Tag Archives: #netgalley

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. 

Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg

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Handsome college professor Steven Harding and naïve young student Ellie Masterson drive from New York to a remote cabin for their first holiday together. Expectations are high for a romantic weekend, but what unfolds over those few days will totally blow your mind. Neither of them are who they say they are, and the dark truths underlying their twisted relationship are gradually exposed. 

I literally could not put this book down, and found myself holding my breath at certain moments.  Ellie and Steven were both compelling characters and one of the things I loved most about Nobody But Us was the way in which I got to understand how they had come to this dark place and what motivated their actions. It was such a compelling read.  And the atmosphere and sense of danger was ratcheted up by the setting – an ostensibly beautiful cabin in the remote wilderness, surrounded by trees, in the deepest of snowy winters – it totally heightened the almost-cinematic sense of jeopardy throughout. 

Timely, thought-provoking, deeply atmospheric, full of suspense – this has got to be one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read for a very long time indeed. 

A Perfect Cornish Escape, by Phillipa Ashley

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I love Cornwall, don’t you? It’s so full of contrasts, wild rugged coastline, beautiful beaches with azure-blue seas which turn stormy grey in an instant when the rain lashes down. Stuck here at home, it’s one of the places I yearn for, and Philippa Ashley does such a fantastic job of conjuring it up for me, I could almost be there.  And at a time when reading is about the only way to escape real life, this couldn’t be a better book to take you away from it all.

This is a lovely, lilting story about a woman who has lived through loss and rebuilt her life, about the importance of female friendship, and the serendipity of new beginnings. Marina’s husband drowned seven years ago and the village of Porthmello has surrounded her with love ever since. Her friend Tiff Trescott (and if you ever listen to BBC Radio Cornwall, that name will ring a distant bell…) tips up fleeing the double-whammy of heartbreak and job loss, and together Marina and Tiff make their way through the summer months. This is a book full of laughter and sadness, about women finding new ways to live and love, but it’s also a love-letter to beautiful Cornwall.

Reading this book is like that shaft of sunshine cutting through the clouds on a miserable day, it puts a smile on your face and gives you a bit of hope for the future. Just what’s needed at the moment.

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.

To Kill A Man, by Sam Bourne

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This is another in a series of thrillers featuring Maggie Costello, a fast-paced read which really gets under the skin of its protagonist.  Still set in the world of Washington politics, the book opens with the vividly-realised death of an intruder, killed by aspiring politician Natasha Winthrop during a break-in to her house. Nothing is quite what it seems though, and as the story unfolds, the reader is left guessing about Natasha’s motives. Maggie Costello becomes enmeshed in Natasha’s life as she tries to defend her against conspiracy theories and the machinations of her political rivals. 

Like the others in this series, To Kill A Man is rooted in current political issues, in this case focused on the #MeToo movement, highlighting the reality of the abuse many women face in the workplace alongside a well-drawn plot with a big twist at the end. At times I found this quite a challenging read, asking myself was it appropriate for a man to be writing so powerfully about sexual harassment, rape and assault, but I was glad to see a range of acknowledgements from the author at the end, reflecting his meticulous research and clearly stating that episodes of sexual harassment and assault, whilst fictionalised, were based on victims accounts.  Highly recommended.

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.