Tag Archives: #bookblogger

A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle

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I love a locked room thriller, and the premise of this book, set on The Endeavour, an ocean-going liner sailing from Southampton to New York in the 1920s absolutely appealed to me. When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the bottom of the stairs leading from one deck to another, there’s pressure on ship’s officer Timothy Birch (an man with a Past) to declare it nothing more than a tragic accident.

Of course, it’s nothing of the kind and the irascible and frankly quite irritating Scotland Yard detective James Temple, who happens to be on board, insists on investigating further. The unwilling partnership forced upon Birch and Temple by the ship’s Captain makes for an entertaining read, interspersed with the mystery of a missing painting and further deadly events which unfold as the ship nears its destination.

Beautiful period detail, highly evocative descriptions of life on board and the intriguing relationship between our two sleuths kept me reading right to the end. 

This Charming Man by C.K. McDonnell

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This is the second book in The Stranger Times series and the moment I had read this one (courtesy of #netgalley, thank you very much), I had to go and buy the first one, so that’s a rare accolade.

The Stranger Times is a Manchester-based newspaper which reports on paranormal, strange and otherwise peculiar goings on around the world, edited by the intermittently malevolent Vincent Banecroft, a stupendously vile person with few saving graces who reminded me of nobody so much as Jackson Lamb in Mick Herron’s equally brilliant but entirely different Slough House series.

In this book, vampires (which everyone knows don’t exist) start popping up, there are plumbing / kidnap complications and a running gag based on a swear-by-numbers board that I’m severely tempted to adopt just for the fun of it.  It’s clever, funny, unexpected and keeps you turning the pages. And, like I say, I enjoyed it so much I had to read the first book in the series and can’t wait for the next one to appear. Brilliant.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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From the very first page right to the final words of this book, I was totally absorbed, hooked by the story of Elizabeth Zott, Madeleine, Calvin Evans and Six-Thirty the dog. It’s a book I already know that I will go back and re-read and which will become a favourite go-to on my shelves at home.

Elizabeth Zott is a scientist who becomes famous as the star of TV cookery show Supper At Six, who doesn’t fit the Sixties norm, who rebels against the misogyny and prejudice of those around her, and whose uncompromising, unconventional (for the time) views really rang true for me. That last sentence sounds as though it’s a hectoring feminist tome but it absolutely isn’t, it’s warm and funny and sweeps you along on her journey. Every single one of the characters came to life on the page and Elizabeth’s determination, focus and drive touched my heart. I have rarely felt so bereft when finishing a book, I didn’t want the story to end.

I honestly don’t want to spoil your reading experience by revealing very much more except to say that this book is so beautifully written, with such heart and humour, that I am in absolute awe of Bonnie Garmus as a writer. Lessons in Chemistry deserves to be a huge, huge success. 

The Woman in the Middle by Milly Johnson

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Isn’t one of the joys of reading that there is always a perfect book for how you’re feeling at any given time? Milly Johnson is an author whose books never fail to cheer when I am feeling low, because she writes about women whose lives aren’t perfect but who find a way to cope with whatever life throws at them.

The Woman in the Middle perfectly reflects what it’s like to be the glue in a family – the woman who looks after elderly parents, worries about their children, and keeps on trying to be the wife she thinks her husband wants. Somewhere underneath all that is the real Shay Bastable (our heroine), soldiering on, until a series of events, triggered by the arrival of a big orange skip on the estate where her mother lives, brings the whole edifice tumbling down around her ears.

Long-hidden secrets emerge, old friendships are renewed while others are re-assessed, and through it all, Shay’s warmth and humanity remain in place while she copes with everything that’s thrown at her. She’s just so real, someone I’d love to be friends with, and that’s the joy of this book – and all of Milly’s books – is that she really understands what makes women tick. Warm, witty and wise, this was a delight to read, thoroughly recommended for a day when you need to be reminded that love, in all its forms, wins. 

Every Little Secret, by Ruby Speechley

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If you’re looking for something that will take you right out of lockdown life, then look no further. This twisty-turny thriller is full of suspense, and the writer ratchets up the tension with almost every page. In fact I’d say it’s almost the definition of a page turner. I was totally absorbed in the story to the point where I was reading this book while cooking supper, much to my husband’s surprise! It’s about – well, that’s the thing. You think it’s one story but then you find out it’s something much, much darker…

Every Little Secret starts off focused on grieving mother, Maddy, who is struggling to cope with the death of her daughter Chloe – only to be hit with a second blow when the police tell her that her husband Max is missing, presumed drowned. As she tries to hold it together for the sake of her other child, she becomes consumed by the desire to find out what really happened to Max. Maddy’s sleuthing leads her into some dark places, and the twists and turns of the plot become almost – but not quite – unbelievable.

It’s hard to write a review of this book without giving the game away, but one of the things I particularly enjoyed about it was the way that the author got into the heads of the key protagonists, telling their parallel stories, so that from a psychological point of view, you really understood why they acted in particular ways at different times. The characters were so well drawn, and I liked the fact that the end wasn’t obvious, reflecting the messiness of human relationships. I’d definitely read another novel by this author, and found it a great escape at these difficult times.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

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This novel was published yesterday, and I had high hopes, because I had loved Lucy Foley’s first book, The Hunting Party. If anything, The Guest List is even better. Set on a remote island over the course of a rather upmarket wedding party, The Guest List is a Poirot-like country house mystery where everyone’s a suspect and the real culprit is unexpectedly unmasked right at the very end.

