A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – Reading Wales 2025

A Game of Lies, a sequel to The Last Party, also takes place on the Wales/England border, reuniting the detectives from the previous book, Ffion (pronounced Fee-on) Morgan and Leo Brady. A reality show is being filmed in North Wales, which recruited contestants for a survival experience, promising £10,00 for participating and £100,000 for the winner. 

But Miles Young, the producer, had something else in mind when he called the show, Exposure: he has researched the applicants, chose those who harbor a dark secret, and plans to expose them on the air, one by one, to create huge ratings.

Two Cozy Mysteries

A Brush With Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan
Minotaur Books, 2010

Penny Brannigan is a Canadian in her 50s who settled in the Welsh town of Llanelen years ago where she has made friends and started her own manicure business (there's a first!). In the previous book, The Cold Light of Morning, Penny helped solve a mystery with Detective Inspector Gareth Davies, now her beau. Now, Penny has achieved every reader’s dream – inheriting a rustic cottage with its own mystery!

The Birthday Girl by Sarah Ward - Reading Wales 2024

Title: The Birthday Girl
Author: Sarah Ward
Publication: Canelo Crime, paperback, 2023
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Wales

Description: Still recovering from an injury and a bad divorce, Malory Dawson retired from her job in London as a police detective and has taken on a temporary job as night manager of a boutique hotel on Eldey, an isolated island in Wales.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh – Reading Wales 2023

Title: The Last Party
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Publication: Sourcebooks, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Wales

Description: Rhys Lloyd is a local boy who made good as an opera singer and returned home to develop a resort community on Llyn Drych, Mirror Lake, which is bordered by Wales on one side and England on the other. The Welsh locals from the village of Cwm Coed are wary of The Shore and its ostentatious inhabitants, so a party to which all are invited seems like a good idea until the next day when Rhys is found floating in the lake.

Silver on the Tree: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Title: Silver on the Tree: The Dark is Rising #5
Author: Susan Cooper
Publication: Scholastic, paperback, originally published in 1977
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
Setting: Wales

Description: Will Stanton, the main protagonist of The Dark is Rising sequence, is fishing with two of his brothers on Midsummer’s Eve when he realizes “that a part of his life which had been sleeping was broad awake once more.”

The Grey King: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Title: The Grey King: The Dark is Rising #4
Author: Susan Cooper

Illustrator: Michael Heslop
Publication: Atheneum, hardcover, 1975
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
Setting: Wales

Description: After an unexpectedly severe illness, Will Stanton is sent to Wales to recover with his uncle's family. Approaching their farm, Will unexpectedly feels a sense of menace coming from the mountains and learns there is a legend that the Grey King dwells there.

The Ash Grove, a Welsh folk tune

At Mass this morning, I noticed in the hymnal that the recessional, “Let All Things Now Living,” uses the tune of “The Ash Grove,” a Welsh folk tune, which made me start thinking about the Wales Readathon sponsored by Paula at Book Jotter.

The Case of the Dotty Dowager by Cathy Ace – Reading Wales 2022

Title: The Case of the Dotty Dowager
Author: Cathy Ace
Publication: Severn House, hardcover, 2015
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Present-day Wales

Description: The Dowager Duchess of Chellingworth claims she found a dead body in her dining room in the middle of the night but when her son arrived to check it out, the room was empty.

A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond #1976Club

Title: A String in the Harp
Author: Nancy Bond
Publication: Atheneum, hardcover, 1976
Genre: Juvenile fantasy
Setting: Wales

This review is for the #1976Club, hosted by StuckinaBook and Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, in which bloggers are invited to read and review books that were published in a chosen year.

Description: Fifteen-year-old Jen Morgan lost her mother nearly a year ago and her family has not recovered. In the fall, her father brought her younger siblings, Peter and Becky, with him from Western Massachusetts to Wales where he will teach for a year at the University of Aberystwyth, hoping the change of scene will help everyone cope.

Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas – psychological suspense in Wales

Title: Do Not Disturb
Author: Claire Douglas
Publication: Harper Collins, hardcover, 2020
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Present-day Wales

Description: Kirsty Woodhouse and her husband Adrian had always talked about returning to her native Wales to open a guesthouse in the Brecon Beacons, but she accelerated the plan after what happened to Adrian in London.

The Rising of the Lark by Ann Moray - a coming of age story set in early 20th century Wales

Title: The Rising of the Lark 

Author: Ann Moray (1909–1981) 

Publication: William Morrow & Co., hardcover, 1964 

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Setting: Early 20th century Wales

Description: Catriona is just nine when this story begins. Orphaned very young, she was brought to Wales where her guardians installed her at a remote estate, under the supervision of an austere governess, Jane Withers.

England (and Wales) 2018, Day 9

The Clock Tower, Cardiff Castle

Off to Wales!  Our hotel in Worcester did not include breakfast so my niece thoughtfully suggested she go to a shop across the street to pick up some treats before we dashed to the train.  I was busy trying to buy advance tickets online to the Churchill War Rooms as we had been disappointed by the long line for entry the other day. Unfortunately, I had waited too long and the 10:00 am time slot on Tuesday was already sold out. I tried phoning my mother to see if she thought we could make 11:00 am work but eventually had to dash down the hall in my pjs - luckily, did not run into any other guests! However, this purchase took so long I had to throw everything back into my suitcase so we could meet in the lobby at the appointed time, and I left my brand new purple umbrella behind.

