Swirl and Thread Book Corner

Highly recommend ✨

Inspired by real events during the Biafran War (1967–1970)

The Healers' War by Olive Collins

Compassionate, provoking & affecting read

Immerses you right into the heart of the story as the fear, anguish & pure violence of that time takes hold

The Healers' War by Olive Collins | Review The Healers' War by Olive Collins (2026) is a provoking & affecting read inspired by real events during the Biafran War (1967–1970)

Did you know that our every-day supermarket banana is facing extinction?

New Book Review ✨

The Future of Bananas by James Dale
Melville House Publishing

I was amazed at the amount of research in biotechnology for the banana alone.

An enlightening & factual read

The Future of Bananas by James Dale | Review The Future of Bananas by James Dale (July 2026) is part of the FUTURES Series from Melville House, an intriguing and educational journey.

'Publishing, as anyone who isn’t a shiny debut can tell you, is a strange business. It moves scarily fast and infinitesimally slowly'
For my final Write Smarter Blog post, I am delighted to welcome Sheena Wilkinson

Thank you so much to all who took part and to all who shared my blog posts 🙏

Read the full blog here:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/write-smarter-with-sheena-wilkinson/

You can access the full series via:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/category/write-smarter/

Write Smarter with Sheena Wilkinson 'Publishing, as anyone who isn’t a shiny debut can tell you, is a strange business. It moves scarily fast and infinitesimally slowly.'

I do love Karin Slaughter's novels. She always writes engaging and emotive stories so I was only too delighted with the opportunity to read her latest - The Secrets We Hide (thanks to Harper Collins Ireand)

It's sees a return to North Falls, following on from the first book in this new series, We Are All Guilty Here, so I would recommend you read book one first.

With red herrings aplenty, this is another twisty and tense tale from a writer who always shows up. Crime fiction at its best, It is a compelling and emotional read, interwoven with the complexities of family relationships and the echo chamber of small town cronyism.

My full review is available here:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/the-secrets-we-hide-karin-slaughter/

'Write what sets your creativity on fire, and gets you sitting at that keyboard, day after day. Write for yourself, and not according to trends. Writing what fascinates you is far more sustainable than trying to predict what the market might want several years from now.'
Write Smarter with Roxie Key

Today on Write Smarter I am delighted to welcome Roxie Key, a crime thriller author from Northampton. Roxie has always been a writer, although the stories she wrote as a child about her pets will never see the light of day. From a young age, she knew that one day she wanted to see her name on a book cover.

'Writers don’t need to have lived every detail of their stories, but they do need to understand the emotions beneath them'

Roxie studied Creative & Media Writing at Middlesex University before becoming a copywriter for a global brand, and is now a freelance writer and designer.

'Writing rooted in excitement, curiosity and personal investment will always have more energy than books written purely to fit the market.'

Read more of Roxie's tips over on my blog at:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/write-smarter-with-roxie-key/

[If you click on my Linktree in my bio you can access all the fabulous posts featured in this series. My thanks to all the wonderful writers who have contributed to date 🙏 Do please get in touch if you are a writer & would like to be involved]

Tatá by Valérie Perrin (June 18th, Europa Editions UK) is the fourth book that I have read by Perrin, having previously loved Fresh Water for Flowers, Three & Forgotten on Sunday. Beautifully translated by Hildegarde Serle, Perrin has a way with words, immersing the reader right into her novels.

On hearing of her aunt Colette's demise, for the second time in three years, Agnès Dugain packs a bag and travels to Gueugnon to identify the body. On seeing that it is really Colette, Agnès is understandably emotional and very confused. She is given a suitcase of tape recordings that Colette left for her so she decides to stay in Colette’s house to listen to the tapes, in an attempt to get to the bottom of this very disconcerting situation. As confusion reigns it is clear that something is amiss and, as Agnès starts to hear Colette’s voice, a story unfolds, one that is beyond anything she could have imagined.

What evolves is a mystery spanning decades, as many truths are revealed, with multiple threads all seamlessly interweaving their way through the story. There is an underlying sadness in this novel, one that lingers in the mind. Aside from the fictional aspect, there are specific, and more loose, references to factual historic injustices that have impacted generations of families, and continue to do so today. There is much movement through the chapters, as the story switches from thread to thread, which could cause confusion for some readers so you do need to be aware of the different voices at any given moment.

An intimate novel with a vast cast of characters, it is an initial slow-burner but, as the pace picked up, and truths were exposed, I was left quite shattered. There is a real sense of yearning for what might have been throughout this novel, transcending through the years and through the chapters. Tatá is a novel that deserves time and patience, with plenty of reward at the close, Valérie Perrin has written an unpredictable and vibrant story where the chaos of real-life is emulated on the page, another emotional novel from this wonderful French author, a truly captivating read.


[Full review on blog]

'Often the thing that gets in the way of starting to write is fear. I say, write anyway. Write for yourself. Write because not writing is no longer an option.'
-Write Smarter with Sarah Bourne

This week I am delighted to welcome Sarah Bourne, author of five novels of contemporary domestic drama and two of historical (WW2) fiction.

'Writers are usually good observers of people, places, events. They squirrel away snippets of information for later use. But more than that, they dream, allowing those small fragments to become bigger.'

