Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Francesca 'Frankie' Caputo has it all figured out. She's finally going to marry the man she loves and then they will live happily ever after. But when a freak accident cuts her fiancé Alex's life tragically short, all of Frankie's future plans suddenly disintegrate.

Drowning in grief, Frankie flees from her overbearing Italian-American family, and escapes to an abandoned cabin owned by Alex's parents in a remote part of Washington forest.

As her heart slowly begins to heal, Frankie discovers a freedom that's both exhilarating and unsettling to everything she has always known for sure. So when her old life comes crashing back in, Frankie must decide: will she slip quietly back into her safe, former existence? Or will a stronger, wiser Frankie Caputo stand up and claim her new life? 

Disappointing.  The best thing about this book was the cover.  The heroine was insipid and annoying, the hero had the opportunity to be an interesting character but wasn't well developed.
Great cover.

Guilty Little Secrets by Connie Lane

Seduction has no limits when two people with secrets come together in a hot little town called Vegas.

The last place Special Agent Rosie Malone expected to find herself was in a clown suit in a back alley in Vegas. It was part of an undercover sting...until a guy named Mack started muscling in on her territory. The sexy male stripper may be making them swoon every night at the Silver Swan Casino, but Rosie’s no pushover. Except there’s something about the guy...something that goes beyond just another gorgeous bod. And Rosie needs some answers. Such as what Mack’s really after–and who in the world he is.

It’s bad enough having to resurrect his old strip routine to infiltrate a master criminal ring. Now Mack’s got a beautiful clown in his sights who’s making him hotter than a desert summer. She’s also the target of some nasty thugs, and Mack knows he has to move fast–even if it means revealing his true identity. But it’s going to take some pretty inventive thinking to convince Rosie she’s safe with him. Not easy when he and Rosie are being pursued across state lines, posing as newlyweds and trying to pretend they’re anywhere but in the deepest danger–and doing anything but falling in love...

Light, fluffy and rather silly.  The heroine was annoying and I would be very concerned if that was really how the FBI carried out an investigation.

The Reason I Jump by Naomi Higashida

Written by Naoki Higashida when he was only thirteen, this remarkable book provides a rare insight into the often baffling behaviour of autistic children. Using a question and answer format, Naoki explains things like why he talks loudly or repeats the same questions, what causes him to have panic attacks, and why he likes to jump. He also shows the way he thinks and feels about his world - other people, nature, time and beauty, and himself. Abundantly proving that people with autism do possess imagination, humour and empathy, he also makes clear how badly they need our compassion, patience and understanding. 

An uplifting, fascinating look into what is really going on in the mind of an autistic person. 

Nurses of the Outback by Annabelle Brayley

The work of a nurse is challenging enough, but when you add a remote location, the stakes are so much higher. Meet fifteen courageous people who have chosen to pursue careers in remote area nursing.

There's Anna, who is on duty in Georgetown as the fury of Cyclone Yasi tears through inland Queensland; Maureen in outback New South Wales, who faces everything from a snakebite to a helicopter crash; Aggie, who overcomes her demons to help young people in the Kimberley; and Catherine, newly graduated and determined to make a difference in the Gulf Country she and her rodeo-riding husband call home.

From some of the most remote places on earth, these stories bring the outback to life – we witness the harshness and isolation as well as the camaraderie of life in small towns in the middle of nowhere. These intrepid nurses manage everyday health care and life-threatening emergencies, patch up the local pets and fundraise for their towns. They are the heartbeat of their communities.

From Bidyadanga to Broken Hill, from Mount Isa to Marree, these tales are by turns moving and inspiring, full of gutsy feats and classic outback spirit. 

 A very interesting read about a varied group of people all over Australia. Their stories of how and why they ended up working remotely were fascinating.  

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

A story of a Civil War soldier, Inman, who turns his back on the carnage of the battlefield and begins the treacherous journey home to Cold Mountain to find Ada, the woman he loved before the war began. Meanwhile Ada struggles to make a living from the land her father left her. Neither Ada nor Inman knows if the other is alive. 

This is a beautiful, understated, unsentimental story of quiet longing, endurance, and transformation.

I loved the language, the descriptions of both countryside and people. You came to know the characters.

This is a book that will stay with me. 

Never Go Back by Lee Child

After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had.

Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind Reacher's old desk isn't a woman. Why is Susan Turner not there?


What Reacher doesn't expect is what comes next. He himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: 'You're back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.'

I always enjoy Jack Reacher. Lots of action, a few twists and turns and in this one a touch of romance. I liked Jack's possible daughter and would have liked to have seen more of her. 

What Bloody Man Is That? by Simon Brett

Charles Paris is on the way up again, career-wise. He is offered several small parts in the play dreaded by superstitious theatre folk, who will not even speak its name: 'the Scottish play' - Macbeth. It's only in provincial rep, but you have to start (or re-start) somewhere.

The principals in the cast could hardly be more ill-assorted. Macbeth is played by George Birkitt, the TV game-show personality whom we met in Dead Giveaway. Lady Macbeth comes straight from Stratford: an intense young woman with Method in her madness. And Duncan is that notorious old ham, Warnock Belvedere, who feels that he is in the tradition of the great actor managers.

With such a cast, sparks are bound to fly. It's not long before death strikes in the night. And Charles Paris takes on the role of private eye... 

Dated. Not much about the mystery, more about the characters.