Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

When Nikki takes a creative writing job at her local temple, with visions of emancipating the women of the community she left behind as a self-important teenager, she's shocked to discover a group of barely literate women who have no interest in her ideals.

Yet to her surprise, the white dupatta of the widow hides more than just their modesty – these are women who have spent their lives in the shadows of fathers, brothers and husbands; being dutiful, raising children and going to temple, but whose inner lives are as rich and fruitful as their untold stories. But as they begin to open up to each other about womanhood, sexuality, and the dark secrets within the community, Nikki realises that the illicit nature of the class may place them all in danger.

It was slow to start. I wasn't sure I was going to get into it but about chapter 4 it grabbed me. A bit of a mystery about who killed a couple of young brides, a bit of romance and a look at Punjabi culture in London and adapting to a new life in a new world. It was also about how women become invisible as they age. Most of the erotic stories were good, but there are some things that different cultures find erotic.

8/10

The One Who Got Away by Caroline Overington

Loren Wynne-Estes appears to have it all: she's the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who's landed a handsome husband, a stunning home, a fleet of shiny cars and two beautiful daughters ...

Then one day a fellow parent taps Loren on the shoulder outside the grand school gate, hands her a note ... and suddenly everything's at stake.

Loren's Facebook-perfect marriage is spectacularly exposed -- revealing an underbelly of lies and betrayal. What is uncovered will scandalise a small town, destroy lives and leave a family divided. 

This was a really good mystery. Told from a few different points of view, the story slowly unfolded with a surprise twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

8/10

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost.

Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners.

Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made.

A delightful, magical read. 
A bit of a mystery, a bit of romance, a bit of a ghost story and overall a story of love and life.

10/10

Three Hours Late by Nicole Trope

Once, so very long ago, she had watched him like this when he came to pick her up for a date. . . Her stomach fluttered and burned with infatuation and desire. She would watch him walk up the path and think, "This must be love." But that was so very long ago. Now Liz is wary and afraid. She has made a terrible mistake and it cannot be undone. Alex believes that today will be the day she comes back to him. Today will be the day his wife and young son finally come home. Today they will be a family again. But Liz knows that some things can never be mended. Some marriages are too broken. Some people are too damaged. Now the most important thing in her life is her son, Luke, and she will do anything in her power to protect him. So when Alex is a few minutes late bringing Luke back Liz begins to worry, and when he is an hour late her concern grows, and when he is later still she can feel her whole life changing, because what if Alex is not just late?

Got me hooked from the beginning and kept me guessing until the end.

9/10

Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms by Anita Heiss

Over 1000 Japanese soldiers break out of the No.12 Prisoner of War compound on the fringes of Cowra. In the carnage, hundreds are killed, many are recaptured, and some take their own lives rather than suffer the humiliation of ongoing defeat.

But one soldier, Hiroshi, manages to escape.

At nearby Erambie Station, an Aboriginal mission, Banjo Williams, father of five and proud man of his community, discovers Hiroshi, distraught and on the run. Unlike most of the townsfolk who dislike and distrust the Japanese, the people of Erambie choose compassion and offer Hiroshi refuge. Mary, Banjo’s daughter, is intrigued by the softly spoken stranger, and charged with his care.

For the community, life at Erambie is one of restriction and exclusion – living under Acts of Protection and Assimilation, and always under the ruthless eye of the mission Manager. On top of wartime hardships, families live without basic rights.

Love blossoms between Mary and Hiroshi, and they each dream of a future together. But how long can Hiroshi be hidden safely and their bond kept a secret?

A good story of the Cowra breakout and it shines a light on indigenous life at the time but it did drag out a bit and I didn't like the way the romance ended. She didn't wait for him.

7/10

Vigil by Angela Slatter

Verity Fassbinder “has her feet in two worlds” – that of the Normal, where there is definitely no magic and the only things that go bump in the night are trees in the wind and possums in the bins, and that of the Weyrd. With the Weyrd, things going bump in the night may well be very old, very cranky, and very powerful. Also, weird.

I was hooked by this story. A murder mystery with a tough kickass heroine, a mix of fantasy with a touch of romance and non stop action, this story was spellbinding and I could not put it down.

Really, really, really good!

I'm looking for the next in the series.

Gallow's View by Peter Robinson

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks has recently relocated with his family to the Yorkshire Dales from stressful London but soon finds that life in the countryside is not quite as idyllic as he had imagined.

Three cases come to the fore: a voyeur is terrorizing the women of Eastvale. Two thugs are breaking into homes, and an old woman is dead, possibly murdered. As the tension mounts, Banks must also deal with his attraction to a young psychologist Jenny Fuller, and when both Jenny and Banks's wife are drawn deeper into events Banks realises that his cases are weaving closer and closer together . . .

A very good mystery, or intertwined mysteries. It was amazing how dated the story felt. It was written in 1987 and brought home how much has changed in both technology and attitudes since then.