What’s so clever about this is the way the author unravels the backstory for each of the main players so gently throughout the course of the book. You’re kept guessing with every turn of the page, anticipating some twists but definitely not others. I was absolutely riveted the whole way through, and – like The Hunting Party – the setting itself, the wild weather and astonishing scenery, becomes another of the characters alongside the different protagonists.

I could hardly believe it when I reached the end of the book, I wanted to go on reading it and follow the characters on beyond what happened on the Island.It’s dark, twisty, hugely suspenseful and the very definition of a modern murder mystery. Totally loved it and don’t want to say more about the plot because I don’t want to spoil it! Enjoy…

Can’t wait to see what she writes next.

The Lying Room by Nicci French

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I’ve long been a fan of Nicci French’s Frieda Klein series, one I go back to again and again, so I was really excited to read this stand-alone novel. I’m happy to report it absolutely did not disappoint. The heroine, Neve, is fascinatingly flawed and there were times when I wanted to shake her, but that’s a good thing, right? Means you’re totally ‘in’ the book, and that the characters and situation are both compelling and believable.

I won’t spoil the plot, with all its myriad twists and turns, but it begins when Neve, everyone’s best friend, discovers the body of a man she’s been seeing and decides to remove every trace that she’s ever been in his flat. Except that, this being a thriller, she’ll miss something crucial, which will come back and bite her at some inopportune moment. Well, she does, and it does, except that it’s early on and becomes a classic piece of misdirection. This book is like a masterclass on how to write a suspenseful thriller, because by the end of it you’ve changed your mind ten times about who the murderer really is and you’re still surprised how it turns out.

What Nicci French does so well is ratcheting up the tension with each new secret that’s revealed. There’s an incredible feeling of claustrophobia that grows throughout the novel until you can hardly breathe for wondering when the next blow will fall and whether Neve will survive it. I almost missed my stop on the tube at one point. And it makes a fantastic distraction from all the bilge that’s going on in the news at the moment. Definitely worth a read.

The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett

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Oh, how I loved this book, loved it! I’ve never read any Ann Patchett before, but based on this novel, I’m going to work my way through her other novels.  The plot, in summary, is about Danny and his older sister Maeve and their enduring relationship through the loss of their mother, the machinations of their stepmother and the death of their father, all interwoven with imagery and memories related to the house where they grew up. It becomes a totem for everything that they’ve lost, and the wheel turns full circle through this complex, absorbing novel.

I don’t recall reading very many books about sibling relationships and this book reflects the ups and downs of being a sibling with depth and warmth. The push-me, pull-you nature of sibling relationships, the irritations and unspoken connections that come from growing up together through difficult times are very well drawn. Her descriptions are vivid and engaging and I was totally engaged by the twists and turns of the plot, through train journeys and snatched moments on the tube, to the point that I sat reading it one night instead of turning on the telly. It had real heart, The Dutch House, and I would thoroughly recommend it. One for a rainy autumn afternoon in front of the fire.

Now You See Them by Elly Griffith

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Elly Griffith is best known for her Ruth Galloway series, but I have a great fondness for her books about Max Mephisto (a famous magician – and also a movie star by the time this book opens) and Detective Inspector (now Superintendent) Edgar Stephens. Set in Brighton in the 1950s, the series opened with The Zig-Zag Girl, and her latest, Now You See Them, moves forward ten years or so to the time of mods and rockers.

Much has happened in between Now You See Them and the previous novel, to the point where you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the earlier books in the series. It’s almost, but not quite, a reboot. One of Griffiths’ great strengths is her ability to write an ensemble cast of characters, so that you care about each and every one of them. Indeed, each face personal and life choices as well as becoming involved in the disappearance of three young women. It was great to see modern dilemmas, such as Emma (Edgar Stephens’ wife and a former detective herself) becoming dissatisfied with her role as a housewife, portrayed with sensitivity, whilst the mystery itself was absorbing enough to drive the story along.

The descriptions of Brighton are vivid, and the interweaving of historical details of the period work well. I’ve learned a lot about smugglers tunnels that I never knew, and I felt the story ended with a setup for a future spin-off that would work well. Her books are so cinematic in the way they’re written I find it extraordinary that none appear to have been optioned for broadcast.

Elly Griffith is one of those few authors I would pre-order books by in advance of publication, so it was a real treat to have been able to read an early copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Three Hours, by Rosamund Lupton

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This has to be one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. The action spans three hours during an attack on a school by what appear to be domestic terrorists, but that spare description really doesn’t do it justice. I’ve read Rosamund Lupton’s previous books but this one is undoubtedly her best so far. It’s a breath-taking read, she ratchets up the tension with every turn of the page and gets completely into the heads of her protagonists.

What’s so clever is the way she puts us right in the middle of the action in the school itself, into the minds of the teachers and pupils and the incredible acts of bravery and self-sacrifice which take place, and into the minds of the desperate families waiting for news of their children. It’s also an incredibly timely book, touching on themes of radicalisation and refugees, of belonging, and of the ways in which we ignore what’s really going on in people’s lives. From being in the room with a group of teenagers desperately trying to stay brave, to small children playing a terrifying game of hide and seek, while in the outside world, police investigators try to work out what’s going on and whether it’s safe to intervene, this is an extraordinarily gripping book.

I loved it so much that having raced through it a first time, desperate to know what happens next, I’m now reading it again in a more leisurely way – it’s one of those books which bears repeated reading, there’s so much richness and texture to it. Her descriptions are wonderful too, and it was a real heart-pounding, pulse-racing read.

I read this whenever and wherever I could grab a minute, I was so engaged in it. It was like going to the cinema to see a really good film, I couldn’t believe it when I got to the end, because I had been so transported by the story.

Three Hours will be published by Viking (Penguin UK) in 2020. I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.