All I Ever Wanted by Lucy Dillon

Nancy is four, nearly five. She talks all the time: in the car, on the way to nursery, to her brother, to her collection of bears. And then one day everything changes. Nancy’s mum and dad split up, her father moves across the country, and Nancy stops talking.
Eva is forty-four, nearly forty-five. She always knew marrying a much older man meant compromises, but she was sure it was worth it – until Mickey dies suddenly, leaving Eva with only his diaries and a voice in the back of her mind telling her that perhaps she’s sacrificed more than she meant to.

While Nancy’s parents negotiate their separation, the question of weekend contact is solved when her father volunteers his sister Eva’s house. As spring turns to summer, a trust slowly begins to form between a little girl with a heartbreaking secret, and a woman who has realised too late that what she yearns for is the love of a child.

*********

I really enjoyed All I Ever Wanted.  It has everything. Family issues, humour, heartbreak, tension.
Patrick and Caitlin are the parents of Joel (10) and Nancy (4). Nancy is at nursery and is a real chatterbox. Joel is very dramatic – loves singing, dancing, performing.

When Patrick has to move up to Newcastle for his job, Caitlin decides she wants to stay in Bristol with the children. They live in a mortgage free house that Caitlin’s grandmother had left to her and she feels settled and secure there. Needless to say they decide to separate.

The negotiations are not easy. Patrick has always been a workaholic but he wants shared care of the children, and Caitlin is not happy with the idea of the children making a 600 mile round trip every week. Mediation seemed to bring out the worst in both of them but Patrick eventually suggests that his sister might host contact and she is only 70 miles away. Caitlin has some doubts about this as his sister Eva is a young widow with two pugs and no children and might not be able to or want to have two young exuberant children staying every weekend.

Then the unthinkable happens. Nancy stops talking. Suddenly and seemingly without reason. This adds a complication to the story as she can’t or won’t communicate with the people around her and leads to some incidents and anxious moments.

I loved all the characters and their relationships. There is depth to the characters and I felt as if I knew them. It was certainly easy to picture them. They all have various issues to try and fix. Eva has come to realise that because she married an older man she gave up the chance to have children, and with his sudden death starts to wonder what might have been. (He also had two ex-wives and a son). There is pressure on Eva (and the other wives) to agree to her husband’s diaries being published but that forces her to read them (reluctantly) and leads to some soul-searching.

Eva and Patrick have very different memories of their upbringing and they don’t seem to be particularly close siblings. Patrick spends most of his time at work and and you feel he puts work before the children. He seems to have a need to be in control all the time, but when you learn of his past through Eva’s eyes, I did feel sympathy for him.

Caitlin too is an interesting character. She fell pregnant by accident the summer after graduation and never took up a career, instead moving in with her grandmother. (Patrick is actually Joel’s stepfather but has always considered Joel his son). Caitlin now works in a cafe. After she and Patrick separate she gets to try spreading her wings a little bit. Successfully? I don’t want to spoil the plot.

The children are delightful. Easy to imagine them. It turns out they get on really well with Aunt Eva’s two pugs and the two dogs have their role to play too.

The interaction between the children and the adults is very entertaining. There are also quite serious incidents, adding to the drama and ultimate enjoyment of the story.

This is an entertaining read but with enough dramatic moments to keep you on your toes. There were a few heart-stopping moments too. The various threads of the story all interweave very smoothly. I wasn’t sure how it would end so it was one of those books that kept me reading well into the night.  I like those ones.

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review)

Blood Lines (D.I. Kim Stone Book Five) by Angela Marsons

How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?

A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.

When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.

As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them…

*********

Blood Lines is book five in the D I Kim Stone series.

I have to confess I hadn’t read any of Angela Marsons’ books and this would have been the first but a friend advised me to read her earlier books in the series, or at least book 2, Evil Games.  So I took her advice and read Evil Games first – another cracking thriller.

Dr Alexandra Thorne (who appeared in Evil Games) is now in prison, put there mainly by the persistence of D I Stone and her team. Alex Thorne is beautiful, enigmatic, charming, but she is also manipulative, controlling and taunting. She is an evil sociopath. She blames Kim Stone for the way her life has turned out and is obsessed with destroying her.

There are several threads in Blood Lines: the arrest of a serial rapist; the deaths of two females, one a middle-aged, well dressed professional woman with a responsible job, found in a car with a single stab wound, the other a 22 year old drug addict and a known shoplifter, found in the woods with a single stab wound…. and more.

Meanwhile the evil Alex Thorne is in prison, manipulating other prisoners and plotting to mess with Kim Stone’s mind. She knows of Kim Stone’s traumatic past and knows all the right buttons to press to push Kim over the edge. Kim has to carry out her duties as a detective as well as deal with terrifying personal issues.

It’s a real thriller of a book. Angela Marsons is a good storyteller. The plot is fairly complex and there are several sub-plots but it isn’t too difficult to follow them as the writing is good. The book is quite fast paced with the right amount of dialogue. I like how some of the threads come together leading to a thrilling and terrifying climax.

I think Blood Lines could stand alone but I’m glad I was advised to read Evil Games as that explains a lot of Dr Alex Thorne’s obsession with destroying Kim Stone. It also helps when you know some of Kim’s background and her personal issues.  I suspect I’ll catch up with the rest of the books in the series soon.

There is so much more to this book. I found it a thrilling, entertaining read and one of those books where chores are set aside and you also keep on reading into the wee small hours (the best kind).

[My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing a digital review copy].

The 7th Canon – Robert Dugoni

In San Francisco’s seamy Tenderloin district, a teenage street hustler has been murdered in a shelter for boys. And the dedicated priest who runs the struggling home stands accused. But despite damning evidence that he’s a killer—and worse—Father Thomas Martin stands by his innocence. And attorney Peter Donley stands with him.

