#Orentober – sharing the love

Posted on October 3, 2020 by J-LBRBSBLOGS

First of all thanks to …

Kelly FromBelgiumWithBookLove and Danielle TheReadingCloset for creating Orentober month. Do visit both these blogs to fully explore what #Orentober is all about. Don’t be afraid to join the fun and celebrate all things Orenda Books related during October!

#TeamOrenda – being part of the book love.

#Orentober gives us a whole month to share our love for both a fantastic publisher – Orenda Books and its fantastic collection of books!

What’s my plan?

What do I have planned for Orentober month? Well I’ve a couple of books to be read.

First up for the Virtual Crime Book Club is A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone. Sounds like it’s going to be a good read!

SHORTLISTED for the McIlvanney prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Three generations of women from the Skelfs family take over the family funeral-home and PI businesses in the first book of a taut, page-turning and darkly funny new series.

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators… When patriarch Jim dies, it’s left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events.

Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn’t the husband she thought he was. Hannah’s best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something stranger and far darker than any of them could have imagined.

As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything…

A compelling, tense and shocking thriller and a darkly funny and warm portrait of a family in turmoil, A Dark Matter introduces a cast of unforgettable characters, marking the start of an addictive new series.

Next I’ll be diving into one of my favourite Orenda Books authors – Lilja Sigurdardottir. Lilja wrote the wonderful Reykjavik Noir trilogy Snare, Trap and Cage. You really should read this wonderful trilogy. She now has a stand-alone out called Betrayal. It’s out now and I’m really looking forward to this book.

Shortlisted for the GLASS KEY AWARD for BEST NORDIC CRIME NOVEL

Exploring the harsh worlds of politics, police corruption and misogyny, Betrayal is a relevant, powerful, fast-paced thriller that feels just a little bit too real…

Burned out and traumatised by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Úrsula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again.

But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Úrsula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her – but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And why has the death of her father in police custody so many years earlier reared its head again?

As Úrsula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard and even a witch-like cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones, and the stakes are raised ever higher…

Exploring the harsh worlds of politics, police corruption and misogyny, Betrayal is a relevant, powerful, fast-paced thriller that feels just a little bit too real…

The third book is The Creak on The Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdottir a new to me author with her debut book.

An exquisitely written, disturbing, claustrophobic and chillingly atmospheric thriller, The Creak on the Stairs is the first in the electrifying FORBIDDEN ICELAND series, by one of Iceland’s most exciting new talents.

When a body of a woman is discovered at a lighthouse in the Icelandic town of Akranes, it soon becomes clear that she’s no stranger to the area.

Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her collegues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day …

But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it’s too late.

I will also be resharing reviews of my favorite Orenda titles.

First, though, I’d like to start with a reminder of that wonderful evening when I joined the Orenda Roadshow event at Waterstones in Dean Street, Manchester.

It was such a good evening full of fun, books and so enjoyable. The authors were lovely, approachable and there was such a happy buzz 🐝 – very suitable for Manchester 🐝 – I knew that this was a publisher and these were authors that I would be happy to support.

Here are just some of my Orenda author reads. I’ve quite a few on my TBR list so it’s good to be reading three of them this month.

If you’re looking for something to read to celebrate Orentober month any Orenda title would be a great choice. I would certainly recommend any of those I have read.

What else can you enjoy?

The blog tour for Betrayal coming to your Twitter feeds through October and brought to you by Orenda Books and Anne Cater…

Translators

Many, though not all, Orenda Books are originally written in the authors own language. This means many can only be brought to the English reader through translation. It is a huge and wonderful part of the Orenda Book remit. A big part of the enjoyment that is brought to us from these books is due to the unerringly amazing translations and translators for which a big thank you.

Finally!

The best thing that any reader can do is read wonderful books with terrific stories and that is what Orenda Books gives the reader. It is a relatively small publishing company but it has a big heart – epitomised in Karen, glad you’re on the mend #MamaOrenda, who heads it up.

#Orentober is a way for us readers and bloggers to support just one of these wonderful small, independent companies by buying and reading their books and spreading the #booklove.