) is a work of fiction about the ordeal of an ordinary Mexican woman and the powerful love that drives her across thousands of perilous miles in an effort to save her son. It tells the human story behind the headlines about migration. It honours the humanity of individual people who are compelled to venture away from their homelands, from danger to mortal danger. 

About the author: Jeanine Cummins is the author of four books: the bestselling memoir A Rip in Heaven, and the novels The Outside Boy, The Crooked Branch, and American Dirt. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.

Rating: 5/5