For three years Donley has cut his legal teeth in his uncle’s tiny, no-frills firm, where people come before profits. Just as Donley is poised to move on to a lucrative dream job, the shocking case lands in his lap, and he must put his future on hold while putting his courtroom skills to the test. But a ruthless DA seeking headlines and a brutal homicide cop bent on vengeance have their own agendas. Now, as he unearths the dirty secrets surrounding the case, Donley must risk his neck to save his client’s life…and expose the face of true evil.

*********

I’ve been a fan of Robert Dugoni since I read the first Tracy Crosswhite novel (well actually I read the second one first but have since read the other two) I love his style of writing, his characters and the good storytelling.

The 7th Cannon is a little bit different. It is set in 1980s San Francisco.

Peter Donley is a young lawyer who has been working for his uncle’s firm for three years. The office is situated in the Tenderloin district of the city not far from the Court. It’s a very run down area and his uncle often doesn’t charge his poorer clients. Peter, who has a wife and child, is on the brink of leaving to start a more lucrative job. However his uncle is also the lawyer for the Archdiocese so when a teenage male prostitute is found dead in a Shelter for boys, Father Thomas Martin who runs the shelter, is charged with murder and the Archbishop brings the case to Peter’s Uncle Lou.

Peter is very much thrown in at the deep end when his uncle suffers a heart attack and is hospitalised. In these circumstances (defending someone accused of murder) it would probably be expected that Peter would pass the case on to a more experienced lawyer. However after a court appearance, he is officially becomes the priest’s lawyer. Of course the priest says he didn’t commit the crime despite the evidence obtained at the crime scene.

There seems to be something not quite right with the case from the start It’s as if someone is trying to rush the case through the Court before the defence can make their own enquiries. Is someone from high up pulling strings? Has evidence been planted or tampered with? Any potential witnesses (the boys within the shelter that night) had slipped back out onto the streets before they could be questioned by the Police. It is clear from the start that the detective who arrested Father Martin is violent and threatening but he is an interesting character with a back story.

The fact that the book is set in 1980s San Francisco in the seedy, run down Tenderloin District adds to the atmosphere.

I like the Peter character. He’s had a difficult upbringing and he’s had to look out for himself and grab his chances. His past still affects him. He has issues. He’s quite stubborn and tenacious. He doesn’t always make the right decisions but he’s a good character. There is a bit of depth to him and we do get to know a bit about his past.

This is a juicy crime/legal thriller which opens with quite a humorous court scene involving a parrot which gives us a glimpse of Peter Donley’s character and style then switches to the Boys Shelter where Father Thomas Martin is getting ready to lock up for the night. From then on it’s a rollercoaster of a tale that kept me entertained (and engrossed) right to the end….. and yes, it was one of those books that kept me reading until the early hours of the morning. Excellent storytelling!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital review copy.

*******

The 7th Canon was published on 27 September 2016.  For reasons I won’t bore you with, I missed the fact I hadn’t published this post.  The good news is, if you are already a fan of Robert’s  the fourth book in the Tracey Crosswhite series, The Trapped Girl  is due out on 24 January 2017 – so not too long to wait!

Dark Water – Robert Bryndza

Beneath the water the body sank rapidly. She would lie still and undisturbed for many years but above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.

The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news twenty-six years ago.

As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she must dig deeper and find out more about the fractured Collins family and the original detective, Amanda Baker. A woman plagued by her failure to find Jessica. Erika soon realises this is going to be one of the most complex and demanding cases she has ever taken on.

Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone is keeping secrets. Someone who doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

*********

Robert Bryndza has rapidly become one of my favourite authors.  This is the third book in the Detective Erika Foster series and once again Rob has written a book which captured my interest right from the start.

Erika Foster has recently been transferred (rather under a cloud) from Lewisham to Bromley and is no longer with the Murder investigation unit. She is now assigned to a team that is part of Specialist, Organised and Economic Crime.

During a search of a flooded, disused quarry, searching for a consignment of drugs, the Police divers also come across a bundle of plastic entwined in chains. Inside was a small skeleton, apparently a child. The remains are eventually linked to a 7 year old girl who had gone missing without trace 26 years earlier.

Erika asks to be put in charge of case despite the fact that her unit does not deal in kidnap or murder cases. She has a good track record in solving difficult cases but her boss, Superintendent Yale, doesn’t agree to her request.

She then pleads with her old boss Commander Paul Marsh, and ultimately with the Assistant Commissioner. She is eventually put in charge of the case however she is to run it from Bromley and report directly to Paul Marsh. It soon becomes apparent there is little to go on. The investigation into the child’s disappearance didn’t get very far at the time. No one had witnessed anything. There was one suspect who was arrested and questioned, but released a few days later without charge. The female officer in charge of the missing person investigation was later thrown off the case.

Oh yes, and there appears to be someone who doesn’t want the case solved, but who and why?

I love that there is some continuity in Robert’s Erika Foster books. We meet characters (former colleagues) who appear in earlier books but we are also given a little of their background so that Dark Water can stand alone (it’s very worthwhile reading the series – they are all excellent books).

The plot is good. I love the balance between description and dialogue. I like the way we get to know a little bit more of Erika in each book (although I have to say I think she is mellowing a little!). She is an interesting character, not without her issues. She is a good police officer but sometimes deviates from standard procedures and hasn’t risen up the ranks quite as quickly as you would expect, given her success rate with difficult cases. However I got a sense that things might be starting to improve for Erika in respect of her personal relationships.

