Friday Finds | 23rd – 30th June

 

The three books I added to my TBR this week are all ones that featured in my Netgalley picks of the week post from Monday.

 

To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothmann

Synopsis: Distant, silent, often drunk, Walter Urban is a difficult man to have as a father. But his son—the narrator of this slim, harrowing novel—is curious about Walter’s experiences during World War II, and so makes him a present of a blank notebook in which to write down his memories. Walter dies, however, leaving nothing but the barest skeleton of a story on those pages, leading his son to fill in the gaps himself, rightly or wrongly, with what he can piece together of his father’s early life.

This, then, is the story of Walter and his dangerously outspoken friend Friedrich Caroli, seventeen-year-old trainee milkers on a dairy farm in northern Germany who are tricked into volunteering for the army during the spring of 1945: the last, and in many ways the worst, months of the war. The men are driven to the point of madness by what they experience, and when Friedrich finally deserts his post, Walter is forced to do the unthinkable.

This is totally not the sort of book I would normally go for, but something about the cover paired with the synopsis really drew me and I ended up requesting a copy from the publisher. I like that this is about German soldiers over English or American ones.

 

The Visitors by Catherine Burns

Synopsis: Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar.

Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden.

As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side.

This book got a lot of attention on my Netgalley post this week because of it’s interesting cover and sinister sounding plot. I received an arc of this in the post yesterday which I’m very excited to read! I have also been signed up to do the blog tour for the book when it’s published, but that’s all the way in October, so I’ve got to wait for ages to be able to share my review!!

 

The Fifth Doll by Charlie N. Holmberg

Synopsis: Matrona lives in an isolated village, where her life is centered on pleasing her parents. She’s diligent in her chores and has agreed to marry a man of their choosing. But a visit to Slava, the local tradesman, threatens to upend her entire life.

Entering his empty house, Matrona discovers a strange collection of painted nesting dolls—one for every villager. Fascinated, she can’t resist the urge to open the doll with her father’s face. But when her father begins acting strangely, she realizes Slava’s dolls are much more than they seem.

When he learns what she’s done, Slava seizes the opportunity to give Matrona stewardship over the dolls—whether she wants it or not. Forced to open one of her own dolls every three days, she falls deeper into the grim power of Slava’s creations. But nothing can prepare her for the profound secret hiding inside the fifth doll.

This sounds like such a mysterious and exciting book! Put under the Sci Fi category on Netgalley, this is going to be a little different to what I normally read but it sounds fantastic. Plus, I think I’ve found my favourite cover of 2017 so far!

 

So there you have it, those were the books I added to my TBR this week! These are all on Netgalley if you’re interested in any of them!

Have you guys read any of these books / want to read any of these books? I’d love to hear what you think!