Janet Gordon is married, retired, obsessed with her Westlake Terrier, Rollo – and books are her passion. She reads multiple books a week across all genres and reviews them for Rest Less.
This month’s round-up features The Lost Passenger, Mixed, I’m Gonna Eat a Monster, Knife Skills for Beginners, and Murder Below Deck.
Note: Prices can change often, so you may notice some variations on the providers’ websites. Prices and availability are accurate as of the 7th of March, 2025.
The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn (Kindle £9.99, Amazon £14.25, Simon & Schuster £18.99)
Elinor Hayward can’t believe she’s been invited to a ball at Lord and Lady Burnham’s house. Granted, the Haywards have money – Elinor’s father is a mill owner known as ‘The Cotton King’ – but the Burnhams move in a different circle entirely.
Her father won’t hear of her not attending the ball, and it’s there that she meets Frederick Coombes, heir to the Storton Estate. The inevitable happens and inexperienced Elinor is wooed by Frederick. Blunt of thought and word, Elinor is well used to running her household; however, she soon discovers that Frederick’s mother runs the estate, and Elinor is only needed for her money and to produce an heir – which she duly does.
Keeping her own counsel, Elinor is deeply unhappy, though she keeps this hidden from her father. She’s only allowed to look after her son for 30 minutes each day – when he’s brought down from the nursery by Nanny.
When excitement builds about the new luxurious ship, the Titanic, The Cotton King decides to treat himself, Elinor, Frederick, and their baby son by purchasing the most expensive suite on offer.
But then, of course, the Titanic sinks. Elinor and her baby survive, and she realises this is her chance for them to start a new life together. But it’s what happens before boarding, and how indomitable Elinor survives in New York, that makes for such a wonderful, atmospheric, and absorbing story.
Many moons ago when I was living with my ex, he decided to start collecting Titanic memorabilia – or, more specifically, newspapers with articles relating to the Titanic. I remember that he had an original copy of The Times from 15 April 1912 which lived in a suitcase under our bed. After we divorced, I have no idea what happened to the newspaper – who knows, maybe I used it to wrap up some of my belongings when I moved out!
Mixed by Tamar Hodes (Kindle £4.99, Amazon £9.19, Legend Press £9.99)
Back in the early 2000s, author Sue Margolis wrote a series of bestselling novels based on Jewish work life, dating, and marriage, which were all hugely entertaining. Sadly, she died of lung cancer in 2017, but her novels are available on Amazon and are great reads.
I was reminded of her books when reading Mixed: Can an undercooked chicken bring a family back together? by Tamar Hodes. It follows the story of sisters Miriam and Ruth Green. Just like most sisters everywhere, whilst they love each other, they argue constantly.
Ruth lives in North London, keeps a kosher home, and leads a very traditional married life.
On the other hand, Miriam married a non-Jewish man and, while she wants her children to learn about their heritage, they live in a rural area, away from any other Jewish folk.
With typical Jewish humour, this is a wonderful look at family life, as the two sisters try their best to get along and overlook their differences. I loved it.
I’m Gonna Eat a Monster by Kael Tudor (author) and Scott Wilson (illustrator) (Kindle £5.99, Amazon £7.75, Penguin £7.99)
Does anything give more pleasure than reading to grandchildren – even when they’re old enough to read themselves?
My two are voracious readers and, at 13 and 16, they hardly need me to read to them anymore. So I read this to my dog, Rollo, instead! After all, it’s about rabbits!
This is the most wonderfully illustrated picture book which is just right for little ones. If you’re looking for a new story to read before bedtime, I really recommend this.
Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin (Kindle £2.99, Amazon £6, Penguin £8.99)
Foodies may well recognise the name Orlando Murrin. He’s been a semi-finalist on MasterChef, written six bestselling cookbooks, edited for BBC Good Food and Woman and Home, and founded Olive Magazine. Now drawing on all these skills, he’s written two novels featuring chef Paul Delamare.
In Knife Skills for Beginners, Paul is coerced into running a week-long cookery course in a posh school in Belgravia, after Christian, the original chef and a long-time friend, breaks his arm. However, on the first night of the course, Christian is found dead, and Paul seems to be a suspect…
What follows is such an entertainingly cosy mix of cookery, crimebusting, and Agatha Christie-esque criminology – not to mention product placements!
I can envisage this as a TV series sponsored by any one of the products Murrin mentions.
Murder Below Deck by Orlando Murrin (Kindle £5.99, Amazon £15.91, Penguin £16.99)
If you enjoy Knife Skills for Beginners, you’ll be pleased to know that Murder Below Deck is the second book in the series. Paul is forced into accompanying his friend, the gorgeous Lady Hardcastle, new bride to multimillionaire Sir Billy Hardcastle, on a luxury cruise. Oh dear, what a hardship!
But with guests occupying all the luxurious suites, Paul is assigned a tiny crew room below decks. Still, all is going well until Lady Hardcastle’s priceless necklace – a wedding present from her husband – is stolen and, for some reason, Paul is under suspicion.
He knows that he didn’t steal it and races to catch the thief. However, a passenger is then found dead in suspicious circumstances. Paul is convinced it’s murder, although nobody else agrees.
I just love the way Murrin namedrops various brands and shops – even mentioning Panzer’s Delicatessen in St Johns Wood, London, where I used to shop. This is such a wonderful addition to the not-quite-so-cosy crime genre.
Win!
Courtesy of Penguin, we have a copy of Knife Skills for Beginners and Murder Below Deck to be won.
To win, please answer the following question…
Which BBC show was Orlando Murrin a semi-finalist on?
a) The Great British Bake Off
b) MasterChef
c) Great British Menu
Terms and conditions
The giveaway will close at 11.59pm on 20th March 2025 and the winner will be chosen at random in a prize draw on 21st March 2025. The winner will be connected with Janet via email for the fulfilment of their prize.
For more reading inspiration, head over to the books, literature, and writing section of our website. Or, for further book and literature discussions, you might be interested in joining the thriving book club or short story club over on Rest Less Events.
Have you read any of these books? Or have you added any of them to your reading list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.