A Perfect Match by Jill McGown

The news rocked the town. A woman's body found in a boathouse. And the woman's last known companion Missing Presumed Fled. To the people of Stansfield it's an open and shut case. But Detective Inspector Lloyd - teamed up once more with Sergeant Judy Hill - isn't so quick to jump to conclusions. To begin with he's certain of only two things. First, that nothing can stop the reawakening of his tender feelings towards his colleague. And second: in a murder enquiry you don't rule anybody out... 

A nice, easy to read mystery with a twist I didn't see coming at the end.  I had worked out one of the murderers, but not the second.

Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink

As a child raised by his mother in post-war Germany, Peter Debauer becomes fascinated by a story he discovers in the proof pages of a novel edited by his grandparents. It is the tale of a German prisoner of war who escapes from a Russian camp and braves countless dangers to return home to a wife who believes him to be dead. 

But the novel is incomplete and Peter becomes obsessed by the question of what happened when the soldier and his wife met again.

Years later, the adult Peter remembers the novel and embarks on a search for the missing pages that soon becomes a mysterious search for his own father, a German soldier whom he always believed was killed in the war.

 Slow, rambling tale of a man obsessed with his absent father.   All very deep and meaningful but by the end i just wanted to Peter to get over himself.

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

"

I have never killed anyone, and I have never stolen another woman's husband. Oh, if I find one lying around unattended, I might climb on, but I never took one that didn't want taking."

The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even amongst Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favourite stepfather's savanna manor house until gossip subsides.

Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream — a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz records, cigarettes and safaris. As mistress of this wasted estate, Delilah falls into the decadent pleasures of society.

Against the frivolity of her peers, Ryder White stands in sharp contrast. As foreign to Delilah as Africa, Ryder becomes her guide to the complex beauty of this unknown world. Giraffes, buffalo, lions and elephants roam the shores of Lake Wanyama amid swirls of red dust. Here, life is lush and teeming — yet fleeting and often cheap.

Amidst the wonders and dangers of Africa, Delilah awakes to a land out of all proportion: extremes of heat, darkness, beauty and joy that cut to her very heart. Only when this sacred place is profaned by bloodshed does Delilah discover what is truly worth fighting for — and what she can no longer live without.

I loved this book from the start. Clever writing, humour and a mystery along with a charming, interesting heroine.

Addition by Toni Jordan

Grace Lisa Vandenburg, the narrator of this pleasant neurotic-girl-meets-boy debut, is 35 years old and has been addicted to counting since she was eight. She lives alone in Melbourne, Australia, and is on sick leave from her teaching job, filling her weeks with counting—steps and syllables and bites and things—and sticking to her rigid routines, which include trips to the cafe and phone calls from her mother and self-absorbed younger sister. The only person in her life Grace relates to is her 10-year-old niece, Hilary, who is as quirky and charming as Grace is. Things are fine until Grace meets Seamus Joseph O'Reilly, an Irish transplant who works at the local movie theater. Grace has not been on a date in two years and six months and hasn't been in love in forever, but as things progress with Seamus, she realizes what she has been missing. With some gentle encouragement, Grace agrees to test her boundaries and tries to find a happy medium between her obsession and living a full life. 

A quirky, funny and moving love story.  All about accepting who you are and the person you love.

I loved the bit about hoping for a long weekend involving a spa, 6 cans of whipped cream, a naked dwarf and a latex Batman costume, but getting 3 days of skiing instead. Rather disappointing.

Legacy by Susan Kay

Tracing the unlikely path from her tragic childhood to her ruthless confrontations with Mary, Queen of Scots, and capturing in all its glory her brilliant reign as Europe's most celebrated queen, Legacy peels back the layers from a mysterious monarch and satisfies the questions of history.

A fast-paced, enthralling story of one of history's most fascinating women. 

Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige

 Kathryn Ardleigh is everything the victorian English gentlewoman is not - outspoken, freethinking, American... and a writer of the frowned upon "penny-dreadfuls". When Kate arrives in Essex, England, she shocks the household at Bishop's Keep - and captures the interest of amateur detective Sir Charles Sheridan as they begin their first case together.
A dead boy has been uncovered at a nearby archaeological dig. The investigation provides the perfect research for Kate's fiction. But the curious writer may be digging too deep - especially when the trail leads her into a secret occult society known as the Order of the Golden Dawn... 

An enjoyable historical mystery with a rather scandalous heroine, she rides a bicycle!

Blessed is the Busybody by Emilie Richards

Meet the unconventional Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, a minister's wife with her own calling: helping troubled souls in need of justice...

Aggie's free-spirited ways have been raising many an eyebrow at the Consolidated Community Church, tucked away in the cookie-cutter perfect Emerald Springs, Ohio. But nothing is more shocking than the naked body of a murdered woman turning up on her front porch. Suspicion falls on Aggie's husband, who had been counselling the victim before her death. And Aggie doesn't have a prayer of clearing his name unless she can uncover the truth in a town not known for confessing its sins... 

An enjoyable cozy murder mystery. Aggie has a sense of the absurd & an eye for detail. She, her family & friends are well worth visiting. Nothing too churchy.  I read another in this series if I came across it.