The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

This is the first book I've read by Kate Morton. It tells the story of a group of young English artists and their models who spend the summer of 1862 at a country house. Two of the party are killed. The story jumps between different people who lived in the house after them, up to the present day, and slowly reveals what happened to the two. Much of the story is narrated by the ghost of one of the victims. This provides an unusual perspective. 

I enjoyed the book. I found it wasn't one to put down and come back to, as I started to forget who was who. I also felt like there were a few unanswered questions at the end. The story reminded me of The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild.

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

This is the fourth book in the Strike series written pseudonymously by J.K Rowling. Each book improves on the last; every one of the 650 pages was packed with story.

The book begins with Robin's wedding to Matt. The intricacies of Robin's love life and Strike's are just as compelling as the crime they're investigating.

The pair has been hired by an MP who is being blackmailed. The story is complex. It moves between a socialist thug and his girlfriend, the MPs posh horsey family, and other politicians.

My only slight criticism is that Strike has problems with his amputated leg throughout the book. I'm hoping he gets a new state of the art prosthesis in the next book, because I wouldn't want to read another one about it. Other than that, I can't wait for the next one.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I had been eagerly awaiting the chance to read Moriarty's latest book and I wasn't disappointed. It tells the story of nine strangers at a health spa. The protagonist, menopausal Frances, writes romance novels but has just had her first one rejected by her publisher. Other guests include a young wealthy couple and a family of three who lost a son/brother to suicide.

The dialogue between Frances and other characters, about her writing, allowed Moriarty to include a number of metafictive moments. Criticisms of Frances' writing were repeated in the plot line of Nine Perfect Strangers, creating laugh out loud parody.

The health spa is run by a former Russian corporate high flyer, Masha. The character's name comes from the winning bidder at a Starlight Children's Foundation auction. Her prize was to have her name in one of Moriarty's books. It was great to see that the name was given to one of the main characters.

The spa was unconventional in ways that went beyond plausible into the realms of comedy.  The story balanced the serious issue of teen suicide, with the comic spa and the carefully crafted and credible characters Moriarty is well known for. It was a great read!