There are plenty of twists and turns and attempts to thwart the investigation. Once again great storytelling. Robert Bryndza writes my favourite kind of book – one that keeps me up to the wee small hours, bleary eyed, but desperate to find out what happens next.

I would love to read more books in this series. I hope it’s not too long until the next one is published!

Robert has also written a series of Coco Pinchard books which are funny and very entertaining.  His website can be found here.

Safe With Me – K L Slater

Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it’s her turn to get even …

Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn’t like to let people to get too close – she knows how much damage they can do.

Then one ordinary day Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago. Now it’s Anna’s chance to set things straight but her revenge needs to be executed carefully …

First she needs to get to know Liam, the man injured in the accident. She needs to follow the police investigation. She needs to watch Carla from the shadows…

But as Anna’s obsession with Carla escalates, her own secrets start to unravel. Is Carla really dangerous or does Anna need to worry about someone far closer to home?

*********

Pychological thriller?  Very much so. The tension is relentless right from the start and you feel compelled to keep reading.

The prologue describes a chilling scene where an unknown arsonist starts a fire and then the story switches to the present day and the scene of a road accident ….

When Anna witnesses a road accident she recognises the driver as Carla, someone from her past. You realise she has been obsessed with finding Carla for many years who she considers ruined her life. Anna realises this could be her chance to set things straight and extract her revenge. She also sits with the injured motorcyclist, Liam, until the ambulance arrives.

She then visits Liam in hospital and ‘invites’ herself into his life, desperately wanting to to become part of it even although he lives with his grandmother.

I felt Anna was quite a sad character. You know right from the start she has some issues/problems. She has a job but doesn’t seem to socialise with her colleagues. Her only ‘friend’ is the old lady next door, Joan Peat. Anna seems to have a need to be needed. She must have order and routine just to keep functioning but as the story progresses you sense her obsessions escalating and things spiralling out of control.

Much of the story is told in Anna’s voice and her thoughts are very chilling at times but some of it is told from Joan Peat’s point of view. She has known Anna since she was a little girl and through her we learn a bit about Anna’s past.

The writing is good. It’s not a difficult read although sometimes I felt I would have liked a little bit of relief from the escalating tension. (That’s not really a criticism; in a thriller tension is good. Yes?) There are a few twists in the story which make it a very satisfying read.

It’s a really good debut novel and I would love to read more.

The publisher is Bookouture and Safe With Me is due out on 3 November 2016.  The author’s webpage can be found here.

(My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy).

French Rhapsody – Antoine Laurain

Middle-aged doctor Alain Massoulier has received a life-changing letter—thirty-three years too late.

Lost in the Paris postal system for decades, the letter from Polydor, dated 1983, offers a recording contract to The Holograms, in which Alain played lead guitar. Back then The Holograms had believed in their cutting-edge sound. However, the music industry remained indifferent, and eventually the band split up, each going their own way.

Alain is overcome by nostalgia, and is tempted to track down the members of the group. But in a world where everything and everyone has changed . . . where will his quest take him?

*********

I’m not sure exactly why, but I loved this book. It’s an effortless read and very entertaining.

Alain Massoulier is a middle-aged doctor who leads a comfortable, if perhaps predictable, life in Paris.

Out of the blue he receives a potentially life-changing letter that had been posted 33 years earlier and had languished in the French postal system all these years. In 1983 he had been a member of a band The Holograms and the letter was from Polydor offering them a recording contract – 33 years too late as having failed to make a name for themselves as a band, they all went their separate ways.

Alain is thrown by this letter and becomes quite nostalgic, searching the house for a box of band photos and a cassette recording, desperately wanting to listen to a particular track that had been playing in his head since the letter’s arrival.

As he reminisces we learn how the five band members from very diverse backgrounds got together to form the band. The more he thinks of the past and the letter, the more he experiences feelings of fury and injustice. He has thoughts of what might have been. I liked the lines in the book, “You think you have buried your youthful dreams, that they’ve dissolved in the fog of passing years and then you realise it’s not true! The corpse is still there, terrifying and unburied.” He decides to search for his former bandmates and try to make contact to tell them what has transpired. He is also hoping that one of them will have a copy of “Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On”, the track that had impressed the record company.

I was never in a band, I’m not a doctor, I’m not even in my 50s (I’m older than that) but somehow I could connect with the story – maybe it’s wondering what might have been if another path had been taken? The book is funny, nostalgic, charming and at there’s a bit of satire in there too. It’s well written and has some great characters.

The characters are all very diverse. Some have made a name for themselves in the 33 years that have passed. They are all interesting and well drawn. I love how the present and the past are interwoven almost seamlessly. Oh yes, and there are a couple of nice twists in the story.

The book was translated from the French by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce. Publication date is 11 October 2016 but it is available now from Gallic Books

(My thanks to NetGalley and Gallic Books for providing me with a review copy)

Holding – Graham Norton

Graham Norton’s masterful debut is an intelligently crafted story of love, secrets and loss.

The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; mother of­ two Brid Riordan hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.

So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke – a former­ love of both Brid and Evelyn – the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.

Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore – with searing honesty – the complexities and contradictions that make us human.

*********

I like Graham Norton and I like his humour and his chat. Holding is his debut novel and I wasn’t sure what to expect. However I really enjoyed it. He tells a very good story.

Duneen is a sleepy Irish village where nothing much happens and the residents go about their daily routines although everyone seems to very interested in everyone else’s business. Graham sets the scene beautifully in the first few chapters, describing various locations in the village and the inhabitants. It is easy to picture the people and places. The story is told with humour but Graham doesn’t poke fun at anyone. There are several threads to the story but all cleverly connecting in some way.

