Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.

Mouthing by Orla Mackey

Why I have it: Because of Susan’s review.

Summary: In a sleepy corner of rural Ireland, you’ll find a hotbed of gossip – endless material for mouthing – and a town full of people only too happy to oblige in spreading bad news. Narrated by several generations of villagers, Mouthing traces the fortunes of one small community from the mid-20th century to the early 21st, in a series of highly confessional monologues.

I’m thinking: Yes.

Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge

Why I have it: because of the NYT review focused on books set on a single day.

Summary: Edward is throwing a dinner party with Binny, his mistress. Aware that she has long been denied those small intimacies that his wife takes for granted, he wants to give her a chance to feel more involved in his life, to socialise with some of his friends (the discreet ones). Everything seems to be going well, until some uninvited guests arrive.

I’m thinking: Yes.

Unexplained Laughter by Alice Thomas Ellis

Why I have it: mentioned by Charlotte Wood in The Luminous Solution.

Summary: Recovering from a bad love affair, Lydia retreats to the countryside, leaving behind her sophisticated friends, but accidentally inviting Betty, ‘the human equivalent of sackcloth and ashes’. There they encounter various locals including a woman, Angharad, who roams the land, observing all. Meanwhile, Lydia is increasingly unnerved by the unexplained laughter coming from the hills.

I’m thinking: Maybe.

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