Sarah was born and brought up in London but, after wandering the world for several years, settled in Sydney where she raised her family. She is a counsellor and yoga teacher, as well as writing books, and loves to go to the beach or get out into the Australian bush with friends at weekends.

'Even if you want to write in a particular genre, it is useful to read anything and everything that comes your way in order to assimilate the structure of story, the narrative arc, the development of characters, the themes, tropes, and overall cohesiveness of a book.'

Read more of Sarah's advice over on my blog at:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/write-smarter-with-sarah-bourne/

[If you click on my Linktree in my bio you can access all the fabulous posts featured in this series. My thanks to all the wonderful writers who have contributed to date 🙏 Do please get in touch if you are a writer & would like to be involved]

The Nun of Ravensbrück by Cathi Fleming is the remarkable story of Sr Marie-Laurence and all the women, and men, who stood alongside her.

Being from Cork I was very surprised to learn that Sr Marie-Laurence, French Resistance fighter, was born Kate McCarthy in Drimoleague in West Cork in 1895. After turning the final page I visited Sr Marie-Laurence’s grave in St Finbarr’s cemetery in Cork city. In the Franciscan Sisters plot, her name is etched into the base of a large cross, having died in her sleep in 1971. 

She was ultimately responsible for saving the lives of many during the Second World War but her path took a treacherous turn when the N***s became aware of her involvement with the French Resistance. Captured, beaten and submitted to fierce interrogation she eventually was imprisoned in the notorious Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, located north of Berlin.

Her experiences there were terrifying and Cathi Fleming paints a very shocking picture, not shying away from the barbaric treatment of all the inmates of that camp. What these women endured was horrendous, but Kate McCarthy always held onto to her belief that good would conquer all.

With this insightful debut novel, Cathi Fleming immerses the reader in the fear and stench of that appalling period of history. The women of the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp were exposed to the most inhumane acts of brutality and cruelty. Their suffering, their pain is exceptionally depicted in this extremely poignant story, highlighting their extraordinary resilience and bravery. Their ability to overcome adversity and push through the most nightmarish scenarios in such horrific circumstances is truly phenomenal. 

An outstanding debut, The Nun of Ravensbrück is a challenging read, but also one packed with many moments of raw courage and determination. I felt a shiver up my spine as I knelt by her grave in St Finbarr’s. I felt proud of this Cork woman who stood up to tyranny when the world, as she knew it, crumbled around her.

Thank you Hachette Ireland for a copy of The Nun of Ravensbrück in exchange for my honest review

Full review 🔗 https://www.swirlandthread.com/the-nun-of-ravensbruck-cathi-fleming/

"I am a champion procrastinator and an Olympic level overthinker"

On Write Smarter this week I am delighted to welcome author Kerry Manning, who at 61 years old published her first book, Learning to Love Lucy and then six months later, the sequel, Rose has a Right to Happiness.

"I am often reminded that these characters I create have minds of their own and do their own thing sometimes.  They make me laugh and make me cry and surprise me always."

Kerry suffers from chronic illness. She has a number of autoimmune diseases which severely limit how much she can do at any time. This has meant that she needed to find workarounds for lots of things. Kerry always wanted to write books but she certainly wasn’t going to be the writer who woke up at five and wrote until seven. Neither was she going to be the successful author who was a night owl, writing into the small hours - so how did she do it?

Read here to find out:
https://www.swirlandthread.com/write-smarter-with-kerry-manning/

[If you click on my Linktree in my bio you can access all the fabulous posts featured in this series. My thanks to all the wonderful writers who have contributed to date 🙏 Do please get in touch if you are a writer & would like to be involved]

Land by Maggie O’Farrell

Writing a novel of such magnitude must be an incredibly demanding feat but Maggie O’Farrell stepped up to the challenge. Land is a breathtaking piece of work, one of immense scope, an epic story spanning continents and generations with its roots post famine in Ireland in 1865.

In 1845 the people of Ireland faced a threat to their very civilisation when the potato blight took hold and it is 20 years after this catastrophic period of history, that Maggie O’Farrell sets Land.

Tomás had spent time in the workhouse during the famine but he knew life could offer him much more than that. When his ability to see buildings and land from a different perspective became evident, he found work with the mapping division of the British army.

The British needed his skill alongside his ability to communicate with villagers and he also was more adept at creating suitable names for places that had a more colloquial edge, Even though sometimes it rankled with him to work with the British, he encouraged his son Liam to accompany him on these surveying trips. He hoped that one day Liam would follow in his footsteps as it was a job that provided a sufficient income for a family.

But life for Tomás and his family took a very startling turn one dark and cold day when the pair came upon a copse that had a strange air about it. Ireland’s woodlands are known to be mythical places and Maggie O’Farrell leans into this mysticism taking the reader on a remarkable, tragic, heartbreaking and sublime journey spanning centuries and generations.

Land is an unsettling read. The devastation thrust on a land and its people leaves deep scars that are forever ingrained. Many of us on this island are the progeny of a survivor of The Great Hunger. My family on both sides are from west Cork where the pure horror of the hunger endured hit hard, with rampant starvation and epidemics decimating a rural community.

Reading Land felt personal. It held me in its thrall. Seamlessly written, it is a vast & epic tale, a masterpiece in storytelling, bringing the pain & anguish of a people to the page.

TY Hachette Ire 🙏
🔗 to full blog review via bio