The local guard is 53 year old Sergeant P J Collins who is very overweight, unfit and single. There has never been much crime for him to deal with until human remains are uncovered on an old farm by builders and he has to investigate. In fact it’s his first major case although he has to involve colleagues from Cork.

As the investigation proceeds we learn more and more about the various characters and the dark secrets they have been holding on to for a very long time.

There’s Brid Riordan, a wife and mother, who drinks more than she should;

Mrs O’Driscoll who has the local shop/post office/cafe.

The three unmarried Ross sisters  who lived together in the family home just outside the village.

Mrs Meany, the old lady who is Sergeant Collins full time housekeeper and cook.

Susan Hickey, a bit of a busybody and gossip.

Although much of the book centres on the human remains found and the investigation by Sergeant Collins and his colleagues from Cork, I wouldn’t say it was a crime thriller. It is a murder mystery but I feel the story is more about the people and how their pasts connect, and the secrets that are revealed.  I felt quite sad for some of the characters and annoyed at others. Parts of the story made me chuckle as I pictured the scene.

It’s a cosy, satisfying read – and very enjoyable and I hope I get to read more novels by Graham Norton.

[My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a review copy]

 

 

A Boy Made of Blocks – Keith Stuart

Meet thirtysomething dad, Alex
He loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn’t understand him. Something has to change. And he needs to start with himself.

Meet eight-year-old Sam
Beautiful, surprising, autistic. To him the world is a puzzle he can’t solve on his own.

But when Sam starts to play Minecraft, it opens up a place where Alex and Sam begin to rediscover both themselves and each other . . .

Can one fragmented family put themselves back together, one piece at a time?

Inspired by the author’s experiences with his own son, A Boy Made of Blocks is an astonishingly authentic story of love, family and autism.

*********

I was completely captivated by this debut novel from Keith Stuart.

I found A Boy Made of Blocks an effortless read but oh so good. Sad, happy, poignant, heartbreaking, heartwarming, funny, and more.  It is affecting but not depressing.

Alex and Jody are the parents of 9 year old Sam, who is on the autistic spectrum. They’ve been together ten years. They are stressed out. Alex spends most of his time at work and Jody doesn’t feel she has his support caring for Sam. Life is difficult and has been difficult for a while. Jody asks him to leave and sort himself out. Their family is factured. He moves in with his friend Dan.

The book is Alex’s story. You feel his despair at having to move out of the family home; and his anxiety when he is expected to take Sam out – anxiety and fear caused by Sam’s unpredictable and challenging behaviour. Sam struggles to make sense of the world. Alex is worried that something bad will happen and needs to be persuaded to take Sam out for a few hours.

However Sam discovers the computer game Minecraft and he is very good at it. He actually wants to show his dad what he has been doing in the Minecraft world. Alex doesn’t share his enthusiasm initially but becomes just as involved in it and father and son start to connect and share in a way they haven’t before and their love of the game takes them to places they never could have dreamed of.

There is also a very good back story which explains some of Alex’s anxieties and behaviours, and his relationship with his mother and sister.

In my opinion its an extremely well written novel. The author has an an autistic son so although A Boy Made of Blocks is fiction, he writes from experience.

I have even learned a little bit about Minecraft. If you have children or grandchildren you have probably heard of it, maybe even played it. My 9 year old grandson is a fan of Minecraft (and has been for a couple of years). He would spend time on Saturday mornings watching Stampy’s videos on You Tube and then come up with these amazing buildings and ideas. I couldn’t follow all the rules, too complicated for me, but I can understand how some children could feel safe in an environment that has rules and where they have some control.

A Boy Made of Blocks is ultimately about love, rebuilding fractured relationships and also hope.

I’ve had the opportunity to read some wonderful books this year which really made an impression on me and this is one of them.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Return to the Little French Guesthouse – Helen Pollard

 

Blue skies, new love, and a glass of Bordeaux . . . what could possibly go wrong?

When Emmy Jamieson leaves her life behind and moves to La Cour des Roses, a gorgeous guesthouse amidst vineyards in France, everything is resting on her success as the new guesthouse manager.

Looming in the calendar is the biggest booking ever, when the entire eccentric, demanding Thomson family will descend for a golden wedding anniversary. With airbeds on the floor and caravans in the garden, La Cour des Roses will be bursting at the seams.

Emmy knows she’s up to the challenge, especially with the support of the gorgeous Alain, the half-French, half-English, caramel-eyed accountant. But she hadn’t counted on a naked, sleepwalking travel blogger, or the return of owner Rupert’s venomous ex-wife Gloria.

Gloria has a few things to say about Emmy’s new role, Rupert’s finances, and the unsuspecting Alain, which send everybody reeling. Just when Emmy can see a future for herself of endless sunshine, true love and laughter, are her dreams about to be ripped at the seams?

*********

I was delighted to have the opportunity to read Return to the Little French Guesthouse (thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Bookouture).  I loved the first book, The Little French Guesthouse, and you can read my review here.

Return to the Little French Guesthouse is a brilliant sequel. It really is “a feel good read to make you smile”. It’s as good as, if not better, than the first book. You could read it as a stand alone and be able to pick up the back story but I think you would get so much more from the sequel if you had already read the first book.

Return to the Little French Guesthouse continues where the first book left off. Emmie has left her life in the UK behind and has returned to France and La Cour des Roses to assist the owner Rupert with managing the guesthouse. This time however she is going back to a place she knows a lot better and where she now has some friends.

Things don’t go quite as smoothly as Emmie had hoped. Within a day or two of starting her new role as guesthouse manager there is an incident involving one of the guests who happens to write a travel blog with a large following. I don’t want to spoil it but within a couple of pages I was laughing out loud. Despite Emmie’s best efforts to deal with the problem, the guest leaves and she is then left worrying about potential bad publicity.

