Sicily and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Mr J and I have just returned from a fantastic week in Sicily. It did rain on and off for the first four days that we were there which was annoying but this did mean that we did a lot of sight seeing and the initially rather expensive hire car paid for itself with our tours of what seemed like the entire east coast.

The best bit was definitely arriving in our final destination, Taormina and our last hotel Hotel Villa Carlotta which is by far the most fantastic hotel I have ever been too. If you are wanting a romantic weekend away this would be a great choice with a lovely roof terrace restaurant, garden bar and beautiful rooms it wasn't exactly cheap but the situation was unbeatable too. Taormina is a beautiful town on a hill overlooking the sea (the hotel has a private beach). I did rather freak out when we left our restaurant on the second night to see Etna oozing lava in the distance but apparently it does that quite a lot.

As soon as we arrived at the Hotel Villa Carlotta I insisted on lying on my sun lounger in silence so that I could finish my book, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: Or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale. An investigation into the true and shocking Road Hill House Murder - one of the first murder investigations to involve detectives and and seen to invade into the lives and home of an upper class family. Using police notes and accounts of the time this is a genuine insight and assessment of a gruesome story that was never quite solved. I could not put this book down - the only bad thing about it was I struggled to find any book to follow it up with (thank god for John Irving). I really thought that it would be more miss than hit on the fact front and would be pretty inconclusive. But I was completely wrong. I really recommend this book it will appeal to everyone especially fans of non-fiction and crime. Endlessly compelling this book will keep your mind occupied for weeks after you've finished it xx