I’ve just finished reading “The Poison Tree” by Erin Kelly. A very interesting novel by a new author.

This isn’t a bad novel, but I thought the ending was predictable, though it didn’t spoil the ending. And there was plenty to debate; if one is into that.
The story is about Karen (a student) meeting another student (Biba), a bohemian and strange, but glamorous aspiring actress in 1997. Biba sucks Karen into her world of unconventionality. But once that magic summer ends the nightmare begins; two people are dead.

Even though I said the ending was predictable it woudn’t stop me trying another one of her books (The Poison Tree was her first, which is just out in hardback. So far the reviews are pretty good on Amazon.

As I’ve finished Kelly’s book I’ve started a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci (by Charles Nicholl). So far – with the few pages I’ve read – I have enjoyed his description of the times of Leonardo’s birth and the area he came from. He painted a very vivid picture. Nicholl’s is a dry writer or academic but very flowing and a joy to read. One of the reasons I thought of reading this is because I was given tickets to see the Da Vinci exhibition in London.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born April 15, 1452, and died May 2, 1519 (at the age of 67). He was an Italian Renaissance polymath: sculptor, painter, inventor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, geologist, cartographer and botanist. He was also a writer, plus many other things; a true genius.