In the first book, Rupert’s wife Gloria had run off with Emmie’s boyfriend. Just by chance Emmie takes a call from someone who had apparently spoken to Gloria and had booked the guesthouse and gites for a large group of family members, including lots of special requests. Of course none of this had been written down by Gloria who hadn’t even mentioned it to anyone at the time and Emmie is thrown in at the deep end trying to accommodate all of this.

Emmie is such a lovely character. I feel as if I know her now. She just gets on with things and makes the best of everything even when hit with crisis after crisis. I love it when things go right for her but sometimes the obstacles seem to be almost insurmountable and her plans to live and work at La Cour des Roses and also get her own business off the ground to allow her to stay there begin to look rather shaky, especially when Rupert’s wife Gloria re-appears and wreaks havoc.

It isn’t all bad of course. There is the compensation of living in such a beautiful area and the joy of good friendships. The potential love interest that appeared in the first book is still a feature. There are lots of funny moments and touching moments. I chuckled often and there were even a couple of belly laughs. Anyone watching must have thought I was mad!

I love Helen Pollard’s writing. There is no slow introduction. You are there, in the thick of things, almost immediately. Her storytelling is wonderful and she makes it so easy to imagine the people and the places. (Could there be an adaptation for television?) There is something to keep you wanting to turn the page. The story held my interest throughout and in fact one night, being unable to sleep, I decided to read just a few more pages and ended up reading until 3 am! Needless to say at that point I had to give in and wait until breakfast time to finish it. Now that is what I call a good book.  I would love to read a third one. Please?

Local Girl Missing – Claire Douglas

 

 

Twenty years ago
21-year-old Sophie Collier vanishes one night.  She leaves nothing behind but a trainer on the old pier – and a hole in the heart of her best friend Francesca.

Now
A body’s been found.  And Francesca’s drawn back to the seaside town she’s tried to forget. Perhaps the truth of what happened to Sophie will finally come out. Yet Francesca is beginning to wish she hadn’t returned.

Everywhere she turns are ghosts from her past.  The same old faces and familiar haunts of her youth.  But if someone knows what really happened to Sophie that night then now’s the time to find out – isn’t it?

Except sometimes discovering the truth can cost you everything you hold dear – your family, your sanity and even your life . . .

*********

I enjoyed reading Local Girl Missing, Claire Douglas’ second book.  It’s a psychological/mystery full of twists and turns and a very good read.

Francesca is 39 years old, living in London and a successful businesswoman involved in the running of her father’s hotel business.

Out of the blue she receives a call from the brother of her best friend Sophie who, years earlier, had disappeared late one night from a club in the seaside town where they had grown up.  It was assumed she had fallen off the town’s deserted pier and had been swept away by the tide but no body had ever been recovered.

Daniel tells her that remains have been washed up, that it might be Sophie and he persuades Francesca to return to the town to await the official identification and help him find out what had happened to his sister.

Francesca takes a few days off and reluctantly returns to Oldcliffe-on-Sea, despite having sworn never to go back. We learn that there was an incident in the past, when the the friends were 16, involving a young boy, Jason. It appears Francesca and Sophie knew what really happened but swore never to tell anyone.

Daniel arranges for Francesca to stay in a friend’s holiday apartment in a Victorian apartment block, high on a cliff top and overlooking the old pier. As it is out of season most of the flats are unoccupied. There is a sense of foreboding and uneasiness.  It was easy to imagine the bleakness of a seaside town in winter.

Memories soon start flooding back, not always welcome memories. In fact it soon appears that Francesca is not welcome either and someone is sending her poison pen messages. There are various incidents that can’t be explained. She’s terrified someone else knows what happened to Jason. There are people from the past still living in the town. She doesn’t know who’s telling the truth, who she can trust.

The author tells the story from both Francesca’s and Sophie’s point of view. Frankie’s story is set in 2016, Sophie’s story is in the form of her journal from 1997. Because of the two time frames you get to know the characters both as teenagers and as adults. There is one character from the past who is really despicable. Who has access to these diary entries? Are they sending the poison pen messages?

I liked this book – it was a well written, satisfying read – quite chilling in parts and full of twists and turns and secrets. The ending was good and not quite what I expected.

Read an extract from Local Girl Missing here.

[My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for providing a review copy of this book]

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old

 

‘Another year and I still don’t like old people. Me? I am 83 years old.’ 

Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead and isn’t planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter because his legs are no longer willing and he had to visit his doctor more than he’d like. Technically speaking he is … elderly. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea and potted geraniums?

Hendrik sets out to write an exposé: a year in the life of his care home in Amsterdam, revealing all its ups and downs – not least his new endeavour the anarchic Old-But-Not Dead Club. And when Eefje moves in – the woman Hendrik has always longed for – he polishes his shoes (and his teeth), grooms what’s left of his hair and attempts to make something of the life he has left, with hilarious, tender and devastating consequences.

The indomitable Hendrik Groen – Holland’s unlikeliest hero – has become a cultural phenomenon in his native Netherlands and now he and his famously anonymous creator are conquering the globe. A major Dutch bestseller, The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen will not only delight older readers with its wit and relevance, but will charm and inspire those who have years to go before their own expiry date.

*********

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is a wonderful book.  It is sad, happy, poignant, funny – I laughed out loud a few times. There’s even a love interest. It’s a work of fiction by an author whose true identity is not known but it is so well written, it’s easy to believe it is all true.  It’s also very entertaining.

Initially I thought the first few pages seemed a bit monotonous. I was wrong. I think that is deliberate to give a flavour of life in a residential home for the elderly. The story gets better and better as we get to know the main characters and they start venturing further afield.

