Cecelia Ahern: How to fall in love

Christine Rose is crossing the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin late one night when she sees a stranger, Adam, poised to jump. Desperate to help, she talks him into a reckless deal: if he gives her two weeks – till his 35th birthday – she’ll prove that life is worth living. But as the clock ticks and the two of them embark on late-night escapades and romantic adventures, what Christine has really promised seems impossible...

An easy bath-tub read about falling in love when you least expect it. The story about Christine and Adam is a little predictable, but the conversations between Christine and her friends and family are written well, so that they do make for funny and relaxing reading. A very quick read and lovely chick-flick by Ahern again.

Karen Perry: The boy that never was

Three-year-old Dillon vanished in the middle of the night. His father Harry can't forgive himself for not protecting his only child. Yet Harry isn't blamed by his wife Robin: she bares her own secret guilt. Five years later, thousands of miles away, Harry spots an eight-year-old boy in a crowd - a boy he is convinced is Dillon. Desperate to find his missing son, Harry's obsession tears apart his marriage, exposing shameful secrets and shattering the one thing he and Robin had left - trust. Why won't Robin believe Harry? What is she hiding? Can the boy really be Dillon? And how far will Harry go to find their lost son?

This is another story about communication or the lack thereof in a relationship. Both Harry and Robin have their secrets and actually tear their relationship apart rather than attempting to fix it. The story is told from Robin's and Harry's perspective so that the reader can identify with both quite easily. I must admit that I do not really like Harry for his unfaithfulness, but his conviction and obsession to find the dead boy is amazing. Interesting story.

Emma Healey: Elizabeth is missing

Meet Maud. Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognizable - or her daughter Helen seems a total stranger. But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it. Because somewhere in Maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about. Everyone, except Maud...

This was a fantastic story. Maud is a loveable character and her difficulties with her memory cause her and thus the reader great distress. The storyline is gripping, and as a reader I was keen to find out more about Elizabeth and why she is missing. The way the story is written is unique and it actually makes the reader feel as if you were the one that has got dementia, which is somehow a little disturbing, as it shows how other people around you will react to you, and how you feel when you are lost like Maud. A fantastic read!

Celeste Ng: Everything I never told you

Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, James is consumed by guilt, Marilyn is determined to make someone accountable, Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who observes far more than anyone realises and who may be the only one who knows what really happened.

This is an interesting story about a family whose members keep their own wishes, wants and needs secret from everybody else. And so it happens that wishes are imposed on others and actions are interpreted wrongly, which in turn leads to further complications. A heart-felt story about communicating with your loved ones and how important it is to stay true to yourself. Hannah, who is the youngest and therefore not quite as adept at playing emotional games, turns out to be the most perceptive and honest character of them all. But then she also doesn't struggle to fit in, unlike Nath and Lydia whose looks make them stand out quite prominently. A great story.

Karen Joy Fowler: We are completely beside ourselves

This is the story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way. Meet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, brother Lowell, sister Fern, and our narrator, Rosemary, who begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons...

I was ready to give up on this story. I had gotten to page 75 or so, and I still couldn't really understand why this book had been praised so much recently. Well on page 77 came the revelation and this changed the nature of the book so that actually I was eager to find out the full story about Rosemary, Lowell and Fern. A fantastic read and I would love to be able to discuss this with a range of people in a book club or so.

Claudia Rossbacher: Steirerland - Sandra Mohr 05

Mord im Vulkanland Sandra Mohrs Auszeit nach ihrem Zusammenbruch neigt sich dem Ende zu, als sie der Ruf des Chefinspektors Sascha Bergmann zu einem Leichenfund ereilt. Diensteifrig folgt die LKA-Ermittlerin diesem und findet sich wenig später in einem Waldstück nahe Straden wieder. Dem toten Mann im Graben wurden beide Hände abgetrennt. Von Bergmann erfährt Sandra, dass es erst vor Kurzem einen ähnlichen Fund ganz in der Nähe gegeben hat. Dem ermordeten Jungwinzer aus der Region waren die Unterschenkel amputiert worden. Auch damals fehlte von den Gliedmaßen jede Spur. Trotz einiger Verdachtsmomente und Mordmotive im Umfeld der Opfer tappen die Ermittler lange Zeit im Dunkeln. Und schließlich trifft ihre schlimmste Befürchtung ein: Eine weitere verstümmelte Leiche wird auf einem Acker gefunden...

