Five recent reads | July 20

June was the busiest month with work so I didn't even manage to read a full 5 books across the month; I've reached five now since my last 'five recent reads' post, though, so it's here - if a little late! Here's what I've been reading lately...

I read Magpie by Sophie Draper and honestly, I didn't love it. It was pretty forgettable and I didn't race through it like some books. There's a good enough plot and I definitely didn't see the twist coming, I think it was just lacking something! The story follows a woman who wants to escape her husband and in doing so, her son goes missing... If you like British psychological thrillers though, it is worth a read.

I was on the social media promo tour for The Sight of You* by Holly Miller, which I agreed to in the hopes of adding something a bit different to my TBR list. It's a contemporary romance about a man who has psychic dreams, and what happens when he falls in love with a woman who desperately wants a happy future for the two of them. I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did because it's just not my kind of thing, but it's fantastic and I would highly recommend it!

All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda has been on my bookcase for ages, and I finally got round to reading it recently. Set in small-town America, the story is told backwards as Nic returns home to deal with some family issues and ends up unravelling the story behind her childhood best friend's disappearance, and how it relates to the town in present day. I really liked this one, although the backwards writing took some getting used to. It's clever, though.

I also read Hold My Hand by M J Ford, another UK-based crime fiction novel about a police woman who was witness to a kidnapping when she was just a kid herself; decades later, the case is linked to another kidnapping and the story starts to come to light. It's a tale of striking coincidence and thrilling twists - so much happened that I really didn't see coming! I really enjoyed this one.

My fifth recent read was The Polish Detective by Hania Allen which I loved so, so much. I'm sure you know but I love Poland, and I've not been since December which is a long time for me. I really appreciated all the references to my favourite country throughout this book, and the storyline was really interesting too - it follows Dania, a Polish detective in Dundee, as she aims to solve a string of murders that may or may not be connected to the disappearance of two teenage girls. It's fantastic and I can't wait to read the next two books in the series!

What have you been reading lately?