Hendrik has been in an Amsterdam care home for three years. He’s considered courteous, polite, helpful, civil and he keeps quiet to avoid confrontation. He rarely says what he would really like to say. You get the sense he is a bit of a worrier and doesn’t like to upset the apple cart.

Then he decides to keep a diary – an exposé of a year in the care home and it’s residents – to allow his true voice to be heard.

I love the opening lines:

“Another year, and I still don’t like old people. Their Zimmerframe shuffle, their unreasonable impatience, their endless complaints, their tea and biscuits, their bellyaching.”

“Me?  I am eighty-three years old.”

Initially his diary entries document the complaints and petty squabbles of some of the residents, and the routine of the care home with all the rules and regulations regarding what residents can and cannot do. It all seems a bit monotonous (possibly an accurate description of life in some care homes!).

Early on, even Hendrik suggests his diary entries are a bit gloomy however the book is by no means dismal or depressing. It is written with humour and the other residents are described brilliantly.  You really begin to care about some of them.

When Eefje Brand moves into the home Hendrik considers her to be pleasant and like a breath of fresh air. He also finds a spring in his step and a reason to look forwards.

There is also Mrs Stelwegen, the director of the home who becomes something of an adversary when Hendrik and a few friends form the Old-But-Not Dead Club as an alternative to the rather boring activities and entertainments that occasionally take place in the home. The Club members plan excursions and escapades away from the routine of the home.

Firm friendships are formed among the club members. We also get glimpses of the friends’ personal stories and how they came to be in the residential home. I found Hendrik’s story very moving – especially given the quiet way he revealed his circumstances.

There are ups and downs for the club members. It’s sad when the inevitable happens and friends pass away but the Old-But-Not Dead Club will continue, there are more excursions to plan and Hendrik is now looking forward to the Spring – and he’s going to start a new diary.

An excellent, entertaining read.

UK Publication date:  25 August 2016

[My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for a review copy of this book].

Nina is Not OK – Shappi Khorsandi

I think Nina is Not OK is a brilliant book about a difficult subject.

17 year old Nina is an A-level student who, like many young people, likes a drink even although she is under age. The problem is the next day she can’t always remember exactly what happened the night before.

Then one night when she is very, very drunk she is ejected from a club and separated from her friends and her phone because of her very inappropriate behaviour. She remembers the guy she was being inappropriate with coming out with his friend and they took her down to an alley. The next thing she remembers is ‘Alex’ and his friend putting her in a taxi then going back into the club. The taxi driver gets her home but there is a huge gap in her memory.

The next day she learns that one of her friends ‘got off with’ Alex after he went back into the club.

Following this incident things got so much worse for Nina and it becomes clear that Nina has issues that she is unable to fix by herself. She often says she’s fine when she’s definitely not okay; she has been dumped by her boyfriend who had gone abroad for a year and had met someone else; she misses her dad who was an alcoholic and died at a young age; Nina drinks far too much. Her relationship with her Mum is a bit strained.

My heart sank every time Nina got herself into a bad situation again and again and she got on a downward spiral. The voice inside my head was saying, “No. Please no. Don’t do it! Please, not again, walk away!” Her poor mother and stepfather.

What was so good was that even when she got completely out of control and at rock bottom, I didn’t feel the need to judge her harshly. She did some awful things but she always came across as basically a good person and we do get to see some of that better side.

My emotions were all over the place. Things were looking up when she went into rehab; then the relapse; Jamie the ex-boyfriend appearing again; and then the horrendous shaming when a photo of her appeared on social media. media. My heart sank for Nina. I kept hoping for a good ending but Shappi kept me ‘strung out’ right until the end.

I actually had some sympathy for all the characters in the book, apart from Alex and his friend.

The book is extremely well written and the dialogue believable. It deals with issues of alcoholism, rape culture, slut shaming and victim blaming.  I felt as if I was living through every mother’s (indeed every parent’s) nightmare.  While it might not be to everyone’s taste because of the subject matter (there is sexual content and a quite a lot of swearing) it is still one of my favourite books this year.  I would recommend it for anyone from young adults to older readers (it reminded me how difficult it can be for teenagers nowadays).

Shappi has written a powerful story which is entertaining and very readable. A great debut novel.

The book is available in the UK from 28 July 2016.

Website:   www.shappi.co.uk

Twitter:     @ShappiKhorsandi

Truly Madly Guilty – Liane Moriarty

Description

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you’d think. For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again. But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them. Which is how it all spirals out of control…

 

My friend has been telling me for ages I should read Liane Moriarty’s books. She is a fan and has read them all. Truly Madly Guilty is the first Liane Moriarty I have read.

I enjoyed it a lot. The storytelling is very, very good. As I read, I felt I really got to know the characters although it is a slow reveal. We are fed little bits of information all the way through the book.

At the heart of this novel is something that happened at a barbeque attended by three couples; childless Erika and Oliver, Clementine and Sam (two young daughters), Vid and Tiffany (one daughter) and a dog. Apparently something huge. We have to stay with the story in order to find out what actually happened at the barbeque and the consequences for each of the characters. I found the format quite intriguing. The story starts some time after the barbeque but returns to the day of the barbeque frequently, at different times of the day and telling the story from each couples’ perspective.

The book begins with ‘Erika’ attending a talk given by ‘Clementine’ in a suburban library. The talk is about the incident at the barbeque. The opening chapter gives us snippets of the talk and Erika’s contradictory thoughts on what Clementine is saying. I immediately got the feeling that they knew each other well but something had happened and Erika was kind of sneaking in to listen to Clementine’s talk. After a couple of chapters I really felt I was getting a handle on the characters but no …. I soon realised there was so much more to be revealed as the book progressed. The story goes back and forward in time, always anchored to the day of the barbeque.

