Charity Shop Book Haul

I love book hunting in charity shops.  I went for a browse this morning and came away with five books, all in good condition, for just under £8.  My haul:

Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne.
When family tragedy strikes, Alice Fonseka, a dreamy, artistic child with a Singhalese mother and a Tamil father, leaves the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.  Unable to bear the injustice of what has happened, her family heads for England.  There, in the cold, urban landscape of London, Alice grows up, with all that this means: struggles, a home in London - and a blossoming of the art through which she expresses herself.  But there is much she cannot find.  Understanding.  Peace.  Lasting love.  Then on the clear summer morning of July 7, 2005, violence crosses her path again.... (from the back cover).

Why I got it: I enjoy books that deal with the Immigrant experience in London.  I've heard good things about Roma Tearne and this is the first book I've seen that addresses the London Bombings.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
In 1949 four Chinese women drawn together by the shadow of their past begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah-jong, invest in stocks, eat dim-sim and "say" stories.  They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club.  Nearly 40 years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother's lifelong wish and the tragic way it came true.   The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need in the women to reach back and remember (from Goodreads)

Why I got it: It's been on my radar for years.  I have vague memories of enjoying The Kitchen God's Wife as a teenager.

 The Dark Clue by James Wilson
...A brilliant recreation of the Victorian suspense novel, as the characters from Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe, are involved in another dramatic and dangerous investigation, this time emanating from the heart of respectable London society....takes us into Victorian England in all its staggering extremes of poverty and wealth, of slums and stately homes, of public morality and private vice, in an unforgettable tale of suspense (from the back cover)

Why I got it: This was a random find, I didn't even know this book existed until today.  But I love Wilkie Collins and Marian and Victorian England and sensational novels, so I'm all over this one!

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
On a bitter November evening, young Mary Yellan journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honour of her mother's dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn's brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls -- and tempted to love a man she dares not trust. (from Goodreads)

Why I got it:  Surely this book needs to introduction!  Despite the fact that I haven't read Rebecca yet, I saw a glowing review of this earlier in the week and seeing what looked like an untouched copy for £1.99 was too much for me to resist.  It is the perfect time of the year to read gothic tales.

Pirates! by Celia Rees
Nancy Kington, a wealthy merchant's daughter living in Bristol, England in the early 1700's, is sometimes lonely but enjoys the privileges her father's business brings. Minerva Sharpe is a penniless slave's daughter living and working on the Kington's Jamaican plantation. These two young women, united through a set of extraordinary circumstances including a brutal murder, an arranged marriage, and set of ruby earrings, find themselves sailing the high seas in search of love, adventure and freedom—as pirates! (from Goodreads)

Why I got it: I don't read much YA but I love Celia Rees, especially Witch Child.  This sounds like a fun adventure story.


Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?