The 12-sided Castle Keep

I had spent a lot of time online figuring out our train tickets and this morning's particular route had been one of the trickiest for which to find a good price. I ended up using TicketClever which had us boarding at Worcester Foregate but switching trains at Worcester Shrub, just a couple minutes away, and making another connection before we reached Cardiff. The train ride was entertaining and my mother and I were entranced by lambs we saw frolicking as we sped past. All went well until we got out at Bristol Parkway, which is where we were supposed to make our connection to Filton Abbey Wood.

Looking down from the Norman Keep

I was heading to the monitor to check our platform but happened to ask a station employee instead, and he said there was no train to Cardiff at this stop. I asked if he was sure and showed him my ticket but he told us to get back on the train and go to another station. I dragged my very reluctant mother and niece and all our stuff back onto the train where we were all squashed into those standing. Luckily, someone else was going to Cardiff too and we followed her at the next stop, and only had to wait about 35 minutes for a train. We chatted with a friendly retired couple who were going to a huge flower show in Cardiff.

Looking down: 50 stone steps to the Keep entrance, then more to the top!

Once at Cardiff, we grabbed a taxi to the Tanes Guest House, which was the least appealing of any of our temporary homes. My mother had a single room, I shared a twin with my niece, and there was a bathroom half a flight down. The rooms were dark and depressing, and the bedspread was kind of icky. When there is no top sheet or blanket, one really has no choice but to use whatever duvet or comforter is provided but this was the only one where we really wondered how recently it had been cleaned. And why no top sheets in England anyway?

Another gray day but the bus stop was right outside Tanes and it took us right to Cardiff Castle in the center of town. It was lunch time but I really thought we should visit the Castle while the sun was shining. Remembering my sister's warning to feed my niece regularly, I stopped at a shop that was selling Welsh tea cakes and got everyone a chocolate chip one, fresh out of the oven. They were a little like round thick pancakes but sweeter - quite delicious - I should have bought half a dozen! The Castle itself was not as large or enthralling as Edinburgh Castle but was still entertaining. It had been a Roman fort, then a Norman fortress but in the 18th century it had been purchased by a rich aristocrat, the third Marquess of Bute, who restored it expensively and somewhat gaudily.

We also toured the house restored by the Marquess and his eager architect.  Some of the rooms were furnished, including the library, which was impressive but when have I ever seen a library I didn't like?  The sun came out, motivating my mother to join us for the climb to the Keep and then as close to the top of the tower as possible, where we enjoyed the view.

Cardiff through a narrow keep window

After the Castle, we had a snack at a nearby Caffe Nero, then walked to the National Cardiff Museum, which contains both natural history and art. We stayed there until it closed, then sat in a park across the street to enjoy the improved weather before we strolled back to the Castle area, admiring a very attractive, historic church, St. John the Baptist. My niece and I had been excited about trying a nearby restaurant called Café Citta, which smelled enticing but it was tiny and they told us they were full all night and closed on Sunday. Boo!

Happily, we had seen another restaurant in our wanderings called Gray's that had a varied menu, so we retraced our stops and persuaded them to find us a table even though we had no reservation (oddly, it never seemed all that full, so I wonder why the hesitation - we looked respectable, if casually dressed).  The food was great, and we loved our desserts: Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble. Despite being in London since January, my niece had not discovered the joys of a well-made Sticky Toffee Pudding and she was most gratifyingly appreciative.   As we headed back to the guest house, we noticed that the families who had been out enjoying a Saturday were now replaced by a rowdier but harmless contingent who were out on the town.

The Welsh kings of Aberffraw adopted the dragon in the 5th century
to symbolize their power after the Romans left Britain

Did anyone notice I posted Day 10 before Day 9?

Castle count: one
Church count: exterior only
Miles walked: 4.0

England (and Wales) 2018, Day 10

We had breakfast at our guest house and arranged to leave our bags before heading out to Mass at St. Peter's Church, the oldest surviving Catholic Church in Cardiff, and fortunately only half a mile away. Afterwards, I flagged down a bus and thanks to its helpful driver was able to buy an all-day group bus pass for £10 for all three of us. One of my ideas for Sunday had been to visit St. Fagan's, a living history museum on the other side of Cardiff, but there didn't seem to be any Sunday bus service there. The other plan was to visit Penarth, a seaside community on the other side of Cardiff Bay.

We were a little dubious in case the rain began again but set off regardless, jumping on a bus that arrived barely two minutes after we reached the stop. I told my companions we were heading to the Vale of Glamorgan, which sounded very glamorous.  From Penarth's town center (an appealing-looking bookstore was closed), we walked about 20 minutes down to a pier and impressive sea view.

The Whispering Mountain (Book Review) #1968Club

The 1968 Club is a meme created by Simon from Stuck in a Book, who chose a literary year and has encouraged other bloggers to read up and post on books published that year.  Check out all the reviews here!  When I realized the other book I had chosen, Cousin Kate, had been reviewed by several people, I wanted to pick something not previously included, hence:

Title: The Whispering Mountain
Author: Joan Aiken
Publication:  Jonathan Cape, hardcover, 1968
Genre: Children’s fantasy/historical fiction/speculative fiction – part of the twelve book Wolves Chronicles that begins with the beloved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.