The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer

by Susan Roberts

On Ruby’s thirteenth birthday, a wish she didn’t even know she had suddenly comes true: the couple who raised her aren’t her parents at all. Her real mother and father are out there somewhere, and Ruby becomes determined to find them.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

August 2017; Melville House; 978-1612196657
ebook, audio, print (320 pages); thriller

Venturing into the forest with nothing but a suitcase and the company of her only true friend—the imaginary Shadow Boy—Ruby discovers a group of siblings who live alone in the woods. The children take her in, and while they offer the closest Ruby’s ever had to a family, Ruby begins to suspect that they might need her even more than she needs them. And it’s not always clear what’s real and what’s not—or who’s trying to help her and who might be a threat.

Told from shifting timelines, and the alternating perspectives of teenage Ruby; her mother, Anna; and even the Shadow Boy, The Doll Funeral is a dazzling follow-up to Kate Hamer’s breakout debut, The Girl in the Red Coat, and a gripping, exquisitely mysterious novel about the connections that remain after a family has been broken apart.

About the Book

My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They're not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I'm supposed to say that the bruises on my arms and the black eye came from falling down the stairs.

But there are things I won't say. I won't tell them I'm going to hunt for my real parents. I don't say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw on the way to bed.

I did tell Mick that I saw the woman in the buttercup dress, hanging upside down from her seat belt deep in the forest at the back of our house. I told him I saw death crawl out of her. He said he'd give me a medal for lying.

I wasn't lying. I'm a hunter for lost souls and I'm going to be with my real family. And I'm not going to let Mick stop me.

Buy The Doll Funeral at Amazon

About the Author:  

Kate Hamer grew up in the West Country and Wales. She studied art and worked for a number of years in television and radio. In 2011 she won the Rhys Davies Short Story Prize and her short stories have appeared in many collections. Her novel THE GIRL IN THE RED COAT was published in the UK by Faber & Faber, in the US by Melville House and has been translated into 17 different languages. It was shortlisted for The Costa First Novel Prize, the British Book Industry Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, The John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger and the Wales Book of the Year. It was a Sunday Times bestseller. Her new novel THE DOLL FUNERAL has been a Radio4 Open Book editor's pick and a Bookseller Book of the Month.
Website | Twitter

From the Critics:

“Hamer has created a mystical world in which characters are haunted by specters of their present as well as their past, by the living and the lost. Her diction is lovely and tangible ... A powerful paranormal novel.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Hamer handles language beautifully, fashioning effortlessly evocative sentences.”
—Booklist, starred review

“[Hamer’s] fascination with the thresholds between childhood and adulthood, sanity and insanity, chosen and blood families, and her subtle understanding of the clean, often disturbing logic of childhood morality, evoke both Jeanette Winterson and Ian McEwan . . . This is an elegiac and uplifting novel about the indissoluble bonds between mothers and daughters and a reminder of how the imagination can set you free.” —Melanie McGrath, The Guardian

“I felt instantly protective of Ruby; the teenager with a secret so chilling I had to check the front door was locked. Hamer’s brilliant storytelling made me read on for fear Ruby’s fate depended on it.” —Anna Silverman Grazia


Also available at Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling.  She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends.  She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads or Twitter.

Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

Review: Water Memory by Mathieu Reynes and Valerie Vernay

by MK French

Marion and her mother inherit an old house, complete with a private beach. While they expect to have a good life at their new home, Marion soon finds strange rock carvings, a creepy lighthouse watchman and discovers local legends that seem to be coming to life.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2017; Lion Forge; 978-1941302439
ebook, print (104 pages); fantasy, children's

This graphic novel is translated from the French, and Valerie's art is lovely and full of details. The end of the book also includes notes from the author and artist, and sketches of the character design and the world-building after trips to Brittany for inspiration.

Marion is a curious little girl, exploring the area around her house, the stones with faces that were set up, and even trying to go to the lighthouse despite stories from the villagers about the watchman. The story unfolds steadily, and we learn more about the village and its history.

It's a simple overall story, in that there are no subplots and not too many characters to really complicate things. The focus is on Marion and the steps she takes to learn more about the village legends, and in the process we do, too. The book is likely to appeal to middle-grade readers as well as adults interested in the supernatural.

Buy Water Memory at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

Review: Pudding Up with Murder by Julia Buckley

by Donna Huber

Pudding Up with Murder by Julia Buckley is a cute culinary cozy mystery with recipes included.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free ARC was provided for an honest review.

September 2017; Berkley; 978-0425275979;
ebook, print (304 pages); cozy mystery

While Pudding Up with Murder is the third book in the Undercover Dish Mystery series, it is my first book by Julia Buckley. I don't think it will be my last.

I liked the main character, Lilah Drake. She is a chef who works at a local catering company and appears on the local cooking television as the Friday guest chef. But the interesting part of her occupation is as a secret cook. She whips up culinary delights for customers to pass off as their own. I'm not sure how long she'll keep this under wraps as her clientele are all referrals. And since it seems that these secret dishes are present when murder is on the menu, it may soon become a secret everyone knows.

In Pudding Up with Murder Lilah makes a rice pudding for her friend Ellie (who is also the mother of her boyfriend) to take to her neighbor's birthday party. The old man next door is a bit odd, but Ellie seems quite taken with him. He likes dogs and Ellie asks Lilah to bring her dog Mick to the party. The man has a number of ex-wives and is presumed to be quite well off. So when he kills over dead at the party there are plenty of suspects including Lilah's rice pudding.

Buckley has created a fun cast of characters. Some of them have probably shown up in the previous books - best friend, co-workers - and then there is the Cantwell family who appears for the first time (I assume since I haven't read the previous books, but they are the focus of the murder case). I thought Buckley did particularly well creating Tim and Emma's kids.

Lilah's boyfriend Jay is a local police detective and he is in charge of the investigation. (I get the impression that the town they live in is small, but perhaps it just has a small town feel since the police station is always described as being busy.) Even though Jay grew up next door to the Cantwell's he knows he won't get all the answers he's looking for. So he asks Lilah to keep her eyes and ears open, and she does just that and more!

If you are like me and haven't read the series, you won't have any problem with knowing who is who. Since this is only book 3, even the plot threads that carry over from the previous books are easy enough to follow.

If you are looking for a culinary cozy mystery, then definitely check this one out. I'm looking forward to making a couple of the recipes.

Buy Pudding Up with Murder at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

Susan's August Reading Round Up

by Susan Roberts

Summer is leaving us and August is over. Long summer days of reading at the beach or pool are coming to an end and it's time to get the kids back into school and start thinking about cooler weather. There's still time to read a few more books before fall comes and I have several to recommend to you.

Review & Excerpt: The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire

by MK French

In the eleventh book of the October Daye series (named after the main character), she finally has a bit of peace. She can have a bachelorette party and take a break from being a hero of the realm... until her mother Amandine ransoms her fiance Tybalt and Jasmine so that Toby is forced to find her sister, who went missing in 1906. Toby has no choice but to go to Simon Torquill for help, and hope he still doesn't want to do her harm.

Review: No Place I'd Rather Be by Cathy Lamb

by Susan Roberts

I just finished this book and all I can say is WOW - what a fantastic book. As always, Cathy Lamb has presented her readers with a complex book about family and love and acceptance. It was a book that caused laugh out loud moments as well as tears. I was so involved in this book that I canceled lunch plans today so that I could finish it which was probably not a good idea because there are lots of wonderful food descriptions in the book which made me really hungry so I ended up eating junk food while I read it.