Ich konnte mich zwar nicht mehr ganz genau erinnern, warum Sandra eine Auszeit brauchte, und dass sie an Burnout gelitten hatte, aber das tat der Geschichte keinen Abbruch. Zuerst meint man schon zu wissen, wohin die Geschichte führt, dann kommt aber doch alles etwas anders. Unterhaltsam und schnell zu lesen. Ein weiterer gelungener Teil in der Steirer-Reihe.

Erica James: Precious Time

In order to spend more time with her four-year-old son Ned, Clara Costello trades in her secure, well-paid job and two-seater sports car for a camper van called Winnie, and the three of them set off on a mystery tour of England. Of course, her friends and family think she's gone mad. But when they arrive in Deaconsbridge, a small market town on the edge of the Peak District, Clara and Ned become drawn into the lives of the locals. Two in particular seem destined to get under Clara's skin: Gabriel Liberty, a cranky widower who terrifies his family; and Archie Merryman, a local dealer in second-hand furniture who possesses a heart of gold.

A very pleasant and easy read. It's quite predictable, but the dialogues and funny jokes running between Clara and Gabriel make for entertainment anyway.

Roisin McAuley: Singing Bird

Twenty-seven years after she adopted her baby in Ireland, Lena Molloy receives a call from the nun who set up the adoption. Sister Monica claims that she wants merely to tie up loose ends in her old age, but Lena becomes frightened that something more threatening lies behind the call, and she sets off on a journey to Ireland, with her best friend, to find her daughter's birth parents - little knowing the extraordinary truths which she will uncover.

Although I initially thought this was going to be a somehow boring story, I was soon taken by it and could not wait to find out more about the Molloy's adoption story. It does get quite unlikely at times, but nevertheless a heart-rendering, inspiring and uplifting story about asking too many questions and not quite getting the answers you might expect.

Edi Graf: Kriminalpolka

Tatort Konzertbühne Ein Giftpfeil beendet die Karriere des erfolgreichen Posaunisten Langfried Schieber. Na ja, einer weniger, mag mancher denken, doch die massige Sängerin Constanze Voorte-Sing will es genau wissen und setzt den berühmten Kommissar Rainer Tsuval auf den Täter an. Bei seinen Ermittlungen stößt er auf Zyanid im Posaunenmundstück, und bald geschehen weitere merkwürdige Morde.

Eine lustige Geschichte Rund um Kommissar Rainer Tsuval, der dann auch noch undercover in einer Kapelle ermitteln muss. Der Wortwitz und Charakterisierungen sind gut ausgefeilt, aber die Geschichte und Handlung selber sind etwas eigenartig und dennoch überraschend. Der Sprachfehler des Inspektors macht das Lesen etwas schwierig, aber unterhaltsam.

Karen Swan: Christmas in the snow

In London, the snow is falling and Christmas is just around the corner - but Allegra Fisher barely has time to notice. She's pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can't afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can't afford to lose her focus either. She learned to shut off her emotions long ago and only her sister and best friend Isobel knows why. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour. In Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra - she hasn't even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she and Iz travel out to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the snow.

This is a great story as a women's fiction story, but quite predictable at times. The few phrases that were translated into German were quite infuriatingly badly translated - Google translator? Other than that, the descriptions of Zermatt and the life in Switzerland were quite well thought through. A good bath-tub read...

Sheila Hocken: Emma & I - The beautiful labrador who saved my life

As a girl, Sheila never let her gradual descent into blindness prevent her from trying to do everything a sighted person could do. Then at 17, unable to see to find her way around the house she grew up in, she found herself dreading her future in an 'ever darkening vacuum'. But then the remarkable Emma enters her life, and Sheila begins a journey that brings her the independence, love and happiness she never dreamed possible. Emma and I is the moving and inspirational story of the unique bond between Sheila and her dog, and shows that, sometimes, miracles do happen.

This was a great memoir and I was able to read it at a time, when I myself was physically weak and considering the acquisition of an assistance dog in the future. I learnt about the processes of assistance dogs and was very impressed in that respect to "see" with the help of a guide-dog.

Herbert Dutzler: Letzte Bootsfahrt - 03

Aus mit Ruhe und Gemütlichkeit! Da kann selbst einem erfahrenen Dorfpolizisten der Appetit vergehen: In pikanter Pose wird die Leiche eines Geschäftsmannes gefunden. Schnell kommen dubiose Details ans Licht. Bestechung, unseriöse Grundstücksdeals - hinter der idyllischen Kulisse des Ausseerlandes geht nicht alles mit rechten Dingen zu. Der sympathisch-tollpatschige Gasperlmaier verlässt sich in seinem dritten Fall so lange auf sein Bauchgefühl, bis ihm flau im Magen wird: Auch seine Mutter scheint nämlich in den Fall verwickelt zu sein.

