Book Club Read for June Meeting

Thanks to all, for your suggestions for the June read. Nominated by K, Labyrinth by Kate Mosse should keep you going until the end of June.

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (ISBN: 0752877321)
(Image copyright Orion Books UK. Further info available from Orion Books http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/MP-35467/Labyrinth.htm)

When Dr Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons during an archaeological dig in southern France, she unearths a link with a horrific and brutal past. But it's not just the sight of the shattered bones that makes her uneasy; there's an overwhelming sense of evil in the tomb that Alice finds hard to shake off, even in the bright French sunshine. Puzzled by the words carved inside the chamber, Alice has an uneasy feeling that she has disturbed something which was meant to remain hidden...

Eight hundred years ago, on the night before a brutal civil war ripped apart Languedoc, a book was entrusted to Alais, a young herbalist and healer. Although she cannot understand the symbols and diagrams the book contains, Alais knows her destiny lies in protecting their secret, at all costs.

Skilfully blending the lives of two women divided by centuries but united by a common destiny, LABYRINTH is a powerful story steeped in the atmosphere and history of southern France.

Just in case any of you manage to finish it before the next meeting, we picked a second book:

Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thompson (ISBN:
(Image copyright Bloomsbury. Visit the Divided Kingdom website)

It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom, and an eight year-old boy is removed from his home in the middle of the night. He soon learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment.

In an attempt to reform society, the government has divided the population into four groups, each group representing a different personality type. The land, too, has been divided into quarters. Borders have been established, reinforced by concrete walls, armed guards and rolls of razor wire.

Those who are most favoured are deemed SANGUINE, their dominant humour being blood. They are optimistic, even tempered and constructive, and must reside in the Red Quarter, whose capital is Pneuma.

Those who are empathetic, passive and indecisive are categorised as PHLEGMATIC.
They reside in the Blue Quarter, whose capital is Aquaville.

Aggressive, impulsive people and those prone to excess are deemed CHOLERIC, their dominant humour is yellow bile. Cholerics reside in the Yellow Quarter, whose capital is Thermopolis.

Finally, the MELANCHOLICS, dominated by black bile, are characterised by introspection, pessimism, and an inclination towards the intellectual. Melancholics reside in the Green Quarter, whose capital is Cledge. Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment, a revelation that will challenge everything he believes in and will, in the end, put his very life in jeopardy...

I'll contact all soon with details of the next meeting.

K