There is real depth to the characters, and their various relationships with their spouses, the children, parents, colleagues, is woven into the fabric of the story very naturally and not contrived.

When I was looking briefly at the story again, just before writing this review, I realised there were little bits of information in the story that hadn’t really registered with me at the time but made sense once I got to the end. I think this is a book I will want to re-read at some point.

I’m not sure if this is typical of the author’s style since this is the first time I have read one of her books but I can now add Liane Moriarty’s name to my list of authors that I want to read more of.

I found it a very enjoyable, entertaining and satisfying novel.

Available in the UK from 28 July 2016.

Author’s website:   lianemoriarty.com.au

Glyn Macey’s World of Acrylics: How to Paint Sea, Sky, Land and Life

 

One of my hobbies is painting, especially using acrylics.  I probably started using them about 6 or 7 years ago when I started going to art classes.  If you make a mistake they are very forgiving – you can usually just paint right over the mistake.

I have quite a collection of ‘How to’ art books. I don’t always try to copy the paintings in them.  Most of them I just like to look at and tell myself I will try out some of the examples at some future date.

I was delighted when I learned I had won a copy of  Glyn Macey’s World of Acrylics from the publisher Search Press.  I had seen a preview of the cover a few weeks before it went on sale and I knew straight away I would want this book, even if I had to drop heavy hints to my family and wait for Christmas.

The cover is striking. I love the deep, intense blues of the sea and sky and the contrasting colours of the buildings and walls.

Inside, there is an explosion of vibrant colour.   The colours are so exciting: cadmium reds and yellows, purples, intense blues. Whether or not you actually try any of the suggestions, it’s an amazing book to look at. There are four main sections: sea; sky; woodland and wilderness; and finally life which adds urban landscapes.

Each section starts with some finished examples and there is a lot of very useful information in each section covering topics such as useful equipment, techniques, colour, texture, mark making etc.

It is an inspiring book. Although each section has a example broken down into stages, it is not a step by step guide to an exact copy. You are encouraged to do your own thing.  For instance the example in “the Sea” in broken down into 6 stages:  Preparation and capturing the scene (including a list of suggested materials);  Laying out the colours;  Shaping; Shadows and light;  Details;  Finishing touches.  At the end of some stages there are suggestions of further things you could do but it seems designed to make you think and explore the possibilities, bring out your creativity.

It’s a visually exciting book for all artists and budding artists.

Author website:  www.glynmacey.co.uk (showing some examples and a taster tutorial)

Search Press sample here

 

Dear Amy – Helen Callaghan

 

DESCRIPTION:

Margot Lewis is the agony aunt for The Cambridge Examiner. Her advice column, Dear Amy, gets all kinds of letters – but none like the one she’s just received:

‘Dear Amy,
I don’t know where I am. I’ve been kidnapped and am being held prisoner by a strange man. I’m afraid he’ll kill me.
Please help me soon,
Bethan Avery’

Bethan Avery has been missing for years. This is surely some cruel hoax. But, as more letters arrive, they contain information that was never made public. How is this happening? Answering this question will cost Margot everything . . .

Dear Amy is a good debut psychological thriller.

It starts with the abduction of teenage schoolgirl Katie Browne who in a moment of anger had decided she was leaving home, had packed a bag, sneaked out of her house and had decided to go to her Dad’s (without telling anyone). It’s a foul, wet, windy night. A car pulls up beside her. The driver calls her name. She doesn’t know him. He offers her a lift. She declines but there is fear in her voice … Just as she’s decided to go back home and face the music she realises that someone is coming up behind her….

The story then switches to the voice of Margot Lewis, a teacher at St Hilda’s Academy who also happens to write the Dear Amy advice column in the Cambridge Examiner. Margot has no children of her own and her husband Eddie has left her for someone else.

Margot’s character seems quite proper and correct – kind of old fashioned and appears to be quite practical and very much in control. She had been Katie’s teacher at one time and was concerned about the missing girl.

Then a letter arrives at the newspaper from a Bethan Avery, who had been missing for almost 20 years, begging for help and saying she has been kidnapped and is held prisoner in a cellar. Was it a prank? Was it genuine? Was it connected to the disappearance of Katie Browne?

Margot tries to find out more about Bethan Avery and wants her to contact her again. Her search for information about Bethan becomes almost an obsession. She’s also annoyed that some people, including the Police, believe that Katie Browne has simply run away from home and Margot feels nobody is really trying to find her. Finally a criminologist called Martin Forrester contacts her regarding the letters from Bethan, telling her the Police provided her details.

As the story progresses we find out a little bit more about Margot via conversations with her soon to be ex-husband and her friend Lily who thinks Margot is taking on too much and will make herself ill.

There are some chilling moments too. A man in a car outside the school, gates, an encounter with a man in a carpark, someone watching and waiting in a car near Margot’s home, silent phone calls.

The tension builds and we see Margot starting to unravel, bit by bit, but still searching for answers in the Bethan Avery case and trying to link it to the disappearance of Katie Browne.

I quite liked the writing style and the various voices telling the story. The dialogue is generally good and although there are some wilder, slightly over the top scenarios that are just too far-fetched, overall I enjoyed this book.

[I received a review copy of Dear Amy  via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]

 Author’s website:   http://ift.tt/1zLBc40

 

In The Clearing – Robert Dugoni

 

Description:  Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

In The Clearing is the third book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I stumbled across the second book in the series Her Final Breath last year and enjoyed it so much I then had to read the first book My Sister’s Grave.