Wie immer sehr unterhaltsam! Jetzt macht auch Sinn, warum Gasperlmaiers Mutter bei ihm einziehen muss. Und wie immer macht Gasperlmaier Fehler, weil er wieder einmal eine Leiche verändert, und dann hat er seine Schwierigkeiten diese Faux-Pas seiner Vorgesetzten zu gestehen. Aber langfristig verdirbt ihm nichts seinen Appetit....

Hermann Bauer: Schnitzlerlust

Rita Falk: Grießnockerlaffäre

Herbert Dutzler: Letzter Saibling - 04

Der Gasperlmaier hat schon viel erlebt - aber so etwas Furchtbares ist ihm noch nie untergekommen: Leichenteile im malerischen Toplitzsee. Das Verbrechen hat offenbar mit dem jährlichen Fischessen des Altausseer Skiclubs zu tun. Doch als grausamen Killer kann Gasperlmaier sich keinen seiner Skiclub-Freunde vorstellen.

Wie immer hat Gasperlmaier überall zu kämpfen. Er muss sich mit seiner Frau, seiner Vorgesetzten, seinen Kindern, aber jetzt auch noch mit seiner Mutter zusammenraufen, und dabei innerhalb seines Bekanntenkreises ermitteln. Es kommt zu einer Überraschung für den Leser.

Beate Maxian: Der Tote vom Zentralfriedhof

Dorothea Böhme: Sauhaxn

Herbert Dutzler: Letzter Gipfel - 02

Der Gasperlmaier hat es nicht leicht: Ein mysteriöser Anruf führt ihn auf den Loser, wo gleich zwei Frauenleichen zu seinem neuesten Mordfall werden. Während Gasperlmaier gegen Höhenangst und seinen schwachen Magen kämpft, tun sich für ihn und Frau Doktor Kohlross vom Bezirkspolizeikommando Liezen immer neue brisante Fragen auf.

Und bei dem einen Aufstieg zum Loser bleibt es nicht! Gasperlmaier muss wieder hinauf, und es kommt sogar zu einem Gerangel, bei dem er Renate schützen will, aber selber verletzt wird. Rasch zu lesen und sehr unterhaltsam. Die Tollpatschigkeit von Gasperlmaier macht ihn um so liebenswerter.

Oskar Feifar: Dorftratsch

Niederösterreich 1971. In dem kleinen Ort Tratschen wird der Trainer der örtlichen Fußballmannschaft tot im Clubhaus aufgefunden. Verhaftet wird Manfred Sedlak, Platzwart des Vereins, der am Vorabend Streit mit dem Opfer hatte. Sofort kursieren im Dorf Gerüchte über das Motiv des angeblichen Mörders. Doch Postenkommandant Leopold Strobel hat Zweifel an der Schuld Sedlaks. Er findet heraus, dass mehrere Personen gute Gründe für den Mord gehabt hätten und stößt auf einen Sumpf aus Scheinheiligkeit, Neid und Korruption hinter der dörflichen Idylle.

Zu Beginn hatte ich meine Schwierigkeiten mit dem Erzählstil in diesem Buch, da die Handlung praktisch mündlich überliefert, und daher ergeben sich viele Abschweifungen. Aber dennoch war die Geschichte sehr amüsant und "wie der Mampfi dann eingesperrt worden ist", wurde der Krimi von Seite zu Seite interessanter. Österreich am Land in den 70ern und 80ern war wirklich ganz anders als unser heutiges Österreich!

Cecilia Ahern: The year I met you

Jasmine loves two things: her sister and her work. And when her work is taken away she has no idea who she is. Matt loves two things: his family and the booze. Without them, he hits rock bottom. One New Year’s Eve, two people’s paths collide. Both have time on their hands; both are at a crossroads. But as the year unfolds, through moonlit nights and suburban days, an unlikely friendship slowly starts to blossom. Sometimes you have to stop still in order to move on…

A lovely story about endings and new beginnings in life and how some seemingly horrible situations might actually be the beginning of something good. There are some predictable aspects to the story line but the characters were well developed and that drove the story on. A lovely Christmas story really. And it did make me cry, too.