In the Clearing has two main threads.  A murder investigation in Seattle (where Tracy is normally based) which seems like a domestic and the 40 year old case in Stoneridge that her friend Jenny asks her to look at. Tracy’s skill seems to be tackling unsolved, older crimes. Although Stoneridge is out of Tracy’s jurisdiction, her friend Jenny wanted an independent assessment of the file in case it had to be officially re-opened. Tracy manages to get permission to investigate from her boss Nolasco on condition she does it in her own time. Luckily she was owed time off and returned to Stoneridge.

As she delves deeper into the case it looks like the town has its share of secrets and possible cover ups. Some people really don’t want anyone to look too closely at the case or have it re-opened. She enlists the help of experts who have access to modern forensics methods.

There were a few twists and turns along the way and the ending wasn’t quite what I expected.

I like Tracy.  She’s hard working, fairly straightforward and tenacious when seeking clues. She takes some risks but I don’t think she’s one for flaunting the rules.  She has a love interest lawyer Dan O’Leary but he only appears briefly in this book.

Tracy’s boss, Captain Johnny Nolasco, doesn’t like Tracy. In fact there’s no love lost between them.  In this book Nolasco seems much more subdued (all part of the story) but I kind of missed the dynamic that was between them in the previous two books.  If you haven’t read the first two books then that doesn’t make any difference.  Each of the books can stand alone but some characters appear in all the books, all with a role to play.

Robert Dugoni has a good writing style – easy to read but a complex enough plot to be a satisfying read.  I love the procedural and forensic detail we get from him. It’s easily understandable and never too complicated or boring. There are a few twists and turns along the way and the ending wasn’t quite what I expected.

This is another of those books where I just had to stay up late to finish it.

Author’s website:   robertdugoni.com

 

My Name is Leon

A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And a family where you’d least expect to find one.

Leon is nine, and has a perfect baby brother called Jake. They have gone to live with Maureen, who has fuzzy red hair like a halo, and a belly like Father Christmas. But the adults are speaking in low voices, and wearing Pretend faces. They are threatening to give Jake to strangers. Since Jake is white and Leon is not.

As Leon struggles to cope with his anger, certain things can still make him smile – like Curly Wurlys, riding his bike fast downhill, burying his hands deep in the soil, hanging out with Tufty (who reminds him of his dad), and stealing enough coins so that one day he can rescue Jake and his mum.

Evoking a Britain of the early eighties, My Name is Leon is a heart-breaking story of love, identity and learning to overcome unbearable loss. Of the fierce bond between siblings. And how – just when we least expect it – we manage to find our way home.

My Name is Leon is a beautifully written book which is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.  It’s hard to believe it is Kit de Waal’s debut novel.  It is set in London in the early 1980/81 against a backdrop of racial tension and violence and a royal wedding. Kit de Waal captures the era very well and there are subtle references that anchor the story to the early 1980s.

When I first started reading it I feared that things would not turn out well 9 year old Leon who had taken on the responsibility of caring for, as best as he could, his baby brother Jake and his mother who had mental health issues and just couldn’t cope on her own, frequently going out and leaving Leon to look after the baby and himself. Eventually Social Services become involved after a concerned neighbour contacts them.

It was hard for Leon when he and his brother were placed in emergency foster care. He missed his mum and his toys, but then to make matters worse it was decided that it would be better for Jake if he were adopted.  Jake is a white baby and Leon is not. That meant it would just be Maureen the foster carer and Leon.

I like the way the story is told through the eyes of Leon. He sometimes behaves badly, having major strops and even stealing small amounts of money and various items. You hear his thoughts before his frustration and anger get out of control and he acts out. From a 9 year old’s point of view, and given his situation, it seems quite reasonable. Leon doesn’t like the social workers. He doesn’t trust them; they have fake smiles and don’t always mean what they say. He listens behind doors when they talk to Maureen and Maureen talks to her sister and he doesn’t like what is being said about his mother. However Maureen is an older experienced foster carer and she and Leon generally get on well.

All the way through the book Leon is squirrelling away money and collecting things so that he can go and find his brother and his mother and look after them.

As if all these separations weren’t bad enough, Maureen becomes seriously ill and is taken into hospital. It’s then decided he will stay with her sister Sylvia. This means another change of school.

I think this would traumatise any child. I kept thinking about my own grandson who is 9 but I just couldn’t imagine him in Leon’s situation. At times Leon seems older than his years carrying burdens he really shouldn’t have.

After he is given a bike by the social worker he goes out more and, unknown to Sylvia, spends a lot of time at the allotments. He meets various characters, one being Tufty who is black and reminds Leon of his dad. Another important one is Mr Devlin an older man. Although the men don’t see eye to eye they both help Leon (eventually), encouraging him to grow things.

Even so, Leon witnesses incidents that take place at the allotments including an acquaintance of Tufty’s being dragged off by 4 policemen.

You wonder if things will ever get better for Leon. By this time he just wants Maureen to get out of hospital so he can go back and live with her although he still wants to find his brother and his mother. Unfortunately he overhears part of Sylvia’s telephone conversation and jumps to a conclusion, and decides he has to run away to find them.

It gets worse. He gets caught up in the street riots between civilians and Police and sees people getting hurt.

Oh dear. You would think this book is all doom and gloom. It isn’t. I really liked it probably because it is so well written and I found the characters interesting and very believable. The book isn’t just about the huge upheavals in Leon’s life.  The story is enriched by all the other little things in between and the people he encounters. For all his troubles Leon comes across as a likeable young boy.  You really want him to enjoy a happier, more settled future.

An excellent, thought-provoking but enjoyable book.

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal will be published on 2 June 2016 by Viking.

Author’s website:   www.kitdewaal.com/